Body Count The Forgotten Horror Series From Aircel

Welcome back to Rotten Ink, a place for me to share my past, present and future! On this update, I want to chat a little about independent horror comics and my love for them! Growing up I was a avid comic reader, and super heroes like “Captain America”, “Batman”, “Spider-Man”, “Superman” and “The Incredible Hulk” were what I was reading at almost any given time as those were comics that we could find at the local grocery stores and comic racks at convenient stores. Besides the superhero comics, I also read lots based on toy lines, books and cartoons like “G.I. Joe”, “Masters Of The Universe”, “Transformers”, “Conan The Barbarian” and “Thundercats” that were also easy to find. The only horror comic titles I had were copies of “Werewolf By Night”, “Swamp Thing”, “Tomb of Dracula”, “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not”, “Godzilla” and “Man-Thing,” all mostly obtained at garage sales that acted as another source of a way for me and my brother to get comics. Growing up in a small town like Waynesville made it super hard to find out about other comics as it did not have a comic store (besides antique store Spencers that carried back issues of Power Man and Secret Wars 2). The closest ones around were Dark Star in Yellow Springs, Mavericks in both Kettering and Centerville and my all time favorite store Bookie Parlor that was also in Dayton/Kettering, and my parents would only take us to these stores from time to time when I was really young and more so when I was around 12 or 13. I can remember discovering that comic companies like NOW, Innovation, Eternity, Malibu and Epic were cranking out comics based not only on super heroes but also horror and science fiction comics and being blown away at the huge selection that comic shops had us readers able to choose from as I was used to the magazine section of Big Bear and Hearts in Lebanon where I got most of my comics from other than the subscriptions that my Mom and Dad would finally break down and get me and my brother. The good old Marvel Comics subscriptions through the mail was where I would get my issues of Incredible Hulk, Captain America and Amazing Spider-Man delivered to my waiting hands, but the worst part about it was our mailman would fold the issues in order to place them in our mailbox leaving the issues with a bend down the center! But while I loved my super hero adventures, I was a Monster Kid so I also loved to read about the night time terrors of Dracula from the pages of Tomb Of Dracula, the inner struggle of Jack Russell the Werewolf By Night, the stomping rampage of Godzilla as well as the burning touch of Man-Thing who I always enjoyed more than Swamp Thing in the comic world…I know it’s because I am a Marvel Guy. The only independent horror comics that I owned and had access to were from Gold Key and Whitman and were such things as Ripley’s Believe It Or Not and some very beat up and in some case coverless issues of Boris Karloff Tales Of Mystery that my brother Bryan shared with me. But my love for horror comics really exploded when visits to the local comic shops started to happen more often and my parents started to enjoy the fact I was reading a bunch and encouraged me to choose comics and even paperback novels I would enjoy.

The first time I walked into the Bookie Parlor, I was a fan as the owner Hal and his wife Sue were super nice to me and my brother, and after coming in for a few times and spending money Hal would start to let me know when he got new back issues of Hulk and Captain America in. At the Bookie Parlor, I discovered Atlas Comics and its characters like The Brute, Son Of Dracula and their series like “Tales Of Evil”. And at Bookie Parlor is where I found comics by Epic based on the Clive Barker films “Nightbreed” and “Hellraiser” and started my obsession with the Nightbreed and Rawhead Rex cross over. It was also where I discovered Eternity Comics and the fact they made comics based on Full Moon Entertainment films likes “Subspecies” and “Puppet Master” that I had to have and read. Claypool was another comic company Bookie Parlor introduced to me who made comics based on “Elvira Mistress Of The Dark”!

At Mavericks Cards and Comics in Kettering, a place I would later work for, I met owner Jack who always treated me and my brother like we were his friends and would also give us discounts as well as free comics.  During these early years is when I met Jason Young who years later would be one of my closest friends as well as Jeremy Hoyt! While shopping Mavericks I discovered NOW Comics who made comics based on the TV Show “Twilight Zone” and horror film “Fright Night” as well as Innovation who did comics based on the films “Psycho”, “Child’s Play” and “A Nightmare On Elm Street”! Another independent comic company Mavericks introduced me to was Apple who did weird adult horror comics like “Dracula In Hell” and another company, Blackthorne, who shocked me with comics based on the film “Waxwork” and TV Show “Werewolf”. Between these two stores my want and need for horror comics was in full effect as I would buy whatever ones I could get my hands onto, from comics based on killer “Jack The Ripper” to ones based on classic monsters like “Phantom Of The Opera” and even ones that I had no idea what they were even about before buying like “Body Count.”  All I knew was that I needed to read them all! During this time I also started buying Topps Comics as they had many amazing titles out like “Dracula Frankenstein War”, “Bram Stokers Dracula”, “Satan’s Six”, “Jason Goes To Hell” and “Jason vs. Leatherface” and with Dracula Frankenstein War started my first ever comic store pull list. During this time was also the birth of me having to have all the comics based on horror films as many of the films I loved had adaptations and new comic killing adventures for them as such titles as “Re-Animator”, “Halloween”, “Army Of Darkness”, “Night Of The Living Dead”, “Blair Witch Project”, “Pumpkinhead” and so many more from many different comic companies all had comics based around them. For me the comic killing sprees for these movie monsters was another way to add to the characters’ legacy and a way for fans to get a little more while waiting for the next film.

During this time as well I didn’t give up on Marvel Horror as I went out of my way to get more and more issues of Werewolf By Night and the others as they also filled the need to read horror comics. During this time was a true magical age for horror comics as besides the companies mentioned above you had Arrow, Fantaco, Aircel, Northstar, Chaos, Dead Dog, IDW, Avatar, ONI, Fangoria and many others publishing and making horror themed comics from the late 80’s thru the mid 2000’s with each delivering blood and gore filled issues. But during what I call the Golden Years of Horror Comics also came the crash of the 90’s when Marvel and DC once more went to war to dominate the shelf space at comic shops and by putting out so much product, they forced many amazing companies to go under as did cut throat politics in the industry among small press companies. The companies that have fallen to the comic rack in the sky that I miss the most and wonder what they would be making now if still around have to be Topps Comics, Fangoria Comics and Dead Dog Comics all of whom were some of my favorite companies going and all who delivered some amazing horror comics into readers hands. During these years horror comics were coming out less and less, and many of them were not based on horror films as they were just original titles mostly based on vampires or zombies with 2003’s Walking Dead from Image being the biggest horror comic title in years.

We are now in 2017, and over the past two years, independent horror comic companies are back on the rise and are making some amazing and entertaining stuff. While the bigger companies like Image, IDW, Boom and Devil’s Due are putting out horror comics with titles like Lord Of Gore, Godzilla, Kong Of Skull Island and Walking Dead, it’s also the smaller guys who are coming into your comic shops and online stores with some amazing stuff that is bringing back the boom of these comics that has been long dead for to long.

My favorite small press company is Eibon Press, run by Shawn Lewis who is also the owner of t-shirt company Rotten Cotton.  They are doing amazing comic books with releases based on Italian director Lucio Fulci movies like “Zombie” and “Gates Of Hell”! They also have titles based on such films as “Laserblast”, “Maniac” and many more including an original series called “Bottom Feeder” in the works. Another cool thing about Eibon is that they have what’s called the Eibon Sleeve that is like a record sleeve for your comic.  They also back it with all types of great stuff like stickers, trading cards, bookmarks and even vinyl records!

Action Lab has a sub company called Danger Zone that has put out some great spooky series and mini series like ones based on Full Moon films “Puppet Master”, “Gingerdead Man” and “Trancers” as well as original titles like “Final Plague”, “Southern Dog” and “Blood & Dust”. While it seems at this time the Full Moon comic deal has come to an end, I have faith that their editor-in-chief Shawn Gabborin will unleash more horror themed comics to the market.

Small publisher Lion Forge has released the series “Night Trap” alongside other horror themed books like “Mad Balls” based on the spooky toys. This company prices their comics at a great price at $2.99 each and sadly seem to be gone or on hold as I have not seen much from them in Diamond Previews as of late. But while their fate of physical comics is up in the air, they still tried to make a small mark for Horror Comic readers.

Rough House Publishing run by Derek Rook has brought back two classic horror comics from the graveyard as they have released “The Dead Omnibus” as well as new issues of “Gore Shriek” with a comic based on the remake of the film “Nightmare City” coming soon. This is a company I cannot wait to see what else is coming from as rumors of music and other cool media items have surfaced as has lots of gossip about what’s in store for the comics they are doing.

The Blood-Shed Publishing has a series called “We Kill The Dead” on the way that showcases over 20 movie slashers from independent horror films doing battle with a government elite team. This is a mini series and rumors of new horror comics from them have been floating around. This is one comic company that is attached to a horror news website that you might want to keep your eyes on.

Space Goat is a company that has been around since 2014 making comics as well as board games. They have also delivered some great horror comic titles like “Evil Dead 2”, “The Howling”, “Zombie Camp” and “Forty Coffins” to name a few. And I also want to give a shout out to Titan Comics who have been doing their best at delivering entertaining spooky comics like “Anno Dracula”, “It Came” and even have Hammer Horror comics with “The Mummy” and rumor of “Captain Cronos Vampire Hunter” coming soon! Plus American Mythology is doing some great comics and even one based on the Adam Green film “Hatchet” as is Alterna who has titled like “Croak” and “The Chair” to name a few so as you can see the world of horror comics has lots of great companies doing amazing things.

When opening Sparkle Comics alongside Jason Young in 2016 and after getting friends and amazing artists like Damien Brunk, Jason Gilmore and Scott Scarborough joining the comic making family, I knew we had to make horror comics so we even opened a branch we are calling Blood Scream Comics that is slated to showcase gore and more mature style horror comics with the all ages and teen horror comics coming out via the Sparkle label. Sp far for Sparkle Comics, we have the free online comic called “Don’t Play With Monsters” that features foolish kids coming across monsters who are not as cute as they appear. “Shocking Macabre Theater” is an anthology comic that has Dayton, Ohio horror hosts Dr. Creep, A. Ghastlee Ghoul and Baron Von Porkchop sharing twisted tales with a stranded motorist. We also have “The Wolf Hunter” based on the shot on video film of the same name that was directed by Matt Hoffman who also played the title role and has The Wolf Hunter killing werewolves in the state of Ohio. We have a series called “Unknown Creatures” that features tales of cryptozoology creatures with the first issue being about the Flatwoods Monster! We also have 12 page issue # 0’s in the works that are based on shot on video films from Independent B Movie and Bloodline Video that will feature stories based on “The Sadness”, “Farmer Joe” and “Scars” and will allow our readers the chance to vote on which horror baddie will get a full # 1 issue! With many more amazing horror comic titles in the works, we hope to entertain readers with spooky, gory and twisted tales. One thing I am the most proud of is that via Blood Scream Comics we will be doing issues based on the films of Paul Naschy as well as have comics based on films from such companies as Warlock Home Video, Massacre Home Video, Brain Damage Films, Scream Time Films and Nevermore Productions in the works as well as comics based on pro wrestlers who fit the horror theme! So there are lots of great spooky reads are coming your way via Sparkle and Blood Scream Comics.

Sorry for being so long winded; it’s just I really do think that it’s a great time to be not only a horror comic reader but also just a comic reader in general. And I really do feel that horror comics have a bright future with many of these companies turning out very high quality comics that are well written and well drawn driving the market back up for the independents. But let’s get focused on the comic I have chosen to review for this spooky epic update and that’s Body Count, a silly horror comedy comic that I discovered at Mavericks Cards And Comics when I was a teen and bought and read and enjoyed for the wacky killer and the large chested heroine…oh and the over the top kills. I want to thank Bell, Book And Comic, Ebay and Lone Star Comics for making this update possible and having these issues in stock so that I could own them again and cover for this review. So if you’re ready, check your brain and taste at the door and let’s dive into a late 80’s and early 90’s horror comic that will have you screaming with fear and laughing after with joy. I also want to note that even as a youngster I never could find the 4th and final issue so this will be my first time reading how this story ends! Oh yeah I grade these on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story! So lets take a look at Body Count!

Body Count # 1  **1/2
Released in 1989    Cover Price $2.25    Aircel Comics    # 1 of 4

Winter Falls College is a high priced school where the students are watched by the hotheaded Dean Burns and make fun of simple minded janitor Wanker. Professor Chill is a science teacher and has caught the eye of his student and assistant Becky who will does what she can to get him to notice her.  From short shorts to tights shirts, she brings her A-game, and together they are working on a formula that will in theory turn a nerd into a jock.  After they leave to get some dinner, a pair of students looking to steal knock over the formula and rush away telling Wanker about the mess in the lab. Wanker, being simple minded, takes a taste of the formula goo and it starts to melt him and flings his body into a deep sea divers suit.  He dons the helmet and becomes a crazed killer, and his first victims are the two thief kids that meet their ends with a mop through the head and a telescope through the eyes! When Prof. Chill and Becky return to the lab they find the dead bodies as well as the missing formula and call Dean Burns who heads to the lab to cover up the murder. Meanwhile Wanker is still on his killing spree and drops power cables into the pool killing three students by electrocution causing a power outage and as he is leaving the pool area, he catches Dean Burns and makes him drink Drano! As Chill and Becky leave the lab, they find the bodies and guess that Wanker must have drank the formula and is now a killer and is headed toward town!

This comic is just as silly and over the top as I remember it being when I first read it in my mid teen years. The plot is very much like an 80’s B-movie horror film as a geek puts on a mask and murders those who tormented him, the setting is a college, and the victims are all mean spirited and selfish people who are killed in horrific ways. Professor Chill is our hero, and while smart, he is also pretty goofy and has a hint that he does not really know what they heck he is doing in the lab.  While a goof, he still remains calm with all the bodies pilling up around him and it’s clear he is thinking of ways to stop the killer. Becky is a typical hot chick who showcases her amazing body and uses it to get her way, but when the killing starts she also becomes hysterical and screams her head off in fright! While she is just a scared woman now, it’s clear that she is in for the long haul with her man Prof. Chill. Wanker is just a simple minded janitor who is mistreated by both staff and students and after tasting the foul smelling formula goo, he transforms into a brutal killer who is on a rampage of revenge.  He also turns ugly and disfigured from the goo and wears a diver’s helmet as his killing mask. Wanker is cold and brutal with his best kill being the telescope through the eye as it’s so brutal and gross, it made my own eyeballs hurt! The gore is slightly over the top.  Not on the level of Arrow Comics’ The Dead but it’s more brutal than IDW’s The Fly: Outbreak so Gorehounds have a little splatter to make them happy. The true nature of the comic is also horror comedy as many silly lines are delivered by characters as is cheap sexual jokes that are fitting and add to the cheesy fun of the comic. The cover is okay and does not truly do justice to what the comic is about and the art inside is cartoonish and done by Dave Cooper, fitting for this style of horror comic. Over all, this is an above average horror comedy comic that acts as a build up for this four issue mini series.

Body Count # 2  **1/2
Released in 1990     Cover Price $2.25     Aircel Comics     # 2 of 4

Professor Chill and Becky, along with a device they created that picks up the chemical that created the killer Wanker, head out into town to see if they can find him before he kills again. Meanwhile two fisherman in a boat are not so lucky as the now farting and stinky Wanker sets his sights on them and kills one by crushing his head and leaves the other in a state of shock wandering the roads when he runs into Chill and Becky who take him into town and try to warn the law of the killer on his way. Meanwhile Wanker has found a new pair of college victims who are on a motorcycle joyride as he decapitates the man with a fish and causes the woman to be flung from the bike and smash into a tree! Chill arrives at the police department, and the Sheriff and Deputy rush off to the College before they even could hear why they are running! As Prof. Chill and Becky wonder what they can do to stop Wanker, the police run into the killer that leaves the Deputy dead from a ricochet bullet and the sheriff is bull rushed into some bushes, After the screaming stops Wanker appears, this time around bigger in size!

The rampage of Wanker continues as he makes his way closer to town with murder and destruction on his sick and twisted mind. Professor Chill and Becky come up with a tracking devise that goes off when the killer is around and can also be used to save others, as it’s a warning to the approaching death dealer. They also try the best they can to get help and rush an injured scared to death man to the local law office only to be greeted by the world’s worst police officers! So as you can see the pair of scientists have done all they can up to this point to try and save lives of the townspeople. The Sheriff and Deputy are as backwoods as they come and think everyone is an alien or a communist and are easily slaughtered and out smarted. Wanker is now turning worse and is smelling terrible, becoming more ooze-based with even more of a thirst for blood. He is slowly making his way to the town and killing almost anyone that gets in his way, but oddly enough he allowed one of the fisherman to live! It’s shown that bullets can’t kill and stop Wanker as he is shot a number of times by the Sheriff and simply shrugs them off like Michael Myers from Halloween. Plus at the end of the issue, he grows in size and makes you wonder: did he eat the sheriff or can he body jump like in the films The Hidden and Jason Goes To Hell. The best kill in this issue has to be the decapitation of a collage age brat on a motorcycle with a fish! It’s an over the top and dumb kill but is hands down my favorite in the issue. The blood and gore is once more present and not terribly over done. The cover this time around is better and shows Wanker in all his slimy glory, and the art once more is done by Dave Cooper and is well done for this style of horror comedy comic. And just like the first issue, this one is holding up to what I remember and was a fun read and makes me look forward to reading the next issue again after all these years.

