The Toys That Time Forgot: Dino-Riders

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

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

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

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

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Dino Riders really is a toy series that was pretty big when I was a kid that sadly over time has been pushed more and more into the forgotten zone and that’s because unlike so many other 80’s toys, it never got a film nor re-release of the toys making it never again in the eyes of new collectors. My friend Garrison Kane is still a big fan of the series and use to have a massive collection of the toy series, and I can remember him talking about Dino Riders all the time whenever toys came up in conversation. But now we are at the time for the comic review and I have to say that if Marvel Comics would have had Star Comics still open in 1989 this would have been a great series for that kids’ branch! I would like to thank Bell Book and Comic as well as Lone Star Comics for having these issues in stock and making this update possible. And I of course would like to remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, their entertainment value and their art and story. So if you are ready, let’s take a trip to a place were dinosaurs and technology mix.

Dino Riders Comics 1

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

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

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

Dino Riders Comics 2

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

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

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

Dino Riders Comics 3

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

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

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

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

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Horror Host Icon: Angus

Horror Hosts come in many forms. Some are Horror Hosts that live in the world of other TV Shows. For example Count Floyd and his Monster Horror Chiller Theater show started on SCTV, Zombo and his House Of Zombo show was part of the sitcom The Munsters, and Alister Cookie and his Monsterpiece Theater was part of Sesame Street. Today’s host was on a Public Access show from New Jersey called Meadowlands Showcase Presents, and the host is Angus! That is the thing I really want to stress, when it comes to the world of Horror Hosting is there is no too small or too big host as they all have their own fans and have made their own impact to the genre. I think many of you readers will not know of Angus, but I also think some of you will know about him and his short time on TV. So if you are ready, let’s take a short trip to New Jersey and take a spooky walk with Angus and his Horror Show as this is going to be a fun Horror Host Icon update.

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Angus was a smooth talking ghoul who at first wore no make up and later would rock grey face paint while hosting short films on his show The Horror Show as well as The Meadowlands Showcase Presents. While Angus was smooth he also had a dark side as hosting spooky movies was in his blood and he would use his dark powers to scare off as well as brain fry those normal people that stand in his way. He was more of a darker host, and while he had some chuckles, he was more straight forward bringing the viewers the frights. Angus wears all black clothing and had long hair and would give spooky looks to the viewers at home. Angus also had a laugh that was oddly creepy and also had a dash of stage acting sound to it. Angus was played by David Weber, a local actor from New Jersey who also stared in the 1989 Horror Film “The Basement” as Mr. Adelman. David sadly passed away in the late 90’s and from what his friends say, he was a very nice person and was a joy to be around. While Angus only made two appearances, he truly made his mark on the world of Horror Hosting and has his own fan base.

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The Meadowlands Showcase started in 1988 and was a Public Access show that was aired in New Jersey and was the creation of Michael Raso and John Pual Fedele. Angus, along with a female co-host Emily, first appeared on the episode “Creepy Tales” that aired in October 1988 and later in October 1989 Angus would return and take over the show calling it The Horror Show on the episode “The Halloween Takeover”. While Angus only appeared twice on the show in 1988 and 1989, the main show would run from 1988 to 1994 and was a well loved local show as the skits, music videos an shorts brought lots of joy to viewers. Each episode was around 30 minutes long. And while I wish Angus would have appeared on more episodes as well as maybe the creators would have turned Angus into a fully fledged Horror Host show, I would say Angus and his The Horror Show made their mark on the history of Horror Hosting no matter how big or small that mark is.

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Angus is one of those hosts whose name has been spoken about by many diehard Horror Host fans for awhile as his name is on Egor’s Chamber Of TV Horror Hosts website and many people started to think that Angus and The Horror Show was a lost public access show that they had to see as many did not realize he was just a character for a non-Horror Host show and only appeared twice on TV. In fact I know that New Jersey host Halloween Jack and myself have spoken about him a few times over the years as we wanted to track him down as Jack wanted to meet a fellow Jersey host. Both of us were very bummed when we found out he passed away as it would have been great to see Angus make a comeback and even maybe host a show alongside Halloween Jack! For this update I have one of the episodes that Angus appeared on and will be taking the show’s write up from our pals at IMDB, and I will write about the antics of Angus in said episode. So if you are ready, let’s sit back and see what The Horror Show and Angus has in store for us.

The Horror Show Angus Halloween Takeover 89 DVD

Horror Show: Halloween Takeover
Starring – John Paul Fedele & Marc S. Lucey     Not Rated     1989

Host: Angus starts the episode walking down the road and running into Tex, a man who has been fired from the TV Station, and as they pair head in Angus talks to the man in charge and uses his mental powers to knock him out. Angus then heads to the studio and uses his powers against a host for a workout show and runs him off. Tex then gets to master control and Angus starts his show The Horror Show that has him showing short films and a music video while hanging out with The Grim Reaper. Angus even has the Grim Reaper remove the head of one of the filmmakers who he was annoyed with. In the end the head of the station wakes up and loved The Horror Show and wants to work with Angus as he shoves Tex out of the door as he is still fired.

Movie: David Weber as “Angus”, takes over a local television station using his demonic powers, so that he may have his own show – “The Horror Show”. He is assisted on his show by Marc S. Lucey as “The Grim Reaper”. During this 30 minute show, “Angus” presents the short films “Evil Vision” “Pete Jacelone’s – The Day The Shopping Carts Came to Life”, and the music video “Garbage Man” performed by “The Cramps”. “Angus” convinces Peter Jacelone to join his group. Reluctantly he agrees. “The Grim Reaper” leads Peter away, and loops off his head.

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Angus had a charm to him that made him standout and he had that classic late 80’s Horror Host feel and he could have truly been a legend in hosting if he would have lasted longer and spun off into doing his own show. I hope you enjoyed this Horror Host Icon update about Angus, and I hope that this sparked your interest into looking up his appearances on Meadowland Showcase that can be found on YouTube. And for those who do not think that Angus, Count Floyd, Alister Cookie, Zombo and others like them are not Horror Hosts, I understand your standpoint but I and many others do see them as Hosts as they did their parts to bring attention to the art of Horror Hosting. But now it’s time for us to leave the world of Horror Hosting and head into the world of Pro Wrestling again to showcase the fan favorite wrestler Hillbilly Jim! So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! And remember readers, it is very important to archive your local Horror Host shows as well as local Indie Wrestling ones!

Hillbilly Jim Preview Logo

Horror Host Icon: Sir Cecil Creape

“You Callled”…Nashville, Tennessee in the early 1970’s had a late Saturday night Horror Host show called Creature Features that would start at 10:30pm on WSM-TV Channel 4. The show would scare and entertaining its viewers, and the host of this show was the amazing Sir Cecil Creape, who, along with his trusty gas lamp, would entertain viewers with his antics. This legendary host was a major icon in Tennessee and would go on to inspire a ton of creative minds including Dr. Gangrene who is also a great host and an icon of Hosting. For those who live in Tennessee and for those Horror Host followers they know just how awesome Sir Ceciel Creape! So if you are ready, grab a cold drink, light the Jack O Lantern, open up all the widows to let a chill in and be prepared to spend a little time this Halloween with Horror Host Icon Sir Cecil Creape!

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Sir Cecil Creape is a hunchbacked, balding man who wears strange 60’s style cloths with a cape, had messed up bucking teeth, a massive scar on his forehead and worked in the catacombs beneath the WSM studio that he would do his experiments in. He later would move to the basement of the Grand Ole Opry House. In this basement lab he would conduct experiments, share creepy yet humoroous stories and of course host the night’s movie. Sir Cecil Creape had a calming aspect to his voice when he spoke, almost giving you that false feeling of nothing scary is about to happen before you witnessed the horrors of that night’s film. He also very much had that gift to bond with the viewers as he spoke directly to them and made them feel part of what he had going on. What made him so special was that bond with his viewers as they would flock to him when he would make public appearances around the city. And I would be so bold as to say that he next to Sivad was the state of Tennessee’s two most popular and iconic hosts in that golden age of local TV. Sir Cecil Creape was played by Russ McCown who would play the role off and on for many years and would sadly pass away on January 3,1994 at the age of 65. While gone, Sir Cecil Creape will never be forgotten as his legacy in the world of Horror Hosting with truly never fade.

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In September 1971 on WSM-TV Channel 4 out of Nashville, Tennessee a spooky movie show called “Creature Feature” with host Sir Cecil Creape was unleashed on viewers and their lives were forever changed and a must-see show was born. You see kids and adults were drawn into the strange host as well as the films of the evening. No matter how frightening or cheesy the film was, all they knew was that they had to watch and among friends, what happened in the movie was talked about, and most importantly what Sir Cecil Creape was up to. Sadly Creature Feature would end in 1973, but during his time on air Sir Cecil Creape would have his own fan club via WSM and even would make public appearances at local events and a Boy Scouts Patch was created by The Boy Scouts of America Tennessee Council for a very short time. But as I stated, the show’s end came in late 1973 thanks to WSM moving the show’s time slot from 10:30pm Saturday Nights to Saturday days and this was very unwise. But like all good Horror Hosts Sir Cecil Creape could not be kept down and on March 13, 1983 he would return to TV this time on TNN (The Nashville Network) with a show called The Phantom Of The Opry and would switch his location to the catacombs of the Opry House. The quality of his movies dropped, but his antics did not miss a step! And it was great that now a nationwide audience could see him do what he did best and that’s entertain and bring viewers the Horror Movies. The end of The Phantom Of The Opry came in December 1985 when TNN canceled it. While his Horror Hosting days were over, he still would make appearances from time to time in the start of the 90’s on the show “TNN’s Nashville Now” to the delight of all his fans. While both shows Creature Feature and The Phantom Of The Opry only lasted 2 years respectively, they both made a major mark on the genre as well as on Creape’s viewers and fans. And I want you readers to think about that, Sir Cecil Creape had only a total of 4 years as a Horror Host and in that short time he became a true icon in the state of Tennessee as well as in the history books of Horror Hosting. One thing that also makes Sir Cecil Creape so special is that he has a Connection to Dr. Lucifur who was one of the states original Horror Host who hosted Shock Theatre from 1958-1967! As many do not know this outside the state of Tennessee but Dr. Lucifur is the voice you hear that opens the classic episodes of Sir Cecil and throughout the shows run our host would also get packages from Lucifur as well as reference him during skits, showing that these two iconic hosts were indeed connected. And look for a Horror Host Icon update about Dr. Lucifur at some point here on Rotten Ink.

