80’s Fantasy Unleashed: Clash Of The Titans (1981)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and our third update for my blog’s 10 Year Anniversary. For this one I want to take a look at one of my favorite fantasy films based on myth and folklore and that’s the 1981 film Clash Of The Titans! This is a film that I grew up watching and even had the action figures from Mattel.  It was a staple of movie watching at our house in my youth and this is one update that I have been looking forward to since I started Rotten Ink all those years back and now for this big anniversary, it’s time to finally cover it as it’s long overdue. And I think kids of the 80’s and 90’s will really love this one as I am sure it will bring back lots of memories, so with that, let’s go on an epic quest with Perseus and Pegasus and try and save the day by bringing you one epic update

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The first thing I would like to do is take a moment to really showcase the 1981 film Clash Of The Titans as sadly many younger readers might only know the 2012 remake film that is not even in the same league as the original. Plus for many of you, just sitting back and reading about the classic film might feel you with nostalgia like it did for me writing about it. So I will be taking the film’s write up from our friends at IMDB, and from there, I will write about the film’s production and then my thoughts and connection to the film. So with that, let’s get to Clash Of The Titans, one of the many great fantasy films from the 80’s.

Clash Of The Titans (1981)

“Perseus is the favored son of the god Zeus, but he has unwittingly ticked off the sea goddess Thetis. Just to make things worse, Perseus falls in love with the lovely Princess Andromeda, who used to be engaged to Thetis’ son, Calibos. Soon Perseus is off on one quest after another, with Zeus helping, Thetis hindering, and lots of innocent bystanders getting stabbed, drowned, and squished.”

Fantasy films were very popular at the cinema in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Script writer Beverley Cross had an idea for a film that would be called Clash of The Titans, and he wanted a rating that would allow young and old to enjoy his adventure masterpiece. But many changes had to be made to the script before it could get a softer rating: removing nudity from the character Andromeda, the Kraken killing the flying horse Pegasus as well as part of the fight between our hero Perseus and the creature man Calibos. And once the script was green lit, stop motion effects master Ray Harryhausen was brought on board to create the creatures as well as co-produce the film and would retire shortly after the film’s release. While films like Star Wars, Star Trek The Motion Picture and Superman had newer state of the art effects, Clash Of The Titans relied on the more classic effects of cinema that was made popular in the 1933 film King Kong. The film had a rocky start when it came to distribution as Columbia Pictures was originally on board but dropped the film due to the budget being too high for them to want to invest. Then Orion Pictures wanted them to have bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger to play the lead. He was coming off the films Hercules In New York and Pumping Iron, but the film’s producer rejected this so they had to try MGM who ended up liking what they read and saw of Ray’s creatures and the film found its home with MGM even giving more money to get more cast added. Many name actors and up and coming ones were brought into play parts in the film with Harry Hamlin, Judi Bowker, Burgess Meredith, Maggie Smith, Laurence Olivier and Ursula Andress playing lead roles and director Desmond Davis was selected by producer Charles H. Schneer to helm the film as he had history of working on period pieces. The film was shot in many locations like England, Italy and Gozo and was a very normal filming production for the time. Once done, composer Laurence Rosenthal was brought in to score the film, and it was released to theaters on June 12, 1981. Clash Of The Titans would bring in $41,092,328.00 at the American box office and would be ranked # 11 for the year and would gross more then such films as Tarzan The Ape Man, The Fox And The Hound, Excalibur, The Great Muppet Caper, An American Werewolf In London, Halloween II, Escape From New York, Friday The 13^th Part 2, Mommie Dearest, The Howling, Caveman and The Legend Of The Lone Ranger to name a few. The film was mostly met with positive reviews from both film critics and viewers and has become a classic film over the years. The film went on to be released on cable TV as well as on home media and is well watched and loved to this day.

