The Exterminator The Pest Killer Of Marvel

Posted on March 30, 2025 by bloodlinematt

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top Dog: The K-9 Who Ruled Star Comics

Posted on February 2, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Star Comics, the kids branch of Marvel Comics in the 80’s, was one of many reasons why I became a life long comic reader. They did some amazing comics based on some of the most popular cartoons and toys of the time with Masters Of The Universe and Thundercats being some of my favorites that I can remember getting issues of at the grocery and convenience stores, and I loved reading about the adventures of He-Man and Lion-O in the pages. Besides the popular licensed characters, Star Comics also did a slew of original characters,t some of which we have already covered like Wally The Wizard and others being Planet Terry, Meet Misty, Royal Roy, Spider-Ham. Among my favorites of the original characters is Top Dog, a boy’s pet who was always up for adventure and oh yeah, could talk! And for those wondering Spider-Ham was always my favorite original character created for Star Comics. This update will also be kicking off Dog Month as I have two other updates about classic comic canines on tap to make this February just a little more fun. So let’s sit back and relax and spend some time with Top Dog, that canine of mystery.

Top Dog is not like your normal dog as he can talk as well as is super smart, and comes to live with the Jordan family after he befriends the son Joey who knows of Top Dogs smarts but is sworn not to share his secret…cause Top Dog was actually an agent who worked for the Government for many years and this has made him a target of many criminals of all types. Throughout the run of the comic series Top Dog and Joey would have all types of adventures and would even meet the likes of Royal Roy, Peter Parker and Heathcliff. The character Top Dog was created by the team of Lennie Herman and Warren Kremer in 1985 for Star Comics and it would run for 14 issues and would end in 1987, but even after the series ended the character would appear sometimes in the Heathcliff comic series. And years after that Top Dog would appear in the Marvel Comics series X-Babies showing that the character will never fully go away. Top Dog was one of the original characters created for Star Comics and for the most part was I think at least in my circle of friends was one of the most popular ones as I knew more kids that read his issues than I did Planet Terry, Royal Roy and Wally The Wizard and he was only rivaled by Spider-Ham. It’s a shame that Top Dog is just sitting around Marvel Comics collecting dust as they could easily place him into the Marvel Universe again as I mean they have all types of strange creatures around now, he is smart why not place him in New York or even have him lead a Animal version of The Avengers with the likes of Spider-Ham, Howard The Duck, Devil Dinosaur and Rocket Raccoon. But Marvel these days lack the imagination that use to make them the House Of Ideas and seem to be more into their MCU and creating the same plotted movies over and over again with the same style humor recycled over and over. And I can hear you all saying now “but the movies make billions” and I get it, but I think if they spent more time on the comics as well with fresh and entertaining ideas their sales would pick up and they could even…gasp bring in new readers! But don’t get me started on the state of Marvel and DC Comics as I could go on forever and this update is about Top Dog and I should say that fans of Star Comics as well as classic kids comics should track down his issues and give them a read, as they are enjoyable.

So as you can see, Top Dog really is a fun character that brought entertainment to his readers in the 1980’s and is truly a character that should be used and be around to this day, and now I think this is the time that we start reviewing the comics and I have to admit I am very much looking forward to reading these comics again as I have not read them sense I was a kid and they were originally being released, so it will be interesting to see if they hold up and still hold that charm like they did decades ago for me. I would also like to thank Bell Book And Comic, Mavericks Cards And Comics as well as Lone Star Comics for having these issues 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, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready, let’s see what kind of adventures Top Dog is going to have and if they are as awesome as I remember them being.

Top Dog # 1 ***
Released in 1985 Cover Price .65 Star Comics # 1 of 14

Top Dog and Joey are playing baseball in the basement when his Mom hears him and they two have to be quite so that she does not learn Top Dog’s secret of talking. Then Joey and Top Dog think back about a few days ago and how they meet. Joey was playing baseball in the park with friends and chases a homerun ball into the woods and meets Top Dog a talking dog who friends Joey and the two make a pact to keep his talking a secret and Joey takes Top Dog home to live with him and his family. As Top Dog and Joey are walking home Joey tries to help Top Dog on how to act like a real dog, and once home Joey’s Mom falls in love with him as does his Dad and even his sister Lizzie seems to be coming around. The next day Top Dog and Joey start racing each other and rich kid Mervin Megabucks hears Top Dog talk and tries to buy him, Joey says no deal and denies the talking but Top Dog gets dognapped by Mervin and his chauffer Slyme and taken to the family mansion. And Top Dog watches as Mervin kicks out his old dog Bruno in order to make room for him, and in order to make Top Dog talk Mervin throws him into a heat box trying to fry him into talking. Joey sneaks around the mansion and ends up finding Tog Dog in the heat box and as Mervin and Slyme approach they trick them to let Top Dog out of the box by having him speak and then Joey makes it look like he was doing the voice to pull a prank on Mervin and then Joey and Top Dog make an escape from the Mansion even bringing down the robot guards that Mervin has sent after them, and once free they head home.

This is such a fun first issue and was a great one to get young readers hooked as it has lots of stuff to get their attention like a talking dog, a Spider-Man t-shirt wearing kid, robots, baseball and even a rich kid who gets made to look like a fool…so in other words those readers who dislike Ritchie Rich and Royal Roy will like seeing Mervin Megabucks being made a fool of as he truly is a terrible rich brat. Top Dog in this issue is hiding out in the park reading a newspaper and enjoying his life away from drama and his stressful life and finds that acting like a normal dog and living with the Jordan family could be a great life and get away for him, as it’s clear his new friendship with young Joey is something special as the youngster keeps his secret of being a super smart and talking dog. Speaking of Joey Jordan he is a normal kid who loves baseball and Spider-Man and is a good kid with a good family and is very loyal to his new friend and I guess pet Tog Dog. And while Lizzie Jordan is Joey’s mean older sister the true baddies of this comic is Mervin Megabucks who is a rich bratty kid who gets what he wants and steals a dog after not being able to buy it and then treats his old dog as well as his chauffeur Slyme terrible all the while seeming like he is taking great joy being as rude and snotty as possible. I mean you have to feel bad for his old dog Bruno that he just kicks out of his life when he thinks he has a new more special dog you know Mervin is truly scum. The stories are lots of fun and have that classic kids comic charm and yet also has that 80’s Marvel Comics charm to it making for a very enjoyable read that truly held up for me. The cover is great and very eye catching as it does a great job of showcasing Top Dog and the interior art done by Warren Kremer is great stuff and has that Marvel Comics charm with that dash of 80’s kid’s comic style. Over all a great read and if you have not read Top Dog check out this first issue as it does a great job of showing you want you are in for with the rest of the series.

Top Dog # 2 ***
Released in 1985 Cover Price .65 Star Comics # 2 of 14

Joey Jordan has to go to sleep as it’s a school night and he has a big test the next day, as Joey gets ready for bed Tog Dog sneaks out the window to go disco dancing and later a dog that looks like Top Dog creeps into a hole in a fence at a military base and acts as the tech labs watch dog at night, they call him Spike and when everyone is gone Spike takes out a little camera and takes photos of all the Top Secret plans and deliveries them to Foreign Spies who call the Dog Vladamir via hidden in the morning paper. And the next morning Joey sends Top Dog out to get a paper so he can write paper for school and Top Dog runs into the spies who steal the paper form him thinking that more top-secret photos are inside, while Spike looses his paper and Tog Dog finds it and takes it to Joey and they find the film with the stolen secrets! You see Spike is really a little person named Vladamir who is acting as a dog in order to steal from the USA Military to help his country with these stolen tank blue prints. Top Dog and Joey set a plan in motion to get all the Spies captured by the F.B.I and after tricking Spike and getting the two other Spies to show up at the lab and Tog Dog acting as Spike and using things around the lab to trip up the baddies the F.B.I show up and arrest them as well as Spike who ends up showing up and getting blamed by his now captured spy friends for this missions failure. Joey and Top Dog sneak away and are heroes that helped save America from spies who wished our nation ill.

The second issue of Top Dog is just as much of a fun read as the first issue and in this issue Tog Dog and Joey Jordan setting up spies in order to stop them from taking stolen top secret tank designs back to their country, and after making the baddies look silly they are able to get them all arrested by the F.B.I who are more than happy to take them away. In this issue Top Dog is having fun living with The Jordan’s and being the best friend of Joey but also likes going out at night to hit the clubs, but when he stumbles on a Spy Ring he uses his smarts to bring them down. Joey Jordan is proud of his new “pet” dog as they two are quickly becoming best friends, and he is also very much down to help Top Dog bring down the spies as well and even endangers himself to do so. The Spies are tricky and use one of their own to dress as a dog and act as the bases guard dog in order to steal the plans, and yet they are also out smarted by a talking dog and a young kid. I like in this issue that we see that Top Dog is also good at throwing darts and likes to Disco Dance and will do what is right for America when he finds that people are trying to do our nation wrong. I also like that we get a look at Joey’s room and that he has a poster of The Incredible Hulk as all kids should. This issue also shows that Mom Jordan is wanting to know more about Top Dog as Lizzie Jordan is still being rude to the canine. The cover for this issue is very cool and eye catching as it shows Top Dog showing off is multi tasking skills. The interior artwork was done by the talented Warren Kremer again who I am a fan of as his kid comic work is great stuff and captures that 80’s style used in them. Over all a great issue and it as well held up really well for me as I liked this issue as a kid and like it now as an adult, lets see what issue three is all about.

Top Dog # 3 ***
Released in 1985 Cover Price .65 Star Comics # 3 of 14

The TV News has been covering the Mad Biter a dog that has been biting people around town and has yet to be caught! While Joey and Top Dog are outside on a walk they run into Larry Lewis who wants Joey to go to the movies with him, but Joey tells him that he and Top Dog need to finish their walk and this upsets Larry who hates Top Dog and storms off only to be bitten by the Mad Biter! And Larry gets an idea and calls the cops and says that Top Dog is the Mad Biter and this leads to Top Dog betting arrested and put into a jail for criminal canines! But once Joey gets Top Dog out on bail and after visiting Larry late at night and making him think he his having nightmares about how he has wronged Tog Dog he is proving innocent and set free. Now Top Dog and Joey are looking for the true Mad Biter and they find a patron and know that he will attack next at the library and worse Lizzie is on her way to the library and finds herself in the path of The Mad Biter who goes for the attack but is knocked away by Top Dog who gets the dog to chase him into the park and then punches and knocks out The Mad Biter and the cops are able to take the crazed dog away and Top Dog is a hero. In the end Joey, Top Dog, Lizzie and Larry are all hanging out watching TV and enjoying the day.

Yet another great issue that held up and delivers a fun and entertaining read as this issue has Top Dog being framed for crimes he did not do and sent to jail and has to go to court in order to clear his name and when he finally does so he and Joey has to try and bring the real Mad Biter to justice as well as save Lizzie who is about to be the next bite victim! In this issue Top Dog is having a great day, but do to one young man’s jealousy he is blamed for a crime and finds himself in jail, court and later in the path of the true criminal dog and all the while the people of the town have turned fearful of him all besides Joey and his sister Lizzie who stick by him. Top Dog also in this issue shows that he can act like a dog even under pressure and can also fist fight with the best of them as he knocks the real mean dog silly with a series of punches. Joey Jordan is upset when his friend Tog Dog is blamed for the rash of animal attacks and even comes up with a good plan that ends up clearing his name and getting him out of doggie jail. And you also have to give Lizzie Jordan some respect as in court she stands with Top Dog and gives him credit when he saves her from being bitten. Larry Lewis who is a friend of Joey’s is the one that starts all the drama for him when he spreads the story that Top Dog is the canine going around biting people and this is all cause he feels that Joey spends to much time with his pet and not enough time hanging out with him! Oh course Larry learns his lesson and feels bad for what he has done to his friend innocent dog and makes things right. The Mad Biter is a dog that is mad at humans for some reason and is biting them all over town and causing fear and panic, but when he runs into Top Dog he gets knocked out and captured and now will pay for his crimes. The parts that have Top Dog in Doggie Jail is great stuff as he is surrounded by lots of mean dogs and even his fist fight with The Mad Biter are the highlights. The cover is really cool and the interior art once more done by Warren Kremer is solid great stuff. Another great kid comic read and shows why Top Dog was a well loved original character in the world of Star Comics.

Top Dog # 4 ***
Released in 1985 Cover Price .65 Star Comics # 4 of 14

While at the mall Joey and Top Dog are looking around when a man named Morrison recognizes Tog Dog and this causes the talking canine to panic and he and Joey run all the way home. Once back and safe in Joey’s room Top Dog tells Joey that he use to be called Mr. X and was the creator of the super computer in Washington D.C and he is the only one that can work it, but he left due to the pressure and that Morrison is the only one who knows his secret, but they have been followed home as a rock with a note comes from the window telling Top Dog they need his help. Top Dog takes the job as he has to help his country and best part is Morrison has brought the super computer with him and the case is a threat that was made to the President about bringing down the country with fake money unless he is given real money and the criminal is Eddie Etch. Top Dog is able to trick Eddie and ends up in the criminal’s hideout but after going for a device that will drop the fake money all over America via a satellite in space goes off Top Dog and the computer must come up with a plan that will push all the money to the ocean and he is able to pull it off saving America from the fake cash drop. The government is able to arrest Eddie and the town people end up getting an Ice Cream shop as a fake one was built as a base and Top Dog makes Morrison open if for the favors that Government asked of him.

This fourth issue truly turns Top Dog into a man of mystery as his back story of working for the government is starting to come to light and now Joey knows just how smart and unique his new friend really is, as not only does he bring down a criminal but he is also the one who created and can control a Super Computer that America needs to solve some big problems. The comic also lets us know that this is only a small part of Top Dog’s secrets as it appears he did more stuff for our country than just the computer, and you know as this series goes on we will see more and more of his past. In this issue Top Dog goes from being in a panic about being found by one of his past co-workers to becoming a spy and hero that saves America from a rash of fake cash that will causes prices to skyrocket! Plus as before it shows just how smart and skilled Top Dog is as he uses them both in order to help America as well as the people of the town he now lives by getting them ice cream! Joey who is just a regular kid finds himself being apart of the plan to try and stop this attack and now being around Top Dog he finds himself on more and more adventures that most normal kids would never be able to go on. Eddie Etch is a criminal who wants to be rich and his idea of getting lots of money is to threaten to flood America with fake cash if he is not given real cash so that he can build a mansion, he also is super smart as he carries a remote control around that if he presses a button the fake money will fall from the sky as it will drop from space cause its all stashed inside of a satellite. Its lots of fun seeing Top Dog work his butt off super fast to solve this case and it’s also cool that we get to also learn that he is liking his life with the Jordan family. The cover for this issue is fun and has a big figure pointing at a shocked Top Dog and like before the interior art by Kremer is really great, and for some reason the way he drew Eddie reminded me of a drunk, addicted version of Bluto from Popeye. Over all once more a great issue and packs lots of fun and some silly moments and shows that Star Comics was the king of Kids Comics in the mid 1980’s.

Top Dog # 5 ***
Released in 1985 Cover Price .65 Star Comics # 5 of 14

Top Dog has to do one more job for the government and he and Joey head to the backroom at the ice cream parlor and Morrison fills them in on what is needed and that is to stop the invisible criminal named Mr. Invisible who has grown bored of stealing jewels and money and now craves power as he wants the current President to step down and appoint him as the new President! Top Dog goes to work on the computer and finds that a pearl that is in Egypt can block the power of the amulet that give Mr. Invisible his powers. Once in Egypt Joey and Top Dog go looking for the pearl and unknown to them they are being followed by that sinister Mr. Invisible who makes it very hard for them to find the only item that can stop his crime wave. Once Top Dog has the pearl in hand Mr. Invisible tries to steal it from his hand, crashes their plane, pops their raft while at sea and tries to have one of his stooges get it…all attempts fail and in the end both the pearl and amulet fall into the sea and are lost and Mr. Invisible is arrested and his threat to America is over.

This issue has Top Dog and Joey Jordan once more on a mission for the Government with this time having to stop a invisible criminal who wants to become President of America in order to have power! Top Dog as always uses his smarts as well as skills to pull off this adventure as he is able to use the Super Computer, find the pearl, tricks Mr. Invisible and his Goon friend into dropping the amulet into the sea and is of course able to make the world think he is just a normal dog. Joey Jordan is also very helpful in this case as he helps trip up Mr. Invisible and he also is able to make people think he is Mr. X in order to cover for Top Dog. Mr. Invisible started out as a petty criminal and when finding the amulet during a museum heist gets the power to stay invisible and this helps him pull off bigger and better crimes, but also has driven him into a power trip as now he thinks he can bully the President Of The United States and force himself into that position…and of course he is wrong as Top Dog will not allow it! I like that in this issue Top Dog and Joey travel to Egypt and have to climb a pyramid in order to find a secret pearl hidden in one of the blocks, I wish that a Mummy would have showed up as that would have been lots of fun to see. Top Dog in these last two issues has truly turned into a canine version of James Bond as he is a government agent sent on missions that affect his country…just done more with a kids comic silly nature. The cover for this issue is pretty fun and has Top Dog and Joey being stalked by Mr. Invisible who has a gun pulled on them behind their backs. And to sound like a broken record the interior artwork is great and done by Warren Kremer who showcases just how great of an artist he is. We are five issues in and all of them have held up and are great solid reads.

Top Dog # 6 **1/2
Released in 1986 Cover Price .65 Star Comics # 6 of 14

Top Dog and Joey Jordan are swimming at a water hole and Mervin Megabucks and his chauffeur Slyme show up once more as Melvin makes another offer to buy Top Dog as he wants him for his collection as he knows he can talk, and this offer of course is shot down. Melvin then heads to the two mad scientists Frank and Stein that live in the castle lab on his land and gets them to use a hypno beam on Top Dog that will force him to want to live with Melvin, and the beam works as Joey watches as his canine friend leaves with the two scientist back to the Megabucks estate. Once inside the castle lab Top Dog snaps out of his trance and comes up with a plan to act like a rabid dog and chases Melvin, Frank and Stein all around the lab growling and acting as if he is going to bite them! Joey comes to the Mansion to talk to Top Dog about his rude leaving without saying goodbye but instead is given back Top Dog as Melvin thinks the canine is crazy! In the end Joey and Top Dog head home as Melvin and his two looney scientists are left back at the lab happy to have not been bitten. Days later Joey has to take Top Dog to the vet for a checkup and things get crazy when after given gross tasting medicine Top Dog sneaks into a bathroom to brush his teeth and the Vet sees all the foam and thinks he is rabid! But in the end Joey covers for him and acts as if Top Dog eats toothpaste and once home and a prank pulled by Joey that has toothpaste in a dog bowl, Top Dog eats a good dinner to end a stressful day.

Issue six is a very fun read but does something that the other issues did not and that is have a backup story as well as two single page gag stories to fill the page count as the main story falls a little short in the length department. The main story while a fun is also this point the weakest of any of the main stories as the issue has Top Dog being brainwashed to want to live with the rich kid Melvin only for him to snap out of it and acted crazy in order to scare his kidnapper who in return give him back to Joey just to get him away from his estate. The stories is filled with two mad scientists Frank and Stein who add a dash of kid friendly Horror elements to the adventure, but they are mostly used as a gag as they each say each others name like they are introducing themselves to everyone who gets their names mixed up. Mervin Megabucks is as scummy as ever as he tries to once more buy and steal Top Dog and treats everyone around him like dirt, so it’s nice to see him be scared silly by Top Dog who does a great job of acting rabid. Joey Jordan in this issue is very sad when he thinks Top Dog leaves his family in order to love with Melvin as it hurt him that his canine best friend didn’t even say goodbye, he of course learns later that his friend was dognapped. The second story is ok and is more just a long joke about toothpaste and Top Dog brushing his teeth in order to get a bad taste out of his mouth. While this issue is good it just lacks a little of the charm of the past five issues and leaves it feeling a little more lackluster. The cover is very cool and has Top Dog in the hot seat while being looked at by two mad scientists and as you guess the interior artwork is done by Kremer still and is really good stuff. Over all a good issue that only slips a little but still delivers an entertaining read.

Top Dog # 7 ***
Released in 1986 Cover Price .75 Star Comics # 7 of 14

In the kingdom of Cashelot Royal Roy and his pet toothless alligator Gummy are listening as his father King Regal is arguing with the King of a surrounding natuon who wants to take over one of the kingdoms water reservoirs as there is empty and this is leading to a possible war between the two kingdoms. The United States steps in and calls on Morrison to call Top Dog in order to use the Super Computer in order to find a way for the war not to happen and for the nation of Lessavia to get the water they need. And the answer is for Top Dog to get to Cashelot and cook a great meal for the two Kings and this will cause the two to come to peace and work out this water crisis, and of course Joey has to go to Cashelot as well with Top Dog for his cover. Once at Cashelot Joey, Top Dog and Morrison under a hood going as Top Chef are greeted by Royal Roy, Gummy and Ascott who rush the three Americans to the castle, but unknown to them Count Archduke Von Krunch the sinister cousin of the Royal family is on the way to the castle as well to try and ruin the big meal to set a plan in effect that will have his take control of Cashelot. Once in the kitchen Top Dog gets to work on the meal as Joey and Morrison try and help keep everyone out of the kitchen, but when Joey is sent out to get some spices he is kidnapped by Von Krunch and this causes Royal Roy and Top Dog to rush out and find him and Morrison is left alone to continue the meal. Once Top Dog saves Joey from a locked room at the castle they all rush back to the castle only to find that the meal is done, and is super hot and both Kings have to help each other using water and this causes peace between the two nations as they both get a laugh out of the super hot meal.

