NES Challenge: Werewolf The Last Warrior

When I was a kid, Nintendo was the main source of video game entertainment at home, and while Atari tried to hang on, the original NES was just unbeatable even giving arcades a run for their money as almost every kid I knew had a NES.  My friends and I spent lots of time talking about what games we had played and would always brag if we beat one as it was almost like earning a medal. I have lots of fond memories of playing games like Friday The 13^th, Castlevania, Contra and Legendary Wings with my cousins Dino and Norman, Kranov and Excitebike with cousin Nathan, Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, Kung Fu, Ghost N Goblins, Gologo 13 and WCW with my brother and parents, Karate Kid, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II The Arcade Game with cousin Stephen, not to mention Festers Quest, Blades Of Steel and Double Dribble with friend Mike Cessna.  So you can see, the NES was a system that brought many great moments into the lives of those who picked up the controllers. So for this update we are going to take a look at a promo comic given away with the Data East game Werewolf The Last Warrior, plus I am going to try my best to beat the game in one day! So grab some Mountain Dew and load up a bowl with some potato chips as we are going back to the past to play a game that always kicked my ass…the one and only Werewolf The Last Warrior!

SAS Sakata developed Werewolf: The Last Warrior, and Data East released it in 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).  It was a side scrolling action game that mixed in elements of horror and even a touch of super hero and was a solid success. In Japan the game was known as “Super Werewolf Chronicle Warwolf” and was released there in 1991 as well as in Europe. The game’s plot is this: on Red Earth, the second colony planet, the evil Dr. Faryan along with his evil mutants have taken over and enslaved mankind and it’s up to a man named Ken who can transform into a werewolf warrior named Warwolf to save us all. During the game you can transform back and forth between being a man or beast, and you must grab W’s to do so; the red ones turn you into a werewolf, the blue ones turn you back human and by collecting five bubbles you will be transformed into a super werewolf that can jump higher. Playing as Ken, your attacks are weak but playing as Warwolf, your attacks have a longer range and you gain the ability to wall climb. The game also got the Official Nintendo Seal meaning it was a game they green lit to come to the system.  Back in the day, Nintendo was very select on how many titles a company could put out on their system, and the seal was supposed to act as a seal of quality. For years after being released, rumors of a sequel popped up, but nothing ever came from it making this game the only one in what could have been a series.

The first time I ever played this game was sometime in 1991 or 1992 when Mike Cessna rented it from a video store, and we all played it for a little while in his living room after school. But my time of really getting to play it and trying to beat it came in late 1992 or early 1993 when my Grandma and Grandpa Brassfield bought it from a garage sale for my cousin Nathan who would stay with them for long periods of time. When Nathan was over at my Grandparents’, he would not want to play this game and would always have us all try and beat “Karnov” or “Wizards And Warriors,” but when he was not over I would spend lots of time playing Werewolf or hooking up the Atari 2600 and try to beat Spider-Man.  Both games were super hard, and I never did beat them in my youth. But as I got older and was 19 years of age, my close friend Jason Gilmore and I started to collect old Nintendo games from our youth, and while I kept many of my old ones, there were ones I never owned and Werewolf was on the top of my have to have list as I knew I must have a showdown with this game as beating it was long over due.  Jason and I spent many nights playing and beating Video games and sadly Werewolf was one that defeated us as we could not beat it. Now I am 36 years old, and I still own my copy of Werewolf: The Last Warrior.  I think I am ready for one last showdown with this game that has defeated me in the beating the game department, and thanks to “Phasers On Stun” and owner Ron and worker Spencer, I was able to get a complete copy of the game with box, comic and booklet just for this review and showdown, so thanks guys!

Before I get to deep into this challenge, I want to chat about a few other things that I truly enjoy just so I can get myself in the right frame of mind to play and finally beat this NES Game.  First up, I want to talk about Golgotha, the newest release from one of my favorite bands, W.A.S.P., fronted by the underrated song writer Blackie Lawless. Over the years the band has gone through many changes with mostly band members coming and going but one thing that has always stayed besides Lawless is the ability to write and perform amazing Rock N Roll songs! When I pre-ordered his CD back in late 2015 it was with the hopes that it would live up to the hype I created in my own mind as I was in need of a fix of classic sounding 80’s rock and I was banking on this release to deliver, but the main question on your mind is did it. I decided to listen to this CD in my 2004 Ford Mustang as I drove around town as I wanted to mimic the days when I was a youngster and driving blaring music was my way to unwind, and the first thing I must say is that the sound W.A.S.P. delivered with this release was that of a true to life 80’s Hairband sound! The downside to this release is once more Lawless thinks every song needs to be long epic ballads with almost all songs being over 5 minutes long! Another thing I noticed is that while Lawless has been born again, this has not affected the raw feeling of these new tracks and only thing missing is cuss words and sexual undertows of his songs past. I should also note that Golgotha was released 6 years after W.A.S.P.’s last release that was Babylon that was released in 2009. The best track on the CD for me has to be “Scream” as it made for a great tune to cruise around to with the windows down and really did remind me of a classic 80’s W.A.S.P song. My least favorite track was “Golgotha” and while not a terrible tune just was more of a song I would think you would hear on a Christian Rock release and not a Hard Rock one. Golgotha is a great solid release and shows that while Blackie Lawless might be in his 60’s the man still knows how to deliver a fist pumping, head banging rock n roll record, fans of the band should check it out and I for one cant wait to see what the bands next release will bring. And who knows maybe the next release will see the return of Randy Piper, Chris Holmes and Tony Richards to the band! And for those wondering Golgotha or also known as Calvary is the name of the spot beyond Jerusalem’s walls were Jesus was crucified, just wanted to share.

On April 10, 2016 I held another Horror Movie Marathon over at my cousin Stephen’s house and as always it was a fun time filled with good friends, tasty snacks and cheesy horror flicks! On April 9^th we held the pre-show once again and in attendance was Stephen, Jeremy Hoyt and Garrison Kane and we ate Wing Zone and started off the night with “Jack ‘O’ Slasher” put out by SRS Cinema and is a no budget film about a haunted house that is run by Satanists who summon a killer Pumpkin Man to murder people who attend as well as find them a virgin. The second film was released by Wild Eye Media and was called “Morbid” and was a horror comedy about a small town being stalked by a masked killer called The Business Man who kills for the joy of it. The final film of the night was “Bunni” also released by Wild Eye Media and is about a group of young adults breaking into a closed down magic and sex toyshop during the Halloween season only to find themselves being stalked and killed by a white masked female killer who wears a corset and fishnet stockings. It was a fun time as listening to Jeremy who is not a horror fan, get worked up over the plots and characters made for some fun discussions after the films. Plus the wings from WingZone where great as I got mine with the Cool Ranch Dry Rub and it made the perfect meal to watch the splatter on the screen to. Stephen and myself choose our best and worst film of the night and we both agreed hands down the worst was Jack ‘O’ Slasher as the film lacked a good enough story and killer to suffer through all the random shots and off brand style of a director who was clearly into Rob Zombie films and was trying to make his own version of House Of 1000 Corpses thanks to a Haunted House he had at his disposal. While Jack ‘O’ Slasher had some fun and silly kills it was just kind of lacking. My favorite film of the pre-show was Bunni as I enjoyed the atmosphere of the closed up store front as well as loved the fact Bunni was a female killer who killed for the sake of killing before she can be hurt by them as she was once a abused wife. Plus Bunni had some great gore effects as well as some funny acting and even characters dressed up like Hulk Hogan and a TMNT for Halloween. Stephen picked Morbid as his flick of the night as he enjoyed the silly horror comedy nature and he liked the look of the killer known as The Business Man. Over all a good night of horror and a taste of things to come the next morning at 7am!

The Horror Movie Marathon started at 7am with just Stephen and I up and ready to watch some Horror Flicks! We started off with a Universal Classic called “The Black Cat” that starred Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff who are mortal enemies after a war that leaves one of them a prisoner and the other swooning the captured mans wife, and when a couple stumble onto this death feud they become the pawns in a sick twisted game of revenge and Satan Worshiping. The second film was suppose to be the 1971 Philippino film called “Curse Of The Vampires” but due to a bad DVD we ended up watching “Monster High” a 1989 Horror Comedy about Mr. Armageddon and his team of monsters that include a Mummy and two dim whited aliens attacking a school to bring on the apocalypse and some teens and a game of basketball that stands in the end of the worlds way. “Dr. Jekyll And The Werewolf” was the third film of the day and starred Paul Naschy as the cursed Waldemar Daninsky who goes to Dr. Jekyll for help to cure his werewolf ways but soon finds that his very own Hyde said is waiting in the shadows of his mind! The fourth film was another Horror Comedy called “Monsturd” about an escaped killer who mixes with some contaminated water in the city sewer that turns him into a killer giant poop monster! The space alien creature feature “XTRO” was the fifth film to make the line up and follows a man who went missing for three years returning home to be with his family, but things are not what they seem as he has some very strange powers. “Demon’s Rook” was the sixth film and has three evil demons being set free on Earth thanks to a young man who as a child was kidnapped and by a protector demon that turned over the job to him, now he must stop them before they find him and kill innocent people. The seventh film was “Suburban Sasquatch” about a Bigfoot on the loose in a small town and a reporter and a female Native American huntress trying to team up to stop its rampage. The Outback deformed slasher film “Charlie’s Farm” was the eighth film of the marathon that starred Tara Reid, Nathan Jones, Kane Hodder and Bill Mosley and delivered a bloody good time. “Elves” the holiday themed horror film about a killer Elf who works along side modern day Nazis to impregnate a young virgin and must be stopped by Grizzly Adams was the ninth film of the day. The 1995 giant bug movie “Mosquito” starring Gunner Hansen was the tenth film of the day and entertained with its nature run amuck and cheesy special effects. The eleventh film was “Madhouse” starring Vincent Price and Peter Cushing about an actor known for playing a character called Dr. Death being looked at for possible real life murders, but has the actor lost his mind or is something more sinister happing. The final film of the night was “Half Human” a found footage Blair Witch Project style film about two guys and some girls they picked up at the bar heading to a state park and soon find that they are not alone as bodies are found and something or some one is watching and stalking. People who attended this Marathon besides Stephen were the following Juliet Fromholt, Thomas “Maurice” Smith, Garrison Kane and Jeremy Hoyt and while not a massive turn out it still was a fun time.

The worst film of the Marathon was Suburban Sasquatch as both Stephen and I picked this film as it was very boring, the mostly digital effects were laughable bad, Bigfoot was just a man in a cheap gorilla suit and the main character The Reporter was a unlikable turd who I was begging would die a cruel death. The only thing Suburban Sasquatch had going for it was some of it was so bad it made you laugh out loud and the fact actress Sue Lynn Sanchez who plays the bow and arrow huntress was attractive. Picking my top three best films of the Marathon was pretty tough as I enjoyed many of them for different reasons but after a couple of days of thinking about it I have decided this is my picks and the reasons why. My # 1 is Madhouse as Price was fantastic as the shaken actor and the twists and turns are fantastic! # 2 for me was Dr. Jekyll And The Werewolf a great gothic Spanish werewolf film mixed with the Jekyll and Hyde story, Naschy is as always fantastic as Daninsky. And my pick for # 3 was one I had to really think about as many films were entertaining but I had to stick with Demon’s Rook as the effects and story of this demon tale was well done and was a nice mix of art house and horror film. But I also need to stress that Black Cat and XTRO also get a shout out for almost making it into my # 3 spot! Stephen choose for his top three #1.) Madhouse, # 2.) Black Cat and #3.) Demon’s Rook! His shout out for almost making his list went to Monsturd! Another Horror Movie Marathon is in the books and once more a great time filled with cheesy flicks, good food and great friends.