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Sir Cecil Creape was so popular that during his time as a Horror Host he would also find himself being a patch for the Boy Scouts Of America in the Nashville area! It was for his Ghoul Patrol and this just showed how important this Horror Host was to his city as besides being honored gracing magazine covers he got a patch issued out to Scouts…what other Horror Host can say they got that Honor? I mean I would have love to see the Dayton, Ohio area Boy Scouts issue a Dr. Creep or Baron Von Porkchop patch…but sadly, I just don’t think that would ever happen. The patch is very much a collector’s item now and fans of the show would love to be able to get one for themselves, but they fetch high prices on Ebay and Etsy and are very rare to come by. I do want to say that his fellow Tennessee host Dr. Gangrene does have one of the patches that he wears very proudly on his lab coat during his show.

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Sir Cecil Creape was inducted into the 2015 Class of the Horror Host Hall Of Fame and was inducted by Dr. Gangrene the legendary Tennessee host in his own right, and this only made sense as he was kept the spirit of Sir Cecil alive for decades. The fans in attendance really were happy when Sir Cecil got this honor as many felt it was long overdue. He took his place along with fellow classmates that included Superhost, Baron Von Wolfstein, Rhonda Shear, Gilbert Gottfried and Misty Brew to name a few. And in my opinion Sir Cecil should have been inducted way before this class as he was a true icon in Hosting and inspired many to follow in his footsteps.

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As you readers know, I have been a mega fan of Horror Hosts for almost my whole life as I grew up watching the likes of Dr. Creep, Commander USA, Grampa Munster and The Creeper to name a few and over the decades I have discovered, learned about and watched so many hosts and one that I quickly became a fan of was Sir Cecil Creape as he was such a master of hosting as he had that magic touch of making us the viewers feel like we where along for the ride the whole episode, plus is humor was part cheesy but I always also picked up just a hint of playful sinister to pull you into the safe side of Horror, but also scare you just a little. He is also one of those Horror Hosts who made a big impact in the culture of his city as all the youth at the time of his first run use to stay up late to watch his show so that they could talk about it with friends the next time at school as watching Sir Cecil Creape and the movie he presented was the cool thing to do, and because of his show many of his viewers went on to do some great creative things in the world of Horror, Sci-Fi and Entertainment in general. Plus it was like the Nashville area also just opened their arms to Sir Cecil as he was booked for public appearances all over the city and he would always draw a big crowd showing just how much of a local celebrity he was. I also need to say that it’s crazy that Sir Cecil Creape has not gotten the Comic Book treatment as someone out their in the Nashville area needs to make this happen! As I know that here in Ohio one artist named Scott Scarborough who works for Blood Scream Comics would love to make a comic based around him. If you have never seen Sir Cecil Creape, do yourself a favor and find some of his shows on Horror Host Trade Lists, on the Grey Market or find clips of YouTube and give them a watch as you will see just how great he is.

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So we are now at the part of this Horror Host Icon update where we take a look at the episodes I own in my collection and sadly I do not own as many as I would like as his stuff is hard to come by as many of the older shows are lost to time and his second run on TNN was when the station first started so many markets did not have it. I want to thank all those who had Horror Host Trade lists that sent these episodes to me over the decades and would like to remind you readers that I will be taking the films plots from our friends at IMDB and I will be writing about the hosts antics from the episodes. So with that, let’s head to the catacombs and see what Sir Cecil Creape has in store for us.

Sir Cecil Creape Mr Wong Detective DVD

POTO: Mr. Wong Detective
Starring – Boris Karloff & Evelyn Brent       Not Rated       1938

Host: Sir Cecil starts the episode off looking at the Underground Classified Ads as he needs to find some work as rent is due and he has no money to pay it. When he does not find one there, he looks through the normal paper and has the idea of selling some of the spooky stuff he has around his dungeon home. He tries then to have a phone interview for a Body Shop and of course gets hung up one when he thinks the job is for human bodies and not automobiles. He then thinks about working for the Blood Bank or even selling some of his blood collection to them but can not part with any of it. After returning from a break he informs us they did not hire him at the Blood Bank after they saw him in person. He then fails to get a job for a preserves company as well as working for a Newspaper Morgue as he thought it was for writers not the papers themselves. In the end he does not find a job and heads home to get some sleep.

Movie: When a chemical manufacturer is killed after asking detective James Wong to help him, Wong investigates this and two subsequent murders. He uncovers an international spy ring hoping to steal the formula for a poison gas being developed by the first victim’s company.

Sir Cecil Creape Terror By Night DVD

POTO: Terror By Night
Starring – Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce       Not Rated       1946

Host: Sir Cecil has a bunch of mail delivered, and he goes through and opens it with stuff like the insurance on his teeth, a message from his twin brother and even more weird junk mail. When he opens up a box, he finds that inside is a banjo and he is confused to why it was sent to him and what it is for. He later gets a phone call from Bud who works for the Opry and who is coming down to deliver a package of candy bat wings that was delivered above and not below, he also gets another message that a coffin with a body (Aunt Vampira) inside has been delivered as well above. Sir Cecil leaves the banjo outside is dungeon and in the end he gets one last call from Bud who has a jar of creeping unknown upstairs for him!

Movie: When the fabled Star of Rhodesia diamond is stolen on a London to Edinburgh train and the son of its owner is murdered, Sherlock Holmes must discover which of his suspicious fellow passengers is responsible.

Sir Cecil Creape White Zombie DVD

POTO: White Zombie
Starring – Bela Lugosi & Madge Bellamy       Not Rated       1932

Host: Sir Cecil is reading a magazine and finds out that he is fat and decides to order a muscle-building machine from one of the magazines ads. And as he takes us to the start of the movie he starts doing figure exercises. Later his order of exercise machine comes in and he can not even lift 10 pounds without major strain, he is so embarrassed that he rigs up a pulley system to make it look as if he can lift it over his head after a movie break. He then chooses to try and get exercises by listening to a radio show, but the show mostly has commercial breaks so he never gets to work out as while Sir Cecil goes to get his jump rope the show is interrupted by a dance class show!

Movie: A young man turns to a witch doctor to lure the woman he loves away from her fiancé, but instead turns her into a zombie slave.

Note From Matt: Sadly the last segment of this episode is missing

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Sir Cecil Creape is a Horror Host whose legacy will live on forever as he was something very special and was a big part of the culture in Nashville, Tennessee during both of his runs on television. And with Dr. Gangrene around who is a mega fan of Sir Cecil I am sure he will never let his memory fade. I wish that more episodes of his show would be around as they are great watches and his style of hosting just draws you in as a viewer. I for one am a big fan of Sir Cecil Creape and it was a very big honor for me to be able to do this Horror Host Icon update about him. But for our next update we will be meeting back here at this very blog for the big Halloween update and this year it’s going to be a fun one as we will be talking about the 1979 killer bat film Nightwing and the Photo Novel Comic based on it! So until next time, read a Horror Comic of three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you on Halloween as the bats are coming!

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Tube Toons: Incredible Hulk (1966)

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

Marvel Superheroes Tube Toons Vol 1 Logo

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

Marvel-Super-Heroes Cartoon Ad 1

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

Incredible Hulk 1966 Cartoon DVD

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

Episode 1: The Origin Of The Hulk

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

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

Grade: ***1/2

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Episode 2: Terror Of The Toad Men

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

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

Grade: **1/2

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Episode 3: A Titan Rides The Train

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

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

Grade: ***

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Episode 4: The Power Of Dr. Banner

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

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

Grade: ***

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Episode 5: Micro Monsters

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

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

Grade: ***

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Episode 6: Brawn Against Brain

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

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

Grade: ***

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Episode 7: Within This Monster Dwells A Man

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

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

Grade: ***1/2

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Episode 8: The Space Phantom

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

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

Grade: **1/2

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Episode 9: Incredible Hulk vs. Metal Master

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

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

Grade: ***

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Episode 10: The Ringmaster

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

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

Grade: ***

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Episode 11: Enter Tyrannus

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

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

Grade: **1/2

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Episode 12: Terror Of The T-Gun

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

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

Grade: **1/2

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Episode 13: A Man Called Boomerang

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

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

Grade: ***

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

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The Marvel Adventures Of Indiana Jones

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Further Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 1

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 2

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 3

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 4

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 5

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 6

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 7

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 8

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 9

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 10

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 11

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 12

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 13

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 14

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 15

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 16

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 17

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 18

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 19

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 20

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 21

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 22

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 23

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 24

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 25

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 26

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 27

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 29

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 30

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 31

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 32

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 33

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

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

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

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 34

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

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

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

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

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

Corporal Kirchner Preview Logo

The Wild West Detective Known As Shotgun Slade!

Welcome back to Rotten Ink! You know what, I am thinking this month will be Cowboy Month. We will take a look at all things Wild West and that includes a cowboy-themed wrestler, but first let’s start off with a TV Show that turned the normal western formula upside down and added its own touch to the then-growing stale genre by sprinkling in jazz and private detective plots.  Of course you fans of TV know that I am talking about Shotgun Slade, a syndicated show that entertained viewers for a few years and left its mark on the western genre for trying to be something original. So if you are ready, let’s hit the dusty, inky comic book western trail and go on a case with the wild west private detective known as Shotgun Slade!

Shotgun Slade 1

Shotgun Slade was a TV Western show that was syndicated starting in 1959. It was created by Frank Gruber and starred Scott Brady as the title character Shotgun Slade. The story would follow Shotgun Slade as he would try and solve crimes in the old west mixing the detective genre with the western, and this was a smart move as western shows was starting to lose viewers as detective shows was gaining in popularity. The episodes ran about 30 minutes each, and the show lasted for two seasons and a total of 78 episodes. It was a decent success in the ratings and had its fair share of viewers who enjoyed going along with Shotgun Slade as he solved crimes. The show would also have its fair share of guest stars with most being known for their roles in other western themed shows and movies. Names like Francis X. Bushman, Jeanne Cooper, Frank Ferguson and Brett King to name a few appeared in episodes. One other thing that made Shotgun Slade stand out is that the score music done by Gerald Fried had a jazz sound and wqas not your typical western style. This made viewers take notice of this very odd western show. Over the years Shotgun Slade has slipped away from being one of the well known shows in the western genre as it does not get much play in reruns, but it does have a cult following and those who remember or discover it seem to truly enjoy it.