This is such a cool issue as it brings Top Dog together with another Star Comics original character Royal Roy (Read Here For His Update) and it’s pulled off pretty well! In this issue’s plot Royal Roy’s kingdom is about to go to war with another kingdom over water and the only one who can save the day is Top Dog who is also a great chef and can make a meal that brings peace, but of course things go crazy when Joey is kidnapped and Top Dog and Royal Roy has to save him even though it puts the meal in trouble. Top Dog is shown now to be a chef that’s food is so good that it causes peace to breakout between warring nations. And because he is a talking canine he has to hide around the Kingdom of Cashelot as a regular dog and also must dodge Gummy the pet of Roy who wants the play. Joey does what he can to help Top Dog on this mission and is very honored to meet Royal Roy who is kind of an idol to many of kids. And poor Morrison has to wear a hood over his head and act as if he is the one known as Top Chef in order to cover for Top Dog so that the meal can be made. Royal Roy, Gummy and Ascott are around and do what they can to help get Top Dog and his friends to the Royal Kitchen as well as find the missing Joey when he is taken by the issues main villain that goofball baddie and Royal Roy cousin Count Archduke Von Krunch who fails in his attempt to try and ruin the meal and take over the Kingdom. I like how Gummy who is a toothless alligator that acts like a dog wants to play with Top Dog who tries his best to get away from him as he has a world saving meal to make, I also like that Royal Roy and his cast take more of a backseat and do not outshine Top Dog and Joey who are the main stars throughout. The cover is cool and showcases both the main Top Dog and Royal Roy characters and yep the interior is great and done by Kremer again. A very cool crossover issue that was a blast to read back then and even now as it did both comic series justice.

Top Dog # 8 ***
Released in 1986 Cover Price .75 Star Comics # 8 of 14

Top Dog hears Mom Jordan and Lizzie talking about a surprise party the next day for Joey’s birthday and he leaves a note and heads out to find a gift for his friend, but the note is very basic and makes it sound as if Top Dog was leaving for good. While out looking for a gift Top Dog is hit by a car and this leaves him confused on who he is and the older couple who hit him take him home and call him Woofer. Meanwhile Joey is so upset that he cries throughout his Birthday Party and his family start to worry about his sadness. Soon the old couple find that Woofer is super talented and take him to an agency that gets him work for dog food commercials under the name Horace The Dog and when Joey and Lizzie see it they know that this new mascot star is their old missing dog Top Dog. Joey tracks Top Dog to the film studio and notices that his canine friends mind seems to be off as he does not recognize him, but after an accident that has a lighting rig falling and hitting Top Dog on the head he gains his memory back and gets himself fired from the commercials and returns home with Joey as the two friends are once more back together.

This issue has the plot of Top Dog loosing his memory and becoming a TV star and only after being hit on the head does he gain his memory back and return home to Joey as well as get himself out of the spotlight of being famous. You have to say poor Top Dog in this issue as he not only gets hit by a car and gets a head injury he also then take a hit to the head via a light and each time he has head trauma making you wonder if he has brain issues. Joey in this issue has a terrible birthday as he thinks his friend and pet dog Top Dog has ran away and this causes him to cry throughout his party and make his friend and family very uncomfortable. But Joey does not give up on his friend and tracks him down and helps him regain his memory and find his way back home. The plot of this issue is really simple and is very basic, as it has been done lots of times before in comics, cartoons and TV Shows and because of this familiar plot it makes for a read that brings a smile to your face as you know it will have a happy outcome. The cover is fun and has Top Dog being a superstar and the interior artwork is great and is of course Kremer who has done all the issues this far in the series and has done a great job every issue. Over all a simple plot but a very fun issue that brings the entertainment.

Top Dog # 9 ***
Released in 1986 Cover Price .75 Star Comics # 9 of 14

It’s Pet Day at the museum and Joey Jordan and Tog Dog are attending as is Iggy Nutmeg and his cat Heathcliff who is very much into seeing the fish as he wants to eat them! Joey and Iggy decide to team up as they are both working on a project about Egypt and Top Dog makes a promise to Joey that he will keep an eye of Heathcliff to keep him out of trouble, and after the two you boys head to the exhibit Heathcliff escapes the pet area and Top Dog has to follow him and the two even fight with Heathcliff making his escape once more, Top Dog alerts Joey to the cats rampage but says he will stop it. Heathcliff is causing mischief all around the museum and Top Dog is given chase. Meanwhile both Joey and Iggy find themselves taken prisoner when the stumble on a robbery plot at the museum and one of the crooks is even dressed as a Mummy. Heathcliff stumbles onto the crime as well and is able to take the stolen jewels and after finding Top Dog the two pets keep the robbers busy and even set off the silent alarm, and once the police get their and Top Dog uses the Mummy’s bandages to wrap up the crooks the jewels are returned and Heathcliff and Top Dog are the heroes of the day.

This is yet another super fun crossover that has two of Star Comics popular characters coming together for one fun issue as this time around Top Dog is paired up with Heathcliff who was super popular not only in Star Comics but also on TV and Comic Strips. And this pairing was a great idea as these two were the Star Comics icons when it came to animal main character based comics. In this issue Top Dog and Heathcliff start off as enemies as the two just do not get along but their human owners Joey and Iggy do, but after a theft takes place the two animals team up and make a great team as they bring down the crooks and save the day as well as the priceless jewels the baddies were trying to steal. One of the best parts of this crossover is the brief paw fight between Top Dog and Heathcliff as paws are thrown and that makes for a fun few panels. I also feel that they use both Joey Jordan and Iggy Nutmeg well as they quickly become friends and work on a school project together and even both stumble on and taken prisoner when they find out about a robbery. The comic also has a cameo from Heathcliff characters Muggsy Faber and his bulldog Spike and that adds to the fun nature of this crossover. The villains of this issue are the three crooks with one that is wearing a Mummy costume while they are thieves they are not that dangerous and are out smarted really easy by Top Dog and Heathcliff. I should also note that while Top Dog and Heathcliff stop the criminals in the end, its clear that Top Dog is annoyed by the attitude of his feline friend. The cover is great and has Top Dog and Heathcliff running from a Mummy and yep you guessed it the interior art by Kremer is as good as ever. Once more a great Top Dog comic that held up for me and of course if you are a fan of Top Dog give it a read, but also fans of Heathcliff should check it out.

Top Dog # 10 ***
Released in 1986 Cover Price .75 Star Comics # 10 of 14

Comic World the local comic shop is having Spider-Man as a guest and Joey is helping Danny the son of owner Mark Carter hang posters for this event, and once done Joey is paid in comics for his help and Top Dog wonders why people would read comics as they seem silly to him. While Joey is still looking Jim Osborn enters the shop as he is the actor who will be playing Spider-Man for the public appearance and all the kids in the shop want the actor to sign their comics. As Comic World is about to close for the day a man named Magee shows up just as Danny leads Joey, Jim and Top Dog to his house, but something does not set right with Top Dog who goes back to the shop and hears Magee tells Mark that he wants the money back that he put into the comic shop and that they should burn the shop down and collect the insurance money! Meanwhile Danny goes to Joey’s house for dinner and Top Dog has to wait to tell his friend what he over heard, and when he does Joey is torn about calling the police about the possible arson as it would really hurt Danny. But after talking to “Spider-Man” or Spider-Actor Jim about keeping secrets Joey comes up with a plan and goes to Comic World and confronts Mark on the arson plan, this causes the owner to change his mind but before they can call the police Magee shows up and at gunpoint locks Joey, Mark and Top Dog into a storage room with the idea of burning them alive inside the shop! But Top Dog is able to escape and gets help from Danny who is also quickly captured and thrown into the storage room. But Magee was not ready for Jim as Spider-Man who swings into action via a banner and knocks Magee silly and saves all his friend locked in the storage room and proves he his a hero not just an actor playing one and also saves the comic shop from a fiery death. The Comic Shop is now doing well and Danny is now working with his dad at it and Jim Osborn is a local hero and Top Dog and Joey meet Peter Parker who has been sent to take pictures and even see J. Jonah Jameson shows up to rant about Spider-Man.

This is the crossover that all the readers had been waiting for and sadly while it’s a good issue those who want to see Spider-Man and Top Dog work together to bring down criminals will be very much let down as the Spidey in this issue is just a goofy actor and the real Spider-Man is only shown in a cameo and as Peter Parker. The plot of this issue has Joey’s friend Danny and his Dad not having much time to spend together as the dad has made a bad business deal with a criminal to get his comic shop up and running and now faces the threat of arson in order for the shop to turn a faster profit, but of course Top Dog, Joey and an actor play Spider-Man save the day and bring down the criminal and turn the comic shop into one of the towns must stop shops. Tog Dog in this issue is the one who discovers the plot of arson and is also taken back by Joey who does not want to call the cops over it as he fears it will hurt Danny’s feelings, we also see that Top Dog does not like comic books and thinks Spider-Man is cheesy. Joey ends up saving Mark Carter the father of his friend Danny by not calling the police and also getting him away from Magee who is a true scumbag who wants to burn up a store full of comic books! One of the cool parts of this comic is seeing Peter Parker and J. Jonah Jameson at the comic shop covering the Spidey Actor saving the day, and its great that Joey who is a big Spider-Man fan not knowing that he is that close to his idol who is taking photos at his local comic shop. The cover for this issue is very iconic as I remember many of my friends having this issue in their comic collection and its super eye catching as it has Spider-Man swinging with Top Dog! The interior art this time is done by a team as Warren Kremer did all the normal Top Dog stuff and John Romita drawing Peter Parker and J. Jonah Jameson, making this a very fun comic to not only read but also look at. A great issue that holds up for me after all these years, and yes I do wish Spider-Man in the comic was really Spidey.

Top Dog # 11 ***
Released in 1986 Cover Price .75 Star Comics # 11 of 14

Joey and Top Dog are heading downtown as a new comic shop as just opened and when they reach town they find that everything ran by computer has gone crazy so they rush to the Ice Cream shop and to the Super Computer that is going crazy, and after quickly fixing it Top Dog learns that his brother Dirty Dog is the one who made the computer go crazy and that he wants to meet his brother alone on top of a near by mountain. Morrison films Joey in on who Dirty Dog is and this causes Joey to follow Top Dog and once on the mountain they are both captured by Dirty Dog’s trap door. Top Dog learns that his brother has built human like robots of all the worlds leaders that will allow him to control the world, but he needs Tog Dog’s help to build in their speech and uses Joey as a hostage to get what he wants. Dirty Dog sends out a robot version of Joey to report back to Morrison and even stay at his home and be the perfect son to his parents, while Top Dog tries to figure out a plan to save the day. Top Dog ends up freeing the real Joey who goes and gets Morrison for help and he also has programed the World Leader Robots to fight his brothers robots and they all destroy each other, but before Dirty Dog can be captured he escapes inside a rocket. In the end Top Dog and Joey head home and have to take apart the robot Joey that has been living at the Jordon house while the real one was held prisoner.

This issue pits brother against brother as Top Dog has to face off with Dirty Dog as one wants to help the world while the other wants to rule over it. Dirty Dog is the dust cloud caring canine brother of Top Dog and is just as smart as his brother, but is also very bad as his whole world is just about him and his want to be a ruler. Dirty Dog is so smart that he knows how to hack into the Super Computer as well as can build robots that can look and act like anyone. Dirty Dog due to his creative and smart mind makes him very dangerous to all of the world as his mean nature knows no bounds. Meanwhile Top Dog in this issue uses his smarts and creative ways for good and is able to stop his brothers plans as well as get his friend Joey to safety, it’s a shame that the two canine brothers are at odds with one another and have different values. Morrison also is a hero of sorts as he comes to the aid of Top Dog and causes Dirty Dog to flee the scene of his crimes. I like that when characters are around Dirty Dog the sneeze as a dust cloud of dirt follows him, think Pigpen from Peanuts. This issue also makes the stakes seem high as Top Dog fears what his brother can do as he knows just how dangerous he is and the fact they can match wits makes for a entertaining showdown and read. The cover for this issue is fun and has the robot called Max holding Joey and Top Dog as Dirty Dog mocks them. And yep you guessed it the interior art is once more done by Kremer and is very great stuff! One other really cool thing I should say that in the letters page called “Star Signals” they ran a reader poll and the winner of “Favorite Character” went to Top Dog with the characters Lion-O (Thundercats) and Wicket (Ewoks) both tied for second place! I would have really loved to have seen the full list as were did He-Man (Masters Of The Universe), Royal Roy, Spider-Ham and R2-D2 (Star Wars: Droids) place on this list! But to sup this up another great issue from the Top Dog team and I can see why he was so popular back in the 80’s.

Top Dog # 12 ***
Released in 1987 Cover Price .75 Star Comics # 12 of 14

Joey Jordan and Top Dog are heading to their booth at the school’s science fair and soon find out that their neighbor is Mervin Megabucks who is as rude as ever. Mervin tricks Top Dog with a kite that he claims only he can fly, and when Top Dog tries it turns into a rocket and flies the canine back to the Megabucks estate and to the lab of Dr. Frank and Dr. Stein who are waiting and once more capture Top Dog. Mervin gives Joey a ride to the lab and then informs him that they will be switching minds so that he can prove that Top Dog talks and with the help of a machine made by Frank and Stein they do just that! The switch only lasts 24 hours and once its done Joey who is really Mervin heads to Top Dog who wakes up in a fake version of Joey’s room that has been built at the castle. When Top Dog does not speak and Mervin who is really Joey shows up the plan is a bust, but Joey who is really Mervin decides that he will do the next best think and that’s ruin his nemesis life! The fake Joey tries his best to ruin the reputation of the real Joey at home and school but everything keeps backfiring as all his bad doings keep falling on Mervin and making him look like the bigger jerk. In the end a mix up at the lab turns Joey back to normal but Mervin, Frank, Slyme, Stein, a Rooster and a dog get all mixed up and the machine shorts out making it take time before they can all be back to normal.

That mean rich brat Mervin Megabucks is at it again in this issue as he once more makes an attempt at owning Top Dog and proving that he can talk, this time he even uses a machine the switches minds….but this of course backfires for him as by the end his mind ends up in a dog that has fleas! Mervin is such a rude young man who treats people and animals terrible and thanks his money makes him powerful, when in reality it just makes him a not likeable person with a massive ego. The Mad Scientist Frank and Stein are goofy doctors who just do what they are told and that includes kidnapping a kid and a dog. Top Dog is two smart to fall for this mind trick, well and he looses his voice for a short time that causes him not to speak to the fake Joey. Speaking of Joey the real one he is the true hero here as he saves Top Dog as well as stops all the antics of the fake Joey and even tricks Mervin into going back home so that they can switch minds back. This issue really does feel like a cartoon and is packed with lots of silly humor as well as a dash of Sci-Fi fun and that is why it’s a good read. The cover for this issue is silly and has the mind switching machine hard at work and the you know the deal with the interior artwork being great and who did it by now. So with that lest see what issue thirteen has in store for us and if it will hold up as well as all these issues have for me.

Top Dog # 13 ***
Released in 1987 Cover Price .75 Star Comics # 13 of 14

After watching TV and a sci-fi show about time travel Top Dog tells Joey that he has ben working on a time machine and the two rush off to the Super Computer that is hidden at the ice cream shop that is watched over by Agent Morrison. But before they get their Top Dog helps out Brutus a dog that is being miss treated by his owner Tommy Turner by setting him free from pulling a wagon full of groceries. Once at the computer something goes wrong and causes the machine to go off and zap Joey who finds himself in the year 2007 and everything has changed from travel, to dress to locations and this makes Joey confused as he rushes to the new location of the Ice Cream shop and meets Morrison and later Top Dog who are both very old now and confused by why the younger Joey being there and the worse they are not sure how to get him back to his time! And worse he finds out that Vladimir and enemy of the state has captured the adult version of himself who is now an agent, and the mind of Top Dog is starting to go. But with the help of young Joey Top Dog is able to save older Joey and arrest Vladimir and send Joey home by accident when they bump into the time machine that blasts Joey back in time.

This is a fun issue as it really has a Sci-Fi feel to it as Joey is sent to the future by accident and must save the older version of himself from a spy that has taken him hostage! Top Dog when older is slowly loosing his smarts, but still is very much a fighter and still has is attitude and humor that makes him the well loved canine of comics. Joey lands in 2007 and well sense it’s 2022 nothing they predicted the future to be like came true…but Joey does learn that he will become a Government agent. Morrison as an old man still works at the Ice Cream shop as the secret base for the Super Computer. The issues villain is Vladimir who goes down really easy when Top Dog frees the adult Joey and he is punched in the face. While this issue does not have any real “danger” feeling to the mission it does bring some wonder as you start to wonder just how young Joey will get back to his time, and of course its just like the way he got to the future. The cover is funny and shows the future in the background and young Joey trying to talk to the very old Top Dog. And once again you know the deal when it comes to the interior art so I am not going to say it again. Over all a pretty fun issue that sadly leads us to the final issue in the series.

Top Dog # 14 ***
Released in 1987 Cover Price $1.00 Star Comics # 14 of 14

Joey Jordan is waken from a nightmare that had his best friend Top Dog leaving, and when up he and Top Dog head to the Super Computer to give it a tune up and meet up with Agent Morrison who is happy to see his friends. But unknown to them all they have been followed by Dr. Ominous who pulls a gun on them all and is ranting that he is the one who truly created the Super Computer (called The Brainstrain) and that Top Dog took the credit for it, and Morrison admits that Ominous built some of the computer but had a mental breakdown before it was even close to being finished and that Top Dog was indeed the one who finished it and made it better. Dr. Ominous is not hearing it and uses a transport ray gun to steal the computer and then also blasts Top Dog and himself leaving Joey and Morrison to have to rush to the basement to use a very talkative and old Super Computer to try and get the answer of were the Super Computer is now. Meanwhile Dr. Ominous threatens the lives of the Jordan’s in order to get Top Dog to help him install a new feature and then operate the Super Computer. Meanwhile the changes used allows Dr. Ominous to steal all the worlds landmarks from the Great Pyramids to The Statue Of Liberty all because the scientific world thought he was washed up when he had his breakdown, but of course Top Dog along with Joey Jordan and Agent Morrison stop this mad man and send the landmarks back, but Dr. Ominous is able to escape being captured. In the end Top Dog tells Joey that until Dr. Ominous is captured that he can no longer live with his family as it would put them all in danger and with that Top Dog leaves.

And with that ends the Top Dog series that ends kind of sadly as our canine hero has to leave his best friend and really his family behind all because of a fat crazy scientist by the name of Dr. Ominous who has threaten to hurt the Jordan family in order to get to Top Dog. I think the real kicker in this is that at the end they promised a new Top Dog series was in the works and would be released soon after the currant series ended, and we all know that it never happened and Marvel Comics was the master of not allowing Star Comics series to end in a proper manor…so imagine being a kid and reading this issue and the last image you see of Top Dog a character that you have read every issue of and have grown to love is him crying and running down a street away from his best friend who is also crying sad tears in the street in front of his home….like way to go Marvel! Sadly the new Top Dog series was never made and I truly do feel that this was a missed character opportunity as he was very popular with readers and already we seen that he was in the normal Marvel Universe as he crossed over with Spider-Man so why not continue is adventures in Marvel proper? The one thing that Marvel did at least somewhat right is they allowed this Star Comics character to have a final issue that alerted the readers that this was it for them on this run, as so many before and after just ended with no send off and true ending for the characters. I mean I would have really loved to have seen a comic that would have has Top Dog along with Agent Morrison and yes Joey Jordan going around the world taking down spies and villains on their hunt to bring Dr. Ominous to justice and along the way they could have meet up with The Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Luke Cage and even Spider-Man once more. Or even imagine an issue that had Top Dog in Florida and having a run in with Man-Thing that would have been awesome. Top Dog really was a well written kids comic that started out like your typical Harvey Comics with a dash of Archie Comics but really quickly it turned into something very special and of its own as it added many different elements together from action to sci-fi to even comedy it brought it all. I mean it also did a great job of having crossovers with such characters as Spider-Man, Heathcliff and Royal Roy and each was done really well. Speaking of Heathcliff for those wondering Top Dog would appear in solo back up stories in that series, so in a way he did continue on after his series ended. The cover for the final issue is sad and shows Top Dog crying and the interior art by the talented Warren Kremer was really great stuff throughout the series. While much time has past I say to Marvel Comics it’s never to late to bring Top Dog back into the world of comics and you should do so as he still has many adventures left to have with us his readers. Checkout the artwork below to see they style used by Warren Kremer.

I have an idea for Marvel Comics that they should do as they own Star Comics, Malibu Comics and CrossGen Comics all three they do nothing with…so why not mix them together in their own universe that runs separate from Marvel but gives the characters new life and makes their old readership happy to see them back, plus could give creators more to work with as well as give readers something different from their bland stories they are spewing out in their main titles…as some of modern Marvel is unreadable at this point. But we all now this will never happen as they have been a shell of a company sense Disney bought them and only care about films and shows with the characters. But with that I will say I was a Top Dog fan as a kid and after reading these issue again I am a Top Dog still! Dog Month continues with our next update as we will be taking a look at that comic strip canine called Belvedere. So until next time, read a Star Comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as we spend some time with a dog with some major attitude.

The Marvel Adventures Of Doc Savage!

Posted on December 5, 2021 by bloodlinematt

Welcome to Rotten Ink and the first post in our countdown to the Christmas Eve countdown. It’s crazy to think that we are so close to Christmas 2021, and I for one am looking forward to being around my family to enjoying a good meal with them as well as sharing fun conversations about life and entertainment. And as you friends and readers know, I like to try and cover things in December that brings back memories of not only my youth, but also yours and that’s why I chose to cover classic pulp icon Doc Savage as our first update! Growing up, I can remember Doc Savage not only in the pages of comic books, but also novels that I would pick up at used book stores and garage sales. He was a classic style hero that I liked when I was a kid and unlike Lone Ranger, Flash Gordon and Tarzan for some reason I lost interest in him over the years, and that forgetfulness ends during this update as I will dive back into my love for Doc Savage and his epic adventures! So sit back, grab a mug of hot coco and let’s chat about the Man Of Bronze.