The day I choose for my showdown was May 2, 2016 as it was a day that I could tag team the game along with my good friend Todd The Fox who as well as me loves this game but yet it has tortured him for years on not being able to beat it as it has me! The weather outside was cool and cloudy. We choose to play the game with an original NES Controller but the system was a Retro-Bit Retro Entertainment System or a RES that I got from Game Swap many years back. My mood was calm and focused as I knew that I must become one with Chief WarWolf in order to over come this amazing quest to save Red Earth from the evil mutants that want to destroy it! Todd was as well focused and wanted to finally put an end to the Mutant attacks. We started out really good blowing through the first level and made short work of sub-bosses The Giant Head and boss Green Slime Man whom never was a factor to stop us on our mission! Stage 2 known as Mad City gave us some trouble as Area 2 has Werewolf on top of a building dodging lightning that kills you with one hit, both Todd and I tried this level many times but once we figured out were to go it became easy and boy did we have to replay not only this level but all the levels before it as the boss of this level Iron Head had our number! Todd and Myself fought Iron Head many times and for some reason he kept beating us, until I figured out a way to beat him once and then the tables turned as he became pretty simple to beat and this allowed us to continue our quest to beat this NES game.

Stage 3 – Stalactite Cave & Madness Base became our major thorn in the thumb and the level that would crush our hopes and dreams of beating Werewolf: The Last Warrior! Todd was the skilled gamer on this level and while as skilled as he was the level was brutal and we lost many continues and had to restart the game many times as our continues would run out. While the level was super challenging it was the main stage boss that kept us at bay and made us fail at our mission and that killer of a boss was called Fireman who was so fast and brutal that the fights with Werewolf made our hero look like a helpless puppy. No matter how hard we tried and no matter our game plan we came up with Fireman was our messenger of death! Fireman showed us mercy as he would kill us quick and with no suffering, and I could almost swear that he was taking great joy in watching us fail at our task at hand. And with our many failed fights with Fireman came the cold hard reality that we were not going to beat Werewolf: The Last Warrior creeped into our brains and failure was the word looming in the air. Sad to report to you Readers and Friends we did not beat the game this day, but this I will say now I will have a rematch again soon and I will conquer this classic NES game once and for all. Below is a picture of Todd and Me as he pose with the game that beat us at its own game.

Werewolf: The Last Warrior is a great side scrolling game that is challenging and mixes Action and Horror really well and sprinkles in Native American and Japanese touches to make it something of its own. WarWolf the Werewolf is a great hero who might not be as iconic as Mario or Simon Belmont, but for me has his place in the 8-Bit Video Game Hero Hall Of Fame. But also what makes this game work is the bad guys who make your journey to the end challenging so for this brief moment I want to give some respect to The Big Head a character who shows up many times and wants to stop you at any coast. Green Slime Man who sludges along and even will turn himself into two bouncing balls just to beat you around. Iron Head who stomps, punches and throws chunks of rock at you to smash you into the ground. Lets not forget Fireman who zooms in and out with the fury of a runaway comet trying to burn you to ash. And lastly Monster and Lord Faryan whom I have never fought but both who I am sure wanted to snuff out my characters life. Like all media the good guys are only as good as the bad guys who challenge them and this game has the right characters in play. And on a side note am I the only one who thinks Lord Faryan looks allot like the X-Men villain Magneto?

Man I enjoy playing a good NES game and had a blast playing Werewolf even if I didn’t beat it, Todd and I still tried our best to do so and had fun doing it. So I guess it’s time to take a look at this Data East Mini Comic that came with the game when you purchased it from your local store, and I must also say that no matter how hard people and companies push me to go digital for my video games I would rather own a disc or cart with cool packages then a file on my system. But while you find your Power Glove or your NES Max I am going 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, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So lets hit the power button and see what this cool promo mini comic has to add to the world of Werewolf: The Last Warrior.

Werewolf: The Last Warrior # 1  **1/2
Released in 1990   Cover Price $0.00   Data East    # 1 of 1

Chief War Wolf is a man whose spirit quest has lead him to the world of wolves and more importantly Werewolves! His small tribe lives in peace in an area off the beaten path and away from the evils of the rest of the world. Dr. Lawrence Faryan has been sent on vacation by the government as he has become obsessed with bio weapons.  When climbing a mountain and finding a cave, he unleashes an evil being that possesses him and he heads back to Washington with an idea that sends a goo into space that will turn the world into slime monsters and mindless drones all willing to do his evil deeds and the lucky ones die from the exposure! War Wolf along with his tribe’s Medicine Man Kinju travel to a cave where War Wolf spends weeks with the Great Spirit and transforms into a sword handed werewolf ready to battle evil. Leaving the cave, he finds his friend Kinju dead and this sparks rage, and War Wolf the Werewolf is ready to destroy Faryan and everything he stands for!

I wish this comic would have lead into a full comic series based on this game and its characters.  I would have loved to have seen Blackthrone Comics as the company to put it out, but sadly this never was meant to be as this promo comic was the only issue ever released. Chief War Wolf is a good hero character, and while a man of few words, he knows what he must do in order to protect his tribe and get revenge for the death of his friend and medicine man Kinju. As a human War Wolf is brave, and as a werewolf with razor sharp blades for hands, he is a warrior. Medicine Man Kinju is very wise and knows that his friend and chief is the only hope and knows that once he takes him to the world of werewolves, things will never be the same, but yet the world will be saved. Dr. Lawrence Faryan is a man who is in love with war and once taken over by an evil spirit, he turns into a pure war and death hungry fiend! Besides shooting some green goop into space and turning a man into a slime monster, Faryan doesn’t do much…in fact the comic has pretty much zero action, but the story is good and short and well done. What works best for this comic is the fact it’s a nice lead up to the video game and brings depth to the characters and gives a little more of a backstory. The art is fantastic, but sadly I could not find who did it, but whoever it was sure did know how to draw a werewolf! Over all this is a short and very entertaining comic for fans of the video game while people who aren’t familiar with the game might get a kick out of it, I am sure they will find it bland and pointless…so I guess what I am trying to say is, if you love the game make sure to track this down and give it a read. Below is some artwork from this comic, and you can see just how good it is!

So while this game might have whipped me like a stray dog, I still had a good time reading this comic and playing a video game alongside my good friend Todd. But I think it’s time to set down the controller and turn off the power on the good old RES and once more try to hand Rotten Ink over to Juliet so she can take you into warp drive and deliver her look at Star Trek: The Next Generation and the DC Comic mini series based on that hit series! So until then, read a comic or three, play a video game or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you in space for the next update, my friends.

Hercules and The Three Stooges Save Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! It’s once again that time of the year for family, football and good food, and as you longtime readers know, its time for my Turkey Day Hercules update.  This year we will be looking at when Hercules met the princes of slapstick comedy, The Three Stooges. But before we get silly with this update I want to get serious for a moment and say that I am thankful for my family, friends and readers all of whom make my life way more fun! Plus, I want to dedicate this update to family and friends I have sadly lost over the years as each of them have helped make me the person I am today and they are all missed. I should also state that once more this year I am over at my parents house this Thanksgiving and waiting to eat some amazing home cooked food and enjoy good conversations with my family. So here is hoping that the belly full of laughs from this update doesn’t counteract your belly filled with food as we take a trip down memory lane with The Three Stooges.

It’s crazy to think that I have been doing this blog for several years now, and I have yet to talk about The Three Stooges, comedians I grew up watching alongside my Dad and brother and whose classic movies and shorts still entertain me to this day. The Stooges started out in 1925 as Ted Healy and His Stooges that consisted of Ted, Moe, Larry and Shemp, and the group toured around entertaining the masses and even made a feature film called “Soup To Nuts”. Shemp left the group in 1932 and was replaced by Curly, and a brief time later The Stooges broke away from Ted Healy in 1934 after making several short films and became The Three Stooges! Ted Healy died in 1937 from unknown and mysterious causes. One thing that should be noted is that Moe, Curly and Shemp were all brothers and all had their own wacky style of slapstick style humor. As The Three Stooges much work came their way in the form of short and feature length movies, and the threesome became one of America’s top comedic acts with Curly becoming the fan favorite for his silly faces and childlike behavior. But while things were good for the Stooges, bad luck caught up to them in 1946 when Curly suffered a massive stroke that left him unable to work, and up to the stroke Curly’s health was on a decline. Time passed, and The Stooges retired for some time hoping that Curly would get better, but the signs of him coming back were growing slim so they asked Shemp to rejoin.  He did for some time, and even was a part of The Stooges’ first ever TV appearance on “Texaco Star Theater” in 1948. But once more some bad news was coming The Stooges’ way in 1952 as Curly passed away at the age of 48 from a cerebral hemorrhage caused by more strokes.  They also lost some of their supporting cast when Columbia, the studio they were signed to, decided to downsize its short film department and the short films of the Stooges were being done cheaper and faster. Then in 1955, Shemp passed away from a heart attack on his way home from a boxing match; he was 60 years old. I should also note that in many of The Three Stooges films, a stand in was used for Shemp in shots who would wear a wig; this term was called Shemping and is still used to this day. In 1956 The Stooges hired Joe Besser as the new member who was a character who was goofy and would also fight back against Moe who was the dominate Stooge.  During this time The Three Stooges lost steam, and Besser was considered the weakest link in the trio.  After only three years with them his time came to an end, and in 1959 it appeared The Three Stooges had come to an end or did they?! The old Three Stooges short films were now being aired on TV and aimed toward kids.  This gave Moe and Larry an idea to try and launch a quick comeback with new Stooge named Curly Joe, and the trio launched into making movies again, this time aimed at the young and young at heart in the 1960’s.  They became one of the highest paid acts in Hollywood and even got turned into an animated cartoon series in 1965 called “The New 3 Stooges” and even tried their hands at becoming a weekly TV show that would have been called “Three Stooges Scrapbook”. In 1969, they were given another chance at becoming weekly TV stars with a show that would have been called “Kook’s Tour” that would follow the Stooges as they traveled the world, but this was not to be as Larry suffered a heart attack ending his run with the trio as well as ending The Three Stooges.  Even a dark comedy film written by Moe’s grandson called “Make Love, Not War” or “Make Mine Manila” and was about Moe, Curly Joe and Emil Sitka (a regular in Stooge movies) being POWs of World War II trying to escape never could get a green light from a studio. In 1974 Larry at the age of 72 suffered a stroke that put him into a coma, and sadly a short time later he passed away. Moe tried so hard not to let The Three Stooges end even after the death of his long time comedy partner and tried to get many movies off the ground but never could.  His last idea was a movie called “Blazing Stewardesses” but before it began Moe fell ill with lung cancer and had to retire from acting and passed away in 1975. Curly Joe still performed for years with a group he called The New Three Stooges that consisted of Mousie Garner and Frank Mitchell that went on till 1979. Joe Besser passed away in 1988 at the age of 80 from heart failure; Curly Joe passed away in1993 at the age of 83 from pneumonia, and Emil Sitka who was the only Stooge replacement never to be in a movie or show as a Stooge passed away in 1998 from a stroke at the age of 83. The Three Stooges are icons in the world of comedy, and now that I gave you a brief history on who they were, next I will share some memories of watching them!