Body Count # 3  **1/2
Released in 1990    Cover Price $2.25    Aircel Comics    # 3 of 4

Becky and Professor Chill are at the bar in Winter Fell and trying to get the locals to believe them about the Wanker Killer that is heading their way, but no one does no matter how hard they try. Meanwhile Wanker stalks and kills a young man on a date by ripping his head off and than turns his attention to the young man’s girlfriend who is running toward town to warn others. Chill and Becky next try to warn the town barber shop of the killer’s rampage but she as well meets her fate by the hands of Wanker who snaps her neck. Chill and Becky run around town trying to warn people of the killer after the barber shop also gives them the high hat as does the post office and the mayor who allows his bodyguard to beat up Chill on his front lawn. In the end Chill and Becky spot Wanker now in town and run to the town’s switchboard operator, and they phone the National Guard and talk to General Howitzer who tells them they are on their way.

The plot thickens as now Wanker is in town and no one believes the warnings being given by Chill and Becky who try every major place in town to spread the coming of a killer. Chill, who feels responsible for the Killer as his formula is what turned a nerdy janitor into a head crushing killer, must push as hard as he can to inform the townspeople as their deaths would be on his hands…kind of. After being beat up and called a communist by all the towns people he almost just walks away to let them deal with the approaching death, but he is reminded that he loves this little town that has acted as away for him to score with collage chicks and get away from his nasty wife. Becky tries to help spread the warning the best she can, but sadly she is just eye candy and no one really listens to her. Wanker is shown to be using the Sheriff’s body as a suit as he has half way crawled up the bodies back and controls it. Wanker is stronger now and after killing a couple on a date has entered town to cause some major damage. This issue only has two deaths and while violent, they are not super gory and a little toned down, with the best being the head rip off from the shoulders of the boyfriend. The story in this issue reminds me of “Invasion Of The Body Snatchers” and “The Blob” as no one is listening to our heroes as everyone thinks their story is to over the top, and this brings more of the B-Horror Movie aspect out of this comic series. The cover is pretty good and once more captures what this series really is all about and the interior art is still done by Dave Cooper and is fantastic for this goofy, gory comic. This issue is filled with lots of humor and once more is a mix of redneck humor, slap stick and adult humor all done at the expense of Becky. Another fun issue just like I remember it and is the lead up to the last issue in the Winter Fell rampage of Wanker and his over sized divers helmet. So let’s move onto the fourth and final issue and discover how Wankers is stopped…or is he, as this will be the first time I have read issue four as I never could find it, so it will be a first time read for me!

Body Count # 4  **
Released in 1990    Cover Price $2.25     Aircel Comics     # 4 of 4

Professor Chill and Becky wait in town, and the pressure hits Chill who feels bad about the rampage of Wanker as his formula goo is what created him! But before they can wonder if the Army can stop the rampage, they show up lead by the crazed and kill hungry General By-God Dry-Heaves McArthur who’s first plan of action is to blow up the bar with his tank as Wanker is inside killing off drinkers, but his attack fails to stop Wanker! The next target is the barbershop as Wanker enters it and kills off the barber and a man looking to get a shave, this time The General hits the business with a missile from a helicopter…it as well fails as Wanker is spotted again alive and unwell! Chill informs them that if they can capture it alive he might be able to cure Wanker and the Army turns on the Professor calling him a monster lover and boot him and Becky off the tank and head back into the hunt for the killer. As Becky and Chill hide the Army finds Wanker who is not scared of the tank and guns and charges causing The General to panic and order for the big bomb to be dropped, as the plan does so and the atomic bomb goes off our story ends with Chill hugging Becky and wondering what effect the radiation will have on Wanker!

The final issue is by far the weakest issue and I am pretty sure even in my middle teens I would have not been a super fan of this overly plotted army based issue that seemed to be rushed and with a very weak ending for the killers rampage. Prof. Chill and Becky are once more thrown to the side when the army gets mad that they want to cure the killer and not kill him like they want to do, but by the army turning on them and chasing them off is what saved their lives as they were able to hide as the bomb was dropped. These lovers are more just waiting to be saved as they have done all they could to save the townspeople and watch in horror as not only Wanker kills those who were rude to them but so does the army! The Army and their leader General By-God Dry-Heaves McArthur are fools who like to blow things up and really have no plan of action of how to really stop Wanker besides just that blow things up…reminds me of the army in Return Of The Living Dead. The townspeople are all crazy and rude and none of them want to believe that a killer is heading their way ready for mayhem and murder, and they get what’s coming to them for being such scummy people. Wanker who is still using the body of the Sheriff as almost a suit of armor is finally in town and wants to make his body count rise hire and hire by knocking off the towns people, and he proves that he is not even scared of a whole army as when they finally have him cornered he don’t back down he lunges forward to take them all one and their tank! His brutal and quite nature makes him like Jason Voorhees (Friday The 13^th) and Michael Myers (Halloween) but not taken as serious by the writer and creators of this comic mini-series. The issue has some blood, guys and kills but they seemed very toned down this issue as does the art done by Dave Cooper that seems very much rushed and lacks the appeal and moody nature of the issues that came before it. The cover as well is not all that great as it just showcases the army…yep, not the killer or even something that shows it’s a horror comic at all! While this might not be the best Independent Horror Comic series of the late 80’s and Early 90’s and by most accounts I am sure this is forgotten and issues can be found in .25 or $1.00 boxes around the world at comic shops, to me it is one that stands out and one I can remember picking up from Mavericks all those years back and reading them while sitting in my room in Waynesville and wondering just how the story was to unfold as I never could find this final issue….and after all these years finding a copy and reading it, while I am little disappointed in the way Wanker’s rampage came to an end I do enjoy the fact it was left wide open for another mini series that sadly never was made. If you love horror comics from the 90’s that have a hint of humor in them, I suggest you check out Body Count, as it is sure to please or at the very least entertain you slightly. Below is some artwork samples from the Body Count series and I should also note that artist Dave Cooper is known for his work on such comics as Suckle and Bent as well as he worked on Nickelodeon Magazine and co-created the cartoon “Pig Goat Banana Cricket” for the station.

I see lots of great horror comics on the horizon for us readers, and it really is a great time to be alive and a comic book fan. Body Count was one of the early independent horror comics I read and after all these years, it kind of holds up as I still find it entertaining, silly, bloody and gory with a lackluster ending. I would love to hear from you friends and readers about what horror comic you first remember reading when younger and even what horror comics are you reading now.  Leave me a comment as I would love to hear from you about this. So for our next update we are leaving Winter Fell behind and joining a underrated Superhero from DC Comics, the super android The Red Tornado! So until next time, make sure to read a comic or three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you soon for some DC Comics talk…

American Hero: The Original Shield

Happy July 4^th and welcome back to Rotten Ink, a place where everything nerdy that inspired me has a place to shine and be discussed! Who doesn’t love a holiday that is in celebration of our nation’s independence and is filled with cookouts and amazing firework displays? So for this update I decided to cover a patriotic super hero and had many to choose from such as Captain America or even DC’s Freedom Force with Uncle Sam, but I decided to cover The Shield, a hero who pre-dated them all and has a fun Americana feel. So grab a burger and a cold beverage, and sit back, relax and have some fun with me here at Rotten Ink as we celebrate July 4^th!

Growing up, I can remember that my Brassfield grandparents would have cookouts that would have that side of the family gathering to eat burgers, hot dogs and steaks and play some baseball, Nintendo or football with the cousins and have an overall fun time. Later in the evening, we would all go to Delco Park and watch the fireworks and celebrate our independence. But while for the most part those were fun times, I can also remember many of years drama breaking out over someone having too many beers, and fights and arguments would break out for no reason.  Maybe my friend Henrique Couto should make a follow up to his film Awkward Thanksgiving and call it Awkward July 4^th cause I have some fun and silly stories to share with him on that subject! The older I got, the less the family meet up and the more I would go out with friends to watch the fireworks or attend BBQs with them.  Some of the best times I have ever had on this day had to be sitting in a football field with my friend Andrea Seay and watching fireworks, just chatting with her as we watched the sky explode with bright colors, showing me just how important she was and still is to me.  Sadly we have drifted apart due to a dumb decision I made when it came to her. I also remember having great times on this day with David & Katie Wean cooking out and eating hamburgers and hotdogs chatting about movies and music. I also remember having a good time over at Patrick Neeley’s house cooking out, chatting, listening to music and playing video games. I also always had an amazing time hanging out on this day with my brother Bryan and his family along with friends like Andy Copp, Henrique Couto, Mike Ritchie and Nick Williams grilling out and watching Couto set off tiny fireworks or blow up apples and such with firecrackers. Nowadays I spend July 4^th with my girl Juliet, and we find some sort of wacky thing to do to celebrate the day. I am going to pack lots into this update, not only about The Shield but other things to do with the holiday as well as a few things that don’t! But one thing is for sure, if you’re reading this on July 4^th I am sure you are enjoying some grilled out meat while being around your loved ones waiting for the fireworks to go boom!

In 2015 on July 4^th for some reason I had to work for a few hours and then went to WYSO and got Alpha Rhythms done.  When I got home, Juliet and I decided to try some chicken wing sauce we bought at Jungle Jim’s that was called “Oh My Garlic.”  This was originally bought to have during one of my Horror Movie Marathons as the bottle had a pretty cool vampire drawing on it, but that idea changed as the last marathon I had was pretty large and we ended up ordering wings from Fricker’s instead. We got some fresh farm grazed chicken wings and drumsticks from Dorothy Lane Market, and when placing them in the glass pan, I put some spices on the wings and then put a little butter on them as well to help make them turn crispy and brown and placed them in the oven at 475 degrees for about 10 minutes. When taking them out I covered them with the Oh My Garlic sauce and man the smell was great.  Juliet and I knew that dinner was going to be really good and we could sleep easy as the heavy garlic smell would scare off any vampire. After about 30-40 minutes the wings were done and our feast began. The Oh My Garlic sauce was fantastic and had a strong garlic taste and the flavor mixed well with the chicken, spices and butter drawing out the garlic taste even more and really soaking into the meat. This is one sauce I will eat again and look forward to the next trip to Jungle Jim’s so that I can raid the chicken wing sauce aisle and get another bottle and see what other wonders I can uncover! The first picture is of the Oh My Garlic Sauce.  The second is the finished meal, and the third is the wings when the sauce was first placed on.

What would July 4^th be without talking about something creepy! In 2009, a strange video was uploaded to Youtube by a user named Creepyblog that shows a very creepy female android singing a song called “I Feel Fantastic” while it moves its hands about.  It sent shivers down viewers’ spins, and the web was creeped out with many people asking what is this?! Tara The Android is the thing’s name.  No one is 100% sure of its origins and it’s true intention of being made, but like anything odd on the internet, there are a ton of theories that I would like to share them with you. Before you read on, you should watch the original video by typing in “I Feel Fantastic” into Youtube or just click the title from this page. Many people believe that Tara was made by a man named John Bergeron who made her to be a novelty concert attraction that he planned to book at clubs and art shows to show off her singing ability as well as his android work, but after not getting the attention he thought she would via her website as well as some issue with her not being that portable, the idea was scrapped. This theory is the most logical one and takes any creepy element away from Tara and her creator.  It was said that for a short time on the website that is now almost shut down, you could buy the songs as well as the “music videos” from Tara…is this fact or was the website made up to help build the legend of Tara? The next, more science fiction, theory is that Tara was made by a man who was killed by her and now the female android is on the loose looking to sing to and kill anyone who gets in her way…this one is silly and over the top and seems like it could have been an episode of The X-Files. The best, and also very believable, theory is that a serial killer made Tara and dresses her in his victims’ clothes and has her sing positive things to him as if murdering them was the right thing.  At one point Tara says “You Are Fantastic” but also says such odd things as “Run, Run, Run” and “Please Leave” adding to the killer using phrases he wanted to hear as well as what he did hear from his victims. Many videos were made and most are laced with strange lyrics and odd costume changes for Tara. Another odd thing is during the music videos random shots of a backyard are shown zooming into the ground ,and this is said to be the location of the body or bodies of victims. The background music that accompanies her lyrics sounds like weird low budget horror film score music adding fuel to the creator being a killer. No record has ever been uncovered if this is the work of a killer, and many people think this theory is just told to scare people looking for a good Creepypasta. So I am sure your wondering what I think the story of Tara is, well let me tell you that I am not sure! So what do you think, was she a would be android pop star made to make its creator some extra money? Is it a killer android on the loose who killed its creator looking for blood? Or is it the work of a killer who uses the robot to relive his crimes and feel good about his deeds? Only Tara and her creator know for sure, and they aren’t saying anything! On a side note weird stuff like this is why I do love the World Wide Web, cause it’s open to debate what is real and what’s only fiction to make a Creepypasta.

On this update the CD I listened to as I wrote was picked by my friend and co-worker Dan Harkless, who is a Vietnam Vet and served his country in the war.  I always enjoy sitting around and listening to his war stories, and it’s given me a perspective into battle.  He is an all around fun person to chat with who loves Russ Meyer films and Playboy Magazine.  He’s a great swimmer who won awards, a gardener, was a fan of Sub Mariner when growing up and is a music lover. Dan picked Harry Chapin’s 1977 release Dance Band On The Titanic as his favorite, and this is interesting as I know very little about Harry Chapin besides the song “Cat’s In The Cradle” that almost every music listener knows.  So this is a very big unknown for me as I do not recognize any of the songs on this CD! The first thing I noticed is the 70’s pop folk sound of the tracks.  This was not what I was expecting at all as I felt going into it that it would be 100% folk rock, so this was a pleasant surprise! The first track that caught my ear was “Why Should People Stay The Same,” a nice song about change in relationships with a touch of religion.  It’s a good song with a catchy beat. Many other well produced and well played tracks followed including the soft folk ballad mixed with a dash of big band song called “Dark Valley (An Imitation Spiritual)”, a song that also caught my attention. While this CD was nothing I would normally listen to, I did find some great songs to write to on it and want to thank Dan for recommending it to me to go outside the borders of what I normally listen to.

My brother and I used to rent a lot of horror films from K&L Video.  We would look up and down the New Release Wall looking for low budget titles that would catch our attention or direct to video sequels to films like Children of The Corn, but in 1996, a cover box caught my attention for a horror film called Uncle Sam that had a picture on the back of it that made me crack up and caused us to rent it! The picture on the back that had me laughing was a man dressed in an Uncle Sam mask peeking into a window and watching a woman in the bathroom…so cheesy, yet so 90’s direct to video horror! The film was directed by William Lustig, who was known for The Maniac Cop series as well as titles like Maniac, Relentless and Vigilante, and starred names like Bo Hopkins, PJ Soles, Isaac Hayes and David “Shark” Fralick and was released by A-Pix Entertainment. The film is about a young boy named Jody who idolizes his uncle Sam Harper, who is a master-sergeant in the army and is killed in a crash, but when the body is flown home, the small town soon finds out Sam is not dead.  He is a zombie killing machine and must be stopped by his nephew who once looked up to him. You see Sam was not a good man who enjoyed beating his wife as well as killing in wars.  While his nephew thought he was a true patriot, he in fact was a scumbag. While watching the movie, my brother and I spent time spotting the G.I. Joe action figures and enjoying the over all cheesy nature of the film. Sam Harper wears the Uncle Sam costume once he kills a peeping tom who was wearing it and has two looks, one with a mask and one with a zombie like burnt rotten face.  That’s right, sadly the picture on the back cover was not the killer, but just some teen tying to sneak a peek at a girl he likes. Uncle Sam leaves itself open for a comic sequel as it looks like a film one is not in the books. The story for the comic could have a grown up Jody, who is now in the military himself, being sent to a top secret base where he finds that the government has many experiments locked away including the still reanimated body of his Uncle Sam.  They want him to lead this rag tag group of “controlled” reanimated solders into battle against terrorist, and Jody soon learns that no one can lead Sam as he takes control of the zombie army and leads a war against not only terrorist but returns home to settle the score with the town that hides his ex-wife as he wants her dead! The comic would come to an epic end battle in the small town as Jody leads a group of elite soldiers against Sam and his army of the undead! The comic could be filled with lots of blood, bullets and boobs and the home coming for Sam of course would have to take place on July 4^th so that during the final battle, fireworks could be going on in the background. While no major comic company would touch this to turn into a comic series I would say that out of my friends, the ones I would love to see make this would be Eric Shonborn or Justin Wasson, both of whom I think could make this idea pop and come alive the way it should. If you like low budget horror films that have a holiday themes to them, then make sure to check out Uncle Sam as I am sure it will give you at least an entertaining watch.