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Shotgun Slade is a show that I had heard of but never paid much attention to as I had seen the Dell Comic before as well as other merchandise at garage sales and antique malls and for some reason just never tracked down the show to give it a watch. That is crazy because, as you readers know, I am a fan of westerns in all forms of media from novels, comics, movies and shows and Shotgun Slade sounds like it would be up my ally. I have no excuse on why it has taken me so long to give it a watch. But I was really happy to find out that Alpha Video, who you all know is the company I love and use their prints of films in my “Wild West Round Up” Reviews (so make sure to give War On The Range a read if you haven’t yet), had released three volumes of DVDs featuring episodes of the show, and of course I had to get them and watch, and I have to say this show is lots of fun. The Shotgun Slade character is very cool and draws you in as a viewer as you go along with him on his case and try to piece together who are the crooks and who even hired him from time to time. I will say that the jazz soundtrack does set it apart form other western shows, but at times it also is kind of distracting and reminded me of some of the music cues used in the 1960’s Batman TV Show starting Adam West. After watching several episodes I have to say I really like the show as each episode flows well and the cases he takes are interesting and kept me wanting to see how he was going to solve them. Very cool and original concept by creator Frank Gruber and Scott Brady was the right choice to play Shotgun Slade, and with that I say if you like westerns, like detective shows and enjoy classic television make sure to go and get yourself these DVDs or heck look up episodes on YouTube and enjoy this fun and should not be forgotten show.

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Now let’s talk about the character Shotgun Slade, who is a private detective who for the right price you can hire and he will crack any case. He was always armed with his trusty shotgun that had barrels stacked with one firing a 12-gauge shell and the other .32 caliber bullet making his gun very effective in any situation, and yes he is skilled with it. Because he was a detective for hire, this caused him to travel a lot and meet, friend and fight with many people along the way. He is super smart and uses not only his fist fighting and gun skills on his cases but also his mind to blend in and get the information he is looking for to solve his case. He is strong willed and when need be he also can be a smartass or even tough as nails. Shotgun Slade is played by actor Scott Brady, who was a big actor for many years and was even in such Horror Films as “Castle Of Evil (1966)”, “The Mighty Gorga (1969)”, “Nightmare In Wax (1969)”, “The Ice House (1969)”, “Five Bloody Graves (1969)”, “Wicked, Wicked (1973)”, “The Night Strangler (1973)” and “Gremlins (1984)” but he was mostly known for his roles in the western genre. Sadly Scott Bradley would pass away from respiratory failure at the age of 60 in 1985. And one thing about Scott is that he was a good character actor that I think is often over looked for his roles in Horror. But to sum it up, Shotgun Slade is a very cool character who is one part cowboy and one part private detective.

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Like all good TV Western shows, Shotgun Slade had his fair share of merchandise for fans to collect that includes comic book, home media, board game, soundtrack and a toy shotgun replica of his famous weapon. And oddly enough that is pretty much it, and Shotgun Slade never got an action figure or even a lunchbox. But while limited on what fans could get their hands on, as you can see, some cool stuff over the years have been made available. And for those wondering, I own the comic, home media and the soundtrack on CD of Shotgun Slade. So if you are a fan, you can add to your collection by tracking down any of this cool stuff.

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After doing the research and watching Shotgun Slade episodes as well as listening to the score music, I am very much looking forward to reading this comic book based on the character released by Dell Comics as this will be a first time read for me. And that’s something I might be doing more of in the future here at Rotten Ink is tracking down some of these old Dell Comics based on old TV Westerns and doing updates based around them as I have been trying to get the complete run of The Rifleman for a while now as that is one of my favorite shows of all time and needs to be covered here. I want to thank the Ebay seller who had this comic in stock and made this update possible and I also want to remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So with that lets head out to the old west and see what kind of case Shotgun Slade has to crack in this one and only comic book adventure.

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Shotgun Slade # 1  ***1/2
Released in 1960     Cover Price .10     Dell Comics     # 1111 of 1354

“Outpost Outlaws” Shotgun Slade has been hired by The Shannon Stage Line by it’s owner Beth Shannon and arrives just in time as he watches as outlaws are robbing a stage coach and even shoot the driver Beth herself after she sees one of the outlaws face and that being Ben Watson. The outlaws escape as Slade is able to check on Beth who survived the shot and tells him that Ben hangs around the general store with the owner Jess and that her father also hangs around there as well to play checkers all day. Slade heads to town and goes to the general store and takes Ben Watson to jail, and unknown to him one of the outlaws sneaks out the back and threatens Beth with killing her father if she identifies Ben as one of the coach robbers! Ben ends up walking free and Beth lets Slade go from the case, but her father hires him back and its shown that Jess is the mastermind of the stage coach robberies and now he and his outlaws have a plan to flee the town, but before they do so they take Beth’s father hostage! Slade figures this all out and brings down Jess and the outlaws before they can run, gets Beth her money back as well as brings her and her father closer. “Cowtown” Slade has been hired by the Cattlemen’s Association in order to look into a rash of cattle thefts that has hurt many of the ranches, and before he can even reach the town to check in he is attacked by a unknown gunman who ends up loosing the back of his boot given Slade his first clue. Once in town he gets some rest and meets the Association who hired him including Will Lundeen a very rude rancher who is not happy to see Slade, cause as you guessed it he and his men are behind the cattle thefts! Slade while piecing the case together even finds an old mine shaft that the rustlers are using to move the stolen cows. And after going through the mine Slade finds that it leads to Lundeen’s ranch and he is able to make the arrest and solving the case of the stolen cows.

This is a really fun comic and does a pretty great job of capturing the nature of the show as the only thing missing is the western jazz music! This comic has two cases for Shotgun Slade one that has him bringing down some outlaws who are robbing stage coaches and the other has him stopping some cattle rustlers and along the way he charms pretty ladies as well as uses his awesome special shotgun to bring justice. Shotgun Slade is great at his job and finds the clues and solves the cases fast and is able to bring all the criminals to justice without having to kill them, but he does have to at times use his shotgun to wound them. The main bad guys in this comic are Jess a man who runs a general store but is also the leader of outlaws who rob stage coaches of their money, and he and his men do not care to take lives in order to get the money they seek. Will Lundeen is the other who is a ranch owner who along with his hired hands are stealing the cows from their fellow ranchers in town, and he as well does not mind sending his goons to kill. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and eye catching for fans of the show as it’s a promo photo used for the show set to a green background. The interior art is done by an Unknown Artist and is pretty great stuff as it has the typical Dell Comics look and style and Shotgun Slade kind of looks like the actor who played him on the show. Over all this is a great western comic based on a very underrated TV Show and is one that you should check out if you like the show or just western comics in general.

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Shotgun Slade is a great TV Show that made for a great comic book as well and I am shocked that this show is not talked about to this day as it was very original and highly entertaining. And I myself would love if the missing episodes could be found and if it could be released as the whole series on home media, as I would buy it! But with our next update we keep the Cowboy Theme up and will next head back to the world of Pro Wrestling and be talking about Cowboy Bob Ellis! So until next time read a western comic or three, watch a western film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for a rootin tootin good time in the squared circle.

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Star Trek VI: The Rotten DC Country

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

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

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Star Trek VI: Undiscovered Country (1991)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Well I think we are at the point to travel to that Undiscovered Country with the crew of the USS Enterprise and DC Comics and see how this comic adaptation compares to the film it’s based on. And this is a comic I am looking forward to re-reading as its been a very long time sense I did so, and I also would like to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would like to also remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready lets head to the criminal trail of Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy and see how and if they can beat the murder rap they are on the hook for.

Star Trek VI Comic 1

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

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

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

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

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Have Yourself A Very Bananaman Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve and welcome back to Rotten Ink. Growing up I watched Nickelodeon at my Grandparents house as their cable provider had it while ours in Waynesville didn’t have it just yet and I can remember being glued to shows like “Danger Mouse”, “Count Duckula”, “Mr. Wizard’s World” and “You Can’t Do That On Television” and one that was also very popular that my brother and I would watch was “Bananaman” that was a silly superhero themed British cartoon series, and sadly as time has passed I find less and less people remember this amazing character here in America and that is why for this 10 Year Anniversary and Christmas Eve update I have chosen to talk about him! So grab some eggnog, get a plate of Christmas cookies as its time we chat about the one and only British superhero known as Bananaman!

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Eric Wimp is a young schoolboy who was rocketed to Earth as a baby from the moon and when he eats bananas he turns into Bananaman an adult costumed hero who can fly, is invulnerable, can breath in space and has superhuman strength. Bananaman is a superhero who works alongside the police who call him on the banana phone in order to stop crime as well as stop super villains fro hurting his city. During his heroic deeds he also gets help from Crow his pet bird who helps out when our hero is in a tight situation and always brings back up bananas to give him more energy and strength. While Bananaman is a superhero he still is not the sharpest knife in the drawer and this sometimes leads him into danger and traps that of course he will escape from in the end. The character Bannaman was created by artist John Geering along with writers Steve Bright and Dave Donaldson who brought the comic strip to readers that ended up spawning into the cartoon series and made him one of U.K.’s most popular superheroes. And sadly for those wondering artist John Geering passes away in 1999 and the comic strip when not reprinting old adventures is drawn by Andy Janes. A true iconic character for those who grew up reading and watching his cartoon and I for one am glad to have been able to watch his show here in America thanks to Nickelodeon.

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The show Bananaman started airing on October 3, 1983 and was on BBC and was 5 minute cartoons that was based on the comic strip and featured the voice of Graeme Garden as Bananaman and Tim Brooke-Taylor as Eric and was super popular with viewers who grew up loving this superhero that read his adventures in Nutty. The show would last for a total of 40 episodes for three seasons and the series ended in 1986. But even with no new episodes being made it ran heavily in reruns until around 1999. The episodes was written by Bernie Kay and directed and produced by Terry Ward. The show would go on to be released on DVD in the U.K. and those fans from America would have to import it like I did in order to watch again. A fun fact about this show is the British comedy troupe The Goodies are who voiced all the main cast of the cartoon like Bananaman, Crow and Eric! While Bananaman never hit the peak of popularity in America like it did in the U.K. for those who grew up watching it no matter what nation you know just how fun and silly this cartoon was.

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Like all great Superheroes that have came before and after him Bananaman has his fair share of villains that try to bring him down and ruin the city. And to be honest I think he has a great rogues gallery and while not on par with the likes of Spider-Man, Batman and Dick Tracy when it comes to the baddies he still has some great ones like the following that are some of my favorites. General Blight is an evil Army General and is his arch nemesis and is always coming with a scheme including unleashing The Snow Man a freeze and heat caring Christmas style snowman. Doctor Gloom is another great one who is the mad scientist sidekick of General Blight who creates enemies for Bananaman including Appleman. And I also like Rhubarb Man a walking talking piece of Rhubarb who moves around like a human. Other villains include Skunk Woman, Desperate Dan, Bubble-Gum Bert, Clayman, Witchy Woman, Grannie Punk, The Weatherman, King Zorg, The Heavy Mob and Spaghetti Man to name a very few. Really if you get a chance to read any of Bananaman’s comics or watch his cartoons make sure to do so not only to enjoy his adventures but to also see his baddies in action.