I can remember even as a young child my dad watching old Three Stooges shorts on TV, mostly on WGN, a TV station out of Chicago that use to air them a lot on Sunday mornings. I used to laugh at the silly ways The Stooges would smack each other and all the silly faces they would make when they were worked up over whatever was annoying them at the time. While my Dad liked The Stooges, my Mom was the opposite and was not amused by their slapstick antics and was by no means a fan. I think my brother liked them like I did because I can remember watching them with him and him laughing at them as well. Besides the short films, I also really enjoyed watching the Three Stooges movies with my favorite being, of course, them meeting Hercules.  I can remember watching this film on TBS and loving every cheesy sword and sandal moment.  I can also remember watching the cartoon at my grandparents’ house with my cousin Nathan on VHS. I also always wanted 3 ¾” action figures of The Stooges that I could have had as characters in my Toy Wars.  Imagine Moe slapping Han Solo or Larry poking the eyes of Captain Power; that would have been some epic stuff. Even at the age of 36, I still find myself really enjoying The Three Stooges and can say they were a part of my childhood that was good memories watching with my Dad and brother.

On January 26, 1962, Columbia Pictures released a comedy sword and sandal film that mixed the Greek hero Hercules with the slapstick goofballs The Three Stooges that consisted of Moe, Larry and Curly Joe at the time. The film had The Stooges helping a down and out scientist with his experiment to create a time machine, and by accident The Stooges, the scientist and his girlfriend are flung back to ancient Greece and come face to face with an evil king and his henchman Hercules. The film was filled with lots of moments of silly comedy, and the Stooges played off Hercules who was the prefect straight man who had no time for their silly antics. The film starred Quinn Redeker, Vicki Trickett, Samson Burke and Emil Sitka and was, and still is, my favorite of all the Three Stooges movies. The plot is filled with lots of fun surprises, but I figured we would save that for the comic adaptation made by Dell. I used to not only watch this film on TV but also on VHS and later on DVD.  So do yourself a favor and check it out if you’re into sword and sandal films and Three Stooges comedy.

In 1965, Saturday Morning Cartoons as well as after school kids programs on TV were very import to stations as they tried to lock viewers for their station over the other and many production companies took advantage of this as they made syndicated programs and so was born The New 3 Stooges that combined live action segments to intro the cartoon and was distributed by Normandy Productions. Each episode ran for 30 minutes and had a total of 4 seasons and 156 episodes with 40 live segments shot making many of the cartoons use the same intro, confusing the viewer. The cartoon was a pretty big hit at the time and reruns can still be seen on TV to this day on Me-TV and Boomerang as well as can be found on many cheap dollar DVDs and VHS as well as all 156 episodes on DVD thanks to Image Madacy Entertainment. It should also be noted that many of the episodes are in the Public Domain and that for some time The Stooges were in a legal battle with Normandy over the show’s profits. So I am sure if you grew up watching classic cartoons, you have seen a few episodes of this series and have fond memories of it.

In 2012, someone in Hollywood decided that the world needed a new Three Stooges movie that would have three new actors step into the shoes of Moe, Larry and Curly as well as recycle plots from many of their short films. This time around Chris Diamantopoulos played Moe, Sean Hayes of Will & Grace fame played Larry and Will Sasso of MADTV played Curly. The plot had The Stooges having to go into the cruel world in order to get money to save the orphanage they grew up in after they could not afford the insurance due to all the accidents the Stooges have caused. During this adventure, they stumble on a murder for hire plot as well as go their separate ways after a fight leaves them at odds. In the end, they stop the murder, patch up their friendship and get the money needed to save the day thanks to Moe and MTV…yep, the one time music station. I saw the film in the theater with Josh Weinberg, and we both thought it was okay.  I watched it again with my Dad when I bought it for him for Christmas. The film did $54,819,301.00 at the USA box office for 20th Century Fox, but was trashed by the critics. I should also say that The Three Stooges showed up on WWE Monday Night Raw and got booed by the crowd, and they only cheered when Kane choke-slammed Curly!

So I am sure you are wondering who played Hercules in The Three Stooges Meet Hercules…it was Samson Burke.  Now I am sure some of you are now asking who is Samson Burke, well I am here to tell you a little about him. Samson was born on April 8, 1929 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and got a degree in physical education as well as wrestled and swam for Canada in the 1948 Summer Olympic Games. In the 1950’s, he became a bodybuilder even winning Mr. Canada, Mr. Montreal and Mr. Muscle Beach, and his pure power also lead him into becoming a pro wrestler where he went under the name Sammy Berg and wrestled such legends as Lou Thesz, Nick Bockwinkel and Johnny Valentine. Samson also got bitten by the acting bug and started to appear in sword and sandal films like “The Revenge Of Ursus”, “Toto vs. Maciest” and “The Three Stooges Meet Hercules”. When the sword and sandal genre faded, he continued to act in such films as “The Triumph of Robin Hood” and “Sartana The Gravedigger”. In the 1980’s, he moved to Hawaii and retired from acting in the late 80’s, and as of 2009 he ran his own fitness business. Samson, who is 86, still makes appearances at conventions and is a beloved icon of Three Stooges lore and remains one of the only actors to play Hercules not as a hero but as a jerk!

So before we take a look at the Dell Comic adaptation, I will pause for a moment to let you get another plate of food…go on, I can wait…. you good? Okay, let’s continue then, shall we? I want to thank an Ebay seller for having this issue in stock even though they had it listed as in great shape but it came complete with water damage and mold and a very strong rotten ink smell.  So yeah, great shape it is not! Before we get to the review I want to thank you for spending a part of your Thanksgiving with me.  I should also note that I grade this 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 let’s get on that time machine with Moe, Larry and Curly Joe, and let’s not forget our turkey leg and see just why Hercules is being a henchman jerk to a evil ruler. I am going to guess he is upset because someone ate the last corn on the cob, but that’s just a rumor.

The Three Stooges Meet Hercules # 1  **1/2
Released in 1962    Cover Price .15     Dell Comics     #208 of ??

Moe, Larry and Curly Joe are working at a drugstore that is being rocked by the next-door neighbor inventor Schuyler Davis whose experiment to make a time machine is going a little crazy. While The Stooges like him, the owner of the drugstore, Ralph Dimsal, hates him and wants him to fail in his attempt to time travel and even tampers with his plans. Schuyler is in love with Diane Quigley, and she gives him only two more days to get his time machine done before she walks away from their relationship because he is spending all his time on it and not her. All the while Curly Joe has made some pills that calm things down, and they use it on Schuyler’s machine.  After the Stooges try and help, it causes them as well as Schuyler and Diane to travel back in time to 900 B.C.! They land in the middle of a battle and meet Odius and his right hand man Hercules and help them take the crown of Ithaca from Ulysses when his men flee that battle. Odius takes a liking to Diane and has a feast for his new friends, but when Schuyler figures out they helped an evil man get into power he has The Stooges set Ulysses free after he had been captured. Ulysses escapes, and The Stooges and Schuyler are punished to work the rest of their lives on a slave ship, but after some time they are able to taste freedom when Schuyler gains muscle mass and a King thinks that he is Hercules and asks them to kill a two headed Cyclops that has been eating the kingdom’s live stock! With the help of the pills, Schuyler beats the Cyclops, the Cretan Bull and a Hydra and builds the name of Hercules. Meanwhile the real Hercules is not pleased with the fake and gets his chance to challenge Schuyler to an arena fight when The Stooges and he come to the castle to stop the wedding of Odius and Diane. In the arena Schuyler manhandles Hercules and makes him promise to turn good and help Ulysses reclaim the throne.  He along with The Stooges save Diane and head to the time machine and return home, only in the end for Schuyler to punch out Dimsal!

This is one of those adaptations that does a great job of capturing the silly story and the goofy characters that made the film such a classic in the first place. The plot of the comic is a great mix of many genres like comedy, sword and sandal and science fiction, and they make them all blend so well together. The plot has three dim whit drugstore workers as well as a scientist and his girlfriend being flung back in time to ancient Greece, and by doing so they change history and must make things right before they return to modern times.  To make things worse, Hercules is not the hero icon we all believed but is an ego driven creep who works for the side of the evil King. The Stooges are screw ups, but their heart is always in the right place.  If not for Curly Joe’s pills, they all would be in serious trouble many times. Moe is the hotheaded and smarter of the group, Larry in this just seems like a bit player who is around to get smacked and deliver jokes and Curly Joe is the dumb one who might not be as dumb as everyone thinks. Diane is just a sweet beautiful young woman who acts as the love interest to both the film’s hero and villain. Schuyler is the main hero who turns from nerdy wimp to strong nerd and even matches strength with Hercules and brings down the evil king. Hercules is a smug ego driven super strong man who reminds you of the bully jock in high school, and funny enough he is beaten down and made to look a fool by a man who he viewed as weaker. Hercules in this comic’s good guy legend was really built by Schuyler, who forces him to stop being a jerk and be the hero he can be. King Odius is a cruel man who doesn’t get much time in the comic to show his true evil ways but is given enough for the reader not to like him. As always with most Dell Comics I could not find the artist’s name, but I must say it’s very cartoonish in nature and while good, at some times it appears like a talented 10 year old did it, but I still found myself enjoying it. Over all this is a cool comic adaptation, and while not as good as the Steve Reeves Hercules comics by Dell, it still was a perfect read for this Thanksgiving update. Check out some samples of the artwork below and see the cheesy cartoon nature of this fun issue.

It’s weird that The Three Stooges didn’t meet more Greek and mythology icons. I mean who wouldn’t want to see “The Three Stooges Meet Samson” or “Maciste and The Three Stooges Save A Roman Holiday” or better yet “Three Stooges and a Strong Man”…so many missed opportunities. Well our next update will be in December, so I am thinking that we will do something fun and toy-related so let’s take a look at Starriors, a robot toy line that was created by Marvel Comics and Tomy Toys that had a four issue mini series. So until then I hope you have a great Thanksgiving and remember to read a comic or three and support your local horror host.

The Strong Arm Of The Law Of Marshall Bravestarr

Welcome back to Rotten Ink, a place were we can talk about classic toys, cartoons, movies, horror hosts, video games and so much more.  For this update we are going to travel to space and meet a cowboy who is the law on the planet New Texas that goes by the name Marshall Bravestarr! That’s right, a planet called New Texas is where we will be traveling for this update, but I should warn you that while we are traveling on the BlackThorne Comic Express we will need some 3-D glasses for this adventure. Thinking about it, is New Texas on the Planet Texas that Kenny Rogers sang about in his super cheesy song called “Planet Texas”? Just ponder that for a while.  So I hope you’re ready for a Texas size good time! I must also say that growing up I was not a super fan of Bravestarr, but did watch the cartoon from time to time so this will be nice to go back and try to reconnect with a character I have not thought about in years. Oh yeah, and on the last picture below does it look like maybe Bravestarr ate the wrong kind of mushroom or he just witnessed something very, very bad that marked his very soul?