The Shield was created in 1940 by Harry Shorten and Irv Novick for MLJ Comics for a series called “Pep Comics” and was one of the first true patriotic superheroes of comics. In 1959 Lancelot Strong became the new Shield for a comic called “The Double Life Of Private Strong”, but Archie Comics pulled the plug on the series after only two issues. In 1983, Lance once more as The Shield was given another run under “Lancelot Strong: The Shield” and had two name changes during its seven issue run. Think about that; the comic had three titles for seven issues! The Original Shield, who was back to the first one – Joe Higgins, came out for Red Circle Comics and lasted only four issues. 1991 saw DC Comics (under Impact Comics) giving him a try with a series called “The Legend Of The Shield” that had Joe Higgins as The Shield for thirteen issues, and later Lt. Michael Barnes took up the mantel, in a series that only lasted sixteen issues. In 2015, Archie Comics under their Dark Circle Comics banner, has released a new version of The Shield that has Victoria Adams stepping up to do America proud. So that’s the publishing history of The Shield; up next we will take a look at Joe Higgins, who is the Original Shield!

Joe Higgins is a chemist, whose father Tom was working on a chemical formula that would act as a super solider serum, but the Germans want it and this leads to Tom’s death.  Joe continues his father’s work, and after using X-Rays and other chemicals, he does it! He gains invulnerability as well as the ability to leaps of great distance. He dresses in a outfit that sports the American colors, takes the codename Shield and takes a job for the F.B.I. to fight threats to America as well as try and clear his father’s name and expose his killers. His adventures are part superhero and part spy game as he also takes a young orphan named Dusty Simmons as his sidekick, and the pair stop many menaces and dangers. Later in life as he aged, he formed a group with teenagers he called “The New Crusaders”. Joe’s son Bill Higgins took over the role of The Shield when his dad was turned to stone by a bad guy named The Eraser, and in order to save him he also created a team called “The Mighty Crusaders! This is just a quick crash course of the history of The Shield as I don’t want to spoil too much and would like for all you readers to take some time and check out some of his comics.

The Shield did get an action figure in 1984 as part of Remco’s toyline based around the superhero team The Mighty Crusaders that consisted of The Shield as well as 7 other figures. The Shield figure came with a gun belt, two guns and a shield that rocked the red, white and blue colors! The figures themselves are about the size of Mattel Secret Wars but more bulky in proportions, and their legs look like liverwurst logs stuffed inside spandex pants…to sum it up, they are weird looking. The Shield figure also has a goofy looking face, and sadly the whole figure line reeks of cheapness.  While my brother and I had a few of these figures growing up, hardly no other kid I knew did. The Shield was not one of the figures we owned growing up, but I can safely say if I did he would ended up just being a foot solider for my Secret Wars Captain America on rescue missions to save Princess Leia and Scarlett from the grip of Baron Zemo!

So I think we are all in a patriotic mood right now thanks to The Shield and it being July 4^th so I think we should grab a burger or dog along with a favorite drink sit back enjoy the weather and atmosphere of being our independence day and take a journey with The Shield as he battles those who want to disrupt our way of life here in America. I want to thank Bookery Fantasy and Lone Star Comics for having these issues in stock and helping make this holiday update special. Like always, I want to remind you that I grade these issues on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So light a sparkler and take a bite of that hotdog it’s time to go to war alongside The Shield!

The Original SHIELD # 1  ***
Released in 1984   Cover Price .75   Archie Comics   #1 of 4

A map has been stolen from the F.B.I., and The Shield wants to find out who stole it and why.  By donning his alter ego Joe Higgins, he tracks down a fellow agent who was the spy for a bad man named Boroff and was the key in stealing the map. At Boroff’s hideout he not only has the top secret map but also Professor Newton, the man who created the maps and knows the location of the item they seek,.The Shield comes in at the last second and beats up Boroff, who is working for a secret group called Delta 3 and saves Newton from being killed and finds out that what the map is hiding is no longer a threat as the radiation from bomb testing has ruined it. But things are not all good as Boroff escapes, and while one fight ends, the battle still rages on. When retuning back to work Joe Higgins finds out that the F.B.I. as part of budget cuts is closing one of their old storage warehouses and are giving away some old robots to the museum that was created by Boroff’s henchman Klotz.  He travels to Washington with Lisa Carvin, his boss, for a black tie affair and to check on the robot.  Upon arriving, he finds that they are already gone, and a man with a gun is waiting for him.

This is classic patriotic super hero action that shows a normal man in a special suit mixed with spy situations can be a great read and would be great for fans of Captain America! The plot of this issue has The Shield stopping a plan to kill a professor and steal a top secret weapon and along the way finding a mole within the F.B.I, beating up his arch nemesis Boroff, and trying to stop the transfer of old robots that he battled in the past. The Shield, aka Joe Higgins, is a great hero who uses his wits as well as his special powered suit (that reflects bullets, fire and blasts) in order to protect America from those who wish it harm. He is strong as a well-trained boxer and packs a punch that can break robots into pieces! He is firm and harsh when need be and doesn’t like to lose when it comes to the game of fighting crime.  He also enjoys being an F.B.I agent and ridding the streets of global threats. Over all I’m big fan of The Shield at this point and am very glad to be reading about him on the 4^th of July! Lisa Carvin, who is Jim’s boss in the F.B.I., seems pretty cool at this point.  It’s clear she is not a fan of Joe but respects that he gets things done.  She is also clueless that Jim is The Shield. Boroff is a pointed tooth, black Mohawk haired beast of a man who clearly does not value human life.  We only get a small dose of him in this issue but I have a feeling he will be back in the future. This issue has likable characters, a fun dated yet classic story, good art and filled with pride from those who created this issue. Now the bad side is that the story picks up in the middle of the action as you had to read “Mighty Crusaders # 5” and “Pep Comics # 1” in order to really get the full backstory of what is going on.  I still am unclear as to what the map held the location of besides these numbers 42642. But even with that flaw, I really did enjoy this comic.  The cover is classic Archie Superhero stuff, and the art inside done by the likes of Dick Ayers and Tony DeZuniga and is fantastic stuff.  I really enjoyed the art as it reminded me of late 70’s Captain America work. Well let’s see what issue two has in store for us, and I am hoping it will be as good as issue one!

The Original SHIELD # 2  ***
Released in 1984   Cover Price .75   Archie Comics   #2 of 4

The man with the gun is no threat, but an old F.B.I agent named Dan Hurley who served with Jim way back when has now pieced it together that Jim is The Shield as he has not aged at all! The pair get talking about the past and how, for a short time thanks to a powerful ray gun from Boroff, The Shield lost his powers. After the talk, Jim asks Dan for help and makes it just in time to pick up Lisa for the party that is being thrown by Senator Casey.  At the party, Lisa meets an old flame named Ed Crisp, and Jim sees his old nemesis Klotz who tries to murder him with a poison gas capsule! Jim barely escapes and leaves the party with Lisa as he coughs and rambles on about a 80 year old spy. Jim passes out in front of Lisa’s hotel room, and she drags him inside where he has flashbacks to his past that include his wife, son Bill and old crime fighting partners and enemies. Once awake, he changes into his Shield outfit and finds Klotz who is out of his mind and is a working for Delta 3.  Klotz drops a grenade as our issue ends, hoping to blow them both up!

The Shield does it again with this second issue as he captures the mood of a time when comics were simple and plots were cut and dry with bad guys and good guys, another solid issue for sure! This time around Jim Higgins meets an old friend, The Shield comes face to face with an old enemy and Lisa comes in contact with an old flame. Plus throw in a shady Senator, and you have a fun spy costume hero comic plot. This issue The Shield aka Jim is once more a man of honor as he chats with an old friend and comes clean to him that yes, he is the costumed hero everyone depended on in the past.  Plus thanks to the gas, we learn that he was married and had a son, and we get a little about his old crime fighting friends who went missing.  We also learn that he was frozen into a statue by a bad guy named The Eraser, and that’s why he is so young in modern times. The Shield is a class act hero who reminds me of a character that would have been a member of The Minute Men from The Watchmen from DC Comics. Lisa Carvin is also a little more fleshed out as it’s clear that while she is hard on Jim she still likes him as a person and she is not your typical one sided female character as she acts and gets things done. Dan Hurley is a old timer who lives and breathes the F.B.I and is a pretty cool little side character.  I wonder what mission Jim asked him to do; I am sure in the coming issues we will find out. Klotz is a crazy old man and with him being nuts comes the danger as it’s clear he is not sane and will do whatever it takes to kill The Shield and impress Delta 3. I don’t trust Senator Casey or Ed Crisp as both seem a little too shady for this comic reader.  Plus Ed has one of those 70’s porn mustaches mixed with Mr. Kotter’s from Welcome Back Kotter! While not a lot of fists flying, this issue still packs a mighty punch with its simple and classic plot and good characters. The cover is pretty good, and that art inside is once again fantastic and done by three this time: Dick Ayers, Tony DeZuniga and Rex Lindsey.  It’s sure to please old school comic readers. Sad to say, we are at the half way point and this series is almost at an end. l hope the next two keep up the quality of the first two as I’m really digging this series.

The Original SHIELD # 3  ***
Released in 1984   Cover Price .75   Archie Comics   #3 of 4

The blast kills Klotz, and stuns The Shield for a few moments.  During this time he remembers back to the day he was broken free from being a living statue thanks to his son Bill who was acting as The Shield. He also thinks how different his time in the 1940’s was from present time in the 80’s. While looking around the room he finds the final mission for the robots, to attack the White House and kill the president! The Shield rushes to the White House running as fast as The Flash and defeats them. Changing back to Jim Higgins, he, alongside Lisa, confronts the Senator who seemed to be working alongside the crazy Klotz, but after they find Ed Crisp dead in his office from a suicide with a note claiming allegiance to Delta 3 the heat is off the Senator…for now. Delta 3 however is very not pleased with their plans being foiled and put a hit out on Joe and Lisa that is taken by Mega, a strong tall stretching powerhouse and Bit, a small man with telepathic powers! As Jim and Lisa leave Ed’s funeral, they both have the feeling he didn’t kill himself but was murdered to cover up Delta 3 plans.  As Mega goes after Jim, he soon meets Shield who makes quick work of him as Lisa is attacked by Bit who is finally beat by Lisa and The Shield together.

This issue tones down the spy aspect and ups the fighting as Shield goes toe to toe with Mega and Bit who are mutants sent to do his boss and him harm.  It’s a pretty great plot and could be taken straight from a classic Spider-Man comic. In this issue, the Shield watches as one of his old nemesis dies, discovers corruption in government and fights two mutants to save his own life as well as his boss’! Lisa Carvin is also fighting corruption as her one time lover has been murdered and framed all to cover up for the evil Delta 3. Mega and Bit are mutants with special powers who use them wisely, but just are no match for The Shield who outsmarts them in battle. But to be fair, Lisa is the one who delivers the knock out blow to Bit with a vase to his head. Delta 3 shows two members named Number 1 and Number 3, and they are cheesy bad guys who are worried about being discovered and that’s why hits are placed on the F.B.I agents. The best part of this comic series so far is the fact that as we get deeper in it, the plot thickens! The cover is good and classic 80’s superhero stuff, with art this time around being done by Dick Ayers and Rex Lindsey only, and like before it’s fantastic! The sad part about this issue is that we only have one more in the series and then we are done, but I guess that’s a good thing as if you are reading this update on July 4^th I am sure you have cooked out food and fireworks to get to. So let’s not waste any more time and see what the final issue has in store for us.

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

Jim Higgins comes to work at the F.B.I and has a special note from his old World War II friend and now Army Col. named Boyle that informs him that in New Mexico a shield that belonged to his nemesis The Hun is being placed at an army base museum and that danger is near. As Boyle gets to the base and sees the Nazi shield with his own eyes, they come under attack as the aging Hun is mad as hell and as powerful as ever! The Hun manhandles Boyle and the aging base commander. But lucky for them, The Shield makes it just in time to tangle with The Hun and is able to make short work of him thanks to his love for freedom and power. In the end the Nazi shield goes missing, The Shield captures The Hun and America is safe from a threat once more.

This fourth and final issue in the series only slips slightly as the story is good, but also seems a little rushed. The plot is simple and has a Nazi super bad guy from the past attacking a military base.  He’s taught a lesson in manners by The Shield who makes quick work of him. In the issue the Shield comes off a freedom loving hero but oddly enough lost a little charm as this issue felt like it were trying to hard to be a Captain America issue. The Hun’s is amazing as it shows him as a German boy who had murdered people his whole life getting powers from the ghost of Attila The Hun and after doing so joined the Nazi party to try for world domination. While he sounds like a bad ass, he is shown to be a good fighter but is outclassed by The Shield in every way…making him no real threat. We finally meet Col. Boyle, and he comes off as a old man who lives in the past who is a mix of Nick Fury and Thunderbolt Ross from the Marvel Universe. With this being the final issue some questions do go unanswered.  It was clearly not supposed to be the final issue as they advertise in the end for issue five. So as far as we all know, if you just read The Original Shield series, Delta 3 is still out in the world causing issues and The Shield along with the F.B.I are still battling them, and I like that. The issue also takes a jab at Marvel Comics as in the end characters named Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes are asked to dump the trash where the Nazi Shield is placed among the garbage. The cover is epic and shows The Shield going into battle with The Hun as army soldiers are frozen in place. The art this time around was done only by Dick Ayers and has a 50’s style look to it.  While not bad, it’s also not the best the series has looked. I should also mention that The Coment from Mighty Crusaders makes a cameo in the issue as he is how The Shield gets to New Mexico so fast. While The Original Shield is dated by all accounts and most modern comic fans would be bored to tears with its slow pacing and World War II dated hero who’s out of time being resurrected in the 80’s, I found lots of joy in reading it, and it triggered even more patriotic spirit in me as I read it on this day that celebrates America and all it’s glory. While this series might not be for everyone, I think fans of early Captain America will love every cheesy page of it. Below is some artwork from the series with the first two showcasing The Shield and the last being The Hun.

The Shield, a True American icon, is worth the read and receiving the honor of being the first Rotten Ink update for the 4^th of July under the “American Hero” banner. But our next update will take us away from the Star Spangled Hero The Shield and into the world of the living dead and another trip to Monster Bash Convention in Mars, PA, as we take a look at the IDW adaptation of Dawn Of The Dead! So until next time enjoy the fireworks, eat a hot dog or two, read some comics and enjoy this holiday with friends and family.

The Failed New-Verse Of Marvel: Spitfire

Marvel Comics has always been my favorite comic company as they had characters that captured my imagination as well as stories that were simple yet highly entertaining and also well placed real life drama into them from death of a loved one to drug addictions making the stories seem more real no matter how over the top the heroes and villains were. Characters like Spider-Man, The X-Men, Captain America and Iron Man all made impacts on the youth reading them and even held on to readers who were growing up with this kind of storytelling style.  What was nice was each character had history and each had baggage and drama that shaped them into the hero they became up to that point. In modern comics from Marvel, in my opinion, when it’s convent they just hit the restart button if they back themselves into a corner or build up too much history for the character or sometimes they just want to sell yet another # 1 issue of a character fans love. But Marvel in the 80’s still was holding on to the 60’s and the true history of each character created by the likes of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and even Stan Lee. So enter Jim Shooter and his idea of creating an all New Marvel Universe that would feature new heroes who didn’t have over the top powers and would be set in real time. For this update, I looked through the list of New Universe characters like Justice, Star Brand and Nightmask to name a few and decided to cover Spitfire, a giant red robot whose covers caught my eye many years back but I never read till this very update.  So I’m pretty hyped to finally see what the character is all about. So forget about all you know about the Marvel Universe and let’s dive deep into the New Universe.

On a side note Juliet’s look at Star Trek: The Next Generation was late being turned in and will be posted when done some time in the future, I want to say sorry to you readers who where looking forward to it.