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Like all great cartoons Bananaman has had his fair share of very cool merchandise for fans to collect over the years with some being official and others being made by fans themselves to show their love for the character. So if you are a Bananaman fan like myself you can get such cool thinks as T-Shirts, Home Media, Stickers, Dolls, Toys, Buttons, Posters, Statues, Trading Cards, Halloween Costumes, Action Figures, Drinking Glass and so much more stuff with most being fan made stuff that is available here in America. So if you like Bananaman make sure to check Etsy and Ebay as I am sure you will find some cool stuff for your collection.

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So now that we have talked about Bananaman and things about him from his merchandise to his baddies I think we should now move to this Comic Capers graphic novel that features some comic book adventures of our hero Bananaman! I would like to thank a seller on Etsy for having this in stock and making this update possible. I want to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready lets go to Nuttytown and head to 29 Acacia Road and see if Bananaman is home and what adventures he has in store for us!

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Comic Capers: Bananaman GN  **1/2
Released in 2000   Cover Price $0.00     Beano Books   # ? of ?

“Eurovillain Contest” Eric is bored at home and decides to make a cable satalite dish so he can watch better TV when he finds that Lord Zorg has a show that is about what Eurovillain can stop Bananaman, and this of course causes Eric to turn into his superhero alter ego and head to Europe were along the way Weatherman and The Mole try and slow him down, but he ends up finding his way to Europe and the contest starts! The first baddie that attacks is Goudaman and his giant cheese wheel and at first the holes in the cheese are a maze that Bananaman can not figure out that us until he gets the idea to have a bunch of mice to follow him who eat the giant cheese wheel and Goudaman is defeated. Next Garlicman and his foul smelling breath attacks, but Bananaman uses a giant book to smash him after a fake court trail! And so many Eurovillain’s try to bring down Bananaman including Spaghetti Man, Ivan The Terrible, Abzorba, Doctor Gloom, Ragnar The Hairy and The Weatherman and all of them fail and are defeated by Bananaman and worse the judges have given all the baddies the score of zero making it that no one is going to win, that is until Big Rita a mechanic is mad at the poor scoring and shows up at the station and roughs up the judges as well as King Zorg and this makes her the winner of the contest. The second store is “The Secret Of Willie Boggins” on Arcadia Street young Willie Boggins as a secret when he eats a boiled egg he turns into General Blight! And as Bananaman goes after him our hero has a streak of bad luck that even hits his secret identity Eric Wimp. And after General Blight robs a bank he buys a whole big jar of pickled eggs and eats them at once and grows into a giant, and after Bananaman tries to stop him and fails he goes and eats a ton of bananas and turns into a giant himself, but the fight ends when both have stomach aches and have to use the bathroom.

This graphic novel was a fun silly very kid friendly read and showcases the true goofy nature of the hero known as Bananaman as well as several of his foes that all make appearances in this comic including General Blight who gets his own story out of the two presented. The plots of both stories are simple and yet affective with the first being a villain contest TV Show that has baddies going after Bananaman and a panel rates the villains to award the winner. And the second story has General Blight on a crime spree and even grows giant size and this forces Bananaman to have to do the same in growing to end the fight. Bananaman in this graphic novel is super silly and while he saves the day each time he kind of falls backwards into doing so and while he acts as if he knows what he is doing its clear at times he does not. But because he is silly this makes him a very charming hero and reminds me of Captain Klutz another hero we have talked about here on Rotten Ink and you should give that update a read here. And I have to say this graphic novel really did spark my love for the Bananaman character again as he is just such an awesome superhero with such a great nature. Also the fact he his a kid in his alter ego reminds me of Captain Marvel or Shazam as he is called now. Really sad that Crow is not in this as it would have been cool to have seen him around and helping out when needed. While many of his villains appear many of them do not get a lot of time on panels as they are defeated fast and our hero moves onto the next, I will though say that King Zorg gets his time to shine as he is the host of the TV Show contest and gets to say a few cheesy jokes before he his beat up by Big Rita who ends up winning the show. General Blight is the graphic novels main villain and he is able to win a few rounds with Bananaman as he runs him over with his bicycle, is able to rob a bank, turn into a giant and beat our hero is a fight showing he is truly the arch-nemesis for Bananaman! I also like how their big giant fight has to end early as all the food they ate made them have to potty bad and because they are so big they have to use cooling towers at a power station to relive themselves…so silly. The cover for this graphic novel is great and showcases both Eric Wimp and Bananaman and is eye catching with the interior art being done by an artist I could not find the credits for, but whom ever of the comic strip artist who did it they did top notch stuff. Over all this Bananaman Graphic Novel is not for everyone as I think those who do not know the character will find it to British in humor and way to kid friendly, but for those fans like myself it’s a fun read that takes you back to your youth watching the cartoon (or even in some cases reading the comic strip) and enjoying his adventures. Checkout the artwork below to see the style used in this book.

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Bananaman was a great way to spend this Christmas Eve as he is such a very underrated superhero character here in America as sadly besides that very small run on the early days of Nickelodeon and those who imported shows or got on the Grey Market truly remember him, while in England he really is a well loved hero and still has a following and fan base to this day. I really hope that you readers have a great Holiday season spent with your family, friends and pets with lots of great conversations and plenty of tasty food. I also want to thank you for spending apart of your Christmas Eve here at Rotten Ink and making this 10 Year Anniversary very special and I hope you enjoyed the updates over the decade of blogging and hope it brought back great memories of your youth. So with that eat a Christmas Cookie or three, watch a Bananaman cartoon or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you in 2023 for the best of 2022 Movie’s seen in the theater countdown.

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SilverHawks Soar Into This Christmas Season

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we are in December and the weather is starting to get really cold and that also means we are getting very close to Christmas! And what better way to get us ready for the holiday then to take a look at a cartoon and toy series that spawned a Star Comic and for this one I choose SilverHawks a very cool and sometimes over looked toy and toon series that is over shaded by the more popular ones like Thundercats, Masters of The Universe, Transformers and G.I. Joe when people talk about the 80’s. So before we get started go get yourself a glass of eggnog or a mug of hot chocolate as its time to talk cartoon, toys and comics and head to space with the SilverHawks! And to be honest I really am looking forward to doing this one because as a kid I was a big fan of these characters and talking about them has been long overdue.

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SilverHawks was a cartoon created by Rankin-Bass with the animation being done by Pacific Animation Corporation with Lorimar-Telepictures being the distribution company and was a syndicated show that started airing on September 8, 1986. The show followed a group of heroes called SilverHawks who along with Commander Stargazer are trying to stop the evil Mon*Star and his henchman that are causing chaos and crimes in the galaxy. The SilverHawks are Quicksilver, The Copper Kidd, Bluegrass and the twins Steelheart and Steelwill and sometimes our heroes are joined by their SilverHawk’s that include Hotwing, Flashback, Condor and Moon Stryker. Meanwhile Mon*Star has his own band of baddies that include Yes-Man, Windhammer, Mo-Lec-U-Lar, Mumbo-Jumbo, Buzz-Saw, Poker-Face and Melodia to name a few. The SilverHawks as well as some of the baddies also have weapon-birds that are birds of prey that are part metal and they include Tally-Hawk, May-Day and Shredator among many others. The series would last for one season and have 65 episodes that would later have some episodes being released on VHS and later DVD. The series was popular with the youth but did not bring in enough merchandise sales as well as top other cartoons in the ratings and with production coasts they decided to end the series. The Silverhawks main baddie Mon*Star would appear in a episode the 2011 remake cartoon of Thundercats in a cameo and in 2021 it is said that a remake of SilverHawks is in the works. Growing up I loved SilverHawks and watched the cartoon every time it was on and was sad when it go cancelled for those wondering my favorite characters were Mon*Star, Mumbo-Jumbo and Quicksilver. If you have not seen SilverHawks and enjoy cartoon like Thundercats and even Voltron I would say check it out as you might find yourself enjoying it.

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The SilverHawks action figures were made by Kenner in 1986 and lasted only one wave and had 18 basic figures and six vehicles made with three being life size versions of Tally-Hawk, Sky-Shadow and Stronghold. Some of the figures was just different suited and different accessories like several Bluegrass and Copper Kidd had been released, but all the major cast of character got a figure and many came with their Weapon Birds. In Waynesville I remember many kids having these figures and my friend Jeremy Patton even had the Tally-Hawk and it was amazing as he let everyone play with it, he was the king of the playground that day. I as a kid had many of these figures as well like Quicksilver, Mon*Star, Steelwill, Windhammer and Buzz-Saw who was my first figure from the series I got. Sadly in my area they did not last long in the stores and I can remember being super bummed when I could got get Copper Kid, Steelheart and Mumbo-Jumbo as they were all on my must have list. The figures all had cool action features and looked pretty much like they did in the cartoon. The downside to these figures was that they were made very cheaply and the paint would come off of the SilverHawks leaving their faces and suits to look like a blotchy mess. But while the figures paint jobs was flawed they still were very cool figures and at the time among my classmates they were popular for a short time. I should also note that I remember my cousins Dino and Norman also having SilverHawk figures and Dino even had a sticker of Copper Kid on his door for the longest time. And now that I am thinking about it I think I still have a few SilverHawk figures in my toy collection, they are not the ones I had as a kids as sadly they are long gone but ones I have picked up at Comic Stores, Thrift Shops and Used Media stores over the years. I would have taken a picture of the ones I have but they are buried in the basement and it would take Indiana Jones, Pitfall Harry, Explorer Joe and Lara Croft to find them. And in 2022 Super7 released new figures of SilverHawks to the fans with high detail, but they do have a hefty price of around $56.00 a figure.

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Besides the Kenner action figures and Star Comics other cool merchandise was released when SilverHawks was on the air including a board game, stickers, fast food prizes, coloring books, lunch box, Halloween costume, fighting tops, tooth brush holder, kite, party favor bags, stamps, pencils, home media and much more like all good cartoons of that era had. And even now in modern time fans have made cool collectible items like shirts, posters, pins, buttons, statues, hats, cake toppers and more showing that fans who grew up watching SilverHawks still love them to this day. And who else reading this remembers the SilverHawks kids meal at Burger King?

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In 1987 a weird stage show took place around America that was for kids and featured actors dressed up as cartoon characters from popular shows of the time. The main attraction was Thundercats but joining them was Gumby & Pokey, Karate Kat, Street Frogs, TigerSharks and of course SilverHawks! They would perform skits and would interact with each other and kids just loved this production as the costumes looked great for the time and it was a great way for Rankin-Bass to show off their cool cartoon properties. And while many of us remember Disney or Nickelodeon stage shows, how many of you remember this cartoon jamboree? From the memories of those who went and seen the show it seems like it was a blast and that the actors did a fantastic job in their roles, and lets be honest we just don’t get this kind of stuff as often as the soulless Tech Companies that has taken over most of our entertainment just lack the love and vision to deliver stuff for fans. But while this stage show is lost to time it still is a very cool part of the SilverHawks legacy.