Clark Savage Jr. aka Doc Savage was the son of an adventurer and and scientist who was trained from birth to become the perfect man with the physic of a bodybuilder and the intelligence of a genius! He was trained in many skills to fit his training of being a perfect man as he learned engineering, chemistry, archeology, electricity and even to be a surgeon. He was trained in fighting, being stealth, disguises, driving and other skills needed to be a master spy and man of action. He can fly planes, drive any kind of land vehicles as well as sail any boat. He can play music, throw his voice, remember anything, has a keen sense of smell and can take high levels of pain. Think about your favorite athletes from every sport and times that by 10 and that is how good Doc Savage really is! He started his life as a crime stopper and true hero after his father was murdered and along with a skilled group he calls The Fabulous Five, they save the day and solve mysteries. For his hero life he also has tons of fleet of vehicles of all types at his finger tips, has a base set in a New York skyscraper and has a company called “The Hidalgo Trading Company” and has a hideaway in the Arctic he calls “The Fortress Of Solitude”! He was given the nickname The Man Of Bronze and in his early days of being a crime fighter, those he would captured would be forced to have a brain operation in order to remove the parts on their minds that caused them to be criminals. Doc Savage is considered a true golden age superhero, and while he is not as popular now, he still has made a massive impact in the world of pulp heroes and beyond.

The first Doc Savage novel was released on 1933 and was called “The Man Of Bronze” and was written by Lester Dent who was one of the creators of the character alongside John L. Nanovic and Henry W. Ralston. And the last novel in the series was released in 2018 as of this writing and was called “The Valley Of Eternity” and get this a total of 203 novels were written about Doc Savages adventures! Doc Savage while he made his way to comic and even cinema was more well known for his novel adventures and this is were he built his loyal fan base and fans that kept coming back for more and more adventures. Growing up I can remember seeing many Doc Savage paperback books at garage sales as well as the antique stores in town, and I know that when I was a kid I bought a few of the books…but I don’t ever remember if I read them or just had them. And I know that I got them because I knew of the popularity of the character and had to have the books just in case I wanted to read them and be hip to what was popular why before my time. And to be honest growing up I always loved many of the classic heroes of movies, TV, novel, radio and comics as Dick Tracy, Lone Ranger, Tarzan, Zorro, The Shadow, Captain Kirk, The Phantom, James Bond, Sherlock Holmes and Flash Gordon where all classic characters I loved and could not get enough of…while Doc Savage was in that category of classic heroes he was always sadly on the bottom of the list. Also growing up I can remember that some relative of mine had a large collection of the Doc Savage books, I want to say on my Mom’s side like maybe my Uncle Thurman or even my Grandma or Grandpa. If I have read a Doc Savage novel in my youth I don’t remember, but I know as I get older and have a little more free time I have plans of picking one up and given it a read. Oh and I should note many of the classic Doc Savage novels have fantastic cover artwork!

Did you know that in 1975 a movie was released based on Doc Savage and was released by Warner Brothers? Did you know that actor Ron Ely played Doc Savage in the film? Did you know that originally back in the 60’s Chuck Connors was casted to play Doc Savage in a film that never was? Well now you do! Lester Dent, who was one of the creators of Doc Savage, owned the radio, film and television rights to the character and wanted to get the character on the big screen so bad, and tried to get Hollywood’s attention for decades…but they just would not bite and Dent went to his grave without being able to get a Doc Savage film off the ground. After his death in 1959, the rights went to his widow Norma Dent who as well tried her hardest to get the film to be made, and she got a bite in, well sort of you see a 1966 film was in the works with Chuck Connors on board to play Savage and producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman were super hyped to develop the film, so hyped that they forgot to secure the rights from Norma and by the time all was worked out, the filmmakers had moved on and made the western film “Ride Beyond Vengeance”. One funny thing about this never made film is that Gold Key Comics in 1966 released what would have been the comic book adaptation! I should also note that Lester did get a very short-lived Doc Savage Radio show off the ground, but sadly it did not have an impact and was canceled.

Years would pass and producer George Pal secured the rights from Norma with the idea of making a massive film series that would rival James Bond in classic spy type action. George wanted Steve Reeves who was known for playing Hercules to play Doc Savage, and while he said yes to the part, a writers strike put the film on hold and with that Reeves left the production. When the dust settled it was George Pal and Joe Morhaim who ended up writing the film and casting started with Ron Ely playing Doc Savage, Paul Wexler as Captain Seas, Pamela Hensley as Mona Flores and even Hills Have Eyes actor Michael Berryman played a small part. Michael Anderson was then selected to direct with Warner Brothers agreeing to disrepute and the film rushed into filming. The film when done went up against Jaws and was buried and bombed and worse critics and fans alike seemed to not like the films forced humor and bland story. But the film did have one major fan and that was Norma Dent who praised Ron Ely’s performance as Savage!

The film was a bomb, and this ended the idea of a film series as the sequel that was to be called “Doc Savage: The Arch Enemy Of Evil” was set with even some press shots even being taken, but that was as far as the film got. The film would end up getting released on VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray later on. And this one 1975 film was the only film version of Doc Savage ever released. It’s a shame that this film had to be released alongside Jaws as that locked the film for failure and this also killed the push for this to become a major film series! It also makes me wonder if Chuck Connors or Steve Reeves would have played Doc Savage in the film would it have done better? Or would it have been doomed to the same fate? I saw the film only once and it was on a bad VHS bootleg some many years back. I do own the Warner Archive DVD and should dust it off and give it a watch sometime soon.

Doc Savage was a mega hit in the world of pulp novels, but failed when it came to radio and film, but he was a semi big hit in the world of comic books as some of the biggest publishers have released issues of Savages adventures! I mean look at these publishers that released comics based on Savage: Marvel, DC, Gold Key, Dynamite, Dark Horse and Millennium all gave fans something to read. Growing up I had the Marvel Comic issues as well as the DC and Millennium ones. It’s crazy that Doc Savage comics are not going still and I would love to see the character return to Marvel Comics as imagine Doc having his own series as well as mixed in with other Marvel series like The Avengers and even Predator!

Doc Savage really is one of those classic characters that to me belongs in the same standing with Tarzan, Zorro, Dick Tracy and James Bond to name a few and I for one am glad that he is finally getting the Rotten Ink treatment. I want to think Ebay and Etsy sellers for having these comics in stock and making this update possible. I want to remind you that I as well 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 travel to the Marvel Universe and see what Doc Savage is up to, and I also need to say that I am looking forward to reading many of these issues again, and some for the very first time so also let’s see if they hold up!

Doc Savage # 1 **1/2
Released in 1972 Cover Price .20 Marvel # 1 of 8

A man dressed in green and yellow climbs a skyscraper that is being built with a sniper rifle in hand, he finds his target window that is the office of one Doc Savage…who happens not to be in at the moment but his five friends are who are all on edge. As Doc Savage arrives at the office he gets some very bad news that while he was away his father has passed away from an unknown sickness. This triggers Doc Savage to go to his fathers hidden safe and finds very important papers and a land grant…but before he can read them all the way through the assassin takes his shot and Doc and his friends hit not only the ground but the lights and start their work of figuring out who has shot at them and from where. The group acts fast and figures out the place the shot came from and as Doc and most of his friends rush off to get the would be killer the groups lawyer Ham Brooks rushes off to get legal papers ready so they can fly out in the morning to the land from the grant. As Doc Savage and his remaining four friends arrive the rush up the to be built skyscraper as their killer is annoyed that Doc Savage still lives and he thought his shot killed him. When the service elevator jams Doc Savage climbs out and makes his way to the gunman all the while dodging laser blasts from his gun, and when Doc Savage reaches him the fight ends fast and Doc alerts his friends that the man is speaking ancient Mayan. The only thing they get from the assassin is that he is a follower of The Son Of The Feathered Serpent and jumps to his death as he would rather die than to speak. Doc Savage and his friend return to the office to find a warning written on the wall from another of the cult members of The Son Of The Feathered Serpent and they swear as a group to get revenge for Doc Savage’s father who they all think now was killed.

The first issue in Marvel Comics Doc Savage is a very fun classic hero read for an aging comic reader like myself who enjoys a slow burn adventures…but I am sure most modern younger comic readers would not enjoy this comic as it really is very “old” in feeling. This issue’s plot has Doc Savage returning home to his office only to find out that hid dad has passed away, he now has a grant for lots of land out of the country and also has someone trying to take his life all this in a matter of minutes! Doc Savage is a hero who shows zero emotion to everything that is going on around him, and uses his skills and training well in order to achieve his goals. We also see that he not only is super strong but is also very skilled in using his brain to win. His friends are called The Fabulous Five and are Ham, Johnny, Monk, Renny and Long Tom all who have skills that help Doc Savage and each other on their world adventures. It’s clear that right now our bad guys are all from The Son Of The Feathered Serpent cult who might even been the ones who infected Savage’s father with the illness and seem to really want the land grant that was left for Doc Savage in his fathers safe. They are dangerous for sure as they do not seem to care about taking another persons life and also seem pretty set on ending their own if it comes down to it. While the plot moves pretty fast and feels like the old novels as well as even a hint of James Bond films the downside is that the comic is very wordy and much of the time the things characters are saying really don’t mean much to the over all story, and while some will find that to be a reason not to read this comic…I found it charming in a old school kind of way. The cover for this first issue is pretty cool and I think captures the elements of Doc Savage while also adding a Marvel Comics touch. The interior art is well done and is done by Ross Andru who is an artist that I feel does not get the recognition he should in these modern times. While not a perfect start for a comic series I do think it’s a good one and I am looking forward to reading the second issue.

Doc Savage # 2 **1/2
Released in 1972 Cover Price .20 Marvel # 2 of 8

Doc Savage and his five friends are flying above an airfield in South America and are being fired at by enemies of the government that causes them to crash land…and to the government of Hidalgo they are happy to find Doc Savage and crew to be ok and they also give them another plane to use as our heroes fly deep into the jungle to find the location that was left on the land grant. The area they land in is called “The Valley Of The Vanished” and once out of the plane they are attacked by The Son Of The Feathered Serpent cult and as the fight starts to truly break out they are all commanded to stop by King Chaac and Princess Monja who welcome Doc Savage as they knew and respected his father, but this welcoming is not liked by all when the tribe warrior chief Morning Breeze alerts the King that he and his warriors do not like outsiders in their land! The King informs Doc that he was sent to his kingdom in order to be judged as their land has so much gold that they would like to share with him as well as the Hidalgo people…but only if he is deemed worthy in the next 30 days. That night Morning Breeze and his warriors sneak into the sleeping area of The Fabulous Five and kidnap and drop three of them into a deep well, but unknown to the warriors Doc Savage had over heard the plan and hide in the well and saves his friends before they fall to their deaths fully, and he uses parlor magic the next morning to expose Morning Breeze as a would be killer as well Doc makes himself look even more powerful. Looking like a fool Morning Breeze sulks away and meets with a man who is calling himself The Son Of The Feathered Serpent who informs his defeated warrior that he is now going to unleash The Red Death the same illness that took the life of Doc Savage’s dad. The Son Of The Feathered Serpent places the red death into the water supply of the kingdom and so many are fallen ill, and Morning Breeze and Son Of The Feathered Serpent are spreading rumors that its Doc Savage and his men that have brought this deadly illness, while in reality Doc has studied some of the people fallen ill and has made a cure that he is rushing around given to the ill as the warriors following the word of Son Of The Feathered Serpent try and gun him down! In the end Doc Savage saves the lived of all that are infected, is able to kill Son Of The Feathered Serpent by knocking him off a temple, watch as Morning Breeze is gunned down, proves he is worthy of the gold, breaks the heart of the Princess who has fallen in love with him and loads up gold and flies away with his friends.

This second issue cracks the case of what and who killed Doc Savage’s father as well as who is the man who put a hit on Doc was and it was a crazed man who ran a cult that called himself The Son Of The Feathered Serpent who was really a member of the government of Hidalgo who would fly back and fourth from the civil world and the lost Mayan one. Doc Savage is one tough hero who can duke it out with the best of them and can also use his quickness to dodge gun and laser fire…plus he has a rule that he will not kill…well that is unless he can kill you with an accident! One thing that I think Doc does in this issue that is awesome is he uses smoke bombs and his friends with ropes to appear as if he can bring back the dead. I also like that he is willing to risk is own life in order to save the lives of those in need. The Fabulous Five are around and help during the case with even Monk able to fight with some Mayan warriors, but to be honest for the most part in these first two issues you could have cut them and they would not have effected the story all that much. Now I know that sounds like I don’t like The Fabulous Five as I am saying they at this point don’t add much to the comic story, but I do like them and hope they get more to do in the upcoming issues. Morning Breeze is a sneaky warrior who is pure evil that he goes along with a plot the spread a deadly disease into his tribes water supply…what a goon and then tries to run away from battle only to be shot in the back by the one he served. The Son Of The Feathered Serpent is a man with no morals who is ruled by greed and power and who has no issues with killing lots of people to get what he wants, and because of his greed and evil ways he finds himself going splat after falling off a temple. I also like that the cold blooded main killer and villain of this two issue story arch is of course also a member of the nations Government…classic spy stuff. While the pacing is once more semi fast it does also feel like a slow burn like the first issue making it drag a little in spots. The cover is great as is the interior art done Ross Andru again, and with that let’s see what issue three has in store for us.

Doc Savage # 3 **1/2
Released in 1973 Cover Price .20 Marvel # 3 of 8

Ham and Long Tom and hanging out at Monks house when the office of a cruise ship company is blown up! The three friends rush up to see if they can help and watch as one of the workers is shot in the back with an arrow fired by one of the members of the Silver Death’s Head group…the three friends give chase but are out stepped and worse then they go to call Doc Savage a whole attack armored vehicle filled with members bust in and take them all hostage and then flee the scene. Doc Savage rushes to his friends place only to find them missing and the cops on the scene not having any real answers. Doc Savage decides to go to the docks and snoop around the dead man’s business and finds his secretary Lorna Zane knocked out and another worker Harry Pace hiding the shadows. After a few moments of speaking to them members of the Silver Death’s Head as well as their leader Ull come busting in and want to finish the job of killing Lorna, but Doc Savage just in time hides both workers and takes a beating at the hands of the Silver Death’s Head just so he can fake being knocked out and hear them mention the name of Bedford Burgess Gardner who runs another of the cruise ship companies as well as they are looking for blueprints to something. After the baddies leave, Doc Savage along with Harry and Lorna leave as Doc leaves Lorna at his cousin Pat Savage’s beauty saloon for her safety as he takes Harry with him to find the home of Gardner. Once there they find the butler dead and Gardner is not happen to see them and as Doc Savage searches the house for the killer he is attacked by members of the Silver Death’s Head and in less then a minute he takes them all out and even manages to find a man named Hugh McCoy tied up in the closet who claims Gardner shot his own butler! By the time Doc Savage makes it back to Gardner’s room he finds Harry knocked out and the member of the Silver Death’s Head group swallows a poison capsule. And after all this drama Doc Savage is now really mad and wants his friends back!

This third issue is has a strange story plot that follows two owners of cruise ship companies that has one dying in a terrorist attack and another being accused of killing his own butler we then even have three of The Fabulous Five kidnapped by a group that calls themselves the Silver Death’s Head. Doc Savage in this one starts off just minding his own business at his office when three of his friends drag him into a murder investigation as well as a kidnapping plot as three of his friends end up missing. Doc Savage uses all his skills in this issue as he not only uses his fists he also uses his detective and chemistry skills as well in order to follow the clues to solve the crime as well as save his friends. Poor Monk, Ham and Long Tom are in the wrong place when an explosion goes off a few floors above Monks house and this leads them on the bad side of the issues bad guys. The Silver Death’s Head group wear costumes made of silver dollars and while they are lead by Ull it’s clear that some one else is calling the shots and while this issue wants you too think that its Gardner one of the cruise ship company owners I think that that the shots are being called by Harry Pace a man I just don’t trust at all! I do like also that this issue introduces us to Pat Savage an owner of a beauty shop who is also an adventurer who is the cousin of Doc. The look of the Silver Death’s Head group is really cool and reminds me of bad guys you would see in an issue of Amazing Spider-Man or Captain America at the time of this comics release. This issue has a really fun detective feel to it as I felt as a reader I was along for the ride to solve the case with Doc Savage and I also feel that the stakes are high in this issue as three of his friends lives hang in the balance. Great interior artwork from Ross Andru and a eye catching cover for this issue and I feel like this is the best issue this far in the Doc Savage Marvel Comic series…let’s see if issue four keeps up the good work of making Doc Savage apart of the Marvel Universe.

Doc Savage # 4 **1/2
Released in 1973 Cover Price .20 Marvel # 4 of 8

Doc Savage along with Harry Pace and Hugh McCoy find an old waterfront warehouse that is being used as a base for members of the Silver Death’s Head and after taking out many of the members and chasing off many others, Doc Savage finds his friends Monk, Long Tom and Ham tied up in a roof and sets them free. And after searching around they find a map that they will follow, and Doc Savage sends Ham to find all he can on Gardner as he has a hunch. Doc Savage and the rest head to the docks and all get aboard his own designed submarine as Doc informs them that he thinks that the Silver Death’s Head have their own and that’s how they get around to commit their crimes as well as avoid the police. And as always Doc was right as their sub is attacked by the Silver Death’s Head groups and when some of their members in scuba gear try and break into Doc’s sub he and his friends are forced to get into gear and fight them under water! Once Doc makes quick work of them he then follows a boat that Ull and the real head of the group are escaping on…he of course grabs a rope that is on the boat and follows them to a secret hideout. Doc busts in and knocks out Ull fast and then takes down the leader who ends up being Hugh McCoy who was also Gardner…you see Hugh created Gardner in order to have a fake face in order to mastermind these crimes.

Ok, Ok I was wrong as I was thinking Harry Pace was the main brains behind the Silver Death’s Head group and it was that slime Hugh McCoy the whole time, but hey Doc Savage didn’t figure it all out until the un-masking either! This issue’s plot has Doc save his friends and then find a map, go underwater to fight goons in scuba gear only to follow the two leaders of the crime group to a hidden hideout to kick them around and solve this case that involved murder and kidnapping! Doc Savage is a man of few words, but a man of action and you can always tell when his mind is working on solving a problem and coming up with a plan to end the issue. Doc Savage also we find out hates when people brag about the things he does as he does them not for the glory but because they are the right thing to do. Glad to see Ham, Long Tom and Monk alright even if as always they really don’t add much to the story and are just around for a reason to fully get Doc involved when they are kidnapped. Well I guess Ham does his job as he does dig up info on “Gardner” and his business that rose to power super fast in the world of shipping and cruise vacations. Hugh McCoy is a mastermind as he uses a fake persona to open a business, murder his computation, work alongside a murderous group and try to match his wits with Doc Savage all in the quest for power and money. Hugh also does a great job of acting friendly with the good guys, all the while playing them for fools. Ull and the Silver Death’s Head group are killers for hire who have the money and power to make people dead, but also wear heavy outfits that make them noisy as well as smell like silver…so stealth they are not. This case aka story arc of Doc Savage is very interesting and had me guessing all along on who the main man calling the shots was, and while I was wrong it made the ending a little more fun! The cover is great and pretty eye catching for the time of release and like before the interior art of Ross Andru is top notch. Another solid issue of Marvel’s Doc Savage, and I cannot wait to see what the next issue has in store for me.

Doc Savage # 5 **1/2
Released in 1973 Cover Price .20 Marvel # 5 of 8

A hunter is attacked and killed in his cabin and is discovered by his friend, the man’s dying words is for him to track down Doc Savage and hire him to crack this case and avenge him! The other hunter who’s name is Carl MacBride makes his way to New York and while traveling meets Jean Morris a country girl who fills him in on how Doc Savage works and takes cases. But once Carl arrives at Doc Savages office and once there before he can say a word a mobster with a tommy gun comes up the other elevator and blasts the man with gun fore before running away. Doc Savage along with Monk and Ham give chase and find that the shooter runs to a mansion that was is highly protected and find that Jean is also inside as she has a job interview and been hired by a man named Griswold Rock who owns a small railroad in Michigan and before they all know it the floor beneath them gives way and a giant monster appears causing them all to fall to the floor below and as they Doc Savage and his men get to their feet the watch as a red truck speeds off with the monster in the back and the gunman behind the wheel…and oddly enough Jean is also missing. Before the leave they find Griswold Rock locked behind a door who tells them he has been held prisoner by one of his former employees named Pere Teston who forced the man to sell his stock and bonds. Doc Savage along with Ham and Monk call in Long Tom, Renny and Johnny as he is going to need all their help in order to track down this red truck and crack this case. Renny in his plane is the first to spot the red truck, but he is shot down by the tommy gun mad man and taken from the wreckage and kidnapped. Renny watches as the gun man is joined by other hoods and they set a bomb that will blow up the truck, the monster in the back and him! He also sees that they have Jean with them…and as they all leave before the big explosion Doc Savage just in time arrives and saves Renny…but the poor monster is killed. Doc Savage has a hunch now with all the clues he has gathered and wants to solve this case of murder and crime.