Jim Shooter started reading comics at a young age but stopped when he was 8 years old.  His love for them started up again when he was 12 and was in the hospital for minor surgery began reading the comics the hospital provided and found that Marvel was better at telling stories than DC (who he had read more of in his past) and found himself more into the Marvel characters as well…at that moment he knew that DC “needed the most help” and spent a year reading as many comics from both companies he could get his hands on. At the age of 13, Shooter sent DC some drawn out stories featuring the Legion Of Superheroes.  They loved his stories and bought them hiring him to do a few more for Supergirl and Superman.  DC hired him to become a writer for them full time a little while later. Shooter took the job to help his low income family and began working on titles like Action Comics, Adventure Comics and Legion Of Superheroes to name a few and even created the characters Karate Kid and Superman bad guy The Parasite! He was also one of the main brains behind the first race between Superman and The Flash! By 1969 Shooter had graduated high school and applied for a job at Marvel Comics as he would be going to college at New York University.  While Marvel hired him as a editor and co-plotter, Shooter decided to not go to college and only lasted a short time at Marvel as he had no money and lived at a YMCA! Shooter moved back to his home town of Pittsburgh but got the bug to work in comics again and returned to DC for a short time writing Superman and Superboy And The Legion Of Superheroes. But after a feud with the editors of DC and a phone call from Marvel’s editor-in-chief Marv Wolfman, he returned to Marvel and this is were he became a legend! Shooter rose to power within the company pretty fast and by 1978, he became the 9^th Editor-In Chief for Marvel that was growing and becoming the top comic company in the world.  With this Shooter started doing some great things for artist including royalties for great selling issues, the return of original artwork to artists and even help bring Star Comics to life in that showcased comics based on toys and cartoons like Thundercats and Star Wars: Ewoks! Shooter also did some amazing big crossover events for Marvel like Secret Wars, Secret Wars II and Contest of Champions. He cleaned up the Marvel Universe comics that hit shelves that were stale and had low sales.  He allowed Frank Miller to really bloom on his Daredevil line.  He allowed comics like Dazzler to be sold only at comic shops.  He wrote the second Spider-Man and Superman crossover comic and so much more that helped put Marvel truly as the king of comics! But for all the good Shooter did for Marvel, he also lead to lots of drama and turmoil in the Bullpen as he was a little over controlling and set rules that had to be followed.  Rumors also spread that he wanted to kill off many of the companies top heroes like Captain America, Spider-Man and Thor and start over with them so that they didn’t have all the old history to remember for the characters. This idea pissed off lots of the old workers at the office and this lead to what was known as New Universe that was launched for Marvel’s 25^th Anniversary and was Shooter’s baby that had no ties to the ongoing Marvel Universe and would have no over the top superpowers, no hidden races, gods, mythological beings, super technology and magic in the books that included Star Brand, Spitfire, Kickers Inc. and many others. The New Universe was met with mixed reviews and many of the titles struggled, and after the Marvel workers and Shooter falling out of favor with each other he was fired in 1987. Shooter went on to do some cool things after Marvel like helped create Valiant Comics and Defiant Comics among lots of other great creative things. Say what you will about Jim Shooter, but I will say what he did for Marvel and comic readers in his time as Editor-In-Chief is top notch stuff. I would have loved to see what he would have came up with if he would have gotten to stay at Marvel past 1987. Before we move onto Spitfire, let’s chat a little about some other stuff shall we?

Did you know that in 1986 New World Pictures was the owner of Marvel Comics? This is something very fascinating to me and explains why Marvel did comic adaptations of such films as “House II”, “Elvira Mistress Of The Dark”, “Pinocchio: An The Emperor Of The Night” and even comics based on the TV Show “Sledge Hammer”. At the time of New World buying Marvel, they were an expanding movie company who were using profits not just to make more movies but to consume other companies and that’s where Marvel came in as they knew they could option the characters for films and TV as well as have comics made around their properties. But this also makes me wish they would have made comics based on many more of their films like C.H.U.D., Godzilla 1985, Children Of The Corn and Creepshow 2 to name a few. Man, the missed opportunities of cool horror Marvel titles is sad.  Could you imagine a three issue run based on the C.H.U.D.’s or even an adaptation of Creepshow 2! But by the early 90’s, the New World Pictures owning Marvel came to an end and none of these films that should have gotten the comic treatment did. I should also note that Pinhead and the film he’s from, Hellraiser, that was one of New World’s top Horror properties, got comics from Marvel’s sub branch Epic. What New World Pictures movie or TV Show would you have liked to have seen turned into a Marvel Comic?

Since I started Rotten Ink over three years ago, I have had one tiny little cat cheering me on as I not only read the comics or wrote the update but also as I watched the horror host shows and did the research.  That cat is Leslie my 10 year old calico cat that I have had since she was a tiny kitten. Leslie was a gift from my girlfriend at the time Jennifer as a way to help me deal with losing my job and not finding one right away, Leslie was at a pet store called Jack’s Aquarium and Pets, and as I was walking by, her tiny little paw came out of the cage and grabbed me.  She started talking and doing all she could to get my attention and after taking her out of the cage I knew she had to be mine…and for $60, she was! I named Leslie after the character Leslie Graham played by Lisa Orgolini from the 1986 horror film “Trick or Treat” and from the moment we bought her, she became my best friend as she would follow me around meowing (something she still does to this day) and would sit in my lap and watch horror films throughout the nights. Leslie is not a people kitty and for the most part will avoid all others besides Juliet and myself, but she does warm up fast to my cousin Stephen Alexander. She has a very strong dislike for our other cat Streets J, who we rescued from the streets of Dayton, and her birthday I say is July 4^th as I tell her the fireworks are also in her honor! Juliet for some reason gave her the nickname Beans and calls her Leslie Beans. Leslie is such a great cat and one of my favorite pets I have ever owned.  I am writing all this because as I am working on this update, Leslie is right here cheering me on, or wait maybe she is screaming because she wants wet food with extra gravy….but whatever the reason she is meowing, thanks for always being a great sidekick, Leslie!

So after my “Matt Goes To The Movies 2015” update in January I had lots of you readers and friends ask me why I cut the best survival horror games of the year ranking from it.  The reason I cut it was I felt that it slowed down the pace of that update….but for those who are wondering about that, I will chat a little about it on this one, better late than never right? This year I upgraded from a PS3 to a PS4 and throughout the year bought a few games and got a few games as gifts with titles like WWE 2K16, Mad Max and Batman Arkham Knight to name a few. And a total of three survival horror titles that will be my list here! So let’s get our controller in hand and see what horrors PS4 had in store for me! I should also note that I did buy Resident Evil: Revelations 2 for PS3 this year!

# 3

Godzilla lets you take control of the giant King of the Monsters as you smash your way through Japan fighting off the military as well as fellow Kaiju like Rodan and King Ghidorah and growing bigger and more powerful in size. The game also offers just monster battles as well as VS. mode that lets you and a friend fight it out. The game is simple and fun and is a total no brainer, but that’s also its downside as it’s not too challenging and can get boring after an hour of gameplay. While this might not be the best Godzilla game ever made, I will say Bandai really tried to make a game that felt as if you were indeed Godzilla stomping around town. Plus you can upgrade your Godzilla and get other skins, changing his appearance. It’s worth checking out if found cheap enough and you’re a fan of the Godzilla movie series.

# 2

The Nazis are losing World War II and unleash their ultimate weapon, black magic and Zombies! Choose your fighter and make your way across Europe as you fight off the hordes of the undead. This game is lots of fun and for some reason made me super nervous when I was playing it.  I am sure it’s due to the sounds of and the hordes of zombies and weird voices chanting. The game is a spin-off of the Sniper Elite series and allows you to sniper off zombies as they approach with direct kill shots to the head showcasing the X-Ray effects of the hit! Zombies might be overdone in the world of movies, comics and video games, but this one was lots of fun and worth playing if you’re looking to kill some time and if you like sending Nazi zombies to hell!

# 1

A prank goes terribly wrong and leaves two sisters missing in the mountains. Sometime later their brother has a reunion with 7 of his closest friends, all of whom were there the night his sisters went missing, but something wicked is in the air as friends start to be attacked by a masked killer who seems like he is out for revenge! But all things are not as they seem as the game takes twists and turns and leaves you as the player in control of the fate of the playable characters as your choices have effects and you must choose wisely! What made this game really great was not only the atmosphere but also the characters who some are really likable while others are jerks and this makes you become attached to some of them and forces you to choose wisely. This is hands down the best horror game I played this year! For those wondering, my two favorite characters are Sam and Ashley, both of whom I was trying my best to keep alive.  One survived; the other sadly did not…and I am not sharing who was who.

We have covered Jim Shooter, survival horror games of 2015 and my cat Leslie up to this point, and I think it’s time that we take a quick look at Spitfire, the hero of our selected New Universe comic series as I am sure many of you readers like myself are not too familiar. As I said above, I selected Spitfire to be my pick for many reasons that include the fact that it’s a robot comic from the 80’s (and I’ll say this till I am blue in the face like a Smurf: kids of the 80’s love robots).  The covers for the series looked interesting and eye catching too even though I knew nothing about Spitfire and The Troubleshooters.  Lastly and most importantly, it had a good run that did not last too short or too long. When looking up and reading the first issue of this series, the first thing that took me by surprise was that Spitfire is just a suit worn by a female professor. I had no clue that this series was about a female hero and that made it seem like an even better choice to start my travels into the Marvel New Universe. So really quick, these are the basics of what you need to know: Professor Jenny Swenson is well liked by her students and the school she teaches at.  When her father is set up and killed, she along with some rebel students that call themselves the Troubleshooters try and get to the bottom of the crime and unlock a whole world of secret societies and people pulling the strings! She is opposed to war and acts of violence and wants to only use her father’s technology for the betterment of mankind. Those are the basics of who Jenny aka Spitfire is and below is some art of what her suit looks like as well as what she looks like.

So are you ready to dive into Marvel’s New Universe? Are you ready for comics based around non-gods or super beings? Are you ready for a world where the Amazing Spider-Man does not exist? Well I know I have some curiosity to see just what this comic universe is like, and I must admit I have owned some of these New Universe comics for years and never have read a one of them! I should thank my friend Eric Shonborn for lending me the audio book of “Marvel Comics The Untold Story” by Sean Howe that sparked me to want to do an update about the New Universe as well as a thanks goes out to Bookery Fantasy for having the whole run of Spitfire in stock for only a dollar each issue! I also like always want to remind you that I grade these issues on a standard 1-4 star system and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So let’s get to these reviews and see how Spitfire stacks up to the main Marvel Universe comics.

Spitfire # 1  **1/2
Released in 1986   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 1 of 13

The Massachusetts Institute Of Technology is the place of learning for a group of students called The Troubleshooters who are super smart but also pranksters! Their young red headed teacher is Professor Jenny “Spitfire” Swensen whose father has just been killed in what was ruled an accident while working at his lab. At the funeral, Jenny meets Mr. Fritz Krotze who was her father’s boss who informs her she must come and get her father’s stuff from the lab in 24 hours! When at the lab, Jenny is being watched by security as she quickly checks her dad’s computer and finds a hidden message that informs her who killed him and why! But before she can finish reading, she is asked to leave as her time is up.  She returns to school and gets the help of The Troubleshooters to break in and read the rest of the message. Mr. Krotze, meanwhile, is showing off a mech-suit called M.A.X. 1, and it’s clear that Krotze killed her father who created a better suit called M.A.X II nicknamed Spitfire! Jenny and Troubleshooters succeed in breaking into the lab and finds the message that tells them Krotze was indeed his killer.  Jenny wears the Spitfire armor, and together they move the lab that can transform into trailers! In the end Spitfire beats M.A.X. I and lets Krotze know that once she has 100% proof he will be going down for her father’s murder.

Going into this comic, I had to throw out all the thoughts of classic Marvel and go in with a fresh mind and a realization that Spitfire was not going to be a larger than life hero like Iron Man and would be more rooted in technology that would and could be more possible.  So with that said, I must say that issue # 1 of Spitfire is an average comic adventure set around a C list comic hero. The plot is generic and has a young and cute professor having her father murdered by his boss over technology that later falls in her hands.  Throw in some youths as her sidekicks and some small time action, and you have this issue. Jenny Swensen is a hip cool Professor who is not only a good teacher but also is well respected by her students as she is fun and fair with them.  She is cute and a red head, and she comes from a family of very smart people as her dad was a inventor.  Her father is also the one who gave her the nickname of Spitfire. The downside, besides the fact she wants revenge, is that she don’t have much of a personality that shows through.  I’m so looking forward to seeing her grow as a character. The Troubleshooters are a bunch of smart kids who as well are okay but have no personalities besides that they like to pull pranks and are loyal to their teacher. Mr. Krotze comes off as a generic rich bad guy who wants to take research projects and turn them into a military weapon and will kill and screw over whoever he can to make money and get power. M.A.X. II or called Spitfire is a cool suit that is bright red and is supposed to be used for construction, and while not equipped with guns or lasers, it does have some killer buzz saws and super strength. As I stated, this issue is just average yet fun, and I am looking forward to seeing what the next issue’s has in store for me. I should also note that Herb Trimpe did the art for this issue, and he is one of my favorite old school artist who worked on Incredible Hulk issues in the 70’s! His classic style art helps bring this story to life for sure. I also must say I really like the cover for this issue as it showcases all the main characters.

Spitfire # 2  **1/2
Released in 1986   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 2 of 13

Jenny and Troubleshooter member Andy are in the woods testing the limits of the Spitfire suit when some hunters in a pick up truck lose control and almost fall off a cliff till Spitfire saves them causing a news story that leaks back to Fritz Krotze who wants the suit back bad and tells his assistant Richard Faylen to bring in a top secret government project called “Behemoth.”  It’s also clear, as Faylen leaves, that Krotze is not in charge as he is taking orders from a group that calls themselves The Club. Meanwhile The Troubleshooters lead by member Eddie Giotti with a pair of metal arms raid Krotze’s labs to try to find out what he knows about the whereabouts of Jenny, and when they find out, Faylen and lots of the guards are taking a train to Jenny’s location, Eddie jumps on the train to see if he can find out the plan as the other Troubleshooters follow. Eddie finds himself being taken into the train and beat up badly as Behemoth turns out to be a Super-Tank that goes head to head with Spitfire in a battle of metal and power. In the end The Troubleshooters save Eddie from the train and guards, but his ribs have been broken and Spitfire destroys Behemoth and decides that she is no longer hiding and is going to take the war to Krotze!

This second issue is as fun as issue # 1, and sadly also just as average in story and characters. The major downside is what I like to call the Shooter Trick that has plot elements that took place in another New Universe Comic series forcing the reader to have to buy other comics in the series to get the full story.  Jim Shooter sure did love this trick and used it not only with the New Universe but also the normal Marvel Comic series. The plot has Jenny and her Spitfire suit battling the idea of limiting how often she uses it as it’s by all accounts a stolen piece of equipment.  Krotze wants and needs to regain the suit for not only himself but the secret group knows as The Club. Most of this issue is drama as it has Jenny battling her own mind on right and wrong as well as Troubleshooters going on their own and trying to be heroes but really just adding more stress to the all ready bad situation Jenny is in. I love the odd addition of student Eddie Giotti wanting to make mad monkey love to his teacher Jenny, such an odd subplot. I do also like the idea of a secret society being the true bad guys and wanting the suit as they see the power it has and with some modifications how it could be a major weapon. Jenny as a character has changed slightly as it’s clear she wants to be a hero, but hates that she must hide away from the world as she is wanted for the suit that’s stolen technology. Krotze also shows how evil he is by stopping at nothing to get the suit back, but they do a nice job of showing fear in him as The Club clearly owns his soul and pulls his strings. Behemoth The Super-Tank is not really a threat once Spitfire figures out that its nothing but a tank controlled by a thin wire…yeah, the super tank is a remote control weapon…yeah, once the line is cut it stops….terrible. Eddie Giotti of The Troubleshooter’s stands out this issue as not only a man with a great mind who creates super strong metal arms for himself but also shows he really is hot for teacher and makes dumb mistakes to play hot shot. I really dig the Troubleshooters as they are great side characters who do add to the story and drama of this comic series. The cover is again well done, and the art is done by Herb Trimpe again as well and looks fantastic. I am hyped to see how Spitfire takes the war to the bad guys so I am going to wrap this one up and move onto issue # 3!