So before we move onto Bravestarr, I finally must touch up on WWE 2K15 for the PS3, and wow, I must say 2K Sports who took over the IP when THQ went sadly out of business REALLY dropped the ball this first year of them being solely in charge of the wrestling game. The roster is the weakest it’s been in years and the lack of push and updates to their website show just how little they care about the fans of this game series. The fact the major WWE Summer Slam roster reveal panel was incomplete and left out many of the superstars in the game just shows you how lazy 2K is about doing anything with this. I mean when they crammed out NBA 2K15, they really pushed it! This year the major focus of the game is legendary feuds in WWE History like such “major” beefs like Triple H vs. Shawn “HBK” Michaels, Christian vs. Randy Orton and who can forget John Cena vs. CM Punk…..yeah no Hogan vs. Piper or Austin vs. Bret Hart, this feature is super lame on most accounts. Some of these feuds come as DLC as well; they are making you pay to play Orton vs. Christian as well as get a terrible storyline pack for Mark Henry that only adds The Great Kahli to your roster besides some arena and outfits! The only really awesome feud pack that will be released is one that follows the career of The Ultimate Warrior that adds many great legends to roster like Hulk Hogan, Macho King Randy Savage, Sargent Slaughter, Honkey Tonk Man, Ravishing Rick Rude and Andre The Giant. They also will have a WCW roster pack that will add Lex Luger, Diamond Dallas Page, Bam Bam Bigelow, Fit Finley and William Regal that will be a pretty good addition. They also have a story pack based around the rookies of NXT that helps bring the next generation into this generation and legends.

But while 2K tries to make the theme of this year the terrible feuds, for me and others this game belongs to Sting! That’s right the icon of WCW, Sting, is in the game and not only do we get the Crow version but we also get the late 80’s/early 90’s blonde hair one as well! Who would have thought that in 2K15 fans would be treated to Sting in all his video game glory allowing you to have him wrestle the likes of The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels and rematch with Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin. Not to mention many other faces of his past are present like Ravishing Rick Rude who he had a great set of matches with in WCW, his friend and some times enemy Lex Luger and not to mention his old tag team partner The Ultimate Warrior.

So let’s take a look at 5 wrestlers that had great matches with Sting in WCW that should have been included in this game instead of being snubbed and left out in the cold.

Big Van Vader

One of the best big men in the business, Big Van Vader should have been in the game and could have had great matches not only with Sting but many others on 2K’s roster. Starting his career in 1985 in AWA under the name of Baby Bull and later changed to Bull Power, he took the scene by storm with his large size and powerful moves. In 1987 he went to New Japan Pro Wrestling and changed his name to Big Van Vader and dominated the competition becoming one of the biggest stars the company has ever had. He had great matches and feuds with the likes of Stan Hansen, El Canek, The Great Muta and Antonio Inoki and was feared by the Japanese audience. During this time New Japan was trading talent with WCW and would have Vader come in for pay per views and take on the likes of Tom Zenk and Stan Hansen, but by 1992 Big Van Vader had left New Japan and took full time work in WCW where he was managed by Harley Race and was the company’s new major heel! Vader dominated once more the competition with matches against the likes of Cactus Jack, Nikita Koloff, Dustin Rhodes, Britsih Bulldog Davey Boy Smith and Sting, and with Sting he defeated and became the World Champion. As years passed and new talent came in, Vader found himself still a draw but taking a back seat to the likes of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage who had jumped ship from WWF to WCW. By 1995 and before the first WCW Monday Night Nitro Vader had left the company. In 1996 he returned very briefly to New Japan Pro Wrestling to finish his feud with Antonio Inoki. WWF came calling in 1996 as well, and Vader made his in ring debut for them at the Royal Rumble.  Very soon after coming in he was managed by Jim Cornette and it looked like he would be pushed once more as a monster heel, but sadly this never was as he seemed to be lost in the shuffle thanks to the likes of Shawn Michaels and Diesel. But during this run he did have some great matches with The Undertaker, Yokozuna, The Patriot and Kane. Vader left WWF in 1998 and went on to wrestle for All Japan Pro Wrestling as well as other independent federations, and still makes appearances from time to time in WWF (WWE).

Key Match Against Sting: WCW Slamboree 94

Barry Windham

Bad Boy Barry Windham is the son of legendary tag team wrestler BlackJack Mulligan and is a super talented and hard worker who was also a member of The Four Horsemen in NWA/WCW. Barry began is career in 1980 and worked for many NWA territories including Florida Championship Wrestling. He feuded with Kevin Sullivan and later went on to capture tag team gold alongside Mike Rotunda. By 1984, WWF came calling and Barry and Mike went to New York and became the tag team known as U.S. Express and had a short year run winning tag gold and losing it to teams like Iran Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff and The Dream Team (Brutus Beefcake & Greg “The Hammer” Valentine), making the U.S. Express run out of gas by 1985. In 1986 Barry, as a singles wrestler, returned to NWA and took on the likes of Ric Flair and even formed a tag team with Ron Garvin as they had a good feud with The Midnight Express. Around this time Barry became allies with Lex Luger who would later turn on him and join Ric Flair’s stable known as The Four Horsemen. Barry floated around for a while having matches with Dr. Death Steve Williams, Black Bart and Rick Steiner. In 1988, Barry and Luger, who had left the Horsemen, had patched things up and took the tag titles away from Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard who were members of the Four Horsemen, but when defending them Barry turned on Luger and became the newest member of the Horsemen that consisted of Flair, Anderson, Blanchard and Windham. During this heel run, Barry would become NWA United States Champion and take on many top names in the wrestling world like Sting, Dusty Rhodes, Brad Armstrong and Bam Bam Bigelow.  He would later lose the title to Lex Luger, and in 1989 he left the NWA. Once more he went to WWF and took the name The Widowmaker and played an evil tough cowboy character who went undefeated for over 4 months, but this was very short lived and he once more left the company as quickly as he entered. In 1990 he returned to NWA now WCW and rejoined the Four Horsemen and even helped his fellow member Sid Vicious win the world title from Sting, as Windham dressed as Sting and allowed Sid to pin him! This run in WCW would see him turn from face to heel and make allies and enimies out of the likes of Dustin Rhodes, Brian Pillman, Stunning Steve Austin, Ricky Steamboat and The Great Muta, as well during this time he would win many titles and become a solid worker for the company. But once more he left the pastures of WCW and went back to WWE in 1996 to become a character called The Stalker a crazy outdoors hunter type who was a babyface.  Thank God that in 1997 they changed his character and teamed him up with Justin Hawk Bradshaw to become The New Blackjacks, but this as well didn’t last long as they had Windham turn on Bradshaw and join a faction of wrestlers who were pro NWA. And once more as quick as it started Windham left WWF and went back to WCW to be part of a team called The West Texas Rednecks alongside the likes of Curt Henning, Bobby Duncum Jr. and his younger brother Kendall Windham, and they all were a bunch of good old boys who hated rap music. Barry and Kendall would team up and become Tag Champions before they both were fired in 1999. Barry after this release would go on to wrestle for many small independents around the world where he still was able to make an impact. While all the Four Horsemen should be in this game, we do already have Ric Flair so it would have been nice to see the likes of Barry Windham to have feuds in 2K15 with Sting and even guys like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Rob Van Damn.

Key Match Against Sting: WCW Clash of The Champions # 22 – Barry Windham, Vader, Paul Orndorff vs. Sting, Dustin Rhodes, Cactus Jack.

British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith

It’s a crime that Davey Boy is not in this game and more so that he is not in the WWE Hall Of Fame! Davey Boy began pro wrestling in 1982 in Stampede Wrestling and had a series of matches against his cousin, the Dynamite Kid. He later went to New Japan Pro Wrestling and had tournament style matches against Dynamite Kid and The Cobra, and after this he and Dynamite formed a tag team they called The British Bulldogs and shocked the world when they jumped to All Japan Pro Wrestling. But during this time they also caught the eye of WWF who signed them as a team to a contract in 1985 where they came in as a baby face power house team who had many great matches with teams like The Hart Foundation, The Dream Team, The Islanders, Rougeau Brothers and Demolition and won tag gold and became one of the biggest tag teams for WWF. But by 1988 they were released from their contracts due in part to Dynamite Kid’s reputation of being a bully backstage. In 1989 they returned to Stampede Wrestling and stuck around for a year, but issues between the cousins arose and Dynamite went to All Japan while Davey Boy went back to the WWF as a solo wrestler in 1990. Davey Boy returned and became a popular star having matches with the likes of The Warlord, Mr. Perfect Curt Henning, The Mountie among others. During this run at SummerSlam 1992, he defeated Bret “Hitman” Hart for the Intercontinental Title and became even bigger of a draw and a star! Davey Boy lost the belt to Shawn Michaels on Monday Night Raw and a little later on he and the Ultimate Warrior were released from WWF for using growth hormones. By 1993 Davey Boy signed to wrestle for WCW where he paired with Sting to feud with Big Van Vader and Sid Vicious, but once more trouble appeared and Davey Boy was fired from WCW over a brawl he had with a fan at a bar over his wife. Davey Boy floated around small independents in England for awhile before coming back to WWF in 1994 where he joined in the family feud between brothers Bret and Owen as he is in fact their real life brother in-law! After that died down, he formed a tag team with Lex Luger called The Allied Powers, but this didn’t last long as Davey Boy turned heel and joined Jim Cornette’s stable of wrestlers that included Owen Hart and Yokozuna. During this time Smith would have matches for Tag Titles as well as The World Title and even became the first ever WWF European Champion! Davey Boy would later join Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart and Brian Pillman to form The New Hart Foundation.  Davey Boy left WWF alongside Bret and Jim when at Survivor Series 1997 Vince McMahon screwed over Bret Hart during the world title match against Shawn Michaels by pulling real life underhanded dealings. Davey Boy joined Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart in WCW in 1998 where he floated around the midcard tag team division until he seriously hurt his back in the ring and was served his pink slip via FedEx while in the hospital. In 1999 Davey Boy returned to WWF with a new attitude and look as he simply wore blue jeans and boots and won the Hardcore title from Big Bossman.  He later turned heel and set his sights on the world title and had a few title matches against The Rock who was the champ, but Davey Boy never could get the gold away from the peoples champ. Davey Boy was pushed down the card and had matches against the likes of Crash Holly and Val Venis. Davey was let go in 2000 for having an addiction to pain pills among other drugs and sadly passed away in 2002. Besides teaming with Sting in 2K15, I would also love to have him in matches against the likes of Ryback, Mark Henry and Rusev.