This is a very interesting issue as of course it’s an action detective story, but it has a dash of horror added into the mix with monsters and a creepy cabin in the woods. This case has Doc Savage watching a man who was coming to him for help to solve the murder of his friend get gunned down only to follow the killer to a mansion that houses a giant monster and even more questions and no answers…yet. This issue Doc Savage is the hero like always but also seems a little confused by what the giant monster is and why a man was murdered in his office before he could speak. And Renny of The Fabulous Five owes his life to Doc as he was about to be blown sky high, before being rushed out of the way of a car bomb, but to also be fair Renny did a great job of tracking down the truck that the gang was looking for. Who is Jean Morris , Griswold Rock and Pere Teston and can any of them be trusted…only the next issue I am sure will give us that answer. The Monster was massive and looked like something straight out of a 40’s Atomic Age Horror Movie…but for some reason I have a feeling it was not real, as it’s a robot or a prop. The pacing for this issue is a little faster than the others as the killing and then the case really kick in fast and this one also seems a little more confusing as in the case is not as easy to piece together. The cover is pretty cool and looks more like a Marvel Horror cover or even a Doctor Strange one and the interior art once more is done by the underrated and under talked about Ross Andru, another solid issue in the series, and I cannot wait to read the next issue!

Doc Savage # 6 **1/2
Released in 1973 Cover Price .20 Marvel # 6 of 8

Doc Savage and his two friends Ham and Monk are flying above a lake in Michigan the area that the hunter was killed that started this whole case, but to their horror they are attacked by two massive giants that come out of the lake and if not for Doc Savage’s grenade that scared them off they could have surly all meet their deaths. Doc Savage on the time they bought away from the giants searches the cabins around and finds no clues, and when walking through the woods the tommy gun gunner tries to take them out, but slips and falls into a bog and drowns. Doc Savage uses rope to get the id and body of the man out of the bog and finds a note that says Death Mill! Doc Savage sends Ham and Monk to town and looks into the mill and finds Griswold Rock inside who claims he got a telegram from Savage to meet him there. With all of them back in town they get word that Renny in a helicopter has been shot down and as Doc Savage and Monk rush to his aid…its clear this is a trap as giants and gunmen are all around and Renny is not even there yet! As a gunfight breaks out and the Giants run off into the woods on a mission, the fight is a standstill and the gunmen flee and Monk follows them as Doc Savage hitches a ride with the now arriving Renny back to town as Doc has a bad feeling. Once back in town they find that the giants had attacked the hotel and took away Griswold Rock and left Ham injured! But now Doc Savage has it as he knows that the giants are old prisoners who have been given a chemical to grow that size, he thinks that Pere Teston is apart of these monster attacks in order to get money from towns that he has threatened with attacks and that the murdered hunter stumbled onto their plan and was killed for it. Doc and his crew go and try and solve this case and even along the way save Jean Morris who as well had been captured back at the mansion…but they are all captured by the giants that take them to the criminals base and Doc and his crew are thrown into a hole and left to die. That night Doc Savage has a plan and after making a human ladder he climbs to freedom and gathers papers that prove his chemical made giants theory as well as bugs the office of the main man in charge before sneaking back into the hole. Doc Savage then uses his brain and has the guards turn on each other by informing them that the chemical used will make the prisoners forever giants and that they are being used…this causes the hired guards to be attacked by the prisoner guards! Doc Savage then once more exits the hole during the battle and tosses down a rope for the rest to escape and run down to the water as he wants to bust the boss all his own. But things turn south real fast when a giant busts open a tank filled with very poisonous gas that kills everyone who breaths it in, as Doc Savage and his crew flee they find Pere Teston tied up and rescue him as it was Griswold Rock all along who was the mastermind of the giants.

This is a pretty solid issue that has Doc Savage and his friends heading to the woods of Michigan in order to solve some murders as well as battle giants…but the payout at the end seemed very rush and they could have cut down on the plane attacks and crashes and it would have allowed for more panels to be used for the big ending that seemed very underwhelming. Doc Savage who is a great hero and detective sure did make many mistakes in this one and his plans seemed to almost always lead to danger and even allow the bad guys to hear their plans as he took in the crime families leader on his word that he was kidnapped and held prisoner…you would have thought Doc would have been smarter then that. But I do give Doc credit when it comes to fighting the giants as he knows he is strong, but not match for them…but would die swinging if he had to fight them hand to hand. Being six issues into a only eight issue series its clear that the two main members of The Fabulous Five are Monk and Ham as they seem to be getting more adventures and are clearly the two most important in these comic series, but I will say Renny gets a tiny bit of time to shine in these last two issues. Jean Morris who was a lion tamer is around and really adds nothing to this story besides a female character. The Giants are dangerous as they are just prisoners and criminals who are turned into these monsters and who are being used as test rats by a man who just wanted more and more money and power and that man is the chubby, sweaty looking Griswold Rock who was a small time business man but a large con-artist. The Horror element of the first part of this story arch kind of fades in this second part as it becomes more of a crime adventure thriller. I do like also that this issue takes us out of the big city and takes us into the woods of Michigan and has Doc Savage having to fight in water, woods and even a hidden island. The cover is pretty great and is pure 70’s Marvel style and as always Ross Andru interior art is A+ stuff. The next two issues are the ones that I read in my youth so let’s see how well they hold up.

Doc Savage # 7 ***
Released in 1973 Cover Price .20 Marvel # 7 of 8

In the Canadian woods on the estate of Alex Savage the uncle of Doc Savage a man transforms into a werewolf and has the want to kill and murder Alex…and he does just that. The next day Doc gets a phone call from his cousin Pat Savage about the attack and murder and this puts Doc into a thinking mood as the murder was said to be very beast like. Doc Savage decides that he is heading to Canada to be with his cousin Pat during her sad time as well as he wants to find out what killed his uncle and why their household seems to be under attack. Doc along with Ham, Monk and Renny take the train to get there and even while ridding gets a fake telegram warning him not to go to his uncles house. As Doc and Renny make their way to the railcar of Ham and Monk they get all types of stares from passengers many who think they are dangerous killers with many having plans to protect themselves. When Doc gets to his friends he finds that he has gotten there just in time as some one has gassed them and left an image of a werewolf on their window. And this same thing was done to El Rabanos and his friends the Ovejas whom all thing Doc Savage and his men are bad people, and worse after the gas clears they find another werewolf image on a window, watch a black painted plane fly away from the train and are forced to a stop as logs now block the train from moving forward! As Doc Savage removes the logs his friends give chase to El Rabanos who runs into the woods, after clearing the way Doc as well gives chase and his jumped by four men with guns…they are no match for Doc who defeats them and rushes to find his friends. Meanwhile Pat Savage is home with her two Native American friends Tiny and her husband Boatface when they hear the howl of the werewolf, Pat grabs her gun to look for the beast only to find nothing and to return home to Tiny and Boatface knocked out from gas and she checks on a ivy cube with a werewolf on it that is very priceless. Unknown to Pat her cubes hiding place was seen by Boatface who steals it and tries to sell it to the werewolf, but the mans greed delivers his death as the werewolf murders him over the price of the cube. Pat and Tiny awake from the sound of a howl from the werewolf and notice Boatface missing so they head into the woods with gun in hand to find him. Meanwhile Doc Savage finds his friends at a tiny airfield in the woods and watch as El Rabanos and his friends make an escape in a plan and even kill one of their own airmen in the leave, before he dies he tells Doc Savage a string of clues. In the end Doc Savage with Monk, Ham and Renny make it to his uncles house to find Pat missing and the body of Boatface now in the living room of the home, Doc orders his friends to stay at the home as he rushes off to find his cousin only to be shot while walking across a rope.

All I can say is 100% this issue held up for me after all these years and has a super classic werewolf horror movie feel to it and that’s why I enjoy it so much! In this issue Doc Savage gets the sad news from his cousin that his uncle has been killed in a savage way and this makes the Doc head to Canada to figure out the murder as well as all the strange things going on around his uncles estate. This issue takes Doc Savage from his city office, to a train traveling across countries, to the snowy woods for Canada all the way to his uncle’s home in the middle of now where, and all the while he had to fight and use his detective skills. Doc Savage and his cousin Pat Savage are going through a very hard time as their loved one has been brutally murdered and all signs point to it being the work of a werewolf, but they also have to deal with shady people as well and thieves who want to steal an ivory cube that the Savage family owns. El Rabanos and his group are very shady and are clearly involved in this killing as they are also trying very hard to spread rumors of Doc Savage himself being a cold blooded killer and a curse to those who see him. As always Monk, Ham and Renny are around, but do very little in the over all story besides their friendship. Pat Savage is a warrior her own self as she along with her trusty gun have zero issues running off into the woods to face the werewolf, as she wants revenge really bad for her fathers death. Tiny is a loyal housekeeper to the Savage family even if her husband was a thief who allowed his own greed lead to his death. And finally The Werewolf is a talking beast who wants the Ivory Cube and who is also savage in his attacks and plans for murder, a classic looking werewolf that reminds me of Jack Russell the Werewolf By Night another Marvel Comics series that was running around the same time. The Werewolf while very beast like in nature and look, also has a human side as well that allows him to talk and plan. One has to wonder who the man beast is and if he is truly a werewolf or just a man in a suit playing a legendary creature. The cover is awesome and eye catching and the interior artwork by Ross is amazing stuff. A great issue and my favorite in the series this far in both art and in story, so let’s see what issue 8 the final issue has in store for us!

Doc Savage # 8 **1/2
Released in 1974 Cover Price .20 Marvel # 8 of 8

Doc Savage is holding onto the rope when the man fires one more bullet knocking him off and sending him to his death, or so the man thinks as he returns to camp he is meet by the Werewolf who is in charge and is told of the news that Doc Savage is dead and with this the Werewolf is happy as he knows now nothing will stand in his way of entering the Cave Of The Werewolf. Meanwhile in a tent in that very party we find Pat and Tiny tied up and being held captive and when they try to escape the ones holding them captive inform them that they are no longer needed as her cousin is dead so their worth is low, but before Pat and Tiny can be killed Doc Savage rushes to their rescue and after beating down the bad guys the Cousins and Tiny start to head back to the Savage home as Doc Savages is sure that El Rabanos and the Ovejas are involved in this murder and werewolf attacks, as they make their way home Doc Savage is challenged by the Werewolf and after a quick fight the beast is knocked out and his mask taken off to show just a thug in a costume. Once back at the Savage home Pat finds that the cube is missing and just then Senorita Cere Oveja comes busting in screaming that the werewolf is going to kill her father and El Rabanos if Pat does not give him the cube, Cere tells them that the original werewolf was just a nickname for one of her relatives that was a pirate and that the cube holds the location to all his stolen treasure and that she and her father along with El Rabanos was just trying to find it as they think the gold is theirs due to heritage. Doc sends Ham, Monk and Renny to search the pine trees in the area that has a birds nest in it as feathers and needles was found on the body of Boatface. After some time Ham finds the cube in a nest Doc solves the puzzle of it and unlocks the hidden map inside. The werewolf shows up and uses his gas on Pat, Tiny, Monk, Ham and Renny and takes Doc Savage hostage as he informs the hero its been a trick all along and El Rabanos and the Oveja’s are his partners in crime! Doc Savage awakens in a cave with his friends as El Rabanos is bragging to him that he was the mastermind behind this plot all along and killed his Uncle to draw Doc their to figure out the map puzzle, he also says he will turn on the Werewolf and the Oveja’s in order to keep all the treasure for himself! But surprise Doc Savage is free and his friends are not knocked out as Monk made an antidote for the gas and they are ready for a fight. After knocking out El Rabanos with a punch Doc Savage does after the Werewolf as his cousin and his friends go fight with the rest of the gang. Doc Savage out fights the Werewolf and after El Rabanos wakes up and fires his gun the cave collapses with only Doc Savage, Pat Savage, Tiny, Monk, Renny, Ham, The Oveja’s and the treasure escaping…all others are dead. In the end they inform The Oveja’s that they will not get a penny of the treasure and it all will go to build hospitals in Canada and also that Pat Savage is now apart of the group.

This issue holds up as well and while some of the horror elements are gone, by middle of the issue it becomes a crime thriller that has some twists and turns that many of true crime lovers will see coming, but are still super fun to watch unfold. Doc Savage through out this issue as well as the whole series is a man who keeps care of his mind and body and will risk it for good, as he believes that doing the right thing and helping others is very important. He will not kill unless he has no choice and has nerves of steel and is not shaken by anything and that includes near death experiences as well as facing monsters. And one thing about Doc Savage as well is that he is always one step ahead most of the time and has back up plans in order if things go wrong for he and his crew. The Fabulous Five are the best friends of Doc Savage and while around they don’t do much in this series, but with that said I would very much miss them of they were not around as the friendship between Ham and Monk is fun as they poke fun at each other all the time and while Renny, Long Tom and Johnny do very little they are still cool background hero characters. Pat Savage is the touch as nails, sweet and strong cousin of Doc who is an hero in her own right and who rushes into danger to avenge and save the innocent, and after loosing her Father to murder she is ready to join her cousin in the hero business. Tiny who’s husband Boatface was a loser shows that she is close to the Savage family and when all hell breaks loose in the cave she even fights with the hired thugs and bear hugs some of them into submission! The Oveja’s and El Rabanos are slimy and play all sides in order to get what they want and that’s the hidden pirate treasure, and would even turn on each other in order to get it. The werewolf is not a real creature but is a mad man in a costume who seems like he really does think he is one, he as well is motivated by greed but also has pride as he wants to be the man who kills Doc Savage! While he fails and is made quick work of and is later killed in the cave in, I find him to be a cool bad guy who a great classic werewolf look and has a Marvel Horror look. The story of this case is really cool and is set in the woods of Canada with a werewolf on the loose and oddly reminded me of the silent film Wolf Blood from 1925 that is a semi werewolf film set in the snowy woods of Canada. The Doc Savage series from Marvel Comics reminds me why I loved the 70’s era of Marvel as they had some many amazing comics going beyond their Superhero and original Horror lines with titles like Godzilla, Planet Of The Apes, Tarzan Lord Of The Apes, Star Trek, Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica showcasing they knew how to make good comic based on film, novel and TV properties. The cover for this one is eye catching and really cool and again like clock work Ross’s interior art is amazing and he really was one of Marvel’s talented artists of the time that should be way more respect in these modern times. Over all I have to say I enjoyed the Doc Savage comic run at Marvel Comics quite a bit and while Doc Savage is a dated character and even by 1970’s he was a little out of date, they did a great job of bringing the 1930’s into the 70’s and making it seem right at home in the disco era. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Ross and see how this series looked.

But wait there is more as the Doc Savage fun continues, as we will be also taking a look at his two other Marvel appearances that had him teaming with the likes of Spider-Man and The Thing! I also want to say that a Giant Size Doc Savage # 1 was released by Marvel but was just a reprint of the first two issues in the series. It also makes me wonder why Doc Savage only lasted for eight issues, I would guess poor sales…but I could not say for sure. So if you are still up for some classic detective adventure, let’s go on two more adventures with Doc.

Giant Size Spider-Man # 3 **1/2
Released in 1975 Cover Price .50 Marvel # 3 of 6

Desinna is a strange woman from another world and time who has sent a message to Spider-Man to meet her at an old building in New York that is set to be torn down, and while inside she shows Spidey a look into the past as Doc Savage in the 1930’s also has gotten a message to investigate that very building as something is just not right with it. Back in the 70’s before Desinna can inform Spider-Man on what is going on the ground shakes knocking her out and Spider-Man is faced with a giant goat legged monster that wants him dead! The giant is named Tarros and he is also from the past and his body is made up of an electric field, and Spider-Man out smarts the giant and over loads the field and sends him away. After the fight Desinna wakes back up and once more has Spidey take a look at Doc Savage in the 30’s at this same sight. While Doc and The Fabulous Five are looking around they meet Desinna who informs them that she is from another dimension and that her world they have created a time machine, but something has went wrong and scientist Tarros had his life spirit taken away and now its twisted and evil and is about to run wild in New York, just then the Giant Tarros appears and Doc Savage and his friends spring into action fighting the creature and Doc Savage being the man he is figures out a way to trap Tarros into a dated stone that’s in the building trapping him inside it as long as the building stands. Back to Spider-Man’s time he figures out that Desinna is worried that when the building is demolished the next day the evil will be unleashed again, but Spider-Man has figured it out and Tarros is not the bad guy it’s Desinna who tricked the old man and had him stuck in time! Spider-Man frees the spirit of Tarros and Desinna is sent back to her world to face punishment.

This is a fun idea of a crossover between Spider-Man and Doc Savage that could have been a heck of a lot better as the major downfall for me is that Spidey and Doc never really meet nor do they even really team up! The plot has a lady from another dimension playing victim to heroes from two different decades in order to try and cover up her evil actions in her own world. Desinna is a pretty woman who has a sinister side that is hidden deep in her charm, she is a mastermind that tricked a wise old scientist from her world and is still using her charm to trick heroes into covering up her mistake and doing her dirty work. When she is figured out and sent to face punishment she still tries to use her charm and beauty to save her own hide. The man she tricked is Tarros who’s spirit was stuck in a field of energy and can not speak English and because of his monster look is easily judged by those tricked by Desinna’s charm and words. Doc Savage comes to the aid of a woman in need and battle a massive electric monster to save our world and hers, and uses his brains and strength to bring the creature down, but sadly he was played a fool all that time ago and was tricked into just beating down a victim even more by the one who started the crime. In other words the hero Doc Savage that has always been shown to be a very smart man as well as a great detective was tricked by a pretty face and the old time belief that women cannot be bad. Spider-Man meanwhile has to sit and watch the events of the past and then solve the case that he is about to be made a fool of just like Savage was by a lady who is evil. I like that Spidey quickly figured it all out, and even after fighting with the spirit puts the pieces together to help save him and allow justice to happen in another dimension. Also I get the feeling that Spider-Man knows that Doc Savage really dropped the ball bad, and is in his own way making excuses for him by saying he was a product of his time. While this was a fun way to bring two heroes together from two different periods of time, I felt that it could have been done better like why not have Desinna take Spider-Man back in time to team with Doc Savage in order to bring down her enemy, and have them both figure out she is the real bad one, or even vice versa. The lack of real interaction between Spidey and Doc was a major letdown and much of the issues pages are spent on Desinna’s lies and tricks. But with that said I did enjoy the elements of each hero doing their thing, that’s why I have given it a slightly above average star rating as while flawed it was still a fund read. The cover is pretty cool and reminds me of an old Marvel Team Up cover and the interior art is great as once more Ross Andru shows his talents. Over all a fun issue and a good read for fans of Spider-Man and Doc Savage, just don’t go in thinking you will see them fight the monster together. Check out some artwork below from this Giant Size issue.

Up next let’s see how Doc Savages team up with Fantastic Four member The Thing goes! And again what a strange crossover for our hero of the 1930’s!

Marvel Two-In-One # 21 **1/2
Released in 1976 Cover Price .30 Marvel # 21 of 100

At the Baxter Building The Thing is working out and The Human Torch goes to the elevator and is greeted by Janice Lightner who faints once she enters, meanwhile in 1936 Mrs. Lightner travels up the elevator and as well faints once hitting the office of Doc Savage! And in both times the Lightner ladies tell the story of abuse, crazy ideas, madness and wasted fortunes and Janice is the daughter of Mrs. Lightner and it seems like the past and present are playing out the same. The ladies asking for help both speak of The Sky Cannon a powerful weapon that pulls down star energy and places it into a human host and in both cases the weapon is about to be used by the males of the family to show that they are not mad and true power is out there and can be placed into one man! All the heroes from both decades rush to the lab and have their flying vehicles struck by The Star Cannon merging both words together so Doc Savage, Renny, Monk, The Thing, Human Torch and Janice Lightner fall from the sky as inside the lab father and son merge into a new super villain named Blacksun. As the heroes shake off the fall and introductions happen Blacksun appears and is ready for a fight using his beams of energy to try and bring down the heroes, Monk and Renny uses their none kill bullet to no effect and an attack by the Human Torch is shrugged off. The Thing is next up and tries to clobber Blacksun only for it also to fail, but Doc Savage is up next and notices that when the clouds black the stars he has a chance to land punches and does just that causing Blacksun to try and run away into space as he wants to enter a black hole. The Thing and Doc Savage hold onto the villain for as long as they can before falling back to solid ground, but Blacksun as well learns that he can not breath in high altitude and falls to Earth hard causing an end to his rampage and also sends Doc Savage and his crew back to the 1930’s. In the end The Thing and Human Torch promise to Janice to get Blacksun (her brother and father as one) the help that he needs.

See this issue of Marvel Two-In-One was done right as Doc Savage comes to the then modern time and fights alongside a Marvel superhero in order to stop a villain from destroying the universe. The plot for this issue has the Lightner family in the 1930’s and the 1970’s following the same path at using a weapon called The Star Cannon in order to draw pure power from the stars and when they fire it up it merges Doc Savage and his crew into the 70’s in order to help The Thing stop the end of the world and light as we know it. The Thing and Human Torch show why they are heroes as these two members of the Fantastic Four rush to aid a woman who needs them to stop her brother from doing something really stupid. The Thing is as strong as ever and tries his best to use his strength to k.o the issues villain as The Human Torch uses his fire blasts, and while they both fail in their attacks when teaming together with Doc Savage they are able to save the day. I also like that The Thing is a fan of Doc Savage and wants his autograph and is even star struck when he sees him! Renny and Monk are apart of Savage’s crew and while they try and help they really are background players. Doc Savage is as always quiet, watching and figuring out how to defeat the bad guy that is in his way! He is the one who figures out the clouds can be used in order to land hits of Blacksun and as well seems to understand that he has time traveled and just rolls with getting help from a man that is one fire and another that is massive and made of orange rocks. Blacksun is a interesting bad guy that is made up of star energy, a living son and the dead spirit of his father and as well almost like the backside of the sun who can fly, shoot energy beams and even has a dark force field around him, but his ego helps bring him down as he tries to fly to space only to blackout and burnout. Again I can not stress that this is a crossover done right as Doc Savage meets The Thing and Human Torch and works alongside them for the greater good of mankind. The cover is amazing and eye catching and has The Thing and Doc Savage rushing to action and the interior art is top notch and done by Ron Wilson. Oh and this issue also has a cameo from Tony Stark (Iron Man) and they mention Donald Blake (Thor) and this is also a part one of a three issue story but this one is the only one to feature Doc Savage as the next two issues has Thor teaming with them. Over all this was a solid and fun read that brings a classic hero together with superheroes and is well worth checking out. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Ron Wilson used in this issue.