Spitfire # 3  **1/2
Released in 1986   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 3 of 13

Jenny is planning her attack and wants to find illegal dirt on Krotze to report him to the police, but she herself is under investigation for the taking of her father’s lab and the Spitfire suit! While Eddie Giotti heals up in the hospital after the terrible beating he suffered at the hands of Krotze’s guards, the rest of the Troubleshooters build cyber body parts that allows them to run 140mph and even use their mind to hack into computers and phone lines. Jenny also notices that Theresa, the only female Troubleshooter, seems to have a dislike for her as she clearly does not fully stand behind them breaking the law to prove Krotze guilty. Meanwhile Krotze is being blackmailed by Bronson, the goon who wore the M.A.C.K. I suit that was beaten by Spitfire as well as the one who killed Jenny’s father, is himself killed in cold blood by Krotze who knew he had to cover his tracks of all wrong doing after the government is mad about him destroying the Behemoth Super-Tank! Spitfire goes alone to Krotze’s lab and by accident shoots a solider.  This causes her to second guess the mission and leaves her open for an attack that almost leaves her dead, but with the help of the new and cyber improved Troubleshooters, she is able to escape the lab with her life. Krotze is upset that he was not able to kill Jenny and get the Spitfire suit but soon gets a visit from The Club member Steel Hawk who is there to help.

The struggle of Jenny continues as she really wants to put an end to Krotze and his corrupt company, but once more her fears and doubts stand in the way as she wants to do so in a law abiding way. The plot is just as the others and has Jenny/Spitfire going toe to toe with Krotze and his men, but this time her own fears and doubts leave her open for a massive attack that almost leaves her a dead roasted chicken in her suit of armor. Jenny in this issue has way to many doubts and also is so filled with rage that its making her unstable and leaving her open for attacks and for looses to the hands of her enemies. But also it seems she talks a good talk as in the last issue when she found out Giotti was hurt she acted as if she was going to blow Krotze’s lab up and kick his teeth out in the process, but we find her in this issue wanting to sneak in again and just steal files from his computer. The Troubleshooters once more prove that they are needed as they build new helpful technology as well as save Jenny’s fat from the fire when she chokes during a fight. Krotze in this issue really does prove he will do what ever he can to save his own butt as he murders a man with no real remorse and worse uses a high power laser to do the deed. Over all this is a pretty good issue and while some things change with the plot and characters it still feels the same as the other two issues, the cover is pretty dang cool and the art this time is done by Ron Wagner who also worked on comics for Marvel like G.I. Joe, The Transformers and Morbius: The Living Vampire and it’s pretty solid work. Good issue that’s adds more drama to the story and makes me want to see just how Jenny is going to deal with the fact she shot a US Solider and she almost died, so lets head to issue 4.

Spitfire # 4  ***
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 4 of 13

Fritz Krotze is missing, and his company is now under investigation into selling weapons to terrorist and the star witness is Jenny who explains how she wants to prove he killed her father and even exposes the fact he works for The Club on live TV! The Troubleshooters are nervous watching as they don’t want to be dragged into this political mess as Steel Hawk is enjoying it all as he has already killed Richard Faylen with a car bomb and had kidnapped Krotze and has tortured him and finally kills him with a metal bat and drops his body into a river hoping it will be uncovered.  It’s all part of a trap and set up for Jenny to take the fall. At a party hosted by the Senator, a bomb is found and Spitfire comes to the rescue but also finds Steel Hawk waiting for her.  The two fight and Hawk’s weapons are just too powerful for the suit to handle and just as all looks grim and Steel Hawk is about to put a bullet in Jenny’s head, she breaks his leg and the police show up and chase him off. In the end Jenny is looked at as a hero to some but finds herself under arrest for the murder of Krotze!!

Wow, this issue really rocks its packed with action, drama and murder and shows that setting this New Universe in a real world environment can work with the right writer. The plot of this issue has an assassin setting up Jenny with a murder he committed in order to get her off the trail of The Club, only to find that while it worked, it also brought his actions into the light. In this issue, Jenny seems to have her act together and is helping the government catch Krotze for his terrorist activities.  Plus she shows that she is really building a superhero attitude and wants to save innocent people when danger is near. The fact that she gets her butt handed to her in this issue by Steel Hawk and then gets arrested for a murder she did not commit makes me really hyped to read issue 5! Fritz Krotze, who was shaping up to be the series’ main bad guy, finds himself beaten and killed all for the amusement and punishment of The Club, and when he’s killed, I mean he is killed by a metal baseball bat! Poor Richard Faylen as well is killed by a hit from The Club that leaves him blown up thanks to a car bomb! Steel Hawk is one badass killer who takes joy in the kill as well as enjoys the set ups that go along with his evil deeds. I really can’t wait to see him return and go toe to toe with Spitfire again! The plot of this comic series is starting to really progress with this issue, and that’s cool as I did not see the murder of Faylen & Krotze coming at all! The art in this issue is done by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane who also did work for Marvel on Spider-Man, Hulk plus a few others, and I must say his style worked well for this issue! The cover as with all the others so far is well done and eye catching.  Over all, this is the best issue so far and shows that this series might have some life in it after all!

Spitfire # 5  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 5 of 13

Jenny Swensen is in jail for a murder she did not commit and her Spitfire suit is now in police custody and everything looks real grim as everyone is quick to find her guilty. The Troubleshooters are all wondering what their fate is as they want to help Jenny, but they also can’t tip the police off to their involvement in the theft of the suit and breaking into the labs. Giotti however can’t give up on his crush Jenny and along with a few others decide to break into the police station and spring Jenny from jail! Meanwhile Steel Hawk who is nursing his broken leg and gets a new assassination job from The Club as they want him to kill the Prime Minister of England who is visiting the USA in a few days.  He of course takes the hit. Jenny gets a visit from Star Brand, a super powerful man who has special powers and who had warned her in the past not to use the suit, as it would cause her issues, and as he points out..it has! Giotti steals the suit and is unaware that the core pack is about to blow up and act like a nuclear bomb killing many innocent people in the process.  Star Brand tries to talk some sense into him, but the two end up fighting that leaves Spitfire suit down and out and Star Brand able to get rid of the core pack. In the end, Jenny is happy to hear that the danger is past and finally is able to get a night’s sleep in jail.

This issue should be called “Jenny Goes To Jail” and at some point in the comic they should have shown Ernest P. Worrell dressed as his grandma…yeah! But to be serious, this issue’s plot has Jenny in jail waiting to be cleared of the crime of murder that she didn’t commit, but things don’t look good for her. For extra drama throw in Star Brand and The Troubleshooters trying to steal the Spitfire suit and you have a fun and entertaining issue. Jenny in this issue tries to put up a tough as stone attitude, but is clearly shown to be scared and emotional over what her life faces ahead. Very nice growth for the Jenny character, and I am starting to really like her as a comic character! Star Brand who had his own series running at the same time is a hero who likes to hide his power and not show it off.  This makes him come off as a little cocky as he judges other people who do use their abilities. The Troubleshooters are shown to care for Jenny and would even rob a police station for her but they are also really scared that they will be caught up in her crime of stealing the Spitfire suit that could also get them blamed for the murder. Really cool to see Giotti in the Spitfire suit try and fight Star Brand only to loose and almost blow up the city in the process, I mean I know Giotti wants some booty from Jenny but he also needs to listen and not be so reckless in his attempts to impress her. Another fun issue and once more makes me wonder how Jenny is going to clear her name of the crime and get out of jail to bring down The Club. Herb Trimpe did the art again as well as the cover that’s pretty eye catching, so with that lets move onto issue six.

Spitfire # 6  **
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 6 of 13

Jenny is set free from jail and the charges dropped when they could not come up with enough evidence to convict her of murder. Steel Hawk is back in town and ready to kill the U.K Prime Minister and is also now on the polices radar as they think he is the one who killed Krotze and want to find him for questioning. Meanwhile Terry cant take it anymore and goes off on Giotti about how he is drooling over Jenny, and how if he could get his head out of his butt he would see that she is in love with him, she is upset and embarrassed by her remarks and runs and hides in the courts restroom, were she over hears the cops talking that Jenny could be on trail again soon if they cant find Steel Hawk. The Troubleshooter decide to use their mock up smaller versions of the Spitfire suit and hack into the police computer files and track down the hideout of Steel Hawk and find Krotze’s blood and the metal ball bat that killed him! They also find the plan to kill the Prime Minister as she lights the Christmas Tree downtown, Steel Hawk has a bomb that will go off killing many…as the issue comes to an end The Troubleshooters are rushing downtown as the Prime Minister is pushing the light up switch.

She’s Free! This issue takes Jenny out of jail and back into the drama of The Club and it’s evil ways, well sort of as this issue she sits out on the sidelines as The Troubleshooters are the ones trying to track down Steel Hawk and stop the assassination of the Prime Minister of England. Terry shows that she is torn between wanting to help find the truth and hating Jenny who she is clearly jealous of. The Troubleshooters in this issue are the main focus and they act like a bunch of kids who are getting a thrill of breaking the law for good as well as having drama amongst themselves. In fact in this issue they more they were used the more I found myself not liking them as they all came off kind of annoying and bratty. Steel Hawk on the other hand is crazy and shows that while The Club might be the puppet master of evil, he has no strings to hold him down as his idea to kill the Prime Minister is to blow her up!!! So what I learned for this issue is that Jenny is the true star and The Troubleshooters are better as bit players and not the main focus as I found this issue kind of bad, with the only highlights being Steel Hawk. The art is good and done by Vince Giarrano, who worked on mostly DC Comics like Batgirl and Manhunter.  The cover on this issue is also pretty lame and reminds me of a independent 90’s comic that would be found in a quarter bin at the local comic shop. So I am ready to move past this issue and hope Jenny makes her comeback as Spitfire in the next issue, and I hope this is not the start of The Troubleshooters taking over the series.

Spitfire # 7  ***
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 7 of 13

The Troubleshooters have saved the Prime Minister of England but now have a hit on them placed by The Club and to be carried out by Steel Hawk! The Troubleshooters decide to retire from being heroes and visit Jenny to tell her the news. Jenny Swensen is dealing with all the pressure of her dismissed trail for murder as well as the fact her students are running around playing hero is technology her father created.  This leads to her wanting to talk to her one time boyfriend Bernie about the news she just got about being fired from the collage next semester. Steel Hawk, however, is on a path of murder as he uses a rocket launcher to blow up Tim and his steel legs that leaves him near death’s door and both of his legs needing to be amputated, and kills Andy with his own laser beams, and tells the others he will see them soon! On her way home, Jenny is kidnapped and pulled inside a van leaving us wondering what is happing next…

This is a good issue that mixes action and drama really well, and man I did not see Troubleshooters being killed off like this coming at all! The plot is really just that Steel Hawk is pissed about failing to killing the Prime Minister and takes out his rage on those who stopped him. Steel Hawk is super cold blooded and his murderous ways are highlighted in this issue as he kills a homeless man, Andy and cripples Tim all with a gleam in his eye. I can’t wait to see Jenny put on the Spitfire suit and go toe to toe with this assassin. The Troubleshooters are dropping like flies, and the worst part is they were trying to retire from the hero game but got out at the wrong time. Tim may live, and I am guessing if he does he will have metal legs.  Andy is sadly dead with no coming back after taking a full laser blast to the back and through the chest. Jenny Swensen is down and out, and she clearly is snapping under the pressure. I am sure when she finds out her students are being killed, her rage and fire will return, and I feel sorry for The Club and Steel Hawk as I think she will be gunning for them. This series took a really bold step by killing off two of the main Troubleshooters and as I stated before, I did not see that coming at all. I wonder if any more of them will die in the next issue, as well as who kidnapped Jenny? The art is done by Alan Kupperburg and Tony DeZuniga and is well done.  This time I think the cover is a little generic and so far is the weakest of the bunch. This is a great issue that shows this series does have life, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Spitfire # 8  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 8 of 13

What’s left of the Troubleshooters meet at the hospital. Tim has just gotten out of a surgery that took both his legs below the knees.  This makes Giotti very upset that one of his friends is now crippled and another is dead, and he swears revenge on Steel Hawk. Meanwhile Jenny Swensen wakes up in a dark room and finds that she has been kidnapped for what she knows about M.A.X. suits.  The kidnappers want her to build them one and use a fighter named Brick to rough her up into doing so.  They give her 12 hours to build a suit to defend herself from Brick, and she spends it building a stun gun that does not work as a counterattack against Brick. You soon find out that the people who kidnapped her are betting on if she will break and tell them what she knows of her father’s work or die before doing so. While Eric is done being a Troubleshooter, Giotti and Terry hack into the F.B.I computers and find out all they can about Steel Hawk as they want him to pay for his crimes. In the end Jenny was not in any real trouble as it seems that her tests and kidnapping were done by the government.  Giotti finds Steel Hawk and almost beats him to death until he is saved by a unknown ninja.

Giotti finally gets his metal arms on Steel Hawk and delivers a massive beat down that I cannot say for sure but sure looked like it broke Hawk’s back. This issue’s plot is about revenge and self control as Giotti gets his revenge for his friends and Jenny learns that she is strong willed and in control of her own life. Jenny Swensen this time around is mentally and physical abused throughout the issue all by some government tools who want to see if they can break her into telling them the secrets of the M.A.X. suits. I really wished when they came out and told her it was a test, she would have kicked one of them in the head. Steel Hawk is on cloud nine after taking out two of the Troubleshooters but soon learns that what he thought were easy targets have the guts to fight back! Terry and Giotti stick together and use their suits to track down and deal with Steel Hawk.  I think this might lead them to the path of wanting to be heroes again. I can’t say for sure, but I think Eric who was a Troubleshooter is done, and I would be shocked if we see him again. The Ninja who saves Steel Hawk from his beat down is a mystery, and I am not sure how they will play into the future of this series. And I am sure this is the only time we will see dumb old Brick who spends his time in the issue beating up a woman.  To be honest, there sure is a lot of woman beating in this issue! Still no Spitfire suit and at this point I am not sure when it will make its comeback, but I am hoping soon as I want to see it tangle with The Club! Alan Kupperburg and Tony DeZuniga once more did the artwork, and it looks great.  The cover this time around is back to being eye catching and solid, and to be honest has a Amazing Spider-Man feel to it just replace Jenny with Mary Jane, Steel Hawk with Kraven The Hunter and Giotti with Spider-Man…go on and look and tell me you don’t agree! Well let’s move onto issue # 9 and see where our journey takes us next. I should also note that the comics title starting in this issue changed from Spitfire And The Troubleshooters just to Spitfire.

Spitfire # 9  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 9 of 13

Terry and Giotti have decided to fully retire from being Troubleshooters, and they both destroy their suits and vow never to become crime fighters again! Meanwhile Steel Hawk is in a hospital with multiple broken bones and possible brain damage after the beating he took from Giotti.  His savior Varna is trying to nurse him back to health to get revenge. Meanwhile Jenny is set free by The Government run buy a man named Roth who sends her home on a private jet alongside and man named Jake Travest who is also being watched and forced to do things for Roth.  They both soon find out that they are not being sent home but to Afghanistan to see if Russia who is invading that county has M.A.X. suits, and they soon find that they do as our issue ends with one about to grab Jenny and Jake from a horse.

First thing I must say is that this issue is pretty slow moving and most of it takes place on a plane were Jenny and Jake get to know each other and talk slightly about the past and how they both dislike Roth who acts like a evil puppet master. What’s odd about all this is Jake seems to be a Manchurian Candidate and does what he is told once the name “Slash” is brought up.  Plus not sure if I trust Jake as he knows a little too much about Jenny and her past as well as the whole deal with The Club. Jenny in this issue seems just pissed off and fed up with how she is being treated and is growing to hate the fact her father made these metal suits. Terry and Giotti seem to really mean that they are out of the Troubleshooter game and would rather focus on school and not crime busting. Steel Hawk looks like a mummy as he is covered in bandages and has pure hate in his eyes.  I’m not sure who the woman Varna is, but I am sure we will find out sometime in this series. Roth is such an ass and uses his rank and power to make people do what he wants them to do.  He’s not a likable guy, and it’s shown he can make fake VHS recordings of people like Jenny’s father and make them say what he wants. Over all, this was a slow paced issue that seems more like it should be a James Bond issue and not a New Universe title, a good read just slightly boring. Alan Kupperburg does the art, and it looks good while the cover on this one is average and has nothing to special besides it could be mistaken for a John Carter Warlord of Mars or Doc Savage cover. Let’s see if issue 10 brings back the action or brings on more of the zzzzz’s.

Spitfire # 10  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 10 of 13

Jenny and Jake are stuck in Afghanistan helping the rebels fight off the invading Russians and their black market M.A.X. suits. Jake is losing his cool a lot and seems to not be bothered when having to kill and injure the Russians, and this is making Jenny uneasy about his mental stability. Jake is able to attack a Russian Solider in a M.A.X. suit and break his arm in three places and leaves him for dead while taking the suit back to the rebel’s home base.  There Jenny, unaware it’s Jake, shows them all how you can bring the suit down with a well timed bullet to a weak spot on the suit. When they find out it’s Jake in the suit, they have a plan that is much like the Trojan Horse that will allow the captured M.A.X. suit to enter the Russians’ hideout with a device Jenny made that will render the suits unusable, but the rebels have other ideas as they place a bomb in the suit and not only blow up all the M.A.X. suits but also all the Russians at the base. In the end Jenny is upset that men had to die, while Jake tells her that’s what war is and Roth comes to get them and informs them he wants them to join a elite group.