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Really Christmas time makes me think of all the cool toys, cartoons and movies that made up my childhood and I hope these updates I do in the month of December do bring back good memories for you as well, and I also hope that for those who do not know the topics learn about them and find a love for them. SilverHawks also was a perfect cartoon for Star Comics to tackle as the universe very much as that comic book feel and the characters are the perfect fit for the Marvel Universe at the time. Reading these comics will be lots of fun as I have not reread them for decades and am looking forward to seeing if they hold up as I was a fan of them when I was younger. I would like to also remind you readers that I 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 to travel to space and save the day with the SilverHawks lets get to it.

SilverHawks Comic 1

Silverhawks # 1  ***
Released in 1987    Cover Price $1.00    Star Comics    # 1 of 7

something very bad has happened and that’s the criminal Mon*Star has escape prison and has busted out all of his gang including the likes of Hardware, Melodia, Windhammer and Mumbo-Jumbo and they are ready to make the worlds pay for their time spent in a cell. The Earth responded by getting a group called The SilverHawks ready for battle and to send to space, and there are five members with Quicksilver being the leader and the other members being Copper Kidd, Bluegrass, Steelheart and Steelwill and they have a ship that’s called The Mirage. Once the SilverHawks arrive at HawkHaven they are introduced to Tally-Hawk a half robot half real hawk that acts as a scout, they also learn of Brimstar the home planets of Mon*Star who is just being told by Yes-Man about The SilverHawks arriving. Mon*Star gets his mob together and heads to HawkHaven in order to take down the SilverHawks before they can get settled in and filled in, but Mon*Star and his men are quickly out moved and defeated by the SilverHawks and this causes Mon*Star to call for a retreat while Stargazer welcomes The SilverHawks home and to the war to save the galaxy.

This first issue is a great read and was a great way to introduce all the characters in the SilverHawks universe to the readers and did a great job of bringing the cartoon and figures to the pages of a kid’s comic. The plot has the sinister Mon*Star escaping jail and also setting his loose his mob that is some of the worst criminals in the galaxy and conquering every planet is what is on their minds. So Earth sends up a team called The SilverHawks that are cyborgs to even the odds and give the galaxy a fighting chance. The main hero Quicksilver is very brave and already taking charge of his team and most importantly leads them to a win over their enemies in a very quick battle. The rest of the SilverHawks come off as good people who understand that they are on a very important mission and have no fear on bringing down the baddies that threaten the lives and freedoms of the planets. Mon*Star is very mean and very powerful as he clearly craves fear and power and seems to know that he a the might and power to shake the universe to the core, and it’s also clear he rules his mob with an iron fist as these criminals will do whatever he orders. Sadly besides the spineless Yes-Man none of the other villains personalities are flushed out and that is something I hope is worked in the next issues. I also have to say I like that Commander Stargazer is very much a take no crap kind of hero who wants to have his new team stomp Mon*Star into the ground as the two clearly have much heated history. The action and story are easy to follow and I have to once more stress how great of a job the creative team did of capturing the mood and feel of The SilverHawks cartoon and action figure line. The cover is super eye catching and showcases the whole team and I know it did it’s job as the younger me had to own this comic based on my love or SilverHawks and just how awesome the cover was. The interior art is fantastic and is done by Mike Witherby who truly must have watched the show and studied that characters as they look perfect, with his Mon*Star being epic. Over all a really great first issue and showcased that Star Comics understood how to make a top quality kids comic and that SilverHawks was a great cartoon for them to adapt into a comic series. Lets see what issue two has in store for us.

SilverHawks Comic 2

Silverhawks # 2  ***
Released in 1987    Cover Price $1.00    Star Comics    # 2 of 7

Mon*Star is mad and wants revenge and sets his sights on Stargazer as he wants to kidnap him and bring him to Brimstar in order for him to murder him in front of all of the mob and he thinks this will scare away the SilverHawks and make them beatable as the thinks the lack of leadership will confuse them. And with that Hardware enters the room and informs Mon*Star that he can get to HawkHaven and enter the base and deliver Stargazer for a price as he has created a lock pick that also shuts down alarms! Mon*Star hires him to do so and Hardware along with Windhammer and Mo-Lec-U-Lar set out to do this plan that includes hijacking a taxi cab to get close to HawkHaven. But unknown to the bad guys the whole plan has been over heard by Tally-Hawk who reports it back to Stargazer who has came up with a plan of his own that will allow Hardware to kidnap him and the SilverHawk will sneak into BrimStar behind them in order to steal all the mob secrets of the crime families computers before making an exit, as what they could learn about from those files could truly help them stop Mon*Star and his mob forever. Hardware makes it to HawkHaven and kidnaps Stargazer and is able to get him into the base, but not before his backpack is knocked off by Stargazer and left outside the gate. But the SilverHawks are late to make the rescue as Windhammer notices The Mirage and attacks them with his tuning fork slowing them down, but once on Brimstar Quicksilver uses the lock pick left in Hardware’s backpack in order to enter the base of Mon*Star and they save Stargazer who is also able to get the files off the computer and they make an escape and get back to HawkHaven and even return the stolen taxi to the driver. Meanwhile Mon*Star is lava level mad at his team who was not able to stop the rescue.

The second issue is more about Mon*Star and Hardware and their plan on how to kidnap and murder Stargazer in order to try and make quick work of the forces of good that oppose their quest of dominating the universe. But they do not know that on the other side Stargazer and The SilverHawks have a plan of their own in order to get the secrets of the mob off their computer system. I love the fact that Mon*Star in this issue once more shows just how evil he is as his main goal of the issue is to murder a man in front of his goons, like really he wants to kill someone as a show of power. Hardware in the issue shows that he has the skills to make tools that could be very useful and he cares more about money then ruling the world as his goal is to pull off a kidnapping and getting paid. I also have to give credit to Windhammer and his tuning fork as he is the one that is able to hijack the taxi as well as slowdown the SilverHawks from their rescue mission. The main good guy in this issue is Stargazer who uses his mind in order to turn a kidnapping plot against him into an Intel gathering mission for himself. The SilverHawks themselves are more of the backup this issue as they do what they are told by Stargazer in order for his plan to go down. The plot of this issue was lots of fun as I like the idea of a evil plan being over heard and a good plan being planned around it, that way as the bad guys think they have won they in fact are the ones that have been played and end up on the loosing end. The cover is great as it shows Mon*Star with a captured Stargazer as The SilverHawks are coming in for the rescue. And the interior art is done by the great Mike Witherby again and like before his work is top notch and truly does justice to The SilverHawks. Another fantastic issue that held up to me after all these years, and with that lets see what issue three has in store for us.

SilverHawks Comic 3

Silverhawks # 3  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price $1.00    Star Comics    # 3 of 7

An old Prospector and his mechanical mule has found gold on a weird planet and is robbed by Bandit who knocks the old man down a hole and scares off the mule. Bandit then goes to a local bar and gets two of his friends to head back to the site to get more gold, but the bartender over hears this and alerts Mon*Star who wants 99.9% of the gold and sends Melodia to go and get his cut. Meanwhile Bluegrass is on a patrol when he finds the runaway mule and gets information on who owns it from Stargazer and then heads to his last location to return his pet, but once on the planet Bluegrass is ambushed by Melodia, Bandit and his goons and is as well knocked into the hole where he and the Prospector are trapped as the bad guys above keep taking all the gold. Bluegrass sends out his guitar bird Side Man to go back to HawkHaven and get help from his fellow SilverHawks, who end up rushing to the aid of their friend and save him and the Prospector as well brings down Melodia and the bandits and they also return all the gold to the Prospector. In the end the old man is rich and is retiring as all The SilverHawks return to base with another win over Mon*Star and his mob.

This third issue is a fun adventure that mostly showcases Bluegrass as he goes on a solo mission and finds himself out numbered and captured and must find a way to escape his captors as well as save the life of an old prospector that has been targeted by space bandits do to the gold he has found. Bluegrass even when the odds are against him tries to do the right thing, and sadly from the moment he lands the odds are against him but he never backs down or losses hope even when he is tossed into a hole. The issue also shows that Bluegrass is teaching The Copper Kid on how to fly the ship and this comes in handy for situations like this. Also you have to give credit to Side Man the guitar bird that is able to escape the hole and get help when the odds were looking grim. The hole filling with oil and pushing Bluegrass and The Prospector out was also a little silly. The rest of The SilverHawks are around and do what they do best and that’s save the day. Melodia does her best to get the gold back to her boss Mon*Star, but she fails when the tide turns with the heroes being in charge. Speaking of Mon*Star I love that as soon as he hears about some bandits finding gold he wants his cut that amounts to basically all of it! The story in this issue is entertaining, but does lack something that I can not put my finger on…maybe it’s the fact it seems like the stakes of the fight are just not really that high…or maybe its that The SilverHawks make quick work of the baddies in just a couple of panels. The cover is ok and has Bluegrass being blasted out of the hole while Melodia is firing at him. The interior art by Witherby is as solid as ever and I have to say I like the way he drew the Space Bandits. Over all a good issue that adds fuel to the fire between The SilverHawks and Mon*Star’s Mob, so lets see what happens in issue four.

SilverHawks Comic 4

Silverhawks # 4  ***
Released in 1988   Cover Price $1.00     Star Comics   # 4 of 7

Percunnius Wadsworth Wellington The 62nd is a gambler who has come to HawkHaven in order to try and get the help of The SilverHawks as he tells them a story of gambling in a space casino and that some of Mon*Star’s Mob (Poker-Face, Hardware and Mumbo-Jumbo) have stolen all his money after he beat one of their rigged machines. Stargazer informs Wellington that The SilverHawks cannot help him because the casino is out of their jurisdiction and this angers the gambler who storms out. The Copper Kid feeling bad for the gambler offers him a ride, and ends up taking pity on him and heads to the casino as Copper Kid is a master of games as he uses math in order to win. Stargazer is furious as Copper Kid has disobeyed his orders, and even worse does not respond when told to return to base. It’s clear that Wellington has not been 100% truthful to Copper Kid and is tricking the young SilverHawk to fight his fight. After dodging his fellow SilverHawks that were sent to bring him back by Stargazer the Copper Kid arrives at the casino. Poker-Face makes a deal that if Copper Kid wins he can have all of Wellington’s money back and if he looses he must join Mon*Stars Mob…and of course with his skills The Copper Kid wins! But Poker-Face is a sore loser and sends Mumbo-Jumbo to smash the SilverHawk, and as the odds look bad for Copper Kid, but it’s the quick mind of Wellington that saves the day as he moves the casino over the line given the SilverHawks legal action to save their friend as well as bring down another of Mon*Stars operations. In the end Wellington understands what it means to have a friend as he and the Copper Kidd are now truly friends.