Clash Of The Titans is a film that I can remember my brother seeing first at school and rushing home to tell me how awesome it was, and a short time later I remember seeing it on TV and being drawn into the adventure it brought to the screen. As a kid I was always very much into mythology and the Greek and Roman ones captured by imagination and films like Clash Of The Titans helped fuel that love. The classic story of an epic quest to save the day as well as help a ladylove is stuff of classic fables and is why films like Clash Of The Titans, Beastmaster, Legend, Krull, Excalibur, Lady Hawk, Robin Hood and so many other films in the fantasy genre are some of my favorite films from my youth. I can also remember first time I saw the film on VHS and not on TV, I was mesmerized by the fact that the film had brief nudity and also just how awesome the effects are in the film as all of the monsters and strange characters look so cool and nothing can beat the effects of such an icon of movie special effects and that is of course Ray Harryhausen. While I liked the characters of Perseus, Medusa, The Kraken, Zeus and Princess Andromeda, my favorites as a kid were Calibos, Bubo and Thallo who I always felt was one of the film’s unsung heroes who is loyal to his kingdom and to protect the princess and when he died in the film, it held a big impact. I also remember reading the novel adaptation when I was a youngster and had many of the toys, but more on that later. Say what you will, but the 1981 version of Clash Of The Titans is one of the best fantasy films of the 1980’s and is one that I feel everyone should at least see once just for the effects alone. Really do yourself a favor and go and buy a copy of this film on VHS, DVD or Blu-Ray and sit back and enjoy the epic ride.

The creatures of Clash Of The Titans are very epic as the main baddy is Calibos who was turned into a devilish looking satyr by Zeus, and besides his monstrous appearances, he is very sinister and sets up schemes and evil plots. For some reason his look always reminded me of the gargoyle leader played by Bernie Casey from the 1972 made for TV film Gargoyles. Calibos is a great movie villain and one of my favorites from the film as he just is so selfish and sinister. Another of the great monsters of Clash Of The Titans is Medusa who is half snake and half human woman who has crawling snakes as hair and whose stare will turn any man into stone. She is a character from classic Greek mythology and her appearance in this film is fantastic as Ray Harryhausen did a great job designing and bringing her to life on the big screen. And the big monster attraction of this movie of course is the monster of the sea The Kraken who wants to kill our film’s leading lady and is a truly sinister creature who kills with no remorse and keeps a whole city gripped in fear. While most reports of what a Kraken should look like is that of a giant squid, Ray Harryhausen made it more look like a Kaiju monster straight out of the world of King Kong or Godzilla films. And these three are only some of the monsters and creatures of the film as we also have the winged horse Pegasus, the two headed guard dog Dioskilos, a giant scorpion, the skeleton boatman Charon of the river Styx, a giant vulture, the three blind Stygian Witches and even the tiny golden robot owl Bubo. This movie has all types of cool creatures and horror themed baddies to make for a great watch for Monster Kids from all ages.

When I was a kid, Mattel was one of the biggest toy companies only rivaled by Kenner and Hasbro and in 1980 they decided to make action figures based on Clash Of The Titans with four figures around 3 ¾” tall, Perseus, Calibos, Thallo and Charon. And a figure of Pegasus and The Kraken was also made with The Kraken being a rare figure these days that fetches a good amount of money on the second hand market. Growing up my brother and I owned many of these figures. We had several Thallo as we would find him at garage sales all the time and would buy him and we also had Perseus and Pegasus and I can remember them all being on the side of good in my toy wars and teaming with Star Wars Jedi Luke Skywalker and G.I. Joe leader Duke. As I got older I was able to find Calibos and Charon at local comic shops and now have them in my toy collection. And sadly I have never owned The Kraken even though I have seen it for sale at local comic shops as well as at toy conventions, but the price is always super high. And after all these years, I still own the figures minus Pegasus who sadly broke when I was a kid as he was made of cheap plastic and cracked. These figures are super cool and fans of this film series should track them down and add them to your figure collection. And for those wonder my favorite figure of this series is Calibos with Perseus not too far behind in second. And no, the pictures below are not from my collection.

Besides the very cool Mattel action figures, many other cool merchandise was and has been released based on Clash Of The Titans that include a lunch box, comic book, t-shirts, posters, the soundtrack, novelization of the film, stickers, lobby cards, magnets, magazines and of course fan art. And for me the novel and soundtrack were must-have stuff and I have played tracks off the soundtrack on the radio show Alpha Rhythms. So again if you are a fan, there is lots of really cool stuff out there for you to collect.