As you can see, Marvel Comics did a good job of bringing Doc Savage to the pages of comic books, and while the novels are better, these comics are still a great read for fans of the character. For me it was lots of fun to look back at this character and it was nice to go back to my youth and relive the fandom I had for a character that sadly I have neglected for many years now. Next year 2022 Rotten Ink turns 10 years old, and I am going to cover the whole year stuff I love from comics to movies to horror hosts and will really go back to my youth and the joys of growing up in Waynesville! So for my next update, I will be of course covering a Horror Host to celebrate 10 Years Of The Horror Host Hall Of Fame and our last host for the year will be Ohio’s biggest one, and I am of course talking about Ghoulardi! So until next time, read a Marvel Comic or three, watch a cheesy action film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update and remember turn blue!

Marvel Horror Showcase – The Zombie Simon Garth

Posted on May 5, 2020 by bloodlinematt

Marvel Horror was a gateway for me to the world of Horror Comics. As I have stated before the likes of Werewolf By Night, Man-Thing and Tomb Of Dracula all were comics I would read late nights in my nearly darkened room. One of my favorite past times was reading a Marvel Horror comic as it rained or a thunderstorm raged outside. I would grab an issue I had not read and listened to the storm as I read the eerie story that unfolded on the pages. But one classic Marvel Horror Monster that seems to not get as much respect as he should is Simon Garth, also known as The Zombie who was the main character in Marvel Horror Magazine “Tales Of The Zombie”! So I feel it’s my duty as a comic reader to bring you an update that is long overdue and one in my “Marvel Horror Showcase” themed updates based on Simon Garth The Zombie. So sit back and enjoy this spooky and yet heroic update.

Simon Garth was a mean businessman who treated everyone near him badly as he felt they were below him and his successful ways. One day he made the mistake of his life when his behavior and snooty ways lead to him firing his gardener, and this sparks his former employee to snap and kidnap Garth and stab him to death near the swamps of New Orleans! Once dead he takes the body and forces a Voodoo Queen (who happens to also work for Garth) to turn him into a mindless zombie that can be controlled with two necklaces that are worn by the zombie and the one who wants to control him. The gardener filled with a new sense of power uses the Zombie to do his will, but soon finds that even the undead can fight back when a line is crossed and he was commanded to kidnap his own daughter and instead fights the order and kills his master! For a while The Zombie wandered the Earth with many people controlling him when they got the amulet necklace, and at one point the necklace went missing and he roamed around until he could get it back and that was only after having a run in with Spider-Man. Sometime later the amulet landed in the hands of vampire Lilith Drake, and this time around Zombie had to team up with Spider-Man to get it back, and once they get it back Zombie returned to his slumber for years. His body would be found and taken to a morgue where he would once more rise and this time took a corpse bride before returning to his slumber. The Zombie would later be recruited to be a member of the supernatural team “ The Howling Commandos” alongside other Marvel Horror characters like Man-Thing, The Living Mummy, Golem and Frankenstein’s Monster. The Zombie would rise from time to time, and his most recent appearance came in 2018 that is the issue we will be reviewing shortly. As you can see, while Zombie is not a major character in the Marvel Universe he is one that is well loved by us readers who have always enjoyed the dark world of Marvel Horror.

Tales Of The Zombie started in 1973 and was a Horror Magazine that was created by Roy Thomas for Marvel Monster Group, and the character Zombie was taken from the 1953 Atlas Comic Menace # 5 with the character being created by Stan Lee. You see, in the 70’s Horror Comics became big money as the Comic Code Authority had become more relaxed and allowed werewolves, zombies, vampires and ghouls back in comics and violence and blood could also be added. The series lasted for 10 issues and had one Annual, and along with original stories, each magazine also had reprints of classic horror comics as well as showcased some other characters from their horror line like Brother Voodoo. Tales Of The Zombie came to an end in 1975 ending his spooky ride for a time, but like any good zombie, you can’t keep him down. Simon Garth The Zombie would return and make appearances in such Marvel Comics as Daredevil, Spider-Man, S.H.E.I.L.D., Deadpool and Marvel Zombies to name a few. Even in 2008 for the Marvel Max line, The Zombie once more had a mini series that lasted four issues and entertained readers who enjoy this character. His most recent comic appearance was in 2018 with Marvel Zombie a one shot issue that brought him into the world of an alternate Marvel Zombies universe. Who knows what Marvel has in store for the future of Zombie, and one wonders if he ever will get his own series or mini series ever again…and this even makes one wonder if he ever will make an appearance in a Marvel Movie Universe or TV show! One thing for sure, if you have never read a comic book featuring Zombie, I would say do yourself a favor and get an issue or two and give them a read.

Over the years Marvel Comics has dusted off the Zombie when someone working for them had a great idea for him, and this made his fans very happy! And one cool thing that happened in the world of Marvel in 2018 was when they released a One Shot issue of Zombie and set it in a world of gloom and doom, and this is the comic we are going to review for this Marvel Horror update as I stated earlier. I want to thank Bell, Book And Comic for having this copy in stock. I want to remind you readers that I am grading this comic on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready to walk on the undead dark side of Marvel, let’s take a look at Zombie!

Marvel Zombie # 1 ***
Released in 2018 Cover Price $4.99 Marvel Comics # 1 of 1

The Marvel Universe is in bad shape as a plague has infected the world and has caused most of the population to turn into bloodthirsty zombies. Simon Garth is wandering the decayed world enjoying his undead life, some humans still remain and are protected by The Defenders that are Daredevil, Spider-Man, Black Widow, Moon Girl, Devil Dinosaur 2.0, Hawkeye and Misty Knight who fight off the zombie horde. While the heroes battle the horde, young Donny finds a necklace and puts it on and during the fight he falls and is about to be eaten alive by zombies when all looks dark he is saved by Simon Garth and the pair start up a friendship. The heroes return to base and Moon Girl has figured out a way to use a bomb to dispose of a large section of the zombie horde. When Donny returns to base with Simon at first the heroes were going to kill the zombie until he proves he is different and a hero like them, but then things turn bad again when they want to use him to wear the bomb and become their suicide bomber! Falcon is another hero that is still alive and he returns to base with news that a massive horde is on the way and that they need to act soon, and this sets the suicide bomber plan into action. Donny is upset by the decision that Daredevil made to send his friend on a death mission. When the time comes Donny talks to Moon Girl about the original Devil Dinosaur and compares their friendship to his friendship with Simon and this causes Moon Girl to take the bomb off him and The Defenders die when they are swarmed waiting for the suicide bomber to appear. In the end with the heroes gone, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur 2.0 go their own way as do Donny and Simon Garth.

This was a great read, and I read this comic in the middle of a cemetery on a chilly day with my car windows down. The plot of this comic has the world being overrun by zombies with only a small amount of people and heroes left alive. And when a young boy finds the necklaces of Simon Garth, he controls the zombie and he chooses friendship over the fate of the world. Donny is the main character of this comic, and while he is a youngster he has lived his whole life in a world filled with flesh eating zombies, and when he befriends one he chooses to save the life of one undead creature to the masses as he allows all the rest of the worlds superheroes to be eaten alive. Think about that… Donny allows the world’s only hope to survive to be killed in order to have a “friend”…. Simon Garth is a zombie with a mind who is living in a world filled with zombies who only want to feed and kill. He is a good soul who protects those who has his necklace. Daredevil is the leader of The Defenders and with his crew of heroes, he thinks that there is a hope to save the world, and sadly his master plan backfires due to a young kid’s selfishness and leads to his own death as well as that of all his fellow heroes. What works the best for this issue is the fact is a self-contained issue and has a “Marvel Zombies” meets “What If?” feel to it. I like the aspect of Simon wandering the world filled with other zombies that he has nothing in common with and is almost super thankful when the young kid finds the necklace that controls and bonds with him. The comic does have some blood and violence and proves that Marvel still knows how to do Horror. The cover I have is amazing and very eye catching, and the interior art is top notch and done by Stefano Raffaele. If you like classic Marvel Horror characters, make sure to check this out as it’s a great read. Check out the art below to see the style of Raffaele and see how Simon Garth looks like in this issue.

This one shot Marvel Zombie issue to me proves that they as a company should do this more often! Why not make a one shot issue based on Tomb Of Dracula, Werewolf By Night, Living Mummy, The Golem and Man-Thing to introduce the classic Marvel Horror characters to new readers as well as deliver something new to their long time fans. I truly do think they should make these type of comics a Halloween season tradition. They should also use Simon Garth the Zombie more often in the regular Marvel Universe. For our next update, we will be walking away from Horror and will once more be stepping into the wrestling ring as we take a look at GLOW wrestler Sunny! So until next update, read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! Get ready for the original wrestling Sunny days next update so I will see you then.

Spider-Man Has The Power To Slay Dragon Man!

Posted on March 2, 2019 by bloodlinematt

Who doesn’t like listening to music on vinyl? Growing up I have fond memories of listing to the likes of Weird Al Yankovic, Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Motley Crue and the WWF Wrestling Album to name a very few. But I also have some good memories of listening to comic books on vinyl…I am sure you long time comic readers remember Power Records released by Peter Pan Records as kids of the 70’s and 80’s grew up with these. I for one checked them out all the time from the library in Waynesville and most of the time the vinyl was missing, but my brother and I did have some of our own that we got from garage sales. One of my favorites from this series is the one featuring Incredible Hulk called “At Bay” that had old jade jaw taking on Abomination and Rhino at the Hulk Buster Base, a very fun listen and a good adventure for one of my favorite superheroes. Plus thanks to Power Records, I first discovered Holo-Man, an original superhero that I have covered here on Rotten Ink before. For this update, we are going to have some fun and not only chat about Power Records but also just some fun stuff going on in my life as well as in comics! So grab your record player and crank it to 11 as it’s time to power out with Spider-Man!

Synthetic Plastics Company was a plastic manufacturer that was founded by Daniel Kasen that opened in the 1920’s in New Jersey. Their main products were buttons and game pieces like poker chips, and they made a good living at making this stuff. But they would get into making vinyl records after World War II when Daniel’s brother entered the picture and they opened Peter Pan Records, that would spawn many other side labels like Power Records, Diplomat Records and Parade Records to name a few and would push for cheaper made vinyl records so the could sell them at cheap prices. These labels would mostly focus on children releases based on popular properties like Bugs Bunny, Sesame Street and Batman as well as Gospel, Comedy and budget releases and would crank out releases as they owned the press that made them. But while many listeners had these cheap made releases, they also knew that the sound quality was very poor and this was something that stuck with this company all during their time in business. Over the years and with many name changes, many of you might be shocked to know that Synthetic Plastics Company is still around and switched their home base from New Jersey to Florida and are now called Inspired Studios and are just shell of what they used to be, but it’s still very cool knowing they are still out there.

So with us talking about record companies and music, let’s take a look at the newest CD release of Dee Snider of the 80’s band Twisted Sister that was released in July 2018 and a release that I have wanted to check out for some time. Growing up, I was fan of Twisted Sister as well as Dee Snider’s other band Widowmaker, not to mention a big fan of his Horror Movie Strangeland and loved watching him out class the PMRC at the infamous 1985 Senate hearings. The release is called “For The Love Of Metal” and was released by Napalm Records and has 12 tracks. So let’s sit back, relax and get talking about this release shall we? When popping in this CD, the first thing I noticed is that Dee Snider has not missed a step when it comes to delivering amazing rock n roll vocals to heavy songs. And I must also say it blew me away just how heavy and rocking this release was. I also noticed that Dee also sounded a little bit like Alice Cooper in some of these songs and to be honest some of the songs even sound like they could have been song by him and released on “Brutal Planet”. I would say that my favorite track on this release would be “I Am The Hurricane” followed by “For The Love Of Metal” as both tracks I think really do capture the attitude and singing talent of Dee. Over all if you enjoyed Twisted Sister and like the singing style of Dee Snider this is a release that you should check out as one thing is for sure Dee Snider is a true icon of Rock N Roll!

What’s really crazy is to think that here in the Dayton area we have very little music shops left as places like Armadillo Records, Renaissance Music, CD Connection, Trader Vics, Gem City Records, Dingleberry’s and NRM Music are all shops of the past and all we have left is Omega Music, Toxic Beauty and Skeleton Dust and a few other mix media stores like Second Time Around, Game Swap Kettering and Buybacks to name a few who have solid and good music selections. I have so many great memories and moments at many of those long gone record shops and pretty much grew up visiting Renaissance Music and even to this day Geoff Burkman, who was the owner of the shop remains one of my close friends. Renaissance was a very cool place and one that I always felt at home at. The store had an amazing selection of music on vinyl, cassettes and CDs and was my go to store to get my 80’s hairbands. It was also the place I would get Horror Movies on VHS and later DVD as well as get posters, buttons, fanzines and Horror Indie Comics. It was a place over the years I would sit and chat with Geoff for hours about music, movies and comics. Even in school for one of my classes, I job shadowed Geoff for a class report and we watched Dawn of the Dead together that day on Laserdisc. I can still see and hear the old Renaissance Music TV commercials in my mind from time to time as they would have Geoff wearing a Godzilla mask and talking like Mr. T and calling himself Mr. G…classic. In fact many years later, Geoff would play Mr. G again in episodes of Baron Von Porkchop’s Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre. Geoff Burkman and Renaissance Music also appear in the Independent B Movie film Wolf Hunter directed by Matt Hoffman as well. NRM is another place I used to love to go as it was in the Town And Country Shopping Center that was near the High School in Kettering I went to for a short time, and I can remember cutting class and going their to pick up music to listen to on my Sony Walkman. And that’s just the two stores as I have great memories of all the stores I mentioned above and miss the atmosphere of a good classic music store and searching for the next album of a band I liked or even discovering new music. No matter how the world changes, you just cannot sell me on digital media and that goes for music, movies, comics, video games and books. For this blogger, physical will always be the way to go. Below are some of the closed music shops that brought lots of tunes to this metal heads ears when growing up.

So as you can see, in my opinion music and comic books go hand and hand as both have been a main source of entertainment for me growing up. And I am going to say this, I really wish an indie comic company would return and make classic style Rock N Roll Comics like Revolutionary Comics headed by Todd Loren did back in 1989-1994, and yeah, I know companies like Blue Water tried but failed and I am talking about comics done by fans of the bands doing unauthorized comic issues on bands like Cinderella, W.A.S.P., Danzig and Billy Idol to name a few. But let’s move past a dream I am sure will never be made true and let’s focus on Spider-Man and this adventure made just for Power Records. I want to remind you all that I grade this comic on a 1-4 star scale and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So let’s see what Spidey has in store for us as he takes on a massive Dragon Man!

Spider-Man Power Record # 0 **
Released in 1974 Cover Price $1.49 Marvel/Power Records # 1 of 1

A group of college students and their teacher are out looking at the stars. Two students sneak away to make out while stars fall from the sky that turn out to be Dragon Men lead by the massive Draco King Of The Dragon-Men, who have came to earth with the plan to take it over. At the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson is mad as the story of the Dragon-Men has broke and none of his reporters have covered it yet. He sends Peter Parker to get some photos of the aliens or lose his job! Peter Parker turns into Spider-Man when his Spidey Sense goes crazy when he passes sewer manholes, and this leads him to travel around the sewer system where he finds Draco and his Dragon-Men who have a giant laser gun they plan on using in New York that will leave all machines and humans paralyzed! Spider-Man is able to trick Draco and the Dragon-Men and use his webbing on the guns controls and floods the sewer, washing away them and their fancy massive gun. Spider-Man later is back on the streets of New York and finds in the newspaper that the bodies of the Dragon-Men had been found and are robots and not aliens at all. To clear his mind and gaze at the stars above, Spider-Man sits on top of the Empire State Building and is lost in thoughts when Draco appears and shares that he is no alien but is really a missing scientist who fused his own blood with that of a giant iguana and has transformed into a massive fire breathing dragon humanoid. As Draco attacks, Spider-Man uses his fast speed to dodge him and Draco falls 20 feet onto a roof below. As Spider-Man rushes down to check on his foe, he only finds a small iguana there that crawls away into a crack in the wall.

This Spider-Man adventure was an original story made just for Power Records, and while entertaining, you can tell it was rushed and was not a priority to Marvel who did not bring their A-Game. This comic’s plot has Spider-Man on the hunt for Dragon-Men who are said to be from space and are now in New York and have a sinister plan to take over thanks to their massive fire-breathing leader Draco. Spidey, being the hero he is, not only tracks them down but also exposes that the Dragon-Men are robots and not aliens, destroys their massive destructive weapon and as well figures out that Draco is a mutated missing scientist! Spider-Man in this issue is the friendly neighborhood web head we all love and is filled with one liners as well as the fighting skills to back up his mouth. I also have always liked that Spidey uses his mind to also figure out how to stop the baddies and not just his fists. Peter Parker even in this issue has some pressure as his boss J. Jonah Jameson threatens to fire him if he doesn’t get pictures of the Dragon Men for the paper, and he also has to blow off the attention of Mary Jane Watson in order to get said pictures and this upsets his red headed love interest. Draco is a massive fire breathing dragon man who has a massive ego and wants to rule the world as he feels his superior mind puts him above normal humans…even if he started out as one. The Dragon Men are just robots who do what their creator asks, and while threats, they are by no means as threatening as such super villains as Green Goblin, Rhino or Shocker. While I am thinking about it, this story almost feels like it could have been an issue in the “Spidey Super Stories” comic series as it’s fast paced and the villain is over the top in appearance. The cover is pretty great and eye catching as it also reminds me of a cheesy b-movie poster. The interior art is also good and is done by an unknown artist as no credits are given. Over all this is a fun read and is a must for fans of classic 70’s Spider-Man adventures, but keep in mind the story is not mind blowing and is just a middle of the road adventure that feels like a back up story. Check out the artwork below to see what you get in this book and record set.

The Book and Record Sets should make a comeback in the world of comics as they were a fun way to bring in younger readers as well as add a new level of fun for older readers. In our modern world with digital, CD and Vinyl all still being around for us to listen to audio on, I am going to guess it’s only a matter of time before a company does it again…heck, maybe Sparkle Comics will bring this trend back! Now it’s time for us to leave New York and let Spider-Man do what he does best and that’s stop crimes. For our next update we will be heading to the world of snack food to take a look at Jell-O Man! So until next time, read a comic or three, listen to a CD or two and as always support your local Horror Host! So let’s get ready to meet next time and talk about a mascot for snack food.

The Baseball Hustle Of Pete Rose

Posted on July 4, 2015 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to the Rotten Ink Ballpark, a place we will be showcasing a comic book that is based on the legend of Cincinnati’s Mr. Charlie Hustle himself, Pete Rose of Reds’ fame! Baseball is considered America’s favorite past time, and while it’s still a popular sport, it has slipped quite a bit and has never bounced back after the strike that happened in 1994-1995 when players demanded higher pay and the player pay cap, making many fans upset over the greed and the lack of games because of this strike. My dad has been a baseball fan for a long time and enjoyed listening to the games on the radio, watching them on TV, playing the sport at school and with friends as well as collecting the trading cards (that his parents would later throw in the trash – including cards that became worth lots of money). As he got older got married to my Mom and they had my brother and me, he ended up even taking us to Red games as well as minor league teams like The Columbus Clippers and watched games on TV and even collected Topps cards alongside us. But sadly while it was a fun time bonding with my Dad, I just could not get into baseball and found the game kind of boring and things like comics, horror films and video games more interesting. One thing I will say is that while my Dad is a jock, he never has judged me for not liking sports like he does and even bought me Captain America comics and VHS as well, even horror films like Hellraiser III, when I was a youth. As I’ve gotten older, my Dad and I watch MMA, boxing and NFL Super Bowl together and have a great time. But back to baseball – when I was a kid, my favorite players were Eric Davis and Barry Larkin, and I can remember trading baseball cards with my neighbor Kelly who was a very cool and sweet person, and going to Bills Baseball Den in Waynesville and Bookie Parlor in Kettering to get cards and packs. It’s odd to think that while I barely watched the game, I still spent time and effort collecting cards for sport stars that I knew very little about, but I think that was part of the MLB magic, that it was able to make a strange monster kid like myself want to buy trading cards. Plus I think it came down to trying to fit in with friends and having a good time opening packs with my dad, mom and brother at the kitchen table. This update is for my Dad and friends like Josh Weinberg, Nick Wiget and all the others who love this classic sport and respect all that Pete Rose has done for it. This update will be about Pete Rose, baseball and my ties to this game. So get your ball glove ready and your cap on because we are here till the bottom of the 9^th and we are ready to hit a Rotten Ink home-run!