This is clearly no longer a superhero comic and has made the leap to secret agent spy comic.  While its still good, it’s also a major letdown as I enjoyed the fact that Jenny was a woman who wore a metal suit and fought off attacks in her hometown. Spitfire is no longer the suit and her nickname, it is now her code name as a tech spy. This issue has the horrors of war as Jenny first hand sees all the terrible things that go on. She seems fed up with all the drama her father’s creations have caused her and really is pissed off at the Government and how they have tricked her into doing their dirty work. Jake is shown to be a man with split personalities as one moment he is fine joking and the next he is snapping people’s arms and being an ass to whoever is in his way. If I read this issue right, “Slash” is his other side…and Slash should not be confused with the Guns N Roses guitarist or the evil turtle from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Russians seem pretty dim and open themselves up for lots of attacks and are dumb enough to take in the M.A.X. suit after it had been missing for like two days. While only in it for a few moments. Roth is as pushy as ever and forces them into joining his little spy game group. The cover of this issue is a little weak, but the art inside, done by Alan Kupperburg, is pretty good. Over all I wish more would happen in the action department, and while the story is changing, I am not sure if it’s going in the right direction as I feel the secret agent route they are taking Jenny down just might not work. Also take a note that starting with this issue ,the comic is not just called Spitfire but is now Codename Spitfire…ugh! Well let’s see what issue 11 has to bring to this spy dance.

Spitfire # 11  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 11 of 13

Jenny starts this issue being pulled out of the ocean wearing a new Spitfire suit by Roth and some Navy workers.  She is rushed to surgery as she is badly hurt and her legs burnt. Meanwhile Jake is seen as a prisoner of a Russian general who is torturing him and enjoying doing so! We flashback and see how Jenny and Jake were on a mission that went wrong that lead to Jake’s capture and Jenny being roasted in her own M.A.X. suit. Back to current time and Jenny is weak and burnt and is told by Roth that the government wants them to leave and not go after Jake and that’s an order.  Jenny doesn’t listen and musters up all her strength and climbs into the now repaired Spitfire suit and beats the bad guys and saves Jake from a certain death. When returning to the Navy ship Jenny and Jake are taking to sickbay where they are told this new secret squad might already be facing retirement!

This issue has the effect and cause set up and shows how Jenny and Jake fail at their first secret mission as a team with the goal to save a hostage who is killed.  They each come close to death’s door making it a true failure. Roth seems annoyed and yet also proud of his new team who are a rag tag bunch of misfits. Roth has grown as a character from an unlikable government agent to a well rounded respectable kind of agent. Jenny has gotten her desire back and it’s clear now that she is going to use her father’s work for good as her new Spitfire suit is built for war.  Also she seems to have come to terms with the fact people die in war as she murders soldiers to save Jake. Speaking of Jake, this issue he starts is mission out being G.I. Joe but ends up being a whipping boy for the enemy.  The cheesiest thing about him is how he says one-liners even after being beat up! Once more this takes the spy route and only has a dash of superhero, and I am not sure how I am feeling about the change in feel and direction of the series. The cover for this issue is great and eye catching. I really like the aerial combat scene, and it also lets you get a good look at the new Spitfire costume. The art this time around is done by Grant Miehm who is known for his work on the Marvel series Namor: The Sub-Mariner, and its great stuff and is second best in line behind the work of Herb Trimpe so far in the series. To sum it up, this issue is okay but feels like a filler issue when looking back at it.

Spitfire # 12  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 12 of 13

Jenny is watching tape of a failed test she just ran in her new Spitfire suit, and while upset she drops a picture of her father and finds a computer hard disk that has a program that is the attitude and beliefs of her father! Meanwhile, something wicked is going down as an air force base is attacked by terrorist Evan Reinger who steals a top-secret jet and kills all witnesses.  The government call on Spitfire to take it back and to bring in Reinger dead or alive. As Spitfire engages the jet being flown by Reinger, the hard disk of her father’s beliefs takes over the suit and almost gets his own daughter killed as his anti war feelings get in the way of her being able to defend herself as he tries to shut down the suit! Lucky for her, Roth and crew are able to eject the disk, and this gives her enough time to blow up Reinger and the jet and save her own skin. In the end Jenny says her goodbyes to the disk as she deletes the program and embraces what she is now doing with her life.

This issue is close to the end and has Jenny having to come to terms that she is now using her father’s work as a means of war.  This causes her to also have to let go of the ghost of her father whose own beliefs have impacted all her decisions her whole life. For some reason in this issue Jenny looks like a character from the cartoon Jem or could have been a woman in a Hall and Oates music video, but with her odd appearance aside, she has made another step in growing as a character and is now a fully fledged agent who wants to do the right thing. It’s a shame that the character takes the next turn of growing and it’s one issue before the final. Jake and Roth take a backseat in this issue and act as supporters who play a key part in why Jenny turns the page on using the tech for war purposes. Evan Reinger is a killer who does not seem to mind killing and his main focus is getting that plan to use for bad purposes, and when he is blown up it comes to no real loss for the world. The action and drama mix well in this issue, and I am finally glad to see that Jenny’s father will be out of the picture in the next issue we can hope. The cover is okay and is just a more chaotic version of last issue.  The art inside this time around is done by Javier Saltares who is known for his Ghost Rider work for Marvel and is a style that I am not a super fan of, but I guess it works. Well, we are at the final issue of Spitfire, and I for one can’t wait to see how they are going to end this series! So let’s get to the 13^th and final issue of Spitfire.

Spitfire # 13  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 13 of 13

Celia Cliff is an agent who goes missing during a mission in the middle of the jungle, and this leaves Jenny alone with a new tech whiz partner named Willy.  The pair, along with a new version of the Spitfire suit, head out to find the missing agent and try to bring down the evil St. John who is kidnapping the local children and turning them into half human and half robot slaves! Jenny gathers information from the locals and heads to the castle that holds St. John’s empire and along the way she defeats one of his robot henchmen and finds out that they all have very little control of their own minds! When at the castle Jenny and Willy find out that Celia is becoming one of his robot soldiers.  As two of his robots attack Spitfire and St. John is keeping Willy at bay it’s the last dying breath of Celia in her new robot state of mind that is able to bring down St. John as they both die. In the end Jenny and Willy head back home, an agent down but a world safer.

The final issue of Spitfire leaves lots of questions unanswered as well as many storylines unfinished, and that takes away from the over all appeal of this series as we as readers get no closure and it just ends with a story that has no real build up! Jenny in this issue becomes a James Bond type and travels to a hostel land to rescue a fellow agent and to take down an evil mad super intelligent doctor that is also building robot suits that will be used in wars against America and our allies. She has a kick butt attitude in this issue and wants to save the agent as well as help the small town that is being terrorized by this madman. The Spitfire suit is once more redone and this time is less bulky and is lightweight and ready for hand-to-hand combat. Willy is a tech nerd who wants to follow this mission through even though he’s only really good at building and redesigning metal suits.  Plus we only know him from this issue so it’s hard to build a real opinion of him. Roth is only in the issue for a few pages as he delivers Jenny to Willy and then disappears.  Jake does not appear at all, and this was a lame move as this is the final issue and he is her partner. The remaining Troubleshooters never make an appearance, and we have no clue if Steel Hawk healed up and murdered them as this is a plot that they just dropped. St. John, who works for the Club, becomes the main focus bad guy and he for some reason reminds me of a super villain that would have made an issue appearance in Captain America comics from the late 70’s that would have gotten beaten by the end, much like what happened to him here. I mean he wears a cape and has crazy hair…I thought they said the New Universe was breaking away from the cheese of the Marvel Universe. The thing about this series is that it had so much potential, and each issue for the most part was very entertaining and was a nice break from the normal comics I had been reading like Amazing Spider-Man and Conan The Barbarian, but as a series it was a total mess as the creative team clearly had no direction as the comic’s name changed three times in the 13 issue run and the storyline as well changed and had so many holes in it that Swiss Cheese would have been envies of all those holes! I can also safely say that I liked the character of Jenny “Spitfire” Swensen as I found her very likable and enjoyed that over the issues she did grow as a character and became more tough and worldly. The final issue’s art was done by David Hoover and is well done, and the cover is pretty cool but a little cheesy. This is my first major step into the New Universe, and I can say for the most part it was enjoyable and I will take a look at another character sometime in the future.  So if you like Marvel Comics from the 80’s or are curious about the New Universe than Spitfire is worth checking out for sure. Check out the art below that showcases Spitfire in all her glory.

That was a fun read yes, but one thing’s for sure, The New Universe is not even in the same league as the Marvel Universe as I feel the need to read some Incredible Hulks or Captain Americas from the 80’s after I am done writing this last part of the update! And one a side note, I do know that Spitfire does appear in other books in the New Universe line and maybe just maybe one of those issues has the answers to the plot holes and questions. Our next update will take us far away from Marvel and once more into the world of Dell Comics and more important will be another look at a classic Looney Tune character! We will be taking a look at the icon of swine, Baron Von Porkchop’s favorite cartoon character, the one and only Porky Pig so make sure to comeback for that as it will surely be a great time. Until then, read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local horror host and enjoy this March weather.

Top 10 Should Have Beens In The Star Comics World

Welcome back to my blog, and thank you for reading my trip down memory lane mixed with pulp culture and things that still fascinate me to this day. Last blog I mentioned that Marvel pulled the plug on Star Comics after only a four year run, and I then mentioned that during that time they missed lots of great stuff that could have made some some great comic adventures.  What if they were still around to this day; what great stuff might have come from this?  After thinking about this, I decided that this blog entry will be my top 10 properties that should have been turned into a Star Comic.  Then Part 2 will show some friends and family’s top 5 picks, so sit back and enjoy!

#10 

They are spooky, kooky and an all around fun time for the young and young at heart.  This off the wall family have been around for many years and have been in every kind of media from comic strip, TV, movies, games and books.  In 1938, Charles Addams created The Addams Family (Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Puggsly, Fester, Gramama, Lurch & Thing), and the comic strip was published in the New York Times and was a popular read for the masses. In 1964 ABC aired The Addams Family in which live actors like John Astin, Coralyn Jones, Ted Cassidy and other actors played the parts of the family. The series ran until 1966 and had good solid ratings. Then in 1973, Hanna Barbara made an animated series that ran for a year and featured silly adventures of the family done in the style of Scooby-Doo.

In 1977, a new live action special was made called “Halloween with the New Addams Family,” and while John Astin and most of the original cast returned to play the characters they did many years before, the magic seemed to be gone and the special was only so-so. In 1992 they tried an animated series again that only lasted one year, “The Addams Family: Animated Series.”  This series also inspired some action figures from Playmates. The kooky family’s next major break was the 1998 film starring Raul Julia, Angelica Houston, Christina Ricci and Christopher Lloyd.  The film was a hit and made The Addams Family a household name once again. The film sparked two sequels, video games, novels, pinball game and lots more merchandise. While many other small Addams Family specials and such were made, the two most impactful were the 1964 ABC show and the 1998 Paramount film, but the 1992 cartoon series also holds a special place in my heart.

Now let’s talk the merchandise for a moment to show the popularity of the Addams Family.  Many amazing products were made including a fun kiddie board game from Milton Bradley based on the 1973 Cartoon.  In 1965, Ted Cassidy made a song and dance craze called The Lurch.  The amazing NES Video Game System had several games including the very hard “Festers Quest”, and even a breakfast cereal was made to go along with the 1998 movie. All this was in addition to toys from Playmates, and many more fun and silly products. I used to eat the cereal and was always happy to get a box because they used to give away free mini flashlights as a prize! I still have my Lurch and Fester flashlights to this day. I also spent many hours along side my brother Bryan and friend Mike Cessna playing Festers Quest and never beating it. As for the Play Mates toys based on the 1992 Cartoon, the only one I ever owned was Lurch and he came with a old pair of sheers.  It was a cool toy for the time.

But before I go into why Star Comics should have created a comic based on The Addams Family, I do need to touch up on the fact that a mini series was made by Gold Key Comics based on the 1973 cartoons. The 3 issue run came out in 1974, the year the toon was canceled, and featured silly very kid friendly stories. As always the people at Whitman comics always republished what Gold Key had released the same year. I’m not sure why the comics only lasted three issues, but it might have had to do with the fact the cartoon was canceled within a year, leading me into my pitch of what Star could have done.

If Star Comics were around in 1992, the issues would be based on the cartoon and would follow the family doing all types of silly stuff from going to the beach to having normal yet odd holidays such as Thanksgiving and the 4^th of July. While the main stories would follow Wednesday and Puggsley to gain the kid crowd, it could also follow Lurch and make the silent and hulking butler a main focus.  As an example, he goes to camp with the Addams kids, and they get lost in the spooky woods,  While other kids are scared, The Addams kids and Lurch are having a blast. The rest of the family would be shown and highlighted as well. Say what you want about the Addams Family, but they are nice spooky kid-friendly characters that would been pleasing in a comic series from Star. I am guessing if this comic would have been made it would have run for at least 3-4 issues before the plug was pulled like so many before it, but I guarantee that those issues would have been a fun time for those who enjoyed the cartoon.

#9 

Hey Dude was a popular live action show on Nickelodeon in 1989 that followed workers at a dude ranch called the Bar None owned by a city slicker named Mr. Ernst and his young son Buddy. Workers included Ted, a smooth talking ladies man and Danny, a local Native American.  They were joined by blonde cutie Melody and rich horse trainer Brad.  All the staff are in their teens and are joined by Lucy who is the overseer of the workers and is in her late 30’s/early 40’s. The show revolved around the Ranch, and the silly wars the boys and the girls would get into over petty things.  The show also built up sexual tension between Brad and Ted adding some teen drama to the mix. In my youth this was one of my favorite shows and was one of the best live action shows of the time on Nick. It also sparked my second major celebrity crush as I had the hots for Kelly Brown who played Brad.  I also found Christine Taylor really hot!   But my first major crush (that I still have to this day) is Danielle Harris, but that’s for another entry.

Hey Dude ran for five seasons and was canceled in 1991.  During that time, the Ted character came and went and Jake was introduced who was Mr. Ernst’s nephew from L.A. who was also kind of after Brad.  The show was a staple of my youth, and I can’t count the times I watched the same episodes over and over, having a blast doing so. I was so bummed when the show went off the air and was shocked by the little merchandise the series got. To this day besides the DVD season releases by Shout Factory, the only item I can think of was a novel called “Hey Dude: Show Down at the Bar None”.

Besides the stunning Brad, one of my favorite characters from the show was Danny Lightfoot, a Hopi Indian who was not only wise but also a total goofball who loved to fuel the fire of Ted’s numbskull ideas and bets. But during many episodes Danny would always explain that his people were the ones who created a custom or food item, and this sparked my brother to always walk around and make fun of the character by asking if “Danny and his people created that.”  It was all in good fun, and just the other day on the phone he even referenced it again! I am sure that one of the reasons I really liked the character is because both my Grandfather and Grandmother are part Native American, as were my great-grandparents and so on before them.

If Star Comics was still active in 1989, they could have reached out to a teen audience and did some issues about the Bar None Ranch and its workers. The comics could have followed Ted and Danny (and maybe Jake depending on when the comic was made) as they got into trouble and adventures in and around the ranch. It could also have built up the flirting of Ted and Brad giving female readers some romance to keep them interested as well. Another fun aspect that they could have played up on in comics would be cowboy ghosts and Native American spirits and beliefs, giving it a little more action and adventure. But with this show airing a year after Star was shut down, we’ll never get to know if this show would have gotten the Star treatment. I will say in closing that it’s about damn time this show saw a DVD release, so a big thanks goes out to Shout Factory. And my guess it would have lasted at least 4-5 issues.

#8

In 1950, EC Comics was making horror comics called “Tales from the Crypt,” “The Vault of Horror” and “The Haunt of Fear.”  Each issue was hosted by a grim yet tongue in cheek host such as The Crypt Keeper, The Vault Keeper or The Old Witch. The comics were filled with ghouls, blood and grim stories and were crowd pleasers to young readers. But much like many things over the years, parents hit the roof when they found that their children had been reading comics about murder, death and ghouls. So like any good crazed, tightly-wound parent would do, they protested the company and the comics and had a massive bonfire in which hundreds of copies of the classic comic were burned making original copies highly collectible.  EC also sparked the comic code, that tried to ban comics that found unsuitable for children and eventually causing the demise of EC in 1955 after dipping sales and the overly huge backlash of parents, teachers and the comic code.