Clash Of The Titans was always a film that was popular at our house when I was growing up as it was a great adventure with some great monsters and brought the classic stories of Greece to the big screen. And with that said, it’s also very cool that Golden Book decided to bring the film to the world of comics, just like they did with Gremlins another from them we have covered here on Rotten Ink some years back. And also I have to say that with Clash Of The Titans I have two copies of this comic book thanks to a vendor at Monster Bash Convention as well as Game Swap Kettering, so a big thanks to them for making this update possible. I would like to remind you readers that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So with that, let’s have Golden Book unleash The Kraken!

Clash Of The Titans # 1  ***1/2
Released in 1981     Cover Price $2.50       Golden Book      # 1 of 1

King Acrisius of Argos has angered Zeus when the King has placed a woman and her baby son Perseus into a wooden box and had them thrown into the ocean. And for this crime against the Gods, Zeus orders Poseidon to unleash a terrible storm as well as the last of the Titans, The Kraken, on the city as he wants them all dead…and the deed is done. And some time later Perseus and his mom are discovered and spend their lives in a new village and Zeus watches with pride as Perseus is really his son. But one goddess Thetis is not happy as Zeus has turned her son Calibos into a monster after he has hunted down and killed all the winged horses besides one named Pegasus, and this curse makes it so he can not marry princess Andromeda due to his monstrous look, but yet has given Perseus everything. When Zeus is away, Thetis sends Perseus to the city of Joppa that is very dangerous, and when finding out Zeus asks his fellow goddesses for help and they make his magical and powerful tools like a sword, helmet and shield. While in Joppa he also befriends the old poet Ammon who is watching after him and knows who he is. While in town Perseus meets Thallo, a royal guard who tells him that death comes to those who wish to win the hand of the princess Andromeda but cannot answer the riddle put before them, and just like that Perseus puts on the helmet and sneaks into the castle and watches as a giant Vulture takes the spirit of the princess away as he body remains on the bed. The next day Perseus and Ammon come up with a plan in order for our hero to follow the vulture to the lair of Calibos who they know is the one doing this to her. In order to fly, Perseus tames and rides Pegasus and follows the vulture that night to the swamps where he hears the answer to the riddle and also has a fight with Calibos who ends up getting his hand chopped off and later begs his mom to help him get revenge, but Perseus loses his magical helmet in the swamp. Perseus solves the riddle and on his wedding night, the goddess Thetis gets angry and curses Andromeda that she has to be sacrificed to The Kraken and if they do not the Titan will destroy all of Joppa! So now Perseus along with Thallo, Ammon, Andromeda, Guards and a robotic owl named Bubo begins a quest to find a way to stop The Kraken once and for all! Along the way Perseus gets the all seeing-eye from the Stygian Witches. He travels the River Styx to the island of Medusa, fights her two headed guardian Dioskilos, beheads Medusa to use her head to fight the Kraken but in the process loses his shield as well as many of his men. As Thallo and Perseus, sleep Calibos creeps into their camp and poke holes in the bag that holds Medusa’s head and her spilled blood turns into giant scorpions and sadly are defeated but not before killing Thallo and one other guard. But Perseus gets his revenge when he kills Calibos with a sword through his gut. In the end as Andromeda is chained to the cliff and The Kraken and Perseus appears riding Pegasus and uses the head of Medusa to turn The Kraken to stone and save the love of his life.