To talk about Pete Rose we must first talk about The Cincinnati Reds, and I am going to do my best to get the facts right and give that ball team the respect it deserves in a quick yet fun manner, so here’s a crash course on the history of the Reds! In 1869 a baseball team called the Cincinnati Red Stockings was the team that would morph into the Reds and did so in 1881 and became a American Association team in 1882. In 1890, they joined the National League and became a true pro baseball team. The team has won five World Series in the years 1919, 1940, 1975, 1976 and 1990 and have played in many home town ballparks like Crosley Field, Riverfront Stadium and Great America Ball Park they currently call home. In 1970-1976 under the manager George “Sparky” Anderson, the team went under the nickname The Big Red Machine and had lots of big name ballplayers on the team the included Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Tom Seaver and Lee May to name a few. The team won two World Series and it became one of the biggest most popular times for the team in it’s rich history. Another big time for the Reds was in 1990 when they went wire to wire and won the World Series with players like Barry Larkin, Eric Davis, Chris Sabo, Paul O’Neill and the pitching team nicknamed “The Nasty Boys” who were Rob Dibble, Norman Charlton and Randy Myers. This team was managed by Lou Piniella. The Reds are still going strong in 2015, and while they have made it to the play-offs many times over the past few years, they have not been able to make it to the World Series, but if you ask guys like Josh Weinberg they will tell you that this year is the year they will take it all and if not, the next year or maybe the next year…yeah, you get the point. Fans of the Reds are very loyal and have tons of respect for their team even if they do lose. So while this team has such a rich and amazing history, this tiny write up is just some of the highlights. If you want to learn more about The Reds, check out the team’s Wikipedia or read a book based on the ball club. I should also note that the team’s mascot is Mr. Redlegs who is a baseball headed ball player. For most of his time on the team Mr. Redlegs rocked a mustache, but when I was younger he had none and was a pretty popular mascot at school in Waynesville. Over all while I might not be a big watcher of sports, I can still respect and cheer for our home state teams and hope that sometime very soon The Reds once more become champs!

I am by no means an athlete. When I was younger, I was okay at playing football and basketball, but I could have been the worst of the worst when it came to neighborhood baseball and could have had the worst batting average among my friends! One summer my dad bought us a wiffleball bat and ball. We would play in the backyard, and it would almost always be me and my brother against our parents in a battle of home-runs hit over the roof of the house; we lost almost all the games. In the neighborhood, we would play baseball at Brad Burns’ or Mike Cessna’s house, and I can remember that being a lot of fun as all the kids from around would come and play, and even Mike’s dog Barney would join in on the fun! At my grandparents’ house I would play ball with my brother Bryan and cousins Nathan, Stephen and Tony. While some times this was pitching, most of the time it was T-Ball. In school, we played baseball in gym, and I can remember one time we where playing outside and I so wanted to impress the girl I had a crush on my whole tenure in Waynesville and was hit in the head with softball from a pitch thrown by Ryan “The Bull” Jones. The impact made me blackout for a second and I fell to one knee, but I was lucky and was able to shake it off! I should have probably gone to the nurse after it, and for months after I had massive headaches that would come and go, but that didn’t bother me as much as the fact I looked foolish in front of her! So as you can see my baseball “career” was very lame and filled with defeat and heartbreak!

So at this time I think I am going to ask one of my best friends and one of the biggest Reds fans I know, Josh Weinberg, 5 questions about his love and respect for the Reds. I have known Josh for so many years now and from the first day I met him, he has always worn Cincinnati Reds and Bengals shirts, hats and jerseys as well as Ohio State gear so when writing about Pete Rose I knew I had to have my pal involved. I mean he is the guy who bought VHS tapes from a Goodwill Outlet that had the Reds winning the 1990 World Series. So here we go, 5 Questions with Josh Weinberg!

Me: Welcome back, Josh, to Rotten Ink. You are a legend among my friends I write about here on my slice of the web. So how long have you been a Cincinnati Reds fan?

Josh: I have been a Reds fan since 1990, the year that they swept the Oakland A’s in the World Series. Ever since then I was hooked. I remember being at my dad’s shop listening to the games.

Me: Always cool to hear how sports brought families together. Who are your 4 top favorite players for the Reds of all time?

Josh: My top 4 Reds players of all time are simple number 1.) Barry Larkin 2.) Chris Sabo 3.) Jose Rio and (4 Sean Casey.

Me: Barry Larkin and Eric Davis would be two of my favorites too. Did you every play baseball for school or Little League? If not, have you ever thought about it?

Josh: I played little league growing up as well as umpiring for kids’ leagues. I had to stop because I could not keep up my grades. Such is life.

Me: Those pesky grades and school standing in your way of being a baseball legend! So how many Reds games have you been to in your lifetime thus far?

Josh: I have probably been to between 20 and 30 games in my lifetime. With many more to come. My ultimate is going to opening day.

Me: That’s way more games then I have been to. If I am lucky, I think I have been to 4 or 5. Last question for you Josh, should Pete Rose be in the Baseball Hall Of Fame, and why or why not?

Josh: Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame for one single reason: the hall is about what you did on the field not what you did off the field. He is the hit king, Charley Hustle, and deserves to be in the hall. There are plenty of things other players have done back in the day and are in now. If he had not lied about it, he would be in.

Me: I agree Pete should be in for all he has done for the sport! Thanks Josh! Do you have any closing words for the Rotten Ink readers and fans of the Reds?

Josh: Last thing I have to say is Go Reds! One of these days they will win it all again…hopefully before I die!

While I don’t think they will do much this 2015 season, sometime soon I am sure the Reds will rise to be champs again!

Pete Rose has also been involved in another sport, Pro Wrestling, where he had a feud with the Big Red Machine Kane that spanned a few WWE WrestleMania’s as well as earned Rose a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame! Pete Rose at WrestleMania XIV was the guest ring announcer for a match between The Undertaker and Kane and for some reason became the target of Kane who gave the ball player a tombstone pile driver before the match even started. The following year at WrestleMania XV, Pete Rose wanted revenge on Kane and dressed as the San Diego Chicken to attack the wrestler from behind. This did not work as once more Rose was knocked out with a tombstone pile driver, and Kane went on to wrestle his match against Triple H. At WrestleMania 2000, Pete Rose once more tried to get the upper hand on Kane and after his tag match against DX, Rose tried to hit Kane with a baseball bat but was choked slammed! After this, Rose did a commercial for WWE No Mercy PPV and was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame by Kane in 2004. Pete Rose in 2010 was a guest host of Monday Night Raw and set a match between Kane and Shawn Michaels, after Kane lost he once more attacked the aging ball player. After this appearance, Rose has been mentioned on air as well as did an interview for WWE.COM on Kane’s attacks on him. While Pete Rose never wrestled a match for WWE, during his appearance he made some great moments in wrestling and it was nice to see a baseball player of his caliber not take himself too seriously.

So from the ball field to the wrestling ring, Pete Rose has proven time and time again that the man is a legend and is a very interesting person who has worked for his fame the hard way by given 110% every time. He has also proven that he is a marketing machine as his image has graced the likes of RC Cola cans, collector drinking glasses even one from Gold Star Chili, action figures from the Starting Line-Up a series made by Kenner & Hasbro, comic books, trading cards, collector coins, video game for Atari 2600/7800, TV Commercials, t-shirts among many other products and goods! The ones I remember the most are the video game for Atari 2600 that was a solid cheesy baseball game and the Starting Line Up figures that looked nothing like him and had very little articulation. But if you were a Rose fan, the world is filled with enough collector items to keep you very happy!

As I have stated before, I am a Monster Guy who loves comic books and this year (2015) I have gone through a stage where I am reading lots of 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s Spider-Man comics. I am talking Amazing, Spectacular and Web Of and have gotten issues all over from Mavericks all the way to Lone Star Comics and many of the issues are coming bag and boarded to protect and keep the issue safe. Well one of the WORST places that bag and board their issues has to be Half Price Books as they clearly use the cheapest bags and boards and some of the worst tape in comic collecting history! When trying to open your comic the tape sticks to the plastic bag and rips holes in the bag and can even bend your comic as you try to get it open. This has caused many annoying late night readings of Spidey and lots of curses toward these cheap bags. Also when writing this update, I was listening to Billy Idol’s 2014 release “Kings & Queens Of The Underground.” It’s a pretty solid album. While it’s by no means a classic, I still am glad that Billy is making music as he has been one of my favorite music artists sense I was a kid alongside Alice Cooper, Motley Cure, W.A.S.P. and Cinderella. In fact one of the best birthday presents in my adult life that I ever got was from Juliet as she got us close seats to Billy Idol at Fraze Pavilion in Kettering in 2010! The best tracks off this CD are the title track Kings & Queens Of The Underground and Eyes Wide Shut. The odd part about this disc is that almost all of the songs are ballads and not the fist pumping tracks one would expect from Billy Idol. So a special thanks goes to Marvel Comics for Spider-Man and Billy Idol for helping me while writing this update. I should also thank The Angry Video Game Nerd as I had episodes playing on the TV while I wrote and Billy Idol’s CD was done. So I think it would be safe to say that Idol and AVGN acted as the soundtrack to this update and Spider-Man entertained my mind before I went to bed almost every night.

It’s Masstar Comics turn at bat, and I can’t wait to see what this bio Comic is like. I am wondering what direction they will take with his suspension from the sport and what kind of stories off the field they will share. I have never heard of Masstar Comics, and this will be my first read for one of their comics so this should be interesting. I want to thank a vendor at Peddlers’ Mall for having this comic at their booth as well as thank Jason Young for taking me there to look around. Oddly during our time at the Peddlers’ Mall, Jason and I found lots of Pete Rose merchandise and after that Mavericks even ended up putting out boxes of Rose’s ball cards, making me think that it was my calling to do this update. I should also remind you that I grade these issues on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So let’s see if Masstar can slide into homebase as they team up with Pete Rose and Rotten Ink to bring you this fun read at the ballpark, oh and um can I get some peanuts and a hotdog…and maybe one of those foam oversized hats?

Pete Rose # 1 **1/2
Released in 1992 Cover Price $2.50 Masstar Comic # 1 of 1

Pete Rose or Pee Wee as his father called him was a young man who grew up in Ohio and was a fan of sports with baseball being his passion with football coming in second. His mother and father encouraged him to try harder at everything he did and thanks to his Uncle who was a baseball talent scout he was able to get a tryout for the Cincinnati Reds in 1960 by being put into the minor leagues and he once more busted his butt in order to impress the scouts and to get better at the game he loved. As he became better and better he finally catches the eye of Reds couch Freddie Hutchinson who hires him as second base man and allows him to prove that he has heart, but this upsets the older players who act as if Pete is not even alive and his only friends on the team are Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson who as well were ignored by teammates cause the color of their skin. Rose was not a super star from the start but season after season he became better and better and even turned up the intensity in the way he played and would go on to win the MVP Award for the year 1973 and in 1975 and 1976 he helped lead them to World Series wins. In 1979 Pete Rose turned down a contract from The Reds and took one from the Philadelphia Phillies and had some solid good seasons with them. Rose returned to The Reds in 1984 after a short time with the Montreal Expos and back with the Reds he broke hitting records and even became the teams Manager. While things looked great for Rose in 1989 it all came crashing down as he was accused of illegally betting on baseball games and the MLB Commissioner banished him from the game he loved.

Pete Rose is a ball player that is beloved by fans and has a mixed reaction from players and higher ups within the MLB all for his gambling issue. But this comic does a great job of making Rose a likable underdog who proved that hard work and support from your loved ones can make you a superstar of whatever your profession is. This bio comic follows Pete Rose from a youngster playing ball with his friends all the way to playing for the Reds coaching them and being banned from the game that he loves. The plus side to this comic is that the story is very fast paced and highlights all the major events in his life without dragging along, but the downside is the fact most major events are done in a couple of panels and don’t show much of his friendships nor rivalries with his fellow Reds and that’s a letdown. It was interesting to see why Rose left the Reds to play for Philadelphia and even more so how when he first joined the team all the older players didn’t like him so they ignored him and treated him like he was a ghost. The comic ends with Rose being suspended from baseball and leaves it making it look like he never bet on baseball when in fact he did and lied about it for years. The cover is pretty eye catching and shows Rose through the years as the art inside is pretty well done and makes Rose look like he should and is done by John Tartaglione who you can tell had fun drawing this comic. Over all this was a fun Unauthorized Bio comic on an iconic baseball player and was well worth the read and purchase. Check out the art below done by Tartaglione.

We made it to home base and scored the winning point thanks to Pete Rose and Masstar Comics, and along the way I found a new respect for baseball and now understand the appeal it has for all its fans, as it’s a sport that is filled with a rich history and gives people pride in their favorite team and something to talk about around the water cooler at work. While I may or may not ever go see a Reds game again at the stadium I still have the good memories of going to them with my Dad, brother Bryan and my dad’s best friend John in my youth. Well our next update is going to take us out of the ball field and into the world of self-defense as I am going to take a look at an Atlas Comic based around the secret world of the martial arts called The Hands Of The Dragon! So make sure to come back for that one but until then enjoy the summer and read a comic or three.

Spider-Man Cares About Your Teeth

Posted on February 1, 2015 by bloodlinematt

Do you like candy? How about soda or bubble gum? What about cakes and pies? Well we all have a sweet tooth from time to time and besides your dentist, you know who else cares about your teeth and dental healthcare? Is it the president of the United States…nope. While he cares some, the man I am talking about really cares a lot. Could it be Timmy The Tooth…well, no. While he does care about our teeth, he is not who we are talking about at this time. The man I am thinking of is a hero of the super variety, and it’s not Colgate Junior or Sparkle Man. I’m talking about the one and only Amazing Spider-Man! You see, when he’s not beating up the likes of Rhino and Venom, he is fighting the good fight against cavities and gum disease alongside AIM toothpaste, and this quick update to Rotten Ink is about Spidey’s fight for healthy teeth and will serve as a reminder to brush your teeth three times a day.

When I was young, I believed in the Tooth Fairy just like most young kids did. When I would loose a tooth, I would leave it on the kitchen counter and in the morning there would be a dollar left in its place. I was always confused about why I had to leave it on the counter and not under my pillow like the story goes, but when I would see that dollar that question would be thrown out the window as I would just think about what toy or comic I could buy for my cash prize. I always pictured the tooth fairy as a beautiful blonde woman with a smile that would light up a room. She loved her job and collected all the teeth and kept them in jars. But my belief in the Tooth Fairy was very short lived as my Mom spilled the beans that there was no such thing and thats she and my dad were the ones leaving the money. It’s a good thing too because I could remember at night counting how many more baby teeth I had left and adding the dollar amounts to each. My parents always made sure that my brother and I brushed our teeth and even got us kid friendly mouth wash, and at school in Waynesville, they use to make us swish fluoride like once every two weeks and man that stuff the school gave us was so gross. The taste still haunts my taste buds to this day. One cartoon that sticks out in my mind that I saw when I was younger was Ren & Stimpy on Nickelodeon called “Ren’s Toothache” where Ren’s teeth all rot and fall out and he even gets a visit from the Tooth Fairy who is a creepy old man dressed in a tutu who leaves him lint instead of money. This episode is so gross and so oddly great, it has always stuck out in my mind. I also want to point out that the Tooth Fairy has been turned into a monster in a few horror films but the most popular was the 2003 film Darkness Falls about an evil spirit of a woman who was wrongfully accused of kidnapping some missing children and is burned alive. Now in modern times her ghost is killing kids and families if they see her as she comes for the lost teeth under pillows. The film was a minor success but did spark a Dark Horse Comic prequel as well as an action figure made by McFarlane Toys. So that’s just a few of the things that I think of when teeth and dental care pops into my mind.

In Waynesville I can remember also watching many great educational shows during class like Reading Rainbow, Mr. Wizard and Slim Goodbody, who will be the topic of this section of the update. Slim Goodbody was created and played by John Burstein and was the Superhero of Health who wore a tight body suit that showed muscle and organs and would teach kids good eating and grooming habits to try and stay healthy. Burstein created the character in 1975 and made appearances at hospitals as well as had small segments on TV shows like Captain Kangaroo, Good Morning America and The Today Show. With these segments Slim Goodbody became a popular character in children education. By 1980, PBS gave Slim Goodbody his own series that for years would be the network’s second highest rated show, and with this also came making books about health. To this day Slim Goodbody is still teaching his message and even was featured in a 2013 Super Bowl ad for Radio Shack that showcased many 80’s icons including Hulk Hogan and Jason Voorhees. I always enjoyed watching Slim at school and learned a lot of things about the human body from Slim, oh yes I also learned things about teeth from him! So here is to you, Mr. Slim Goodbody, for being a good role model to kids. Oh yeah one other thing, with Slim’s popularity it’s shocking that no one made a comic series based on his healthy adventures…another missed series that Star Comics could have made.

One thing before we get into the Marvel/Aim Toothpaste comics that I would like to talk about is the 80’s and 90’s weird toothpaste flavors for kids, the most notable being bubble gum that was green and was a tie-in to the cartoon series The Real Ghostbusters and used Slimer as its mascot! The Slimer toothpaste had a real sugary taste to it and looked a little strange sitting on your toothbrush. My parents never did get it for us as they almost always bought us just Crest, but my cousins Wayne and John did have the toothpaste and while at their house, we got to try it. One thing is for sure, back in the 80’s and early 90’s companies sure did try very hard to encourage kids to brush their teeth and floss and used all types of gimmicks to try and make it cool; from mascots to cartoon tie-ins, companies wanted to kill those pesky mouth germs. So did any of you readers out there ever brush your teeth with Slimer toothpaste?

One other thing I loved as a kid were the character tooth brushes by companies like Oral-B. Picking a tooth brush always was fun as you flipped past Star Wars characters, Bugs Bunny and even WWF Wrestlers. Ones I can remember having as a kid were The Ultimate Warrior, Bugs Bunny and Darth Vader and while they were very generic in style, these character brushes made brushing more fun.

So are you ready to brush your teeth with Spider-Man and Aim Toothpaste? Cause Spidey really wants you to have a good check up next time your at the dentist! So I should thank Mavericks and Bell Book And Comic for having these issues in stock, and I should also remind my readers I grade these issues on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So let’s take a hit off the “laughing gas” and give a great big smile cause Spider-Man is going to kick some bad teeth care in the butt.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Aim Toothpaste # 1 ***
Released in 1980 Cover Price .40 Marvel Comics #1 of 2

Peter Parker has to babysit and take J. Jonah Jameson’s nephew Randy to the dentist as part of his job at the Daily Bugle. While there he meets dentist Raymond Sadetsky who had created a Dental Laser that will change the face of tooth care forever! But during Randy’s check up, The Green Goblin kidnaps the dentist and even beats Spider-Man who tries to rescue the dentist. The next day when Peter and Randy are at the zoo, they pass by a police car and hear that Green Goblin is now attacking the Robert Bite’s jewel shop, and after ditching Randy once more Peter becomes Spider-Man and rushes to the rescue, only to once more fail. This time Green Goblin escapes with tons of rubies and before he leaves, lets out a clue about bridgework. The next day Peter Parker takes Randy to the dental exhibit to snap some pictures for the Bugle, and all the while the Goblin’s “clue” picks away at Peter who drops off Randy at Aunt May’s and heads to a steel mill underneath a bridge and finds Green Goblin stealing some piping. Once more Spidey tries to stop him and fails; this time web head even finds himself at death’s door as he is buried under tons of steel! While Spider-Man tries to save himself, it’s very clear Green Goblin is using Sadetsky to build him something that will make him rich and even be used to kill superheroes…but what is it? Spider-Man gets free of his death trap and thanks to his Spidey tracker finds the Green Goblin’s secret hideout right as he receives a powerful laser ray and during the fight Sadetsky gets hurt and Spider-Man must get him to the hospital and Goblin gets away. In the end Green Goblin goes to the Dental Exhibit with his laser to steal all the gold and silver used for fillings but is stopped thanks to Spider-Man who knocks him into a giant pair of teeth that holds the Goblin down. Peter Parker sells some pictures of the Goblin and Spidey fight as Randy goes back to the dentist to fill the cavities he has, and Raymond Sadetsky is a-ok.

The adventure Spider-Man has just to try and make brushing your teeth hip and cool as well as going to the dentist is one heck of a fun ride that comes off not too preachy and holds a classic Silver Age Marvel charm. First things first, I have to say is J. Jonah Jameson is a terrible uncle as he passes of his young nephew on Peter Parker and makes him take him all over New York. Now think about that how well does Jameson really trust Parker as a responsible adult…not at all! Randy is a very well behaved kid who wants to be a photographer so being around Parker is a good learning tool for the young man, even though his Uncle wants him to be a reporter. Peter Parker does a great job babysitting and does an even better job ditching the kid when he needs to change into his alter ego. Spider-Man for some reason feels out classed in this issue as Green Goblin makes a fool out of him many times during the several battles they have, but when push comes to shove Spidey saved the day and even managed to save a dentist. Green Goblin is filled with giving clues in the issue and really reminded me of the DC Batman super villain The Riddler, but man he sure does pack a punch and gives Spider-Man a run for his money. While the comic is sponsored by AIM Toothpaste, besides one tiny ad in the back and the logo on the cover, they do not push themselves into shameless plugs and ram that everyone should use their toothpaste down the readers throats. The over all feel of the comic is that of a classic Marvel Spider-Man issue, and I must say this reader enjoyed every cheesy panel of it. The comic would have cost .40 but if you bought AIM, if was free with the purchase. Alex Saviuk, who was an a-lister artist that worked on the normal Amazing Spider-Man series and is truly a master of the Silver Age, does the art. Check out below for a sample of the art from this issue.

So with that let’s get onto issue 2 and see what other tooth filled adventure Spider-Man can have and what super villain will stand in the way of good dental care this time!