Key Match Teaming With Sting: Beach Blast 1993 – Sting & Davey Boy vs. Big Van Vader & Sid Vicious

The  Black Scorpion

Okay I know what you’re all thinking, how could I pick such a cheesy wrestling gimmick as The Black Scorpion as my pick for being snubbed from the game, as others would say he wasn’t he just Ric Flair in a mask? And the answer is yes to both! While The Black Scorpion was discovered to be Ric Flair, many wrestlers played the part, and Ole Anderson who came up with the storyline said it was not supposed to be Flair but him! The Black Scorpion appeared in NWA cutting odd promos about then World Champion Sting claiming that he was from his past and making people believe it was one of his former tag team partners like The Ultimate Warrior or Angel Of Death. During his taunts to Sting, the black masked Black Scorpion would do simple magic and illusions to try and confusing Sting even during matches sometimes multiple versions of him would appear. Every time Sting would get close to unmasking The Black Scorpion during a match, the masked wrestler would be saved by a clone of himself or Sid Vicious who was also having a feud with Sting at the time, never letting him see the identity of his foe. This all came to a head at Starrcade when Sting beat The Black Scorpion in a steel cage and when unmasked, it turned out to be Ric Flair! The character was dropped after this even though rumor has it that he was supposed to go on. The Black Scorpion could have easily been in the game if 2K didn’t cheapen out on his “Feuds” campaign and gave Sting one as he could have been a alternate attire for Ric Flair even! If The Black Scorpion would have been in the game as his own character I would have not only feuded him with Sting but also The Ultimate Warrior and The Undertaker.

Key Match Against Sting: Starrcade 1990 – Sting vs. Black Scorpion in a Steel Cage

Vampiro

In 1984 at the age of 16 Vampiro wrestled his first match in Canada and from that moment on, he was hooked on being a Pro Wrestler. His career would lead him to Mexico where he would wrestle for many promotions and have great matches against luchadors like Konnan, Dr. Wagner Jr., Silver King, El Dandy, Dos Caras and El Canek to name a very few. During this timem he also worked a little in Japan but landed a job in WCW in 1998 where he made a splash in the midcard division and formed a stable alongside Rappers ICP and ECW Original Raven called The Dead Pool, and while very short lived, they had a great rivalry with Konnan, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Eddie Guerrero. His next major matches came when he brought in Punk Rock Band The Misfits and took on Dr. Death Steve Williams. Vampiro then formed a team with Sting that they called The Brothers In Paint, but Vampiro had other plans as he turned on Sting, and while most times Sting always got the upper hand, Vampiro won the “Human Torch” match and set Sting on fire causing the icon to disappear from wrestling for awhile. After beating Sting, he set his sights on The Demon, a wrestler who was based on the rock band Kiss, and after a Graveyard Match, Sting returned and set the wrongs right. Vampiro then went on to team up with The Great Muta and win the tag team titles from KroniK that they lost the next day to Rey Mysterio Jr. and Juventud Guerrera, causing Vampiro to turn on Muta and later sparked a three way match with Sting. After this he went on to have a few matches against Mike Awesome and while injured WWE bought out WCW and his contract was not picked up. Vampiro returned to Mexico and even made a few appearances for companies like TNA, JCW and Wrestling Society X. Vampiro is currently working as an announcer for Lucha Underground, a show on El Ray Network featuring matches from wrestlers from AAA. If Vampiro was to be in this game besides Sting I would have him in feuds with The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio Jr., Alberto Del Rio and Goldust!

Key Match Against Sting: Great American Bash 2000 – Sting vs. Vampiro in a Human Torch Match. 

So those are a few names I would have loved to seen in WWE 2K15 for a Sting Rivalry/ Feud story line! I know that Sid Vicious is supposed to be in the game as a manager, but not a wrestler because that makes a lot of sense, 2K, and the fact that none of the Four Horsemen besides Ric Flair is in the game makes me really want to see them in next years. Plus I would love to see guys like The Great Muta in a WWE game, but sadly I see this never happening. While this could be the worse WWE game roster in a long time, here is to hoping they get their act together next year and give us long time fans something better.

For those of you wondering and don’t know who Marshall Bravestarr is, let me tell you a little about the character. Bravestarr is of Native American decent and is a very good man who wants to uphold the law and help those who can’t help themselves. Bravestarr can call on his spirit animals and gain superhuman powers for a short time.  For example, if he calls on the Bear, he gains its strength, and if he calls on a Hawk he gains super sight and so on and so on. His best friend is his trusty cyborg horse name Thirty/Thirty who not only walks on all fours but can also walk on two legs like a person and fire a gun to help. He also has a small deputy named Fuzz, a green powerhouse bartender named Handlebar, a female Judge named J.B. McBride and has many other strange and helpful allies in New Texas. So if you find yourself in space and in need of help just call for Marshall Bravestarr as he will be there to lend a hand.

Filmation,the same company who made “Masters Of The Universe”, “Ghostbusters” and so many more great cartoons in 1987, decided to make a cartoon about space and then they had the idea of mixing in the old west! Back in 1984 while they worked on Ghostbusters, they created an evil ghost cowboy named Tex Hex as one of the series baddies, but the character was pulled from the list as founding member of Filmation Lou Scheimer liked the character’s look and didn’t want him to be a second banana villain so Tex never made it to the cartoon. Tex Hex sat around for 3 years until 1987 when they began to develop the space western animated action cartoon Bravestarr. The series would run for 1 very long season with 65 episodes total as well as a film in 1988. When I was a young lad, I knew very few kids who watched Bravestarr and even fewer kids who owned any of the toys! If I remember right, I think Jeremy Patton had a few that he would bring to the playground in Waynesville, and Grandma Brassfield had Tex Hex and Bravestarr at her house. I can remember watching the cartoon from time to time and while it was fun, it just didn’t catch my attention like other toons released the same year did like Ducktales, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light, not to mention other cartoons still running at the time like Muppet Babies, Dennis The Menace, The Adventures of the Gummi Bears, Snorks and so many others were things I watched. Plus at this time I was watching horror hosts Commander USA and Grandpa Munster who started Super Scary Saturday on TBS in 1987, so sadly Bravestarr was just not a shinning star for a young Matt to be watching all the time. The show also just like many other Filmation cartoons always ended with a lesson to be learned and would teach not only the characters but of course us the viewers. While I was not a loyal watcher, I do have a fond likeness for Bravestarr, and even went out and bought all the seasons on DVD.

In 1988 “Bravestarr: The Movie” was released to limited theaters and was a bomb at the box office as it mostly showed during the day on weekends for its short run. The film was trashed by critics and even fans of the show were not sold, and the film fell off the radar. The film was groundbreaking on some small levels as it was the first animated film to use computer graphics, and was the first animated film to come out after the original show was off the air. The film’s plot was an origin story and followed how Bravestarr and Tex Hex became bitter enemies and showed that the Bull Skull named Stampede is the true evil mastermind. I barely remember the film coming out and for some reason think that it might have had a showing at the movie theater that use to be inside the Dayton Mall. The film did come out on VHS and twice on DVD, one being on a single disc release and the other being part of a best of.  So if you want to watch the origin story of the law of New Texas then you have options.

I must mention that one of my favorite bad guys from this series was a fish faced lizard man named Sandstorm! Sandstorm’s power is that he can breath out large amounts of sand and create sand clouds, sand creatures and even can put people to sleep with his sand much like the famed folklore legend Mr. Sandman. His race is called Sand Walruses, and his kind are native to New Texas. For some reason his look reminds me a lot of Mer-Man from Masters of the Universe. Ed Gilbert is the voice actor who played the part who also did voices for characters like Blitzwing (Transformers), General Hawk (G.I. Joe), Metlar (Inhumainoids), Mr. Smee (Peter Pan and the Pirates), Major Disaster (Toxic Crusaders), Baloo (Tailspin), El Seed (The Tick) as well as many other characters in many cartoons. My brother Bryan seems to think we had the Mattel figure of Sandstorm growing up, I however barely remember owning it. So just wanted to give Sandstorm his tiny time to shine before we move onto more history of Bravestarr.

I wanted to take a brief moment to cover this: many of the women I know have this weird thing where they think cowboys/country boys are the definition of a man’s man, and even in media, it’s pushed this way from John Wayne all the way to the Marlboro Man, they are considered tough rugged good looking guys. Well I am going to take this time and be on the opposite side and say that I find country and cowgirls sexy! And I am pretty sure I can pin point the moment I found the look of cowgirl sexy, and that’s Brad from Nickelodeon show Hey Dude played by Kelly Brown started it for me and Faith Hill the country singer sealed it. Something about a pretty girl with the looks of the Girl Next Door wearing a cowboy hat and chaps is something that a guy like myself can appreciate. Don’t want to waste too much time talking about this, but just wanted to give a shout out to all the cowgirls out there. Below are some cowgirls including former WWE Diva Maria dressed as one as well as singer Jewel.

Mattel Toys started to make figures based on Bravestarr almost immediately when the cartoon came out and made them different and more “grand” then many of the figures being released at the time as they stood 8” tall and many of them came with infra red backpacks that interacted with a laser gun you could buy and have your very own shoot outs with the figures! Besides all the main cast of characters like Marshall Bravestarr, Tex Hex, Sandstorm and Deputy Fuzz, they also made the town and jail play set, the wagon and the laser gun. The figures when released came in boxes with very cool art on them and a window to peer in and see the toy. But as I stated before, not many kids I knew had these toys but I do remember seeing the toys on the shelves of stores like Hills, Hearts and Gold Circle and remember seeing lots of them in stock. I can’t be for sure on this statement, but from what I could see at a young age these toys must not have sold very well in normal department stores and must have found some tracking via discount stores like Odd Lots. Being older now and looking at the figures now I must say while they are bulky, they are very well done, and I am sure really made kids of the time happy if they were fans of the cartoon.

Funny enough as I was working on putting this blog together, my friend Brett Prescott who does video game reviews called “Bad or Rad” brought almost a full set of Bravestarr figures into my work to sell! While going through the collection, a sense of nostalgia rushed over me as I looked up the going prices for each figure and even the jail/town playset. And while I knew I wanted them, looking at the figures made me want to own them even more.  So what you are looking at below are the Bravestarr figures I bought from my work thanks to my pal Brett!

Besides the Mattel Toys and Blackthrone Comic series, lots of other merchandise was made to try and make money off the cartoon that includes Halloween masks, lunchboxes, a video game for home computers, pillow cases and bed sheets, Colorforms, storybooks, stickers and even water guns! They tried really hard to try and make kids of the 80’s care about Bravestarr, and for those who did, they had plenty of things to choose from. I really think that both Mattel and Filmation thought that Bravestarr would have been their successor to Masters Of The Universe and put lots of eggs in that basket that sadly for them just didn’t bring the draw that He-Man did.

So are you ready to hit the old trail and stop outlaws with our good pal Marshall Bravestarr? Before he swears us in as deputies hoever, I do need to thank Lone Star Comics and Mile High Comics for having these issues in stock and must also remind everyone that I grade these on a standard 1-4 star rating and base it on how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So let’s saddle up and go kick some Tex Hex butt as we put on our 3-D Glasses and hit the trail.