This is another very good issue and acts as a showcase for SilverHawks member Copper Kid as he takes the star position and saves the day. The plot has Copper Kid head to a casino planet in order to get back money that was stolen by Mon*Stars mob from a very shady gambler who ends up learning a lesson and understands that friendship is very important. The Copper Kid might be the youngest member of the team but he shows lots of heart as he disobeys orders in order to help someone in need, as to him doing the right thing is what is important. Plus you have to give the Copper Kid credit as he not only out maneuverers his fellow teammates but he also holds his own against three of Mon*Stars Mob members! Percunnius Wadsworth Wellington is clearly a conman who loves to gamble and lies to the SilverHawks hoping they will help him recover his lost money, but along his con game he ends up becoming not a bad person at all as he risks his own life and money in order to do the right thing. Poker-Face is the lead baddy of the issue and helps raise mob money by using crooked casino games, while he is not a fighter his brains and trickery is what make him dangerous. It was also nice to see Mumbo-Jumbo in a side roll as the casino’s bouncer. The rest of the SilverHawks are torn as they think that Stargazer is wrong for not helping Wellington and are more puzzled when they are sent out to capture him before he reaches the casino, but they also understand orders are orders. The cover art is great and eye catching and in fact reminds me more of a cover that you would have seen on a Spectacular Spider-Man or Incredible Hulk issue at that time, in other words great work. The interior art like before is top notch and done by the talented Mike Witherby who is very underrated for his work. Over all another great issue that was super entertaining to held up after all these years.

SilverHawks Comic 5

Silverhawks # 5  **1/2
Released in 1988   Cover Price $1.00     Star Comics   # 5 of 7

Steelwill is called to a planet to have a meeting with his secret informant that gives him leads on the plans and plots that the Mon*Star Mob has in store, but he soon finds out that it was all a trick by Hardware and Mo-Lec-U-Lar as they lead him into a giant TV that wipes his brain clean and turns him into mindless slave who now is working for Mon*Star! This action causes his sister Stillheart to know something is wrong and Stargazer sends them out to find their missing friend, while Tally-Hawk spies on Mon*Star and his mob and reports back to the team about the mind control TV and what has happened to Steelwill. The SilverHawks head to the TV to destroy it so that is can do no more harm as well as they hope will free the mind of their friend and teammate, but when they arrive they are greeted by an ready to fight Steelwill who has been given orders to keep them at bay as Hardware gets the TV ready and Mon*Star is also on his way to watch the event of The SilverHawks getting their minds wiped, and after a sneak attack Quicksilver, Copper Kid and Bluegrass join Steelwill into becoming mindless goons and it’s Steelheart who uses her skills and mind link to her twin brother to break the hold Mon*Star has on her brother and the two smash the TV that frees the minds of the rest of the SilverHawks and causes Mon*Star and his goons to retreat.

This is a pretty solid issue that this time around acts as a showcase for the twins Steelwill and Steelheart and allows the only female member of the team to be the true hero of the day as she is the one that saves her team from becoming the mindless drones of a criminal madman! Steelheart is awesome and she is as strong and tough as any of her male teammates. Its also shown that all the male teammates that had been brain smashed all have the same fantasy and that is to be turned into Tally-Hawk and to bring down Mon*Star…your going to tell me not a one of them had some sort of weird fantasy about Steelheart? Mon*Star so wants him to kill the SilverHawks and thanks to Hardware he came the closest to finally almost reaching the goal, and who would have thought it would have been a fantasy granting TV that made peoples brains into mashed potatoes that would have been the tool. And while the action of this issue is cool and I like the idea of the TV brain destroyer it just kind of sadly an average issue and like with issue # 3 I can just not put my finger on why. As I like that the Twins have the spotlight and I also like that for the first time The SilverHawks seem like they could be defeated. The cover is pretty cool and the interior art as always is done by Mike Witherby and is good stuff. To sum it up this is a good issue that was a fun read and shows that even the weaker issues in this series are better than most comics being released for younger readers today.

SilverHawks Comic 6

Silverhawks # 6  ***
Released in 1988   Cover Price $1.00     Star Comics   # 6 of 7

Melodia along with Windhammer and Mumbo-Jumbo are robbing a ship of all the money and jewels it’s hauling when The SilverHawks along with Stargazer arrive to stop them, but things go wrong as Stargazer is caught by the bad guys who mock him for his age and use him in order to escape. Back at HawkHaven Stargazer is questioning his usefulness to the team and sends The SilverHawks to stop Hardware and Buzz-Saw from destroying a small shop who will not pay them protection money. As The SilverHawks bring down Hardware and Buzz-Saw their leader Stargazer answers mail and gets the idea that he needs a vacation, and takes some time away from HawkHaven. When word spreads that Stargazer is away Mon*Star thinks that it’s time to attack The SilverHawks as he thinks without their leadership they will be easy to defeat, and he goes after them quickly with his mob and bring down Quicksilver, Bluegrass, Ironheart and Ironwill and Copper Kid with Tally-Hawk are the ones who escape and send a SOS message to Stargazer who is on Earth at a bar with his friends, he returns to find the galaxy under Mon*Star rule and he comes up with an idea to wait for Mon*Star to return to Brimstar in order to take him out, and does so with a big punch and with that StarGazer is able to lead to the arrest of all of Mon*Stars Mob as well as he save all The SilverHawks, showing he is not old and outdated and truly is a hero.

This issue goes from Star Comics to Marvel Comics on the price box and also changes some of the creative team behind it and for the most part the new team does a solid job of keeping the high quality of the series going. This issue is mostly about Stargazer who is feeling old and out of date when he seems to be a factor in some bad guys getting away during a robbery, and must find his faith in himself once more in order to save The SilverHawks from Mon*Star and his Mob. And I have to say seeing Stargazer drop Mon*Star with one punch to his jaw just shows how badass this old Commander is. And it also is very odd that as soon as Stargazer leaves to return to Earth the SilverHawks are defeated by the Mob very easily and loose control of their own base even. I guess proven that without Stargazer they truly do lack guidance and can be defeated. A very cool think is that almost every major Mon*Star Mob member makes an appearance in this issue and by the end they are all arrested ending their evil grip on the galaxy…well for now. The cover is pretty cool and this time reminds me of a cover from The Avengers that would have been released by Marvel at this time. The interior art this time is done by Howard Bender and is pretty solid stuff as he as well does a good job of making the character look just right. Over all another issue that shows just how good SilverHawks was in the world of comics and how great Star Comics was even if they dropped the brand name off the cover.

SilverHawks Comic 7

Silverhawks # 7  ***
Released in 1988   Cover Price $1.00     Star Comics   # 7 of 7

Lord Cash who is in charge of the Bank World lets who he thinks is Quicksilver onto the planet only to be attacked and taken prisoner! Earth thinks that The SilverHawks has turned bad and orders Stargazer to disband them, but thanks to Tally-Hawk they soon find that the SilverHawk who attacked the Bank World is really one called Darkbird and he was created by Hardware for Mon*Star who wants to use him to ruin The SilverHawks as well as kill them! The SilverHawks rush to the bank world and are able to run off Hardware and Mumbo-Jumbo who were set to steal the planets wealth, but they are attacked and Ironwill is hurt by Darkbird. Quicksilver sends his fellow SilverHawks home as he goes after his doppelganger, but unknown to Quicksilver is that Mon*Star is also on his way. Quicksilver and Darkbird fight all around and it’s Quicksilver in the end that takes down is evil clone, but just as he wins Mon*Star arrives and starts his attack on the lone SiverHawk…that is until the rest of the team show up and chase off their enemy. In the end Quicksilver finds and sets free Lord Cash who is sorry for blaming Quicksilver for the robbery to Earth, and all is forgiven.

This is the final issue in the SilverHawk series and while it is a very good issue, it sadly also is not a very fitting ending one as the story is more about mistaken identity and having Quicksilver facing a evil version of himself that was created in a lab and the human side of him removed to make a emotionless being who does what his creators tell him to do. The issue really is about Quicksilver who is the leader of the team and will always do what is right, and that includes sending his team away from extreme danger and he himself going into it in order to right the wrongs being done. Darkbird is mean and careless and not only tries to ruin the reputation of the SilverHawks but also adds kidnapping to his charges as he takes the ruler of the bank world hostage. And what is cool is that both Darkbird and Quicksilver are evenly matched making their fight very close. Stargazer and the rest of the SilverHawks know that Quicksilver is no bad guy no matter what has been reported to Earth, and thanks to Tally-Hawk they see that of course all the bad stuff being reported has been done my one of Mon*Stars minions. Speaking of Mon*Star I do like that he comes into the battle at the end and while he is chased off he is able to stress that they might be winning the battles but that they will not win the war with him and his mob…and the thing is I can believe it as unlike so many other main villains from cartoons and toys at this time Mon*Star was not a goofy character who surrounded himself with goofy henchmen making his threats seem way more impactful. In other words look at Mon*Star just like you do Mum-Ra from Thundercats as both are mean spirited baddies who would kill to get what they want and have an army of henchmen who do what they are told. I also think what this comic series did that was very cool is that it feels like every member of The SilverHawks got an issue that showcased them just a little more than the other team members and allowed for their personalities to shine, plus you know each member had their own following and this allowed some of the issues to feel like they were written just for that characters fans. The cover art for this issue is really cool and has Quicksilver and Darkbird punching it out and it was also cool to see artist Mike Witherby return to the series to end it, as I think his artwork really helped bring this comic series alive. Over all I would say that SilverHawks is one of Star Comics best lines as you can tell those behind it cared and delivered some great issues for readers back then and to discover now. Checkout the artwork below to see the style of Mike Witherby, and bask in its “Hey That Looks Like The Cartoon” glory!

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As you can see The SilverHawks was a great series by Star Comics an would easily be on my Top 5 comics they released based on a Cartoon or Toy as I think the minds behind this series truly understood the characters as well as respected it’s fan base, something I fear that is lacking in most modern comics by the Big 2 these days. I also really do wish that the series had lasted longer than only seven issues as they could have had so many more comic adventures. SilverHawks in general is an often overlooked 80’s Toon and Toy line that I think should get more respect, and lets hope soon it finally does build a bigger cult following and maybe we can even get a live action film or even a video game finally. But its time for us to leave space and HawkHeaven behind and we head to spend Christmas Eve at 29 Acacia Road in Nuttytown as we have a holiday adventure planned with the one and only Bananaman! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a cartoon or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for a goofy superhero good time!