The Amazing Spider-Man: Aim Toothpaste # 2 **1/2
Released in 1982 Cover Price .60 Marvel Comics #2 of 2

Peter Parker has been sent to Cape Canaveral to take pictures of a space shuttle/ weather satellite launch for the Daily Bugle, but while in the pressroom, he notices Doctor Octopus who seems to be in pain and rushes out of the room and drives away. Peter as Spider-Man now follows him and finds that Doc Ock is going to the dentist Dr. Allen who gives the super villain a filling in a tooth giving him a problem and also notices a metal object wedged in one of his teeth and this sets Doc Ock into a rage! Once Dr. Allen helps Doc Ock, he then goes to help Peter Parker who followed his arch enemy and loses his trail when the dentist gives him a check up, but while there he learns that Doc Ock has a small transmitter in his mouth and he is planning on high jacking the launch! Peter rushes out and turns back into Spider-Man and makes short work of Octopus’s thugs and then Ock himself. One power punch even knocks the transmitter from his tooth! In the end Doc Ock gets more dental care in prison, and Peter Parker sells his pictures of the launch and the fight.

This second AIM Toothpaste comic is pretty good but does not hold the charm of the first give away issue and is way more preachy about tooth care. Spider-Man, while fighting one of his biggest arch enemies, really doesn’t have much to do as his fight with Ock only lasts a few punches as does his fight with the henchmen. Peter Parker is more of the issue’s focus and that’s just so he can visit the dentist and give a run down on how he takes care of his teeth and that he learned good dental habits from his Aunt May. J. Jonah Jameson has a cameo that amounts to nothing more than giving Parker his assignment and in the end telling him that he should visit a dentist regular for healthy teeth. Doctor Octopus is up to his old tricks, but his tooth pain is causing him some major issues and even distracts him from his main prize of high jacking, but man does he go down like a chump in his fight with Spider-Man! The plot is very simple, and most of the issue takes place it seems in the Dentist Office where they push facts about brushing and not eating a lot of sugar snacks with Dr. Allen. Over all there is not much here in this issue, and while it was a fun read, it’s also very forgettable and is clearly sponsored by a toothpaste company. The art is done by ummmm..I don’t know as there are no credits besides of course Stan Lee presents. We can’t forget that credit now, could we? But take a look below for an example of the art.

That’s one thing I loved about classic Marvel, they would do free give away comics for all types of products and charities, and they were always fun cheesy adventures. Spider-Man I think was always a perfect fit for these types of comics because he was well loved by kids, and you could put him in all types of adventures with mascots like Cap’n Crunch or the Quick Bunny. He could even tackle things like fire safety all the way to back to school, and he would not lose any credit at being a superhero in the youth’s eyes. So when it comes to dental work and to make sure kids brushed their teeth with AIM Toothpaste, Spider-Man was the perfect spokesman!

So I am sure you’re wondering what our next update will be about. I mean what could top an update about Spidey hocking a toothpaste product? Well, we will be taking another look at an icon of Horror Hosting as we take a look at USA Saturday Nightmares! So make sure to come back for that one. Until then make sure to brush your teeth, read a comic and support your local Horror Host, and oh yeah Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

Marvel’s Razor Toed Assassin…The Death Of The Tarantula

Posted on November 9, 2014 by bloodlinematt

Death in comic books is nothing new. In fact, many heroes have gone to the big comic rack in the sky and when they do, it’s been covered on major news outlets. Who doesn’t remember when DC killed off Superman via a beat down by Doomsday in the 90’s or when Marvel killed Captain America in 2008 via an assassination? Most recently even Archie Andrews, the fun loving iconic character and poster boy for Archie Comics, was killed when he was shot trying to protect one of his friends. Even Wolverine of the X-Men could not escape Death’s grip. But when most comic villains die, no one makes a big deal about it. Sure, when Norman Osborne’s Green Goblin bit the big one and when Kraven The Hunter killed himself, it sent shockwaves through the comic world, but there were no major stories in newspapers or on TV. And then you have guys like Baron Blood, Baron Zemo and Egghead who die and it seems that no one cares. The comic world just moves on like nothing happened…well this update is about just one of those types of death that seems to be forgotten by modern comic readers. The death we are looking at today is that of The Tarantula! So let’s dress in black and remember the life and crimes of Anton Miguel Rodriguez aka The Tarantula in his last story arc that took place in Amazing Spider-Man.

So we should start this remembrance of Tarantula by doing some bios for the major players in this 4-issue story that leads up to his demise, but first I would like to talk a little about my past. When I was a kid, my brother and I had a lot of comics, and many of them were Spider-Man issues that our Mom and Grandma would pick up for us at garage sales. The rest would come from some antique stores in our hometown, Waynesville, or local comic shops like Mavericks and Bookie Parlor, and man we had a blast reading them! I can even remember sometimes my brother would even read the Spider-Man comics to me out loud as I played with toys listening to the adventure. There is four major story lines that I can remember from the Spider-Man comics of my youth, and one of them is the death of Tarantula. I can remember for some reason liking Tarantula and always considered him a major bad guy in the Spidey universe, even though he was in reality a minor character. And when I first read these issues I was shocked that they just killed one of his bad guys off in such a horrific way. But I do feel it’s time right now for us to take a look at the characters that make up this tragic death in comic history. Some of these bios I took from Marvel.com while others I wrote myself or found elsewhere.

Amazing Spider-Man

Bitten by a radioactive spider, high school student Peter Parker gained the speed, strength and powers of a spider. Adopting the name Spider-Man, Peter hoped to start a career using his new abilities. Taught that with great power comes great responsibility, Spidey has vowed to use his powers to help people.

The Tarantula

As a revolutionary terrorist in the small fictional South American republic of Delvadia, Anton Miguel Rodriguez was expelled from his small organization after murdering a guard without reason during a robbery. Anton then went over to the side of the repressive fascistic-dictatorship government, where they created the Tarantula identity for him to serve as a government operative and his country’s counterpart to Captain America. After alienating his masters, Tarantula embarked on a criminal career in the United States. He is also the second bad guy to take on the persona of The Tarantula.

Will-O-The-Wisp

Jackson Arvad was the chief scientist for electromagnetic research at the Brand Corporation until a laboratory accident shattered the “magno-chamber” in whose vicinity Arvad was working. The disaster thrust Arvad’s body into the magno-chamber’s electromagnetic field. This caused the molecules of Arvad’s body to gradually disperse, and he was left there to die by his superior, James Melvin. However, Arvad did not die and he soon discovered that he possessed a certain degree of mental control over his body’s molecules. Each time he relaxed control over his molecular structure, it became more difficult for him to resume a solid state. Fearing that his body’s molecules would drift apart and he would be unable to reintegrate them, he contacted criminal scientist Dr. Jonah Harrow. Pretending to help him, Harrow implanted a tiny receptor in Arvad’s skull so that he could disrupt the Wisp’s mental control over his molecules. Harrow then forced the Will-O’-The-Wisp to carry out certain criminal activities to advance Harrow’s plans. During this crime spree, the Wisp encountered Spider-Man, who later tried to persuade him to resist the man controlling him. Will O’ The Wisp finally decided to turn against Harrow, but upon realizing the Wisp’s intent, Harrow activated the device in the Wisp’s skull and dissipated him.

James Melvin

James Melvin was the president of The Brand Corporation and is a sleazy and greedy man who will do what ever it takes to make himself rich.

So there we have a look at the power players in this game of life and death for The Tarantula. I want to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics for having these issues in stock, and before we enter this look at his demise I grade these comics on a standard 1-4 star rating and am looking at how well the comic keeps to the source material, its entertainment value, and its art and story. So with that let’s pay our respects to The Tarantula.

The Amazing Spider-Man # 233 ***
Released in 1982 Cover Price .60 Marvel Comics #233 of 441

J. Jonah Jameson has called a meeting in his office over a missing two bit hood named Nose Norton who has some information that could lead to one of the biggest busts the city has ever seen of a corporation called BRAND. Jameson has already paid for the info and is mad his informant is M.I.A., and worse those he can hurt have placed a hit on his head. Jameson has offered a $1,500.00 bonus to whoever works for him and finds Norton! This news piques the interest of Peter who needs to money for school and to help Aunt May as well as Ben Ulrich, newshound and friend to superhero Daredevil. Meanwhile a South American company has hired the terrorist The Tarantula to find and kill Norton, who is hiding out at a small gin joint, and when Ben gets a tip Peter follows him and together they track down and find Norton just as The Tarantula does and with a quick change Peter becomes Spider-Man and takes on The Tarantula just as Ben and Norton exchanges words which leads to Norton being shot by two private detectives hired by BRAND, as Spider-Man makes a fool out of Tarantula by beating him quickly. He changes back to Peter Parker, and he and Ben notice that Norton being shot and a South American terrorist being called in to make a hit all seems way too odd.

This is what a good old classic Spider-Man comic is all about. On one side you have the action of Spider-Man, and on the other the day to day drama of Peter Parker. In this issue Spider-Man is as wise cracking and smart assed as ever before and really does his best to try and find Norton in order to get the bonus money to help pay off his student loans as Peter Parker and to help Aunt May with her retirement center idea she wants to build. Spidey gets to make fools of some low life scum and gets to put a beatdown on The Tarantula. Peter Parker in this issue has two plots going on, one is just getting the bonus money and the second is he captures the eye of a cute blonde named Amy who is thinking of flirting with him to get back at her current boyfriend Lance Bannon. The Peter parts are good, but let’s be honest we all read for the Spider-Man parts! The Tarantula, whose real name is Anton Miguel Rodriguez, in this issue is down and out and while once a major player in his home country, is now just a petty arms trader who had to change his name, and by getting this hit he could make himself a top player again! He tries so hard to beat Spider-Man in the fight and busts out not only his poison tipped boots but also claws that drip the same deadly poison, but this has no effect as Spidey still gets the upper hand leaving him defeated on a garbage ship floating in the water. The story is really good and has a noire feel with Nose Norton being a wanted man from all sides because of information he knows, and his only hope is to trust no one! The story really makes me want to see how it all plays out and what BRAND and this South American guy want from Norton that no doubt will end in his death! Not to mention how will Ben Ulrich come into play. Reading this comic again after all these years really just makes me want to read more and more classic Spider-Man issues cause I am having a blast reliving this storyline! I should also say the art is done by John Romita Jr. and Jim Mooney and is good solid work, and the issue had a great Rotten Ink smell! So let’s move onto the next issue in this story and see where it goes.

The Amazing Spider-Man # 234 ***
Released in 1982 Cover Price .60 Marvel Comics #234 of 441

Nose Norton is in a coma as Ben and Peter come up empty handed on the photo proof that the BRAND Detectives shot first. But the big news is that one of the BRAND Corporations facilities has been blown up by Will-O-The-Wisp who blames the company for giving him his ungodly powers. Meanwhile across town Tarantula is feeling beat up with broken ribs and a bruised ego after losing to Spider-Man in their last fight. He is visited by a BRAND Company doctor who informs him that they wants Spider-Man out of the way and will help him do so by making him just like Spider-Man! Meanwhile in Peter Parker’s world, he has a run in with Amy Powell who tries her best to flirt with him, but she is blown off by Peter who still is hung up on a past breakup. Peter Parker goes to BRAND to try and get an intern job and see what secrets he can dig up when he comes across James Melvin, a slimy government weapons maker who is nothing but bad news. With the help of a spider tracker and the building’s air vents, Spider-Man follows him to a giant lab were they dip Tarantula into a vat of chemicals hoping to make him strong and Spider-Man like and use him as a agent for the company. Spider-Man has heard enough and busts from the vent and tries to stop it all just as Will-O-The-Wisp comes busting in to destroy the lab and building. As Spider-Man fights with Wisp, who thinks Spidey has been paid by BRAND to stop him, Melvin uses a new ray gun that hurts Wisp and as Spider-Man pulls his confused “friend” from harm’s way, The Tarantula comes out of the vat deformed and looking like a human spider!

Spider-Man is knee deep in trouble in this issue as he not only has to deal with Tarantula but now also James Melvin and BRAND as well as Will-O-The-Wisp! And while he knows Will-O-The-Wisp is a confused being, he still lands a jaw breaking punch in their fight to try and snap some sense into him. Peter Parker in this issue dwells on his love for thief Black Cat who he thinks is dead, and even gives the cold shoulder to blonde cutie Amy. He also shows that years of science work pays off as he gets to enter the BRAND Companies facility under the fake story of an intern interview. Will-O-The-Wisp is a light ball of rage as the only thing on his mind is revenge and with that means blowing up buildings! Tarantula, poor guy, is beat up pretty bad and falls for a plan that leaves him looking like a spider version of the horror character The Fly. Plus the plot thickens as Norton is in a coma, BRAND is clearly an evil business empire, Tarantula is now a walking freak of nature and Will-O-The-Wisp is a nut who wants to teach his one time tormenters a lesson, making this a fun story line. The art in this issue is done by John Romita Jr. and Dan Green, and this is twice that Romita Jr. has had a second artist with him, wonder why that is…my guess is they had him working on so many books at the time that the second artist was there to help him get them done on time. So let’s move on and see just were the story takes us in this next issue!

The Amazing Spider-Man # 235 ***
Released in 1982 Cover Price .60 Marvel Comics #235 of 441

Spider-Man toss the injured Will-O-The-Wisp to the side and starts to fight against the freak version of The Tarantula. Spidey learns that while he is strong like him, Tarantula is lacking the spider sense that allows him to know when punches are coming. Will-O-The-Wisp wakes up as Dr. Melvin is trying to take him prisoner. While he has been weakened, Wisp turns into his light ball and enters the fight against the mutated Tarantula. As those two go at it, Spider-Man saves people from the destruction their fight is causing. Wisp and Tarantula fall into the near by water and are believed to be dead via drowning. Spider-Man quickly turns back into Peter Parker and leaves the BRAND facility and returns home to find all his pictures he just took are trashed due to the radiation the machines in the lab were giving off. Mean while J. Jonah Jameson gets some bad news that his big news story on the corruption of BRAND has to be canceled as the government says that if they run the story it will ruin their case against the giant company that they as well are trying to bring down. Spider-Man breaks into James Melvin’s home and watches as Will-O-The-Wisp also appears and confronts Melvin who realizes that he was once Wisp’s boss and that his own actions lead to an accident that left his one time employee into his light energy being! Will-O-The-Wisp uses mind control and is about to have Melvin kill himself when Spider-Man comes to the rescue and this causes the two to exchange blows, but a scream stops them in dead tracks when they see Melvin in the arms of the even more mutated Tarantula!

The more you find out about BRAND, the more you dislike this fake comic world company as they even have ties to the oil companies…yep they are icky. The issue has a really nice touch when they have a government agent come and speak to the Daily Bugle staff that was working on the write up about BRAND, and he shares all types of past comic book activities that were connected to them. Spider-Man once more uses his brain and follows leads and learns some things about his enemies just by hiding and listening. He also seems to act as a voice of reason to Will-O-The-Wisp whose obsession with revenge has clouded his mind and leads him toward killing. Will-O-The-Wisp’s backstory of a scientist pushed too hard from his boss that leads to a horrible accident is straight out of a 50’s Sci-Fi B-Movie. Wisp also comes off as a good guy who is doing bad things because he thinks it’s the right thing to do to make the wrongs right. James Melvin is a fat slimy creep who is doing bad things to make himself and his employers rich, because with a slimeball like him money talks and the world’s safety comes last. Tarantula who is a mutated freak now seems to be becoming more and more spider like and losing the human side of himself as his appearance keeps changing for the worse. Artwork is this time around done by John Romita Jr. and Frank Giacoia and as always looks great. So with us coming up on the last issue, I want you to ask yourself if you don’t know how this is ending already how do you think Tarantula is going to die…pick now and see if you’re right as we head into the final issue in this story line.

The Amazing Spider-Man # 236 ***
Released in 1983 Cover Price .60 Marvel Comics #236 of 441

Tarantula is holding a passed out Melvin in his arms as Will-O-The-Wisp informs Spider-Man that this mutated menace is under his control now. Little do they know the head of the oil company is watching what’s going on via a TV chat box trying to figure out a way to cut ties with BRAND and leave them holding the bag for all the bad deeds they have done. Tarantula breaks the mind control when his brain drifts further away from being human and that more of an animal who wants to eat! Will-O-The-Wisp knocks the mutated freak out as Spider-Man saves Melvin from a doomed death and leads Wisp on a city wide chase after he hides Melvin in a safe spot. Meanwhile a news crew have spotted Tarantula and are following him, as Spider-Man tricks Wisp into flying through a machine that mixes up his body molecules he takes him to Melvin to try and talk sense into him that the best revenge he could get is by turning him in and not killing him. As the pair get to Melvin, they see that Tarantula is about to eat him for a midday snack! Spider-Man fights with the Tarantula who now has very little left of his human brain as well as his body now is more like a giant spider. Wisp comes to and takes Melvin to safety and hypnotizes him into telling the police all the bad things he has done. In the end Spider-Man watches as Tarantula looses control and leaps off the building towards the cops below who all open fire on him as he splats on the ground below. In the end Peter Parker at the Daily Bugle watches the news report with the staff on BRAND and James Melvin being under investigation by the government as well as the oil company who are in fact the puppet masters pulling all the evil strings.

So for those of you who guessed that Tarantula was going to die by leaping off a building and getting shot and splatting on the ground, consider yourself a true cheesy comic bad guy fan…and for those who got it wrong, maybe next time. This issue marks the death of Anton Miguel Rodriguez as The Tarantula, and it’s a sad end as when he as the giant spider leaps from the building he begs the cops below to kill him. Tarantula was a prideful character who could not stand losing a fight to Spider-Man, and his ego and pride are what lead him to accepting the offer of BRAND who wanted a fighting machine to protect them and do their own bad wishes. Spider-Man keeps going even when he is worn out and tries his best to not only save the a-hole Melvin from death but also talk sense into Will-O-The-Wisp not murdering the slime ball all the while fighting off the crazed Tarantula. So needless to say I think he’s earned a rest day of eating chicken wings and watching pro wrestling. And it looks like Will-O-The-Wisp has learned that while revenge can be sweet, murder is not and he puts his faith in the law system to bring down BRAND now that Melvin has squealed like a pig on all the bad things going on at BRAND. So as you can see while things got better for Will-O-The-Wisp, they didn’t work out for Tarantula whose only release was in death. The art in this issue was done by John Romita Jr. and Frank Giacoia and once more is that classic Spider-Man look we all grew up loving. Check out below for The Tarantula’s transformation during this comic storyline.

Back in the day when a character died in a comic and you were young, it meant something and no matter how small the character was it had an impact on the reader. And The Tarantula’s death had that effect on me as over all the years of reading comics his death and Kraven’s has always stuck out. The fact he turned into a giant spider and leapt to his own death was shocking for me at the time and also in a strange way always made me think of the old film The Fly. So with this let’s take a moment of silence for The Tarantula.

The next update will be a little silly and a little less filled with grown men dressed as spiders as we take a look at yet another photo comic based on a Jess Franco film that has an old woman dress as a spider…thats right it’s Mari Cookie And The Killer Tarantula. So make sure to come back for that cheesy good time. So until then read a comic or two and make sure you appreciate all your favorite villains as they might not be around forever.

MarvelProbe: When Pixels And Ink Meet

Posted on August 19, 2014 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. Today I would like to talk about video games; right now on the home console market PS4 is kicking the butt of its competitors, the Nintendo WII-U and the Xbox One and with the Steam Box and even rumored Amazon Game System in the works this generation of gaming is going to be an interesting one. Most modern Triple A titles are like playing a movie as they are heavy on plots and the graphics are top notch. Games of this style would be like Assassins Creed, Halo, God of War and Legend Of Zelda. When playing a game like this, you are treated to beautiful breathtaking cut scenes that help draw you deeper and deeper into the plot. Also popular nowadays are the tiny mobile games that kids and adults play on their smart phones and tablets and most of these style games have very little plot and are quick play games that can kill boredom when waiting. Examples of these games are Planets Vs. Zombies, Minecraft and Angry Birds. But for me mobile games are just kind of bland and when I want to play a video game, I want to pop in a cart or disc and grab my controller and play. In this day and age a player does not have to use much of his or hers imagination like they did back when Atari 800 or 2600 ruled the home game market with wire thin plots and pixels that were kind of in the shape of whatever your character was suppose to be. While I am sure gamers now look at classic video games like Pac-Man, Frogger and Q*Bert as primitive, nothing could prepare them for text adventure games! Yes, in the 1980’s text based games were very popular, and while some of them had some graphics at the top of the screen, many of them did not and looked like just a bunch of words on a screen waiting for simple commands to further the “adventure” along. Think of text games like the book series called Choose Your Own Adventure where by reading and making a decision, you have your character’s fate in your hands, because let’s be honest kids want to read a bunch of text in order to play a video game….right? Text based games have been made about all types of things from Dracula to World War II but some of the most popular ones were based on Marvel Super Heroes and would you know they also made comics based on their text based adventures and that’s what our main subject will be all about! So get ready to have a text not texting good time as we jump into the world of pixels and ink.

Adventure International was an early video game company run by husband and wife Scott and Alexis Adams who specialized in making games for the home computer market like the Commodore 64 and Apple II that started in 1978. Scott Adams was a big name in the world of video games throughout the early 80’s, and he was mostly known for making top of the line text based adventure games. This helped his company lock a partnership with Marvel Comics in 1984 to make a text based game series that would focus many of their top heroes. In fact, 12 games were planned in the line as were comics that would come out alongside the games via Marvel. The first three games to come out were adventures based on The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man and Human Torch & The Thing from the Fantastic Four. The main plot had the heroes being studded by a unknown figure called Chief Examiner who would place them in odd places and situations to see how they would react to them. But sadly Adventure International hit a financial snag and closed up shop in 1985 leaving the 4th game,which was based around the X-Men, unfinished and the remaining titles in the line canceled. While his company may have closed shop Scott Adams still continued to make computer games throughout the years and even as of 2013 made a comeback after 10 years of not creating his own game made a text game called “The Inheritance” and remains an icon of PC Gaming.