Bravestarr 3-D  # 1   **1/2
Released in 1987    Cover Price $2.50    Blackthorne    # 1 of 2

Shaman is the father of young Bravestarr who sends him away to become a Marshall at a young age, when he finds that his powers could no longer defeat his enemy Stampede. Years pass, and the planet of New Texas is a hole in the wall that’s main resource is Kerium crystals that is used as fuel sources for large ships. The planet is also filled with outlaws and that’s why law enforcement like Judge J.B. McBride, outpost owner Handlebar, Mayer Derringer and of course Marshall Bavestarr with his trusty cyborg horse 30/30 and pint size Deputey Fuzz look after the townspeople. The ghost bull skull known as Stampede sends his right hand man Tex Hex alongside Sand Storm, Skuzz and Vipra head to town and have a showdown with Bravestarr and his allies.  The fight doesn’t last long, and Barvestarr sends them high tailing it outta town. As Bravestarr is proud of his heroic deed, he gets a visit from Shaman who tells him a long fight is ahead of them all and to learn from each other. In the end to show the townspeople strength, Marshall Bravestarr, Fuzz, 30/30. Handlebar and J.B stand tall and ready for the tough fight ahead.

First thing I have to say is that I hate 3-D comics, and this is one where the “3-D” doesn’t work as well and just kind of looks blurry, so I had to order better 3-D glasses from Amazon to try and help see if I could actually read this comic and get the full effect! The new glasses did help, and I was able to enjoy the sci-fi Western with more enjoyment. The plot is really a crash course of an origin story as we are shown a young Bravestarr being sent to a Marshall station and then follow him as he makes quick work of his enemy Tex Hex to show just how noble and strong he is to the townspeople. Marshall Bravestarr is 100% pure cheesy old school western hero complete with white hat and a sense of pride and very high self-confidence. He is a great hero for this style comic, and I can see why Mattel and Filmation thought they had a hit on their hands. Judge J.B. McBride is a great female character who is pretty and also a fighter; it’s also clear that she has a crush on Bravestarr. Deputy Fuzz is your typical small annoying character that appears in most of Filmations IPs as well as many other 80’s cartoons so just think Snarf and Orko and you have Fuzz. Handlebar and 30/30 are not given much to do in this issue so I hope that in the second they are fleshed out more as they are both important in the cartoon this 3-D comic is based on. Tex Hex is kind of wasted in this issue as he is made of full of pretty quick and is knocked on his butt with a single punch from Bravestarr.  It does show however that he has powers as he turns into a giant. Other bad guys like Sand Storm, robot Thunder Stick, pint size terror Skuzz and female reptile woman Vipra are all wasted and are taken out super quick by the heroes. While the first issue is good, it also adds no real threat as we just see in matter of panels that all the bad guys can be beating with little to no effort making me wonder just who can beat Bravestarr? The art is done by Adrian Moro and is pretty dang good and looks like the cartoon.  The downside is the terrible 3-D effect put onto the art by Bob & Nancy Fritsch that worked only some of the time. Over all this is a pretty good comic that captures the cheesy feel of the cartoon it was based on. I really dig the cover of this issue, as for some reason it has a old western trading card look to it. Let’s move onto the second and final issue in this series and see just how Blackthorne Comics sent Bravestarr off into the big canceled newsstand in the sky.

Bravestarr 3-D  # 2   **1/2
Released in 1988    Cover Price $2.50    Blackthorne    # 2 of 2

A group of kids are fighting and one time friends are really mad at each other as Bravestarr, 30/30 and J.B McBride come over to break it up. The kids are fighting over a item that one thinks the other stole, and J.B tell them a story of how Bravestarr meet 30/30! It begins with Shaman training Bravestarr and tells him that he must go to and find the ultimate weapon.  The young Marshall rushes off into the desert and finds a old temple and inside is a powerful gun as well as a cyborg horse named 30/30 who is mad and thinks Bravestarr is nothing more then a treasure hunting thief.  The two duke it out and cause the temple to collapse! Bravestarr saves 30/30 from the destruction and the two become friends with Bravestarr learning that friendship is the ultimate weapon. The kids learn the lesson and rush off to enjoy the day as do Bravestarr and his friends.

A heart warming issue that teaches us all that with a good friend at your side you don’t have to live in fear, that is unless you are both stuck in the path of King Kong…or you’re both cornered by a horde of zombies with no weapons…or if you’re on the bad side of Doctor Doom…or…wait you get the point. The plot of the issue is when Bravestarr met 30/30 and how they fist fought and then became best friends.  While Bravestarr comes off like his boy scout self, 30/30 comes off as a hotheaded bully who would rather fight then talk it out. Judge J.B acts as a storyteller as she is the one to speak to the kids of this epic meeting. This issue has zero bad guys and once more has no threats, making you as the reader know that nothing bad is going to happen to anyone. Art is well done by Adrian Moro once more as the 3-D effects were handled by Bob & Nancy Fritsch again.  This second cover is okay, but for some reason it looks like Bravestarr is having a stroke on it. This second issue is the same as the first a cheesy comic based on a cheesy sci-fi Western cartoon. Below is some of the 3-D artwork used in the two issues so enjoy!

Well it looks like we took out old Tex Hex pretty quick, and it looks like Blackthorne didn’t truly believe in Bravestarr 3-D as a series as they pulled the plug only two issues in. While I was not a super fan of Bravestarr growing up, I found that these comic were pretty well done and the younger me would have enjoyed them and even maybe helped me care more about catching and watching the cartoon when it was airing. But as Marshal Bravestarr rides off into the sunset, I feel the need to tell you that our next update will be about the DC Comic based on the arcade video game Centipede! So until next time make sure to read a comic or two and support your local horror host.

The Red Devil Of Dinosaur Valley…

Welcome back to my own little slice of the internet, a place that I can sit back and be one with the memories of the past as well as those of present day and even the future. So the day I am writing this is March 16^th 2014, the day before St. Patrick’s Day.  While out and about with my gal pal Juliet, we stopped at an antique mall called Peddler’s Mall in Lebanon.  You see, we love looking at old stuff from vintage toys, character glasses, metal lunch boxes, classic board games, comics and all types of other random stuff.  This place had it all, but this place was also something more to me as it’s located on the site of the old Big Bear & Hearts that I grew up going to, the same place that I got many of my toys, comics, magazines and music from as a kid. Big Bear is now split into two sides with the side that was Hearts being the Antique Mall, and the Big Bear side sitting empty with paper covering the windows and doors. When walking back into it that building, a surge of nostalgia hit me like a train as I took in the memories of Hearts and a younger me and my brother rushing to the toy aisles. I also was swept up with the vintage Charlie’s Angels trading cards, a Happy Days lunch box and Elvis Presley figures. This Antique Mall was pretty cool as many vendors inside had classic toys, even some really cool Universal Monster dolls of Son of Dracula and Invisible Man that were cheaply priced at $15.00 a piece, not to mention a basket of Kenner Super Powers with such heroes as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Arrow all priced at $10.00! They also had many great vintage character drinking glasses from Looney Tunes all the way to E.T.  They had them all priced pretty well! They even had a Pepsi “Moon” DC Glass of Robin The Boy Wonder for $14.00, and it’s amazing because the glass looked brand new! They had many great lunch boxes as well.  Besides Happy Days, they had Lone Ranger, Super Friends, Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers, Six Million Dollar Man and Buck Rogers, all priced pretty well with a few being slightly over priced for the condition they were in. The place was also packed with not only customers but also books, cloths, vinyl and baseball collectibles making the trip there a very fun one. I will admit the moment I stepped in the location that was the toy department of Hearts, I felt a sense of missing them and wishing they were still around so some day when/if I ever have kids, I could have taken them there and got them whatever they liked from the toys.  But sadly we can’t live in the past or even in the world of Marvel’s What If? And I just need to be glad something moved into the building that was empty for way too long. I will also say that the customers were all polite, and the staff of Peddler’s Mall were all nice, making the trip a good one. So I am sure you’re wondering what we bought, right? Well let me tell: you we got an Officer Big Mac glass for $3.00 and a metal Muppet Movie lunch box minus the thermos for $15.00.  So not too bad of a haul….kind of wished I would have bought the Son of Dracula Doll though.

But while speaking of the past, I want to say that when I was a kid, like many kids of my time and before and after me, I really liked dinosaurs.  They just seemed like real life monsters that roamed our world that were all killed off by something unknown. I mean scientist have many theories on why they all died, but let’s be honest, they have no clue.  While science is cool and very helpful, some things they come up with seem as if they are pulled out of thin air. Growing up I played with rubber dinosaurs and even small plastic ones and always enjoyed going to museums and seeing their bones and watching any TV program about them. In fact some of the more fun times in school were spent learning about dinosaurs that sadly seemed to be taught way too fast. It’s really not shocking that the youth of the 80’s and 90’s grew up loving dinosaurs as we were treated to Godzilla films on TV, movies like Land Before Time, Baby and Jurassic Park as well as cartoons like Denver The Last Dinosaur and Dino Riders and a hell of a lot of toys! So with this update we are going to take a look at a dinosaur that was created by comic legend Jack Kirby for Marvel Comics, and we are talking the one and only DEVIL DINOSAUR!

When someone mentions an icon of comic books names like Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Bob Kane, many others come to mind but one that is always at the top of the list is artist and creator Jack Kirby who is known around the world for being the creator/co-creator of such characters like Captain America, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Silver Surfer, Thor, Doctor Doom, Magneto, The Demon, Darkseid and so many more for Marvel, DC and even other comic companies. Jack Kirby, who’s real name is Jacob Kurtzberg, was born on August 28^th 1917 in New York to a poor family where he grew up drawing and tracing comic characters from newspapers and books. In the 1930’s and under many different pen names he worked in the comics industry, but in 1940 alongside friend and co-worker Joe Simon for Timely Comics, they created Captain America! Captain America was a huge hit and was a very popular character for kids to read. In the 40’s Kirby and Simon teamed up to make many different characters, but they had to take time off when Kirby went to fight in World War II. When returning from war, he went on to work for DC, Harvey and a few others before working for Marvel Comics in 1960’s and with Stan Lee they created some of the company’s top heroes like Hulk, X-Men and Fantastic Four.  While he was considered one of the company’s top artists, he felt they mistreated him, and he decided to quit and work for rival DC in 1971 where he created many iconic characters such as Darkseid, Mister Miracle, Omac and The New Gods. But while there he felt that he and DC had different ideas and after being put on comics he did not care for and finding out that they were redrawing Superman’s face in issues of “Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen,” he felt it was time for him to leave in 1975. Kirby returned to Marvel in 1976 and during this time he worked on Captain America and created such characters as Devil Dinosaur, Machine Man and The Eternals.  But his time back at Marvel was cut short as in 1978 he quit again, this time over employee benefits or should I say the lack thereof. For about a year Kirby worked on animation designs for cartoons like Thundarr The Barbarian, Turbo Teen and Fantastic Four. During this time he also worked on a comic strip for Disney based on their film The Black Hole. In 1980 he returned to comics working for smaller companies like Pacific and Topps and never really making the impact he had back in his prime.  While characters like Captain Victory and Bombast were cool, they lacked the punch his creations for Marvel and DC packed. Sadly in 1994 Jack Kirby passed away from heart failure at the age of 76, and this was a major loss for the world of comics as Kirby is one of the best in the biz and has influenced so many artist around the world including my friend Jason Young who runs Buyer Beware Comics. This update is dedicated to Jack Kirby, a true legend in comics! Oh and in the first picture of a young Jack, doesn’t he look like a mafia hitman?!