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Xena The Thanksgiving Day Princess

Welcome to this Thanksgiving Rotten Ink update something that I hope has become a Turkey Day tradition for you just like the old Mystery Science Theater 3000 Turkey Day Marathons use to be for me! And for this update I choose to cover something very special, as this is not only the Thanksgiving update but also is celebrating 10 Years that Rotten Ink has been up on the worldwide web. And normally Hercules would be the one to join us on Thanksgiving but as of last year we are taking a break from spending Turkey Day with him and this year will be our first without him and will instead be about a badass female warrior that is a Warrior Princess and I am of course talking about Xena and the comic series we will be looking at is the original series done by Topps Comics! So while that Turkey is still cooking in the oven and before your guests arrive or you leave to be a guest lets talk about Xena Warrior Princess on this Thanksgiving Day holiday.

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Xena Warrior Princess was a spin-off show of the hugely popular syndicated show “Hercules Legendary Journeys” as Xena first appeared in the 1995 episode called “The Warrior Princess” and she became super popular with viewers as she was a badass female warrior who could handle herself against the likes of Hercules. So because of this on September 4, 1995 she got her own series thanks to Renaissance Pictures. The show in syndication was a major hit and was a ratings draw for all the stations who added it their line up. I for one would watch the show every Sunday Morning and would even set the VCR to tape the episodes I would miss due to family trips and such. The show would have Xena not only face her past of being a raider who killed but would also have her face fellow warriors, amazons as well as even monsters and Gods! And the big thing being is that Xena grew as a character throughout the series run and this added more appeal to the character as she would fall in love, show remorse for his actions and even would doubt herself at time. The show would last for six seasons and a total of 134 episodes and even when the show ended in 2001 it still was one of the most watched syndicated shows on television at the time. During its run it would win and be nominated for many awards including the Emmys and Saturns. It would build up a huge following in the LGBTQ Community, as Xena and her sidekick Gabrielle became role models for young ladies and spawned a lot of merchandise for fans to collect. Xena was a show that was for everyone and the character Xena is still popular even to this day as fans still would love to see her return to their TV screens. And for me it still ranks in my top 10 shows of all time as I was a big fan and still am to this day. The series has been released on home media via VHS and DVD and can be found on some streaming sites from time to time.

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Xena was a feared female warrior who along with his army would loot, destroy and murder any villager in her path and she loved what she did. But her life changes when her own brother is killed in a raid by the Warlord Cortese and she sees the sorrow that her own actions has caused over the years and even her own Mother turns her back on her. Now on a mission for revenge and to right all her wrongs that she has done over the years, she also builds new friendships and trusts and becomes a symbol of change and empowerment from women. She is skilled with a sword as well as her chakram that she can throw super accrete. Xena also has a war cry that sends fear down the spines of her enemies and can stand her ground against any warlord as well as god like being. Xena was played by the lovely Lucy Lawless who was the crush for many nerdy kids of the time and in fact many still do have a crush on her, and I am not ashamed to say I still do as Lucy Laweless is an amazing actress who is beautiful on many levels. Lucy Lawless would go on to be is such shows and movies as The X-Files, The L Word, Spartacus, Ash vs. Evil Dead, Spider-Man, Boogeyman and Bitch Slap. She would even voice Wonder Woman in the 2008 animated film Justice League: The New Frontier. For those of use who grew up watching and for those of who discovered the show after its run we truly know how awesome, amazing, beautiful and ass kicking Xena and Lucy Lawless really is.

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Gabrielle was a farm girl from the village of Potidaea and after being kidnapped by a warlord and then freed by Xena she decides that she wants to follow her savior and together the two have many great journies and adventures. Gabrielle is wise, sarcastic at times and becomes skilled with a staff as well as a sword later on and she becomes a warrior in her own right. Her sister is Lila who is her only sibling and they two do get along well. The character of Gabrielle was super popular with fans and growing up for me on TV you could not beat the duo of Xena and Gabriella as they just played so well off each other. Gabrielle was played by actress Rene O’Connor who was in such films as “Night Game (1989)”, “Stone Cold (1991)”, “The Adventures Of Huck Finn (1993)” and “Darkman II: The Return Of Durant (1995)” among others as well as was on TV Shows like “Tales From The Crypt”, “NYPD Blue” and “FBI: The Untold Stories”. Rene is a great actress and Gabrielle is an amazing character and for many Gabriella rivaled Xena at being their favorite character of the whole series, and lets be honest I think it was Rene who’s acting really made the character be so iconic.

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The show had many amazing side character over the years that made up the Xena universe like the goofball wannabe hero Joxer played by Ted Raimi, Autolycus The King Of Thieves played by Bruce Campbell, Cyrene is the mother of Xena and she was played by Darien Takle, Hercules and Iolaus would show up from time to time and they were played of course by Kevin Sorbo and Michael Hurst. And on the villain side two of the biggest baddies in the series (and man she had many) was Aries The God Of War played by Kevin Smith and female warrior Callisto played by Hudson Leick. And this is just a small amount of the recurring characters that appeared on the show and made it so awesome. My favorite side character has to be Callisto as she was beautiful, crazy and dangerous and was a great villain for Xena and her episodes were always well done. But to be fair Ares is also a very entertaining villain and Kevin Smith was perfect in the role and it’s a shame he had to pass away at such a young age. Man writing this really does make me look back and see just how awesome all of the characters I have mentioned and more really did make this show special. Oh and I need not forget Caesar played by Karl Urban was also a great baddie who was a pain in Xena’s side. Who was your favorite side character in Xena?

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Like I have said I was an every week watcher of Xena The Warrior Princess and hands down one of my favorite episodes was called “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and was a Halloween episode that aired in October 1996. In this spooky episode Xena and Gabrielle go after Bacchus The God Of Wine who has a legion of female vampires, and during this adventure Gabriella is bitten and turned into one of his servants and its up to Xena to save her friend and kill Bacchus and allow all of those he has infected to return to being human. The episode also had appearances by Joxer and Orpheus and the episode played like a mix between a Horror Movie and a Rock Video that was airing on MTV at the time…and you can never go wrong with Gabrielle looking all gothed out…you just cant. The episode also had a very lesbian overtone and the demonic look of Bacchus was badass and it’s a shame that he was not used more often as a featured villain of the week for the Xena series. Long before the episodes made their way to home media this was one that I can remember taping off TV and watching a lot as the episode was just really cool and the plot felt like a good B-Movie vampire film. And the episode would also go on to be praised by not only fans but also critics who site this as one of the series best episodes. Those who have seen the episode know how awesome it is, and those of you who have not seen it track down the DVD set for Season 2 and give it a watch…also Toy Biz should have made an action figure of Bacchus and one of his female vampire minions…just saying.

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Like all great shows Xena Warrior Princess has had her fair share of action figures and dolls with her first figure being in the Hercules Legendary Journeys line that was released by Toy Biz and she had two figures in the line with the difference being coloring on her armor. And at the time of these figures release I was collecting them all as Hercules was one of my favorite shows and it would be cool to have them set up in my room, and Xena at the time in my area was the hardest one to track down. And I have to also say the Xena from the Hercules toys looks nothing like Lucy Lawless and for the most part is a really cheesy figure. But when Xena got her own TV Show Toy Biz also gave her a toy line that featured not only Xena but also all the characters from the show and these figures and later dolls were way better done and captured likeness better than the Hercules line did. And of course I still have many of my Xena toys and if you are a fan of the show make sure to track some of these figures down as they are pretty cool and a part of the shows history.

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When the TV Show was not on one thing fans could do is get the paperback novels based on Xena and her adventures to fill that void and these were good reads for fans. Many of the novels were written by such authors as Ru Emerson and Stella Howard and the novels most popular reads was the Quest Trilogy that was written by Emerson and consisted of “Go Quest Young Man”, “Questward Ho!” and “How The Quest Was Won”. And growing up I had these books and in fact I still have many of these books and while the lack the visional charm of the show Emerson and Howard did a great job of capturing the fun feel of it and really did deliver very entertaining reads. If you love the show make sure to tack down these novels and give them a read in your favorite spot.

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Xena The Warrior Princess made her way to the world of video games and was in a total of three home console games and a few for the PC. In 1999 Titus Interactive released the fighting game “Xena Warrior Princess: The Talisman Of Fate” for the N64. It was met with mixed reviews as it was an odd fighter but did allow you to play as such characters as Callisto, Ares, Julius Caesar and Autolycus to name a few. Also in 1999 for the Sony Playstation and released by EA came a adventure game that had you play as Xena who is on a quest to rescue Gabrielle and must fight warriors and monsters along the way, and this was a game I have played and beat so many times as I just really enjoyed the quest hack slash style game play and plus it was cool to be able to play a video game based on one of my favorite TV Shows of all time. And yet Xena would also get a Game Boy Color game as well this time in 2001, as even the handheld market needed some Xena for gamers to play as. So while I am not a mega fan of the Game Boy Color or N64 versions, I am a fan of the PS1 version and say that if you have the old console at your house and want to play a Xena adventure give this one a try.

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The score music used for Xena The Warrior Princess was done by Joseph LoDuca and is fantastic stuff as the opening theme always built the excitement for the episode and is something that we all remember to this day as it became one of the most iconic themes for a TV Show at the time. Let’s be honest, you have hummed the theme at least once as you have been reading this update. Many of you might not know that composer Joseph LoDuca is the musical mastermind behind scores for such movies as “The Evil Dead”, “Brotherhood Of The Wolf”, “Boogeyman”, “Curse Of Chucky” and “Bad Samaritan” and shows like “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”, “Cleopatra 2525” and “Jack Of All Trades” to name a few. And if you like myself enjoy the music of Xena you can get many volumes of the scores on CD thanks to Varese Sarabande; the musical episode even found its way onto CD! So make sure if you are a music collector to track these down as copies can be found on EBay and Amazon.

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As you know Xena was one of the biggest syndicated shows of all time and this is what lead to it having so much merchandise to be made about it and besides comics, novels, video games, toys and soundtracks, the show also got Home Media, Posters, Shirts, Costumes, Trading Cards, Cardboard Standees, Stickers, Drinking Glasses, Magazines, Clocks, Key Chains, Bags, Jewelry, Snow Globe and so much more official and unofficial stuff! And because I am a fan I do have much of this stuff as I have several shirts as well as some of the trading cards along with the other stuff I have mentioned I own. So if you like Xena and are a collector, the world is filled with lots of cool stuff for you to get for your collection.