But the Crypt Keeper came out of the ashes in 1972 when a live action movie starring horror legend Peter Cushing was made, taking many of the comics’ old stories and adapting them to film.  The film’s plot had a group of strangers who were on a tour and get lost and end up in a tomb like area where the Crypt Keeper tells them strange and brutal stories with each person as the lead.  Of course, this all has a twist ending. In 1973 a sequel was made called The Vault of Horror, and it followed the same formula as the first but this time the guests are trapped in an office building. In 1989, HBO made a hit TV series out of the comic that ran for 7 seasons and had the Crypt Keeper acting almost as a horror host, introducing each episode with a touch of comedy and skits. With the HBO series came films based on the show like Demon Knight, Bordello of Blood and Ritual, making this the most popular version of the comic to come alive. In 1993, a Saturday morning cartoon was made for ABC called Tales from The Crypt Keeper that featured kid-friendly horror stories hosted by an overly silly Crypt Keeper who still had a mean streak. In season two, the Keeper also found himself at war with old rivals the Old Witch and Vault Keeper, and this was the formula for that whole season. After season two ABC pulled the plug on the series, but it was only gone a short time as NBC picked up a third season in 1997 and changed the format and animation.  This only lated one season.

Both the live action HBO show, and the cartoon sparked merchandise for kids and collectors.  There was a pinball machine, talking dolls, action figures, shirts, Halloween masks and decorations and of course reprints of the old comic. My brother had one of the talking dolls, dressed in a tux who said a few hammy lines from the HBO show, and he of course got the reprint comics. I didn’t get any merch until many years later and own a few of the toys based on the animated series and also own a Halloween mask of the Crypt Keeper. Like all merchandise, these things helped keep the Crypt Keeper in the minds of the masses.

So again in order for Star Comics to make issues based on the 1993 cartoon, they would have had to hang on and been given a better chance by Marvel. But this would have been a no brainer and would have just followed the formula of the cartoon and the original comic series and could have had The Crypt Keeper telling cheesy kid friendly stories that all ended with a lesson learned, never really pushing the envelope to cross the line into making them too gruesome. I know as a kid I would have eaten this up.  I grew up watching horror films and horror hosts, and this would have been a series that I would have bought like clock work. The animated version of the Crypt Keeper was green in color, and his attitude seemed to be that he was your friend telling you a spooky story to have fun alongside you.  This would had transferred perfectly to comic. It’s a shame that Tales From The Crypt Keeper never did get a comic, and Star would have been the perfect company to do so.

On a side note, back in the days of Waynesville I owned one of those mini black and white portable TV’s, and FOX got the rights to rerun the HBO series.  So I would turn off all the lights in my room and shut the door and would watch Star Trek: The Next Generation and then Tales From The Crypt. It was a fun time at night that allowed me to see the show.  I am sure many of you readers remember this showing and have fun memories of watching. Oh yeah, and if Star were to have done comics for Tales from the CryptKeeper, I would have guessed a 5 issue run.

#7 

In 1932 Robert E. Howard created Conan The Barbarian and wrote his adventures for Weird Tales Magazine, and the character became a hit with the fantasy world. In 1950 his stories started to be turned into paperback novels and were taken not only from Howard’s writings but also other authors who wrote of his journeys. In 1970 Marvel Comics began the comic series “Conan The Barbarian” that spawned spin offs like Red Sonja, Kull and King Conan. The main series ran for 275 issues and stopped being made in 1993. For many years no comics came out based on the raven haired brute, then in 2003 Dark Horse Comics picked up the licenses and Conan is still coming out as of 2013. This is only the literature part of Conan’s vast history, and this is only a quick sampling.  This part could have gone on and on!

Conan was such a hit that for years many other merchandise came out including video games, t-shirts, board game, toys and statues, all these making fans of Conan very happy. Some of the most popular ones are the Remco 5 ½” action figures that were just generic Masters of the Universe cash-in’s that came out in 1984.  To this day, they fetch lots of money on Ebay and toy conventions.  Of course the video games that have been made for systems such as Commodore 64, PC, NES, PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360. While none of the games did well critically, I found the PS3 game to be very fun and the NES game, while crappy, is still a fun goofy play. It’s a shame that the PS3/Xbox 360 game did not sell well because this caused THQ not to give it a sequel.

Now for Conan in film and TV, a fun journey for all! In 1982, a film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger was released.  The film was a blood bath that had Conan going after Tulsa Doom, the leader of Set worshipers who was responsible for his parents’ death and him being sold into slavery. The film follows Conan as he grows up and gets revenge. The film is amazing and is in my top 10 films for sure.  In 1984, a sequel was made called Conan the Destroyer, and sadly this film took a PG-13 route and took out all the over the top blood shed of the original and tried to make it more kid-friendly and has Conan trying to protect a young princess from a wizard.  While not called by name, Schwarzenegger once again played a Conan-like character in the 1985 film Red Sonja. In 1992 Conan The Adventurer,the animated adventures aired, early mornings and followed Conan and his friends as they try and stop the evil Wrath-Amon who was the priest of Set who needs the star metal to be free once more.  It lasted 65 episodes and also spawned a second animated series that flopped called Conan and the Young Warriors that only lasted 13 episodes. Then with the success of Hercules and the Legendary Journeys TV producers thought why not try a show that’s hammy and base it around Conan, and thats what happened in 1997 with a show simply called Conan.  German bodybuilder Ralf Moller played the title role, and the show followed him and his friends’ adventures through 22 episodes. Finally in 2011, the Conan movie franchise got rebooted with Jason Momoa as the Barbarian. Although some were not as good as others, Conan has had a good run in film and TV.  The TV shows and the 2011 film were not well received, but still gave fans something new for the iconic character. In my younger days, I spent many hours watching the 1992 cartoon and watched the original 1982 more then any kid my age should have. 

The 1992 cartoon is our focus and would be the best bet for Star to base a comic series around.  But before we get into that, let’s talk the terrible toy line that went alongside the cartoon. These things were large clunky pieces of plastic with terrible sculpts and bad paint jobs! I felt that way now and I felt that way then. I was and will always be a Conan fan and when the cartoon and toys came out, I was super hyped to see both. The cartoon lived up to my expectations and was a fun adventure cartoon, while the toys just sucked.  I only bought one, the Skeleton warrior Skulkur, and man what a disappointment.  From the moment I took it out of the package, I knew I was in trouble as the figure was stiff and had this terrible spin around action. No one else I knew in school had one of these figures making this one a school yard dud. To this day I do not have any of these figures laying around Independent B Movie studios (the place all my old toys are) nor will I ever get one of these abominations again. Oh yeah and the main Conan figure looks like a generic toy you would find on the shelves of Odd Lots/Big Lots.  In fact, I remember when these toys did flood those shelves.

Much like Tales From The Crypt Keeper, this would be a no brainer run of comics.  The fact that Marvel was all ready putting out comics based on the Barbarian would have made this one an easy sale. The comic would have followed the same formula as the cartoon and would have Conan and his friends fighting bad guys like Skulkur and Wrath-Amon and trying to find hidden treasures, protect the star metal and such. Plus they could have used Needle, his Phoenixx sidekick more and made him just like Snarf in Thundercats or even Orko in Masters of the Universe.  Many more of the side characters like African Warrior Zula and Jezmine the female circus performer could also be showcased, and the characters could be fleshed out and given time to really shine . While the main Marvel book was geared towards teens and adults, this series could have captured the younger crowed. The issues could also have an underlying meaning like don’t steal or be nice to others and do it so slyly that the readers wouldn’t pick up on the fact they have just been taught a lesson in manners. I could see this series running 10 issues for Star before they pulled the plug on the series.  I think this one would have had a little life even after the cartoon was canceled.

#6 In 1980 a pizza chain was born that was the rival to McDonalds in getting kids hyped up to go out to eat.  That place was Showbiz Pizza Palace. The restaurant had many gimmicks that were used to bring kids in such as arcade machines, ticket prizes, toys, and most famous was the animatronic band The Rock-A-Fire Explosion who would bring young and old there to see them perform. Showbiz became so big that they started to buy other pizza chains that were going under including Chuck E. Cheese. But the fun times came to an end in 1990, as Showbiz had some major changes in its business including a rebranding campaign.  This led to The Rock-A-Fire Explosion getting the boot and Chuck E. Cheese becoming the star of the show. While Showbiz and The Rock-A-Fire are gone they are not forgotten. I have many fond memories of Showbiz and going to birthday parties there and watching The Rock-A-Fire show and only somewhat liking the pizza.  I have never been a pizza fan, and I remember thinking that the pizza was mediocre at best. My younger cousin Steve, who I now work on many movies and TV shows with, was scared to death of the band and I think Fatz Geronimo was the one that terrified him the most.

The Rock-A-Fire Explosion had many members that included Billy-Bob, a hillbilly bear with a great heart and who played bass guitar for the group.  He is the most popular of the members and was the pizza chains mascot.  Fatz Geronimo was a gorilla who sang and played piano for the group; at one time he was to be the main man of the group.  Beach Bear plays guitar and sings and is a surfing polar bear.  Looney Bird lives in an oil can and offers vocals.  Mitzi Mozzarella is a teenage mouse wearing a cheerleader outfit and sings.  Dook LaRue is a dog who wants to go to space and plays drums.  Lastly while not part of the band but acting as a warm up act was Rolfe deWolfe & Earl, a stand up comic wolf and his puppet. The band was huge and drew many people to the restaurant. While the stage show was animatronic, at times a man in a costume would walk around as Billy Bob and greet the guests in the arcade area. To this day people who grew up in the 80’s and have been to Showbiz Pizza have a special place in their hearts for The Rock-A-Fire.

The company made lots of merchandise based on the band in order to make that extra dollar off the guests that included glasses, mugs, vinyl records, dolls, small toys, posters and so much more. In 2008 a documentary about the band was also made and showed just how in love people still are with the band and the idea of Showbiz Pizza. All the classic vintage items are huge collectors’ items and go for high prices on Ebay and conventions. In 2011, I was lucky enough to find a classic mini Fatz figure for only a $1.00!

If Star Comics would have jumped on this popular kids attraction, they could have had a fun and silly comic on their hands and could have got major push by selling the comic at the pizza place.  Showbiz could have used the comic as a tool to try and draw more guests in. The concept of the comic could have followed that band as they toured the world and got into many off the wall adventures, I mean could you imagine Billy Bob in Japan or Russia?  Chuck E. Cheese also would be used and could have been written in as the bands manager giving that hat wearing rodent a push as well. Plus with all the band members all with different personalities, they could have had many funny moments just with the in-band fighting. But for some reason Star Comics just must not have seen how easy this comic would have been to make and how kids at the time would have eaten it up. Given Stars track record I would guess that this would have lasted 3 to 4 issues if it was made and would not have had a clear cut last issue. Here is to someone who I hope some day will make the comic based on these amazing characters that meant so much to so many kids of the time.

#5

 

In 1983, Tonka Toys brought out a line of changing robot toys called The GoBots.  The toys were simple and would change from robot to some sort a vehicle and were geared towards younger kids. At first, the toys sold really well and seemed to be building up steam even without the backing of a cartoon or comic to push it. But this ride at the top of changing robots came to a quick end when in 1984 Hasbro released The Transformers toy line in the United States. Fans flipped for Transformers and loved characters like Optimus Prime, Jazz and Bumblebee as well as the superior designs and tranforming abilities of the new figures. Gobots tried to fight back and in 1984; an animated TV mini series made by Hanna Barbera was released to compete with the Transformer cartoon called Challenge of the GoBots. While the cartoon did not do as well as its competitor, it did get full seasons starting in 1985 and ran for 65 episodes. In 1986 a theatrical film was made called GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords and released 3 months before Transformers The Movie.  The GoBots film was a flop and performed poorly at the box office and with critics. The toy line came to an end in 1987, ending the legacy for a short amount of time, until Hasbro bought the rights from Tonka and turned them into toys for kids under 5.

Many people seemed to think that the GoBots toy line was the K-Mart version of the Transformers, and most think that they just followed the trend, but this is not the case.  While the toys were very cheaply done, they were still out a whole year before Transformers. The main bad downside to the toys was the fact that the joints would become super loose and your figure would lose an arm here and there.  I cannot count how many Cy-Kill toys I had that one of the arms would fall off. One of the other terrible aspects of the toys was the fact that most of their transforms were terrible and would be just a bend here or there, making them seem like bulky silly robots. Growing up I had many GoBots and used them when I played with Star Wars as other robots that would join in on battles or be at Jabba’s Palace. I think my two favorites in the toy line are the most popular characters, Cy-Kill and Leader One.  While they were nothing special, I found them to be pretty bad ass toys at a cheap price. I still find loose GoBots at Mavericks Cards and Comics and get a chuckle at seeing them.

Besides the toys, cartoons and movie, many other merchandise was made based on the series that included a game for the Commodore 64, lunch boxes, Halloween costumes, magazines, coloring books, stickers and many more items. It’s odd that this property never did get a comic run from either Marvel or DC. It’s also odd much like the back lash of the toys many of the other items made based on the characters have negative vibes around them.  The Commodore 64 game is always ripped apart and is considered a turkey of a game.

This is yet another easy one to make into a Star Comic and would have fit in with the rest of the properties that they all ready put out. Marvel Comics was already making Transformer comics for the older teen reader, and GoBots would have been a perfect way to get younger readers drawn into Marvel and to maybe push them towards books that were only a few years away. The plot of the comic would be the same as the cartoon and would have had Leader One and the good guys battling Cy-Kill and the evil robots. It could be a pretty cookie cutter format and could have relied on mindless robot battles with normal recycled plots. I know it’s sounding like I am saying that Star should have made a half ass comic series, but that’s not what I am really meaning at all. All I am saying is that this could have been a fun cheesy comic that was geared towards young readers.  I am sure I would have eaten it up even with tame and generic story lines, as would many other kids of that time. I think this would have lasted for about 12 issues if Star was to put it out and would have gotten a clear cut last issue. It’s a sad world we live in when Leader One never made it to a comic book in his prime.  What makes it worse is the ad below for the cartoon that is drawn in your typical Star art style, making me wonder if something was in the works and fell through when the film bombed and the toy line was on a decline making Star cancel the deal.  I guess we will never really know.

#4

When you were a kid in the 1980’s, lots of things came out that were related to horror and monsters.  In 1987 Mattel released a toy line that claimed to be Too Gross! Mad Scientist allowed you to be your own Dr. Frankenstein or even a Egor, if you owned a bendable Mad Scientist figure, and would allow you to create, dissect and melt your own creations. The line of toys also had dress up kits to become a crazy doctor yourself. In 1988 as well a very short lived animated cartoon was made that lasted two episodes called “Mad Scientist: Experiment of Error” and was only released on VHS. Weirdly as fast as it came, the Mad Scientist toy line disappeared in less than two years, making it one of those toy lines that made you wonder what just happened.  Many blame the NES for the death of this toy line that seemed to be gaining more attention than action figures.  Some also blamed the price of the playsets claiming that they were too expensive for parents to get for their kids.  All I can say is that it was a fun toy line that had some amazing animated/ live action commercials.

My first introduction to this toy line was of course the commercials that aired during Saturday Morning Cartoons.  While they got my attention, I was not so hip to the whole chemistry set aspect of the toy line making me at first blow the whole line off as just another silly creepy toy. But then one day at school someone had a few of the figures on the playground.  They had Dissect an Alien where you removed the guts of a monster alien with slime in his belly and a bendable Mad Scientist figure.  I played with them both and really found the toys neat and offered to trade to get the Scientist figure.  To my shock, he did not want to trade but instead sold the figure to me for a dollar! This made my day and for weeks at home I would do odd little science experiments alongside my new figure. Next at KB Toys, a now dead toy store that was in the Dayton Mall, I found gummi bear style molds of creatures from the lab of the Mad Scientist and bought those and made plaster molds from them and spent time painting them to give to my Mom. Sadly I never owned any of the major play sets, but what little I did have from the toy line I enjoyed a lot.