I felt the need to share some of the great art of Jack Kirby so that you readers who may not be familiar with his style can get a good look at what he brought to the comic table. Kirby’s style was that of his alone and over the years many artists have tried to copy it and none look as good as his. I am sure most modern comic readers who were born in the late 90’s or after would find his style dated and blocky (yes I have heard younger comic fans use these terms to describe his artwork), but to me nothing can beat the art used in comics from the 60’s-80’s.  To me that was when comics truly were comics.

Dinosaur World is a place were time has been forgotten and dinosaurs still roam the lands and even early man is around to provide a source of food for the great beasts. This world is not of our Earth’s past but more of an alternate planet that coexists with ours. In the world is also a volcano that acts as a symbol of power and fear as man and dino know that its red lava means death for those it touches. Devil Dinosaur a red t-rex with not only power but a mind is the ruler of this planet and his own will to keep order is what makes him stay at the top of the food chain. What really sets Devil apart for his fellow Dinosaurs is that fact he seems to have a brain that allows him to strategize and feel emotions. Devil Dinosaur was born from the fire of a tribes mans torch and as a baby watched as his mother and siblings were murdered in cruel ways, and with out the help of a young man named Moon-Boy he would have died as well. The fire from the torch that burnt him left his skin bright red and this giving him the name Devil Dinosaur. As Devil grew older be became respected and feared and along with his “brother” Moon-Boy they run Dinosaur World with a tiny iron fist. So really I just wanted to write real quick a little bio on Devil Dinosaur so you the reader could maybe have a slight connection to the character as you read my reviews of his issues.

As young kids my brother and I always loved to read and collect comic books, we were lucky to have parents who didn’t mind buying us issues off the News Stand and Garage Sales as well as getting us subscriptions sent to our house. While my parents would buy us both comics for some reason my Grandma would go out and buy tons of comics and give them to my brother and my younger cousin and none for me….I can remember being really upset about this and even asked once why I didn’t get any and she said I was to young and wouldn’t take care of them, but what even boggled my young mind was the fact she would give them to my cousin who is like three years younger than me! In one of the stacks of comics given to my brother from my Grandmother was a copy of Devil Dinosaur and I can remember reading it and being very bored and not impressed with it back then and over time while I was still young I read a few more issues and was very lukewarm on how I felt about the characters and the story. So now being older and more mature (yeah I know) I really cant wait to read this series and see how it holds up now, so are you readers ready to travel to Dinosaur World and hang out with Devil and Moon-Boy as they travel around and get into all kinds of adventures? Well I know I am, but before we do I need to remind everyone I grade these comics on a standard 1-4 star rating and am looking at how well the comic keeps to the source material, its entertainment value, and its art and story. Also want to think my friend Geoff Burkman and Bell, Book And Comic for getting me these issues for this review.

Devil Dinosaur # 1  ***
Released in 1978    Cover Price .35     Marvel Comics     #1 of 9

Devil Dinosaur is in a battle with Thunder Horn, they are fighting to the death over ruling the Valley Of Flame. As the two massive dinosaurs are doing battle Moon-Boy sits and watches and cheers on his big red friend, as victory comes his way and the two head off into the on coming night. As Moon-Boy sits on top of Devil Dinosaur he remembers back on how they became “brothers”.  Some years back when Devil was a baby his mother and siblings were killed by a race called The Killer-Folk, Moon-Boy came to his rescue and the two have been best friend sense. But as they sleep this night The Killer-Folk also still remember the Red Devil and set a trap for him that will have him fall off a cliff onto spikes and equal his death! Will Moon-Boy and Devil Dinosaur fall to their sharp pointed end? Or will they figure out the trap and ride the land of the Killer-Folk for good? We will have to see what happens in Issue 2.

Devil Dinosaur in 1978 was that odd cross between very old school Cavemen themed books as well as the Horror Comic boom that Marvel was having at the time. This first issue acts as a quick way to show why a young cave boy is best friends with a very large and red skinned T-Rex and repairs us for the world that is known as Valley of Flame that all centers around a volcano. Moon-Boy in the first issue seems to really have pride in his friend and almost also seems to enjoy the power that comes with it’s friendship. Odd thing also is that is seems Devil understands what Moon-Boy is telling him making one wonder which is the smarter one of the two. Devil Dinosaur is all business and seems to really understand right from wrong and rules the land with an iron fist, and seems not to mind to kill to keep said peace. The artwork is great Kirby stuff and helps add a touch of comic class to the issue. While in my youth I would say that I would have found this issue boring like I did the ones we did own, over the years and rereading this one I find it to be a solid comic with a great potential of a storyline, so lets see how the other issues hold up and lets see if this will remain a good short run comic series.

Devil Dinosaur # 2   ***
Released in 1978   Cover Price .35    Marvel Comics    #2 of 9

Moon-Boy and Devil Dinosaur have out smarted the Killer-Folk and have gotten past their pit of spikes, but what they don’t get past is the giant rocks that fall from the sky onto them. Devil is buried under tons of rocks as Moon-Boy is taken from the rubble and is to be sacrificed to Long Legs a giant spider that lives in the mountain. Devil who is thought to be crushed to death is indeed alive and after escaping from the rocks he has to make a quick fight of another dinosaur who was looking to eat him while he was pinned down. Moon-Boy is tied up and as Long Legs comes to eat him Devil Appears and sets fire to all the grass around The Killer-Folk and Long Legs, he then saves his friend and together the squash the leader of the Killer-Folk and flee the flames. In the end Long Legs kills the remaining Killer-Folk who had to hide in his cave from the smoke and flames and some one big watches as Devil and Moon-Boy walk the path to find a place to rest.

One thing that people have learned from this issue I am sure is not to mess with Devil Dinosaur, cause he will squash you like a bug, set the ground around you on fire and pay no attention to your screams of pain. The issue also really shows the bound that is between it and Moon-Boy as he force himself into the heart of a fight even though he is injured to save his only true friend from being eaten by a spider. Moon-Boy is not given much to do in this issue as he knocked out and tied up for most the issue, though the part he is playing is very important to the over all scheme of the issue. The Killer-Folk look as if they have been wiped out and this makes me wonder if they are all truly dead or if they will return for revenge soon. As for Long Legs he reminds me of the Godzilla Kaiju Kumonga who as well is a giant spider. Over all issue two offers lots of suspense and action and with the element of Moon-Boys possible death it was a page turner and I am sure had comic readers of 78 on the edge of their seats. Kriby’s art and story telling as he also wrote many of these issues shows you that this comic legend really knew is craft and made people care about a hairy cave boy and his red dino friend.  With the tease of someone called Giant aiming for Devil at the end of this issue we should not waste any more time and we should see just who Giant is and what’s his plan to bring down the King of Valley of Flames.

Devil Dinosaur # 3   ***
Released in 1978    Cover Price .35     Marvel Comics     #3 of 9

While Devil and Moon-Boy are resting something is scaring and killing other dinosaurs in the jungle and for this Devil cant let what ever it is get away with it so he sets out to find what’s causing all this destruction and while tracking he his hit with a rock and taken off his feet! The next morning Moon-Boy who thinks he seen something the night before returns to the spot and finds that a Giant of a man wearing a triceratops head as a helmet is the one causing all the issue and he wants what’s his and that’s a missing youngster of his race of giants, and to make it worse the another captures Moon-Boy and tries to make him his pet as Devil who is really mad does battle with the other that leaves the giant sinking into a tar bog. Moon-Boy escapes the younger giant and puts two and two together and asks Devil to save the Giant and a respect is built between the Giant and Devil.

This issue has Devil Dinosaur meeting his match and at first it looks as if he could loose the fight, if not for his smarts and using the bog around him is it he is able to beat Giant.  Giant is a rampaging brute who kills a ton of Dinosaurs before he is stopped. All his rage and destruction is all over finding a younger Giant who is kind of a brat who likes to torment things smaller than him like Moon-Boy. Speaking of Moon-Boy he as well uses his brain and out smarts his Giant showing that much like Devil he is quick minded when faced with over the top odds. I like the fact that Devil Dinosaur also seems to look after his fellow kind when they are being bullied by some wicked foe, it almost reminds me of Godzilla ruling Monster Island and King Kong ruling over Skull Island. Fun plot that’s well written and well drawn once more by Kirby wraps up this fun third issue, with this staying at a solid three star pace I am pretty hyped to move onto issue 4.

Devil Dinosaur # 4   ***
Released in 1978    Cover Price .35     Marvel Comics     #4 of 9

Moon-Boy is being plagued by nightmares of terrors falling from the sky and eating up everything living in The Valley Of Flames. When he awakens from his nightmare something does fall from the sky and when he and Devil go to investigate they are attacked by Giant Robot Aliens who are there to study the planets creatures and destroy anything and everything. The fight leaves Devil knocked out and Moon-Boy once more a captive of the aliens, but when Devil comes to he makes friends with a pair of Hill-Folk lead by White-Hair and his young friend Stone-Hand and together they save Thunder Horn and kill one of the alien robots. The new team goes to the robots base and see that they not only have Moon-Boy captive but also tons of Dinosaurs and Hill-Folk! In the end Devil has a plan to use The Tower of Death as a way to fight them! What is this plan well we have to read the next issue to find out!

This issue has a prehistoric mixed with cheesy sci-fi feel and touch to it, making it really enjoyable and a really cool read. Devil Dinosaur like in last issue has come face to face again with enemies that can hurt him and possibly kill him in the Robot Aliens. And much like in the last issue Devil uses his brain to find ways to survive the attack after he gets a beat down for being to cocky and thinking his strength can always get him out of trouble. With Devil it always seems to take him getting smacked once or twice before he decides to not charm in to a battle with ego alone. Moon-Boy while the voice of reason to Devil as of late seems to always find himself being held captive by the enemy, making one wonder if Devil at this point is getting a little annoyed with his friend. I am really starting to wonder also if the Hill-Folk are also the Killer-Folk as they speak of Devil at first as if he is an enemy, but none the less I like the fact they must team up with him in order to survive this invasion. The Robot Aliens take no crap and stomp dinosaurs and blast cave people left and right. Kirby’s Story and Art are well done and the only real down side to the issue is that it kind of has the same formula as issue 3 with Moon-Boy being captured and Devil facing a strong foe, but even that little flaw don’t keep the issue form being a good fun read. So I am not sure about you, but I know I am ready for issue 5 and to find out how Devil and White-Hair are going to stop the Alien take over, so lets not wait any longer!

Devil Dinosaur # 5   ***
Released in 1978   Cover Price .35    Marvel Comics    #5 of 9

Devil Dinosaur along with his new allies White-Hair and Stone-Hand watch the Alien Robots and try to figure out a plan of attack, and while they watch they are attacked by two of them who were sent out to kill them! Devil tricks both and by doing so he leads them both to their deaths, but he also leads himself and his friends into a very bad place as giant ants want to eat them alive! While fleeing from the ants more Robot Aliens come into the fight and are eaten by the ants as Devil and the Hill-Folk hide in the ants home (Tower of Death) and only escape after the Aliens blow up the tower causing the ants to attack them! All the while Moon-Boy and the rest of the prisoners are on the ship and Moon-Boy is selected to be studied for his intelligence, and this will also lead to his death.