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As you can see, Xena was a major force for TV in the 1990’s and sparked a tidal wave of great merchandise as well as gave female viewers a cool character to look up to as she was strong and a badass and at the time this was a little more rare for TV to have such a character in “nerdy” shows like this at the time. She also is an icon in the LGBTQ community as they show was laced with a lesbian overtones and this again was not the norm for this time on broadcast TV. And I want to also note that for fans the novels, comics, video games and even toys helped add new adventures for Xena while they waited for new seasons to start and new episodes to air. I want to thank Half Price Books and Game Swap Kettering for having these issues in stock and making this update possible. I want to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and i’s art and story. So with that while the turkey is still in the oven and those potatoes are not yet mashe, let’s go on an adventure with Topps Comics and Xena The Warrior Princess.

Xena Warrior Princess Comic 0

Xena Warrior Princess # 0  **1/2
Released in 1997    Cover Price $2.95   Topps Comics     # 0 of 2

Xena and Gabrielle are walking along a path and stumble on a tomb at the side of a mountain and just as they notice it the ground shakes and a horde of zombie warriors come from the ground and go on the attack! Xena fights hard but is unable to save Gabrielle who is pulled underground by the zombies. Xena rushes inside the temple hoping that she can find Gabrielle alive inside and meets Psoriasese, the undead caretaker of the temple who warns Xena of the Dragon God who dwells inside and who has already claimed the soul of Xena as he wants her to enter his temple, this does not scare Xena who enters to save her friend as she learns that if she stabs the Dragon’s heart she will not only kill the beast but also free all the souls he has trapped. Xena ends up fighting and killing the three monsters that guard the dragon’s gate and once inside the Dragon taunts Xena with Gabrielle who is now in the zombie trance and this causes the warrior princess to go on the attack! After dodging the dragons attack as well as trying to hit his heart she is lucky to shrug off his attempt to put her into the zombie trance and is able to throw her sword into his heart and kill him and this frees the souls of all those he damned! In the end Xena and Gabrielle come back together as people are back to normal all around them and continue their quest.

This is a pretty fun first comic for Xena The Warrior Princess and does a pretty good job of capturing the mood and feel of the TV Show is based on, but I will say some of the humor in the comic does fall flat at times as the jokes and one liners were cheesy. The plot is very simple and has Xena fighting zombies, monsters and a dragon in order to save her friend Gabrielle who was kidnapped by them, and like always Xena and her warrior skills save the day. Xena in this issue is skilled in her fighting and is confidante in her skills as she has no fear charging into a tomb filled with the dead and monsters in order to protect her friend, she truly is one of the best female warriors in all of fandom. Gabrielle in this issue is very bored and sadly does not get her chance to see much action as she is taken by zombies and turned into one of them before she knew what even happened, and she still is very much around for some comedy relief at the start of the issue. The issue’s bad guy is the Dragon God who is in this tomb to try and collect souls to please Hades and to get his way into being in the underworld. He has the power to use a death stare in order to turn people into his mindless zombie slaves and to send their souls to Hades! He is very mean and evil looking but is also very slow in his attacks and had one big weakness his heart that is the key to free all those he damned. The comics action is well done and I do like the fight she has with the three monsters as she makes quick work of them and makes them pay for the decades of killing of people they have done and sends them all to the underworld. The cover I have is eye catching and showcases Lucy Lawless as Xena and the interior art is really great and done by Aaron Lopresti who can truly draw dragons, zombies and monsters and his work on Xena is good and it looks like Lawless. Over all a good start to this series as its fast paced and has some great art and fun action.

Xena Warrior Princess Comic 1

Xena Warrior Princess # 1  ***
Released in 1997    Cover Price $2.95   Topps Comics     # 1 of 2

Salmoneus is in charge of the Spring Fair and a threat has been made toward the hero turned king Perseus’s life and that is why he has called in many of his friends to help protect the king’s life as well as keep the fair safe. On hand is Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer The Brave and for a brief time Hercules and Iolaus are around to stop a drunken giant. As the heroes all come together a strange old man in a cloak offers money to a charity if Xena and Hercules would fight each other to see who the better hero is, they refuse and Hercules leaves to visit his mother. Meanwhile Xena, Gabrielle, Iolaus and Joxer stick around to protect the King during the fair but things go wrong when the Gorgon Sisters show up as they are the sisters of Medusa and want revenge on Perseus for killing their loved one. The Gorgon Sisters can turn people to stone via their eyes as well as firing laser beams from them and they are able to turn Perseus, Iolaus, Salmoneus and Gabrielle into stone and worse a spear has went through Gabrielle right as she turned! Xena tricks the Gorgon Sisters into hitting each other with their stone eye beams, and this kills them both. As Xena and Joxer go to check on their friends cloaked man appears and shows that he is classic hero Gilgamesh and that Xena should join him on a quest to get a plant that gives eternal life as in 30 Days all those turned to stone will turn normal and this would be the death of Gabrielle!

What a fun comic as this brings in so many familiar faces from the classic Xena and Hercules TV Shows and brings them all together in order to protect Perseus who many know not only by the myth of his story but also the film Clash Of The Titans from the 1980’s. The story is that Perseus is now a King and his throwing a big fair for his people that the conman Salmoneus is in charge of, but a threat is looming so he calls on his hero friends to come act as guards and security only for them to have to face the evil sisters of Medusa who turn many into stone and during this fight Gabrielle is hit with a spear right as she is turned, after killing the sisters Xena now must find a way to save her friend in 30 Days as once she turns flesh again she will surely die. Xena in this issue shows that she has no fear as she rushes head on to fight The Gorgon Sisters and out smarts them in order to end their lives, as they are immortal but they could not survive their own attacks. Xena by he quick actions is able to save many lives! Poor Gabrielle tries to help during the mayhem but finds herself being hit in the gut with a spear and then turned to stone at the same time, she has thirty days to live as stone before returning back to flesh and bleeding to death. Joxer is a goofball and during the fight has his helmet fall and saves no lives nor does not battle the Sisters. The one odd thing is that Hercules is around for a few moments, but leaves before the attack to visit his mom…its like could he not wait one day to visit her and help his friends stay safe? Poor Iolaus and Salmoneus find themselves stone, but do try to help during this attack. I for one don’t trust Gilgamesh who uses Iolaus as a human shield, tries to hire Hercules and Xena to fight and then tries to say he has a way to save Gabrielle’s life as well as give him more life as he should have been dead long ago…don’t trust him as he comes off shady. The cover is very cool and eye catching and the interior art by Joyce Chin and is great stuff, I really like her style lots and she captures the looks of the actors who play the characters and adds he own touch and style to them. Over all this is a great start for this mini series and shows that Xena is not only great on TV but also in comics!

Xena Warrior Princess Comic 2

Xena Warrior Princess # 2  ***
Released in 1997    Cover Price $2.95    Topps Comics     # 2 of 2

Xena and Gilgamesh are on their quest to get the plant that grows every 500 years and gives a person immortality, but they are attacked by some Lion Men and they have to kill the flesh eating beasts and soon find that Joxer has been following them as he wants to help! Gilgamesh opens up to Xena and says that he once touched the flower and that is how he is still alive after all these centuries and that he does not want to die as he feels the effects fading and that watching his friend die before him is what has driven him to this quest as he thinks heroes should not have such fates. The three head to the river and meet the ferryman who uses a sea monster to get them across, once at the location Gilgamesh uses his club and knocks out both Xena and Joxer and then ties Xena up into the air and tells her that he must slit her throat in order for the planet to fully bloom, and she reminds him that he was one of the greatest heroes and that this is murder…he knows she is right and stops his attack. But before they can talk, more monsters appear and Xena and he team up to bring them down. Gilgamesh then says while his life will end he thinks the roots of the flower will heel the wounds of Gabrielle if they can make it back in time. Thirty days pass and those turned to stone turn back to flesh and at the last second Gilgamesh makes it to Gabrielle in time and saves her life! As Gilgamesh leaves to return to his homeland to die, Hercules makes it back from his mom’s home and asks Xena what he missed.

The final issue in this mini series has Xena on a quest for a plant that should be able to save the life of her best friend Gabrielle, but soon finds that she was tricked and a sacrificial lamb so that her blood can help the planet bloom, but her attacker and quest buddy Gilgamesh could not commit murder and they end up using the plants roots in order to at least save the life of Gabrielle as the root heals her wounds. I told you readers not to trust Gilgamesh and while in the end he turns into the hero is was, he had his own self in mind and was willing to kill a brave warrior in order for himself to live forever. Xena as always is brave and kills some monsters as well as goes into the unknown in order to save her friends life as well as help a legendary hero live forever. Gilgamesh is aging and dying and while he was a great warrior at one time its clear his fear of death as well as aging is breaking him down. Joxer is around but is pretty much just used as comedy for the issue. Hercules, Iolaus, Salmoneus and Perseus show up at then end of the issue and add their own charm, but are pretty much just background characters. Gabrielle turns flesh and is saved and still has her sense of humor as she talks about having a tummy ache. This comic mini series has lots going for it as I feel the story is fun and fitting for an episode of Xena, the art is really great and all artists do a great job of making the characters look like the actors and yet also add their own touches, it has lots of action, humor and monsters…plus you can not go wrong with having Hercules in a cameo role. Topps Comics really was a great indie comic company in the 90’s that delivered very entertaining reads and I think their Xena series is proof that they put care behind their releases. The cover is pretty great and showcases Xena being a badass and the interior art in this issue is done by Joyce Chin again and is great stuff, as she even adds a little sexy cheesecake feel to Xena throughout. To sum it up these comics lived up to what I remember and if you are a Xena Warrior Princess fan make sure to give this mini series a read. Checkout the artwork bellow to see the style used by Chin in the series.

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Xena Warrior Princess was a fantastic TV Show that was a big part of my TV watching growing up and made for a great comic book series thanks to Topps Comics who I feel was gone way to soon as I think the amount of amazing comics they could have released over the years they have been gone could have been very epic. You can tell that the creative minds behind this mini series at least cared about delivering a entertaining comic and great read to the fans of the show and that’s what makes it standout from many of the others that have failed their readers and fans. And I think truly that the show should return for one more season and it’s a must that Lucy Lawless and Rene O’Connor step back into the roles of Xena and Gabrielle, but enough of that talk as I could chat about Xena for days! Thank you so much for spending a small part of your Thanksgiving with Rotten Ink and I hope looking back at Xena Warrior Princess made your Turkey Day a little better. Before we part ways let me tell you that our next update is our kickoff to Christmas Eve and will be about the first Superman movie in cinemas that had him meeting Mole Men, that’s right it’s a photo comic graphic novel based on the George Reeves as Superman film “Superman And The Mole Men” so that should be a fun flashback. So I hope you are enjoying your meal with your family, friends and pets and as always until next time read an indie comic or three, watch a Xena episode or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you soon as Superman has some Mole Men to save!

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