I know what you’re all thinking why, did he pick a toy line that for all accounts failed,  had a cartoon that never even made it to TV, as his # 4.  Let me tell you why. I think that one of the big reasons this toy line failed is the lack of real push from Mattel.  I think they lost interest in it fast and never fully saw the potential in its appeal. If Star Comics would have made this into a comic, I think that it would have kept the line a little fresh in kids’ eyes and might have made it last a little longer. The comic could have followed The Mad Scientist and let’s say a every day normal boy who helps him in all his wacky experiments that of course go wrong! You could have issues where monsters escape and they must round them up, a potion that makes The Mad Scientist normal and his young friend must find a way to return him to his crazy self and many more plots like that. Not to mention think of all the monsters you could add.  As far as bad guys, you could have the town mayor be the one who wants to lock up the Mad Scientist and throw away the key. But sadly Star Comics was all ready on the verge of closing up, and this series never did make it to the light or I should say was never even considered. If this was a Star Comic though, I could almost guarantee that much like its shelf life on toy shelves, its comic stand life would also be short.  I see it only lasting for about 4 issues. It’s a shame this never happened I would have loved to read the adventures of a lunatic Mad Scientist!

#3 

I have always been a fan of Horror Hosts, being young and watching scary films alongside them always seemed to make the film less scary and you felt protected by the hosts’ silly antics. Saturdays were always a fun day for me.  I would spend the mornings watching cartoons and eating cereal.  Every other week we would go shopping at Big Bear & Hearts, and then we would get home in time to watch Commander USA’s Groovie Movies on the USA Network! After the Groovie Movie was over, I would go to my room and play with toys or go out side and play ball tag (where we would play tag with a soccer ball that we would throw at others in the game) or even possibly record my own radio show via a tape deck and then at night it was time for USA’s Saturday Nightmares! Commander USA was a retired super hero that rented space under a shopping mall in New Jersey and would host a movie or two and would have some sort of crazy thing going on in his Video Vault. He was joined by his best friend and sidekick Lefty who was really just Commander’s right hand with a cigar ash smiley face drawn on. The show started in 1985 and ran until 1989, switching from Saturday to Sundays and was a staple of my youth. The thing about Commander USA, who was played by a great stage actor Jim Hendricks, was that during the movie you felt as if he really was watching the film along side you.  That’s something a really good host can do, is make you think he or she is watching whatever turkey they are showing this week. It’s odd looking back over my life and seeing just how many horror hosts motivated me to be the creative person I am today, hosts like the late great Dr. Creep, my “Dad” A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Joe Bob Briggs, Grandpa Munster, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, Son of Ghoul, Sammy Terry and many more.  So to all of you hosts out there, thank you for doing what you do and inspiring people like me with your antics.

Commander USA had very little merchandise, but what he did have was pretty cool as you could join his fan club that came complete with a membership card.  Also an official fanzine was made called ” Commander USA’s World of Horror”. Over the years his show has shown up on sites that offer his show on DVD-R’s and are worth getting if you want a nice flashback to a great era of the USA Network. Also Jim Hendricks is talked to in an amazing documentary about horror hosts called American Scary.  If you like horror hosts, this is a must-see.

A comic book based on the adventures of Commander USA still needs to happen! Star Comics could have drawn in the horror kid crowd like myself by making issues about the Commander’s super hero ways in and out of the Video Vault! This comic series could have been played two ways, and both would have been good,  One could have followed him as he is retired and is forced back into action to save the day, like to find a purse snatcher that has been running wild in the mall above the Video Vault, or say stop an ice cream monster that has been made by a mad doctor who was mad when a store ran out of his wanted pair of gym shoes.  The second route they could have taken was to follow the Commander in his prime and to show him doing amazing feats like fighting super villains or going up against famous monsters like Dracula or Frankenstein’s Monster. This comic would have made me so happy and would be a series that I would have bought every issue back then and even to this day.  But if I know Star Comics like I think I do, I would say that if they did take a chance and make this comic, it would run 3-4 issues before they got cold feet and ended it. That’s one thing I will say, more horror hosts need comic books based around them.  At this time the only ones I can think of that have their own is Indiana’s icon Sammy Terry, Elvira and one about Wolfman Mac and his Chiller Theater . I think that a Baron Von Porkchop Comic will be coming your way soon, and I hope that these four books will trigger more comics about Hosts. With that to quote Commander, “Keep your nose in the wind… and your tail to yourself…”

#2 

In 1986 a plush doll that was aimed toward boys was released by American Greetings.  This doll was named My Pet Monster and was a blue furred, devil horned, sharp teeth, big nosed creature who was bound by bright orange handcuffs, and if those handcuffs came off he was said to come alive. The toy was one of very few plush dolls that was geared toward boys and to many people’s, surprise it was a huge success! The doll was so popular that many more were made in the line that included such beasts as Gwonk, Rark and Wogster. My Pet Monster warmed his way into hearts up into the early 90’s before the line went silent. In 2001 he came back for a second run but went through some changes.  While most of him looked the same, his nose and snarl looking teeth were way more tame, and this change was to please kids who found the original too scary. The rebirth was short lived but the doll now is a collectors item that kids of the 80’s will search for it to relive their youth. I never owned one of the original dolls but I do remember that a classmate had one, and he was a hit for the day on the playground when he came to school with his owner. I remember many of us going down the slide with him and spinning on the merry go round was a blast with our friend, My Pet Monster. The one I own is the 2001 rerelease that I found at a thrift store some years back.  It was in perfect shape and now even as I write this, he sits in an old vintage chair in my apartment looking at the TV. 

My Pet Monster was so popular that is spawned many other merchandise and came to life in films and cartoons. My Pet Monster was made into kids books, coloring books, puzzles and a lunch box. In 1986 My Pet Monster also was made into a live action direct to video film, and had a young boy who when he got hungry would turn into the monster and get into all kinds of silly messes. The film was only moderately successful and has never made it to DVD or Blu-Ray. In 1987 ABC picked up a cartoon based on the toy line that followed a young boy named Max who was the keeper and best friend to the My Pet Monster who was more silly than scary. The cartoon ran for one season and had 16 episodes that can be found on DVD.

If this were turned into a Star Comic, I would have skipped the film and cartoon and focused on the toy line itself.  The charm of the My Pet Monster was that when the orange shackles came off, he was free to act wild and crazy making the comic being able to go above and beyond with him going crazy in all types of areas. Like say he wanders to a school where a young man is picked on and watches as bullies keep making fun and shoving the kid around.  So My Pet Monster sees enough and talks the kid into un-shackling him and letting him show the bullies that it’s wrong to pick on others by pulling pranks and scaring them half to death.  Each issue could be a new kid with new issues and each time My Pet Monster is the problem solver, and while he is doing good things, he could still have a mean streak. This would have made many kids happy to see My Pet Monster in comic forum, and I am sure would have made Star a lot of money. I give this an 11 issue run with Star and I think it would have gotten a real final issue. It’s odd that this was never looked at to become a comic, and I believe that not only did Star/Marvel drop the ball on this, I think DC and Archie did as well.

#1

Now before you get all huffy and say that The Incredible Hulk is already a long running series with Marvel Comics, you should take another look as I am saying that one should have been made based on the 1978 live action TV show. So with that let’s look at the Hulk’s history

The Incredible Hulk/Bruce Banner were created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in 1962.  Issue # 1 that shows how scientist Bruce Banner was hit with gamma rays trying to save a young hot shot Rick Jones.  When the moon was full Banner would turn into a super strong brute called the Hulk and became wanted by General Thunderbolt Ross and the US army. Originally the Hulk was grey skinned, and as the series matured a few issues they changed him to green and instead of the moon triggering his transformation, it happened when he was angry . The comic series was and is Marvel’s top comic based on a monster type character out lasting the likes of Werewolf by Night, Tomb of Dracula, Man-Thing, Godzilla and Monster of Frankenstein.  The Hulk has many great enemies that include the Leader, the Abomination, the Glob, Wendigo, the U-Foes, Absorbing Man, Dr. Samson and many more. In fact as I am all sure you know, Wolverine’s first appearance was in a Hulk issue (#181). The character became so popular that he even got his own comic Magazine called The Rampaging Hulk in 1977. The comic is still going strong to this day and doen’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.  I could spend pages and pages talking about this because the Hulk is my all time favorite super hero and the series is just so rich with plots and characters.  But I am here to get to the point of why Star should have made comics based on the TV show so let’s move on shall we.

 
The Hulk was a fan favorite of kids who read comic books.  So they thought, hey why not make some cartoons based on the giant green monster and they did just that in 1966 as part of The Marvel Super Hero’s show that lasted 13 episodes. The 1966 series animation was based on the comic panels and was very crudely done, but still was a solid toon. Then in 1982, they gave it another go around this time the cartoon was just simple called The Incredible Hulk and was played along side Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.  The animation was better, and the plot’s were silly fun adventures but this one only lasted one season and 13 episodes as well. Many years would pass before they gave him another chance at the animation world, and 1996 marked his return to TV in animated form.  This one was called The Incredible Hulk as well and lasted two seasons and 21 episodes making it the longest running cartoon and had Lou Ferrigno come back to voice the Hulk. While this one was more up to date, I think it lacked the charm of the 1982 show which is my favorite. Sadly, none of the cartoons are out in the USA on legit DVD’s, and the only way you can see them is on Netflix, PAL Region 2 DVD’s or on Bootleg DVD-R’s. But I hope in 2012 they will be released for US fans.

The Hulk has also had many action figures, and while some are based on his film appearances, other great old school ones have been made based on the comic and loosely on the live action show. My favorite one has to be the Mego Hulk.  While he is way off scale compared to the rest of the Mego collection, he still has a simple charm to him.  Plus fans of Wizard Magazine’s Toy Fair Issues will always remember him in their stop motion comics as a lunk head. Both small and large versions of the Mego dolls are worth tracking down and owning if you are a fan as well. I also really liked Mego’s Pocket Hero version of the Hulk because he was in scale with Star Wars and G.I. Joes. Lastly I have always had a soft spot for Toy Biz’s first Hulk toy that actions such as him bending a bar and smashing a soft rock. These four are just a drop in the hat of all the badass Hulk toys out there. One thing that always let me down is the fact Mattel never produced their Hulk figure for the Secret Wars line.  Many rumors say that he and The Abomination would have made it to series 3, and it’s a shame the line folded before then.

The Incredible Hulk has also made his way into the video game world like in 1984 when “Questprode:Hulk” that was released for Commodore 64 and Atari Computers.  It was a text adveture game and marked the first video game to be based on the character. In 1994, a side scrolling action game was made for the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo called “The Incredible Hulk.”  While the game is by no means a masterpiece, it still is a fun button masher, and let’s you face some of your biggest foes like Abomination, Rhino and The Leader. In 1997 “The Incredible Hulk: The Pantheon Saga” came out for the Sony Playstation and the Sega Saturn and was a terrible action game plagued by bad controls. Next up was “Hulk” a 2003 game based on the movie by Ang Lee and was made for Sony Playstation 2, Xbox, PC and Nintendo GameCube. Then in 2005, a pretty badass game came out called “The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction” and was an open world mission based game that allowed you to go as rampaging as you wanted.  It came out for Playstation 2, GameCube and Xbox. Last on this list for now is a 2008 game made by Sega and based on the film starring Edward Norton called “The Incredible Hulk.”  It takes the same idea as Ultimate Destruction and just ties it into the move. On a side note an Atari 2600 game based on the Hulk was in the works but was never finished by Parker Brothers due in part to the video game crash of 83. The story goes that the game was almost done and this gives hope a ROM of it will be found soon because the cover box has been discovered. While none of the games above are groundbreaking, I did find each and every one of them a fun play through even if some of them made me want to scream.

Many more great merchandise items have been made that include coloring books, lunch boxes, stickers, Halloween masks and costumes, banks, Halloween pales, board games, Colorforms, candy, toy boxes, shirts, shoes, hats and so much more. One of my favorite things as a kid was my brother’s and my Hulk toy box that was a purple base and the lid was a giant Incredible Hulk Head! We use to even take it outside and play with it putting it over our heads and stumbling around like little fools. Sometimes we would fill it with water and drop the figures inside it and act if it was a deep dark abyss. I miss that damn thing! Oh and my mom still has pages of an old Hulk coloring book I colored for her when I was like 4-5, showing that I have always loved The Hulk.

We still have one more thing to cover about The Incredible Hulk and his impact on our culture and his popularity, and that’s Hulk at the box office. Hulk films have been made before the ones that made it to theaters but those will be separate from this due to the fact they tie into the TV show that I think should have been continued in Star Comics. The first film in theaters was Universal & Ang Lee’s 2003 film called HUL.  This film had Eric Bana playing Bruce Banner who as a child was given Gamma radiation by his father who worked for the government, who also happened to be The Absorbing Man.  The film’s Hulk was CGI and looked like a dated video game graphic.  This film was more drama then action and while it made money at the box office, it left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. In 2008 Universal tried to reboot the film and made THE INCREDIBLE HULK.  This time amazing actor Edward Norton played Bruce Banner, and while the Hulk was CGI, they got Lou Ferrigno to voice him. The film has Bruce on the run from the government and trying to learn to control The Hulk.  Oh yeah, throw in The Abomination for fun, and you have this fun smash’em up movie. Again this one did well in the theaters but not well enough for them to do a sequel.The Hulk was also in 2012’s Avengers the movie and steals the show as he smashes his way throughout the film.  While he only had two solo theater movies, many fan-made films have been made as well.

In 1977, a movie pilot was aired on CBS based on the Marvel Comic called The Incredible Hulk and followed David Banner (they thought Bruce didn’t sound manly enough) who during a test overdosed his body on Gama Radiation.  When he becomes angry he grows into being a muscle bound green skinned monster know as The Hulk. David goes to his friend and fellow doctor Elaina, and together they try and find a cure, but when a snooping reporter named Jack McGee gets involved, an accident leaves Elaina dead.  David is thought to be dead as well, and The Hulk is blamed.  This was such a hit another made for TV movie was made, and in 1978 it became a full series that followed the same formula: David would go town to town changing his name to find work or to get one step closer to a cure, and Jack McGee would be on his heels looking for the big news story of The Hulk.  Bad things would happen, and The Hulk would come out and save the day.  Then David would be forced to leave in order to hide his secret. This show ran for 5 seasons and a total of 82 episodes. After the show was cancelled, made for TV movies were still being made. The show was one of my favorites, and I found myself glued to the TV whenever it was on.  I remember coming home from school and skipping the after school Disney Shows (Duck Tales, Gummi Bears, ect.) and trying to tune in a fuzz station on the kitchen TV that would show reruns of The Incredible Hulk.  To this day, the show remains my all time favorite! Lucky enough Universal, who owns the show, has released all seasons on DVD! I think the show was amazingly acted with Bill Bixby playing David Banner being one of the best portrayals ever in TV and film, and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno was perfect painted green and playing The Hulk. Growing up Ferrigno was one of my heroes because of this show.

A total of 5 made for TV films were made.  The first was the pilot that kicked off the series, and the second film “Return of the Incredible Hulk” quickly followed and had David/The Hulk having to help a young woman who is crippled and getting bad medicine from the family doctor and her step-mother. The first film to follow the end of the series was the 1988 film, “The Incredible Hulk Returns” and has Hulk teaming up with Thor to stop organized crime. Then in 1989 came “The Trial of the Incredible Hulk” in which David Banner is framed for a crime and becoming The Hulk, he and Daredevil must clear his name and stop The Kingpin. Then in 1990 came the final film “The Death of The Incredible Hulk,” and it involves spies and the Hulk falling to his death in the end. Another film was planned, but sadly Bill Bixby lost his battle to cancer in 1993. When these movies were coming on, I know I drove my Mother and Father crazy.  That’s all I would talk about and when they would finally air the whole family would gather in the living room with a big bowl of popcorn and we would all watch the film. Times like that will always be an amazing memory of my youth and how great my family was. I remember also being so sad when in the final film The Hulk died.  While the way he died was pretty lame, it was sad because I knew that this was the end.

Now let’s get down to it.  This live action show was made for comic books and should have continued in comic books.  Star Comics would have been the perfect home for it. The issues could have followed the style of the show and could have had David Banner going from town to town finding people in need and turning into The Hulk to save the day only to have to restart over again in the next issue. They could have picked kid-friendly issues and topics and tackled the “Just Say No To Drugs” attitude that was big at the time. The Hulk of the show was perfect for kid’s comics because he was never smacking animals or flying off the handle, he seemed to have a good childlike nature that showed him who was bad and who was good. Plus they could have had some of the better artists of Star work on the book and have the comic versions look just like the actors, making this truly fit in the same storyline of the TV Show. Plus they could have turned the planned yet never made film into a comic and gave us the fans young and old the real closer we needed for the series. While this doesn’t stand a chance I wish Marvel would even consider doing this now! This was a no brainer for Star Comics to do, but they really missed the boat on this one, due to the fact they owned the characters! I would say that if made this would have had a pretty long run for them something like 10-12 issues.

So there you have it from Commander USA to The Incredible Hulk, you see what comics I would have been lining up for if Star/Marvel would have made.  In the next blog I’ll let some family and friends give you their top 5 choices! See you all next update.