Growing up the only text based games I could remember playing were ones that my Uncle Thurman would bring to our house in Waynesville when he and my Aunt Teresa would come visit us as kids. Most of the ones he had were more like dungeon and dragons and were the strict text ones with no graphics and were all for Commodore 64. I can remember one time looking through his massive collection of games all on floppy disks and finding Dracula and asking him if we could play it but after several tries the game never did load. That’s one of the downsides to Commodore 64, it had lots of issues loading and when it was loading the time to get your game to start was very long. Imagine kids of today who already complain about the install times of modern games trying to play a full game on Commodore where you had to wait for it to not only load the game but also most of the times each level! But I will move on and over the years text games seemed like an oddity to me and captured my attention as I never could wrap my head around why gamers of the past found them to be hours of fun, and I got a reason to buy some when I started to review Video Games on my old website for my production company Bloodline Video a few years back under the name of Xmortis. So after getting a complete working Commodore 64 with the datasette reader and floppy drive from Game Swap, I looked for a text based game that I could review and it came down to one called Wolfman and the other being Questprobe: Incredible Hulk and when a cassette version of Questprobe popped up cheap on Ebay it became the lucky winner. The game is text based but does have graphics that for the time are really fun and try their hardest to look like comic book art. I have to admit playing the first few times I hated it and was so frustrated by the lame commands that I would get bored and shut the game off or even gasp! Die in the game! How could I let The Hulk, one of my favorite comic characters, die in a lame text game is what I kept thinking, but finally I hate to admit it but I used an online walk through for what commands to give him and beat the game by cheating. The review never made it up on the site, and I hope to someday get back to Bloodline’s site and return it to the review and production glory it once was. As for now how I feel about Questprobe Hulk, I hate to admit it but I do like the idea of it, mostly cause it was the first video game based on Hulk. Below is the cover box for the game as well as some screen shots for you to feast your eyes on and enjoy all the pixel goodness.

Marvel Comics had a great thing going, not only did they have characters in video games now being written by Scott Adams but they could also get a 12 issue mini series from it that would help boost the sales of the game as also the game could boost the sales of the comics. This team up was truly a time when ink meet pixels, and the team up would have been perfect if not for the game company’s sudden shut down. Marvel during this time I am sure had a tough decision to make as they could continue a comic series based on games that were no longer being made or they could do the unthinkable and just cancel the mini series and leave fans hanging on what and who Chief Examiner was and what he wanted…and Marvel did what they always do they pulled the plug and walked away from the idea and as time passed did kind of wrap up the story in Marvel Fanfare # 33 where they printed the X-Men story and later in Quasar they added in the story of Questprobe. So on this update we are only going to cover the three issues released in the original mini series and will be graded on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. I want to thank the vendor at Fright Night Film Fest for having issue # in stock and Lone Star Comics for the remaining two issues. So let’s pop these comics into the datasette player and type in the load keys and enjoy pixels and ink together.

Questprobe # 1 ** 1/2
Released in 1984 Cover Price .75 Marvel Comics #1 of 3

A race of peaceful aliens are preparing for an invasion from other aliens who are war hawks and want to kill them all as well as their planet. They all turn on Durgan, a member of there council who wants to fight back and not just roll over and die. When Durgan leaves the meeting he knows that something has to be done so he dons a giant helmet and calls himself the Chief Examiner and heads to Earth to steal the powers of some of our top super heroes to use in a fight with the invading aliens. On Earth The Incredible Hulk is facing off with the National Guard and after making short work of their tanks, he heads off to find a place to sleep and does so in a cave on the side of a cannon. When entering the cave, the Hulk sees the Natter Energy Egg and the Blood Red Bio-Gem right as the two explode. This event makes The Hulk tired and he falls asleep turning back in Bruce Banner and finally getting some piece and quite. Banner’s rest is quickly cut short as Chief Examiner enters the cave and tells him that he needs to have him walk through a door portal so that he can drain his power! Banner fights back and runs from the cave but soon learns that the cave is high and he is fallen to his death! Before he hits the ground he turns into The Hulk as the Chief Examiner tries to force him to enter the door portal, The Hulk doesn’t like to be told what to do and goes on a rampage to smash the dome headed alien into the ground, during this fight a group of white water rafters are knocked over when Hulk goes under water and breaks off one of the sides of the canon and pins Chief Examiner down, but by doing so the huge rock is blocking the river and causes the rafters to fall into the raging water. The Hulk dives in and pulls out all the males and see’s that the female is stuck in a whirlpool! The only way to get to her is by jumping into the portal doorway and he does so losing some of his power yet saving a young woman’s life. The Chief Examiner leaves with his prize the stolen energy as The Hulk waits to make sure the woman is okay and to remain some energy and leaps off into the sky.

This is a fun Hulk adventure that is a cool tie in for a video game and explains the strange world that the Hulk is found in during the text based adventure Game. The plot is pretty simple and has an alien who’s planet is under attack who travels to Earth to steal powers off powerful humans so that he can use it against the attackers, the first one he targets is Hulk cause of his brute strength. He tries to force the Hulk to enter his black doorway that allows him to steal/mimic his power and only does so when he forces The Hulk to make a decision to save a woman’s life and jump through the door or let her die and avoid the door. The Hulk in this issue is the simple minded version who just wants to be left alone and knows that his brute power is the best way to keep everyone away, this is my favorite version of the Hulk as he is the one truly grew up reading and the one that made me a lifelong fan next to the TV Show. I love the fact that while The Hulk is a “monster” in the eyes of humans he risks his own safety in this comic to save the life of one of them and by the end the humans seem to have a new respect for the green skin goliath. The Chief Examiner while not a full bad guy still is going about getting help in his planets soon to be war all the wrong ways, not once does he even try to explain to the Hulk why he needs his power nor does he even tell the power house about his planets upcoming doom or asks if Hulk would come back and help. Plus it’s great when The Hulk pins Chief Examiner down with a giant stone and how easily in the alien’s mind he gave up and knew that the Hulk could kill him with one punch. The comic’s art is done by the amazing Mark Gruenwald and inked by John Romita Jr. making for one powerful team that turned in a great looking comic, and the cover is amazing and is also what’s used for the video game. So in this first issue Chief Examiner gets the power of the Hulk, and now who’s next on his hit list of stealing powers?

So in this first issue Chief Examiner gets the power of the Hulk, and now who’s next on his hit list of stealing powers? Let’s jump into issue two and see what he has planned for Spider-Man!

Questprobe # 2 **1/2
Released in 1985 Cover Price .75 Marvel Comics #2 of 12

Spider-Man is feeling a little down in the dumps as the city is hot and he has a lot on his mind as his personal life is a mess. Meanwhile in prison, Quentin Beck comes up with a plan to escape so he can don his Mysterio outfit once more and challenge Spider-Man to a final fight! While on a distant planet the peaceful aliens watch as The Black Fleet conquers another planet and is heading their way, as Durgan also known as The Chief Examiner sets his sights now on steal/borrowing the power of Spider-Man to mix with that of the Hulk he already has taken. Tuskar is a student of Durgan and wants to find his old teacher and see if he can help as it’s shown the Black Fleet really just wants the Red Bio-Gem’s cause when put together they hold massive power, and the kicker are the Gems are alive and are kind of evil! Mysterio shows up to the Daily Bugle and holds everyone hostage as Spider-Man shows up to save them and the two fight it out, all the while Mysterio is using cheap and dirty FX inspired tricks on his foe. The Chief Examiner shows up and tries to get Spidey to go through his portal but web-head thinks that Examiner is just a costume change for Mysterio as they both wear domes over their faces, in the end Spider-Man figures out they are not the same person and is forced to dive into Examiner’s portal to escape an attack by Mysterio that leaves our hero weak, and just as Mysterio is to finish off Spider-Man the Red Bio-Gem uses its power to make The Chief Examiner try and steal the power of Mysterio given Spider-Man some breath time and getting his energy back to beat Mysterio and watch as The Chief Examiner disappears.

This issue is a good one and is a fun story to break up the normal story line that was going on in the main Spider-Man comic series at the time, but I will also say that it almost feels as if the writers of this issue in this mini series didn’t talk to the ones who made issue # 1. Because now I am not 100% sure if Durgan is The Chief Examiner or if the Red Bio-Gem on his planet is, as both seem to be in control of the dome headed power stealing loony. The Chief Examiner seems to be a little more polite in this issue and less forceful in making Spider-Man get into his portal than he was with The Hulk, but in this one he seems to be almost a ghost as nothing is under the robe making me scratch my head to as how then in issue # 1 Hulk was able to pin him to the ground and make him fear for his life. I kind of am so-so with the idea of the Red Power-Gems being alive and having the Energy Eggs around them as a way to keep them in line. Yep, if the egg feels they are in danger it blows up killing the gem and it’s power. Spider-Man is as he was in the 80’s, filled with one liners and drama with girlfriends, but I wouldn’t want the web slinger any other way. Mysterio was the perfect bad guy to use in this issue as he does look a lot like The Chief Examiner making for Spider-Man to have an almost “Who’s On First” kind of moments as he jumps from room to room. We will have to see what Tuskar is all about and if he will play out as a major player in the next issue. The art is by Al Milgrom and has that 70’s style Spider-Man appeal, the cover as well is just taken from the video games cover box. One smart move they did in this issue is they ask the question want to see what happened to Spider-Man’s power once he entered the portal, cause if you do go buy the game! Over all a good issue two that sadly leads us to the final issue in what was to be a 12 issue mini series.

So The Chief Examiner has collected the powers of The Hulk and Spider-Man but can he now get the powers of members of the Fantastic Four? Lets read issue # 3 and find out!

Questprobe # 3 **1/2
Released in 1985 Cover Price .75 Marvel Comics #3 of 12

Johnny Storm and his blind girlfriend Alicia Masters return to the Baxter Building the base of The Fantastic Four to retrieve some books but while their they get a visit from The Chief Examiner who wants Storm’s powers! Johnny Storm flames on and turns into The Human Torch just in time to fight some robots that are being controlled by The Examiner who has taken over all of the electronics in the Baxter Building. After destroying many of the robots Human Torch is sprayed with water and tuned back into Johnny Storm and he and Alicia try and escape as The Chief Examiner still is forceful that Torch goes through is portal so he can have his power! Johnny and Alicia get onto a secret elevator to try and escape and give Johnny time to dry off to become Human Torch again, meanwhile She-Hulk has returned home from grocery shopping and rushes to Johnny’s aid as The Chief Examiner forces them out of the Elevator he uses a fantasticar to try and kill She-Hulk who knocks it away and it bounces off the wall and heads towards Alicia Masters and Human Torch rushes to save her from being crushed just as The Chief Examiner places his portal in front of them tricking him into going through and stealing the power of the Human Torch and poof he’s gone and they are all safe. The Power-Gem during this time also overhears that Durgan wants the help of Tuskar to gain more superpowers and to stop the Black Fleet. The Chief Examiner then pops up onto the alien planet that The Thing is on after the events of the Secret Wars and uses a twisted version of The Baxter Building to trick him into going through the portal and stealing his power.

This third issue is good but not nearly as good as the first two issues in the series and almost seems like a filler issue that has a touch of rush feeling. The first target is The Human Torch who The Chief Examiner tricks into getting into the portal by placing it between him and Alicia who was in danger, his intent to kill She-Hulk shows that the character is really at odds with being controlled by The Power Gem who is starting to really be the main villain of the series. It’s clear that The Human Torch is the main focus hero of this issue as the second target The Thing’s brief moments at the end of the issue is kind of a waste and not nearly as interesting as all the others who have been tricked before him. Weird enough as well is the fact the main story of Durgan also seems to be a second thought in the issue, making this one that’s kind of bland to talk about so lets just go ahead and wrap it up shall we. I will also say its odd that The Chief Examiner didn’t want to try and steal the powers of She-Hulk instead his first thought is to try and kill her, I am sure her power on top of Hulks and The Things would make him even more powerful and a force to be reckoned with. This issues art is done by Ron Wilson and is clearly a Fantastic Four style art. Cover is like the game same as the others and I must say while again a fun read it was also very lackluster and lost the “epic adventure” feel that the other two issues had.

It’s truly a shame that this mini series and video game series was cut so short as they had so many more Marvel heroes that could have been made into both. Just imagine this series continuing not only with the already planned X-Men but also Captain America, Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Iron Man and Thor to name a few. I truly feel that Marvel let all the fans down of the comic mini series and the video game series by just stopping the story arch before anything was really settled. But I guess that truly was the Marvel way just stop production on series without a second thought about their fans. So next month is September, and it will be the kick off to Rotten Ink’s second Halloween update that will go up on October 31^{st. F}or those who remember last year we took a look at comics based on Hammer Horror films well this year will be a little different and something I am super happy to bring all you friends and readers. But our next update will be a secret but I will drop you a giant hint when I say he hates New York! So until then think about it, plus play a video game and read a comic or two.

Stays Crunchy Even In Ink!

Posted on February 2, 2014 by bloodlinematt

1985 was a good year for many things. In movies, such classics as Back To The Future, Rambo First Blood Part 2, The Breakfast Club, Commando, Rocky IV, Clue, Return of the Living Dead, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, View to a Kill, Fright Night, Re-Animator and Day of the Dead all filled the cinemas with entertainment. Vinyl and cassettes of such albums as David Lee Roth’s “Crazy From The Heat”, Megadeth’s “Killing is My Business…And Business Is Good”, Motley Crue “Theatre of Pain” and W.A.S.P. Put out “The Last Command”. TV shows like Cheers, Cosby Show, Golden Girls, Night Court, Amazing Stories, Saturday Night Live and Growing Pains were great home entertainment for couch potatoes. Not to mention horror hosts like Commander USA just started his Groovie Movies and Dr. Creep of Shock Theater had ended his long run on Dayton television. But while stuff like this was going on, the kids of that time also knew one thing that troubled them and that was Cap’n Crunch was missing!!

Cap’n Crunch, whose full name is Horatio Magellan Crunch, is the mascot for the surgery cereal of the same name (that stays crunchy even in milk) put out by Quaker Oats since 1963. The good Captain of the S.S. Guppy, along with Seadog and a young crew, sailed the seas and delivered breakfast to all the hungry girls and boys around the world and became beloved by all who ate his fun and good tasting cereal. As the years went by Cap’n Crunch would bring in more great tasting cereals like Crunch Berries, Peanut Butter Crunch, Choco Crunch and Vanilly Crunch and became friends with CrunchBerry Beast, a wild creature with red hair, yellow skin and red spots, Mr. Choco a creature made out of cookie dough who could shape shift, a crunch berry bush and Smedley, a peanut butter loving elephant. But while his friends, fans and crew all loved him, Cap’n Crunch did make some enemies along the way that wanted nothing more than to bring him down and ruin breakfast for everyone.

Being a Cap’n of cereal is hard work, and you don’t get to the top of the table choice with out making some folks mad. The poor Cap’n has his share of jealous haters. Jean Lafoote is a barefooted pirate who wants to steal the secrets of the cereal. He has kidnapped and stolen and would stop at nothing to get what he wants! Lafoote was the prime suspect for people like me to when Cap’n Crunch was missing even though by 1985 he was a second thought and not a mascot in use! While he was the prime suspect for me, many other ideas and such were given, and many people tried to figure it out to win money that was being offered to lucky winners who could figure out where the Cap’n was..but the shock of where he had been was about to hit us all.

Kids around the US were worried and spent time trying to figure out where the Cap’n was and hoping he was okay. They had their parents buy boxes of Cap’n Crunch cereals to try and get the clues that were inside the boxes to figure it out, to help their breakfast friend and to win some money to buy toys and video games for helping find him. But then they found him…and the place he was lost in was The Milky Way…you get it? So after all the worry and stress, Cap’n Crunch was found safe and sound and was once more on our TV commercials and cereal boxes. But this peace of mind would only last for a year when more trauma would be placed on all the youth as once more something would happen to Cap’n and we would all have to team up again this time to Free The Cap’n from his worst enemy, and no it’s not Jean Lafoote!

The Sogmaster, along side his henchmen The Soggies, are Cap’n Crunch’s worst nightmare. They want to not only steal his famed cereal, but they also want to ruin it and make it get gross and soggy in milk taking away the crunch! The Sogmaster is a robot who is all grey, has a hoses for fingers that shoot out soggy gross stuff and is very mean spirited. Amazingly enough he left me with the impression of being one of the meanest mascots in my history of watching TV. The Soggies themselves are white gloppy masses who are not very smart and are easily out smarted. The way to tell them apart is one wears a red hat and the other does not. In 1986 Sogmaster and The Soggies did something that would shock the nation; they kidnapped Cap’n Crunch, and once more the hunt was on to find him and save him from his captors. Once more money was given out to those who found the clues and called a 1-800 that held the answers. This is the one case that my brother Bryan and I got into and tried to find Cap’n without calling the phone number and with just small clues and our own ideas.

One thing I would like to very briefly talk about are the cool PVC figures that use to come free in cereal boxes based on popular mascots or even Disney Cartoons. Some of my favorite ones were the Cap’n Crunch ones that had not only Cap’n but also both Soggies and The Sogmaster! My brother and I collected these and during the whole time of them coming out, we only got one Sogmaster, a few Soggies and an army of Cap’n Crunch’s who seemed to be the one they over produced. To this day I have a Cap’n Crunch that sits on a shelf near the TV. So for those who remember these, this blog update is for you!

The kidnapping of Cap’n Crunch not only caught the attention of all the kids but it also got the attention of super hero Spider-Man who had all ready also joined the hunt last year to find where he was lost and was now going after The Sogmaster to get his friend back! Now when Spider-Man is worried and wants to save Cap’n, you know he was in deep trouble. Marvel Comics placed a one page ad in many of their comics that had Spider-Man finding the track of the Soggies and coming face to face with them and leaving us on a cliffhanger as to what happened. This was a fun way to add to the gimmick of the missing mascot and again made you worry about your breakfast and its champion.

But like before, Cap’n Crunch was saved. The Sogmaster was sent packing, and the cereal Icon was free to spread his sugar coated cereal to all! But that’s the thing, while Cap’n Crunch was able to beat The Sogmaster, outstep Jean Lafoote and even find his way home after being lost, it seems that one thing he can’t shake are those pesky people who think they should tell parents what their kids should be eating. That’s one thing that annoys me about society today, everyone wants to say that these cereals are giving kids diabetes, McDonald’s is making their kids fat, etc. While these things don’t help, it’s the job of the parents to watch how much of this type of food their kids eat, and it’s a shame companies are becoming so wimpy that they are backing down and using mascots less and allowing nut jobs to make rules for the world on what’s good for whom. But enough, let me get down from my soap box, and let’s take a look at a comic based on Cap’n Crunch that was given away to people who bought the cereal. I want to remind everyone that I grade these comics on a standard 1-4 star scale and look for entertainment value, art, story and how true the comic is to its source material. So let’s set sail over the Milk Sea, and see if we can have an adventure with the one and only Cap’n Crunch.

Cap’n Crunch: In The Center of The Earth **
Released in 1986 Cover Price FREE Quaker Oats Comics #1 of 1

The Sogmaster is about to sog the Earth when Cap’n Crunch along with his giant robot and kid sidekicks Peter & Judy stop him and cause him to be so angry that he wants revenge. Sogmaster along with his Soggie Army go to the center of the Earth and use a giant cannon to turn the Earth’s crust in mush as well as almost everything on the planet! The government knows something’s wrong and send Cap’n along with Peter & Judy to the center of the world to stop the worlds soggy situation. While down below, Cap’n meets a race of underworld monsters who join his fight and together they all bring down The Sogmaster and his canon with one simple box of Cap’n Crunch Cereal.

This is a quick comic filled with a silly story that pits Cap’n Crunch and The Sogmaster against each other, and the end battle is pretty un-epic and not exciting but yet so fitting for a cheesy give away comic of this nature. The story is simple; Sogmaster is mad and wants to take revenge not just on Cap’n but the whole world and uses a Sog cannon on the Earth’s core making everything up above soggy and gross. He’s stopped by Cap’n Crunch and a box of his cereal. The art in the comic is good for this free comic but would not hold up for a comic that one had to pay for and would be considered very poor in Star Comics standards. In fact, I could not find a credit in the issue of who did the art, making one wonder: was he ashamed of it or was he told not to give himself credit? Cap’n Crunch is a silly hero but is very noble to the world and wants everyone to enjoy his crunchy cereal at any cost, even traveling to the center of the Earth to protect it and its eaters. Sogmaster in the issue just comes off as a bad guy who was born to loose and surrounds himself with brain dead henchmen who only slow him down. While he loses a lot, he never rethinks his attacks making him easy to predict and easy to defeat. Not much more can be said about this comic besides the cover is well done and makes it seem way more epic than it actually. Also, the issue should have been longer..yeah, so to sum it up, I would say it’s okay.

Breakfast mascots were a lot of fun for kids of the 60’s through the early 90’s before parent groups stepped in and took the fun out of everything. I have many fun memories of Cap’n Crunch, the Trix Rabbit and Lucky and wish kids of today could also find a bond with their cereal and its spokesperson. This was a fun quick look back at a simple time when one fake junk food Cap’n worried the youth of the time by going missing and being kidnaped. Our next update however goes back to a series subject as we look at Frankenstein, and not just any Frankenstein but that of the 1910 version done by Thomas Edison’s film company and the amazing comic book done based on this one time “lost” film. So until next time, sit back, relax, eat a bowl of cereal and read a comic or two! And oh yeah Happy Super Bowl Day!