This issue has Devil Dinosaur thinking that Moon-Boy is in fact dead and that’s why he kills as many Alien Robots he can shake his tail at! This adds another layer to Devil who now is shown can feel anger and has a need for revenge and vengeance when he thinks his friend/brother from another mother has been killed. But once again it shows he makes bad mistakes as he almost gets himself and his new friends killed by messing with flesh eating ants. White-Hair follows Devil blindly and does not question his new friends path of war, while Stone-Hand is kind of a pain in the butt as all he does is question why they follow Devil and it’s clear as the day is bright he hates the red skinned dinosaur. The Alien Robots are as soulless as ever, but they do show more anger when many of them are killed by Devil. The Giant Ants are the real bad guys in this issue as they really want eat and kill what ever they can grab ahold of, pretty scary stuff if they were real. The end of the issue also has Devil down and out and thinking his friend is dead, making you now have to think that Moon-Boy is going to have to try and get himself off the ship and back home on his own, and I kind of like the fact he is going to have to help himself as I feel he relies on Devil way to much! Kirby Art and Story is well done as is the cover, in fact this far into the series I must say all the covers look great. So another solid good issue lets see if # 6 can keep up the good work.

Devil Dinosaur # 6   ***
Released in 1978   Cover Price .35    Marvel Comics    #6 of 9

Devil Dinosaur is drained and must take a rest as White-Hair stays with him, Stone-Hand rushes to save a woman named Eev who is being attacked by two of the giant ants. The odds looks against the cave people but they fight on as Devil gets back to his feet and makes short work of the ants. Eev joins the group and together they watch as the Giant Ants destroy the space shit causing it to explode and for all inside to die along with it…or so they think. Devil Dinosaur sad about his loss of Moon-Boy walks off into the woods as Stone-Hand shows his true side by trying to attack Evee and knock the snot out of White-Hair and claims he is now in charge! While in the rubble of the ship many Hill-Folk escape as well as Dinosaurs and even Thunder Horn, and than Moon-Boy comes out he is shaken and scared and finds that escaping dinosaurs all around him want to eat him! Moon-Boy finds shelter in a small cave as a thunderstorm moves in, meanwhile a giant computer sits were the alien ship once sat and gets the attention of Stone-Hand, Eev and White-Hair.

This issue is pretty shocking and I am not 100% sure but I think in this issue you see an attempted rape as Stone-Hand gets wayyyyyy to forceful with Eev and forces her to he his woman…cause he likes her…yep it’s a little creepy. Poor Devil fights with all his might in this issue and crushes a few ants and even lets a few live, but sadly in the end his soul is crushed as he thinks his best friend is pushing up daisies. This shows an odd side of Devil as well cause it comes off not only as a saddened friend but also that of a pet whose master has died. Moon-Boy who at first I thought was shapping up to be his own man in this series quickly turns back into a character who just really wants his must stronger friend to fight his battles for him. Stone-Hand is just a total ass and I really cant wait for Devil to stomp him to death! White-Hair and Eev are ok and are kind of forced to follow the new rules set in place by Stone-Hand who acts as if they are his people and slaves now. The Giant Ants kick the crap out of the Alien Robots who don’t last long once they become under attack. And now I wonder what this Giant Super Computer Tree like thing is up to and how while it help or destroy Stone-Hand and his “people”. Once more Kirby does a great job on story and art and I will say that being 34 years old now and reading this series some for the first time and some for the multiple times I find this to be a great series this far and I am sure readers of 78 also thought so. So lets move onto issue # 7 and find out if Moon-Boy and Devil will finally reunite.

Devil Dinosaur # 7   ***
Released in 1978    Cover Price .35     Marvel Comics     #7 of 9

Stone-Hand and his followers soon find that the Demon Tree as they call it really just wants to keep them as slaves, yet if they stay with him they can have it all fresh water, fresh fruit and green grass under their feet. The only catch this paradise is coasting them their freedom as Demon Tree places them all into a force field to keep them safe and his for as long as they live. Moon-Boy leaves his cave hideout and by luck just as he is to become a snack to a hungry dinosaur Devil appears and saves him and together they wonder towards the Devil Tree, meanwhile Stone-Hand don’t want to be a slave and finds that he can not escape the force field nor can he get close enough to attack the Devil Computer Tree as it uses gas to knock him out. Eev and White-Hair want to stay in this new paradise and tell so to a now pissed off Stone-Hand who sleeps on it. In the morning Stone-Hand awakens to find White-Hair dead of radiation poisoning and this is the final straw as Stone-Hand attacks the Devil Tree and hits it with a mighty blow causing it to go into a countdown to explosion! Stone-Hand and Eev try to escape the force field and it looks as if they may die from the exploding doom, but just in time Devil shows up and flings his body against the force field several times breaking into it and freeing his two new friends just in time. In the end Stone-Hand finds respect for Devil and says he shall speak of how great he is as Devil and Moon-Boy set out find a place to relax.

So Devil and Moon-Boy are reunited and together they save the day and help save the lives of two people that now will help spread the legend of Devil Dinosaur. Moon-Boy once more shows that really he can’t function of live with out his big red buddy, and Devil shows that he has feelings and really gets down in the dumps when he is not around his little hairy buddy. I really do like the fact that Devil Dinosaur is a true noble giant and when seeing Stone-Hand and Eev in trouble he flings his own body into danger to save them from the force field and the big boom of the computer blowing up. Plus by the end of this issue Stone-Hand who has been a butthole for the last few issues seems to have a turn around and finds respect for Devil who saved him and his woman from deaths door. White-Hair who was for staying in the bubble wonderland of slavedom at least dies of radiation poison and don’t get to truly see how evil the trees intensions are. This is a great ending to The Robot-Alien Invasion storyline and keeps the quality and entertainment level high showing why we comic readers love us some Jack Kirby. So with no more wait lets get to the next issue in the series.

Devil Dinosaur # 8   ***
Released in 1978    Cover Price .35     Marvel Comics     #8 of 9

Moon-Boy wishes to return to his tribe called the Small-Folk and travels to a cave with Devil in order to talk to them, while inside a pack of cavemen called the Dino-Riders attack Devil and try to make them their master Grey-Tooth’s new ride! Moon-Boy tries to rescue his friend but is quickly ran off into the near by forest. The Dino-Riders take Devil to their camp tied up with vines and try to break his spirit by placing mud in his eyes and a foul smelling mask over his face. Moon-Boy wants to help Devil so bad he returns to his people the Small-Folk and gets them to help him save Devil from their evil plans. In the end the Small-Folk trick and defeat all the Dino-Riders as Devil gets free and stomps out the life of Grey-Tooth.

This issue takes a switch as most the time Devil is the one in danger and Moon-Boy is the one who must come to his aid and risk his own life. I like this change and it helped spice up the issue as Devil’s life is the one at risk and he can’t do anything really to free himself. That’s the really cool part of this issue is how Moon-Boy is able to get his tribe together to fight to save Devil, and he then puts his own life on the line when he runs into Grey-Tooth who sprung to action once Moon-Boy got close to Devil. Grey-Tooth who is the leader of his tribe called the Dino-Riders (Not to be confused with the toys of the same name) is really just a loud mouth bully who gets stomped to death by Devil in the near by jungle. The issue also brings back the Small-Folk who have been missing from many issues and it’s nice to see that they put their fears aside to help the one thing they fear and that’s Devil. Good story and while a little weak on plot it was still well worth the read and is another solid adventure for Devil. The art is your classic Kirby style and I must say I felt so bad for Devil in the parts were he gets mud placed in his eyes and a bag of rotten tree sap placed over his nose. This issue is the weakest in the series this far and even with that it’s still very entertaining, so lets move onto the 9^th and final issue of Devil Dinosaur.

Devil Dinosaur # 9  ***
Released in 1978    Cover Price .35     Marvel Comics     #9 of 9

Moon-Boy and Devil watch as an old Witch makes nice with the spirits and asks for more power, Devil looks at the old woman as a threat to his rule and attacks even against the wishes of Moon-Boy. The old witch gets away and warns them to get out of her land before it’s two late and that their fate is in their own hands. Devil and Moon-Boy decide to not follow the witch, but take her advice and leave. As they leave the ground gives way and they both fall into the earth below as Moon-Boy is able to hold onto some of the stones in the hole, Devil falls all the way down into a light pit that travels him to the future the year being 1978 and while there he is scaring people and being attacked by modern man. Moon-Boy is pulled up from the hole by the Witch and her Son who he begs for them to help Devil, and while at first they don’t want to the Son thinks that saving him might be for the best and together they pull him from the future and bring him back to the past. The series ends with Devil and Moon-Boy walking into the Valley to rule some more.

This is it the final issue of Devil Dinosaur and in this one we get to see him not only in Dinosaur Valley but also in modern 1978 Earth were he torments modern man as well as gets attacked by modern weapons. This issue reminded me of Jurassic Park a little were a T-Rex is the fish out of the water in a big modern city and while confused he still knows that he must fight to stay alive. Moon-Boy as always is the brains of the group but is also the one who is weak link and must get the help of others to save the day. The Witch and her Son who everyone thinks are evil really are good people who just want to be left alone and live in a dangerous part of the valley hoping to keep the spirits in check and the strangers out of their homeland. While this final story is pretty fun, I do feel that it was not the right one to end a series on and lacks the impact I as the reader was looking for to end the characters comic run. The last panel ever for the 78 run of Devil Dinosaur only reads “And Thus Endeth The Chronicle” and has Devil and Moon-Boy walking into the light nice gesture but would have liked a little more. This issue also packs a message and that’s don’t judge people before you know them, as every one judges the Witch who really turns out to be a pretty good person willing to help Devil out even after he tried to kill her. This issue is also the one I remember me and my brother having that our Grandma Brassfield found at a garage sale and got for him, I can remember us always for some reason laughing about Devil Dinosaur but for some reason we both always looked at and read this issue. The artwork in it has that amazing Kirby look and the story while good does have a normal issue feel and not a final issue one. Over all this is a good issue just not what I would have wanted to end it all with.

Devil Dinosaur is one of those characters that I think many Marvel fans forget about or even treat as a joke.  While nowadays the character would not fit in with the “Ultimate” or “Modern” style of comics, I do find him to be one that holds a lot of charm and captures the true spirit of comics of the 70’s. Jack Kirby, I think, took pride in the character and delivered a short lived series that was aiming to please horror comic fans as well as sci-fi comic fans and readers of such comics as Turok and for the most part delivered. As I stated before in this update I grew up thinking the series was boring when in fact if I would have just chilled out and read the whole 9 issues I am sure I would have been a fan of it. So next update I have been going back and fourth on what I want to do, and I have decided to do a smaller one before I tackle another big one so I will be looking at the comic sequel to the Lucio Fulci film “Gates Of Hell”!! So until then shop at a local antique store, watch your local horror host and read a comic or two.