The first thing I need to say is that I really do think Golden Books did a great job of capturing the film Clash Of The Titans in this kid friendly comic book adaptation and while they cut some of the more racy and violent moments, they really do capture the adventure elements of the film well. The plot is that of a classic quest as our hero Perseus must find a way to defeat a massive Titan that is set to kill his bride all because a goddess is jealous of his attention from Zeus. Perseus is your classic hero who is the son of Zeus who is a skilled fighter, brave and true to who he is. He is willing to risk his life in order to fight for the life of his new wife the princess Andromeda, but to be fair during is very dangerous quest he does have the help of the gods. But over all a very great hero and the comic does him justice. Bubo The Golden Owl who was sent by the gods in order to help on the quest really is a hero as well as he is the one who finds the way, saves the head of Medusa from falling into the ocean and even brings Pegasus to Perseus to make the rescue in time. And sadly Thallo is down played in the comic as they only had so many pages, and it’s a shame as his death in the comic does not pack a punch at all. All the baddies do their part with Calibos being the biggest pain in the butt as he wants revenge and to deal death out to those he feels wronged him. The Kraken as well is pretty cool and does his damage to people and that is what he is a major danger…but I should also say so is Medusa who can turn people into stone as well as have poison arrows and blood. I really do feel that Golden Books did a great job with this comic, and I would have love to seen them continue making comics like this as they covered the ones that the other companies like Marvel and DC failed to do that really should have had comics. The cover for this comic is pretty eye catching and showcases the classic painting as well as promo pictures from the movie, and I am sure if you were a fan of this film this would have gotten your attention. The interior art is done by Dan Spiegle and is simple and yet really great and reminds me of the adaptations done by companies like Gold Key and Dell Comics, and I feel his art for the monsters is great and who ever also did the coloring deserves praise. Over all if you love Clash Of The Titans you should check this Golden Book Comic out as it is very much worth reading. Check out the artwork of Spiegle below to see his style.

Before I wrap up this update, I would like to touch on the “What If” of other films that Golden Books could have made into these comic book graphic novels that would have been awesome to have in the world. I am sure remember you long time readers know that Golden also gave Gremlins the comic treatment as we covered it back in 2016 and you can read that one HERE. Let’s take a look at the years 1980-1985 and choose some films that fit the kid friendly nature of Golden as well as ones that did not get the attention of other comic companies going at the time. So for me these could have and should have gotten the Golden Book treatment: The Beastmaster (1982), The Last Unicorn (1982), The Secret Of NIMH (1982), Hercules (1983), The NeverEnding Story (1984), Legend (1985) and The Peanut Butter Solution (1985) and if they went a little into the PG era of horror since the 80’s was a hotbed for that genre I would say Poltergeist (1982), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) and Cat’s Eye (1985) would have all been great picks to get the comic treatment and give readers something cool to go along with the films they enjoy. Again just imagine these as a What If, that sadly never happened.

Clash Of The Titans is a great fantasy quest film that ended up getting the comic book treatment thanks to Golden Books. And if you have not seen Clash Of The Titans from 1981 make sure to give it a watch as it really is a fun film that has some really cool creatures in it and will surely deliver you with a few hours of entertainment. So for our next update, we are leaving Joppa and heading to Japan as we will be talking about Tomie one of my favorite Manga and Japanese horror films. So until next time read, a comic or three, watch a fantasy film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for a truly scary update that will surely send shivers down your spine.

Have Yourself A Very Mighty Max Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve! I am sure you are like me and are shocked about how fast 2021 has flown by, and after the terrible 2020 I think we are all just happy to have life back to somewhat normal. And like the updates before, for this countdown to Christmas Eve I decided to have some fun and take a look at a comic that was based on a toy series and cartoon from when I was a youngster, a toy that had many playsets released and all of them featured something like a monster, madman, alien and even dinosaurs…and I am talking about the one and only Mighty Max! It’s a very cool toy series that started in 1992 and spawned a cartoon, video games and more and helped bring tiny mini figures with playsets to the boys. And thanks to Game Players Comics, Mighty Max also got a comic book based around the toys, cartoon and video game! So if you are ready, grab some eggnog and let’s sit around the Christmas tree and wait for Santa while we talk of Mighv Max and his adventures in all things nostalgia.

Now let’s talk about the figures in the Mighty Max series as Bluebird really made these figures to cash in on their success with the Polly Pocket line that was super popular with young girls in the UK and later America. You see Bluebird started in 1980 as a toy company created by Torquil Norman with their first major hit being the “Big Yellow Teapot House.” While they had some major hits, by the mid 80’s they started to struggle and it was Polly Pocket that saved them from closing their doors! They had the girl market but they needed something to capture the boys, and that’s when they created Mighty Max in 1992. It was a major hit as it brought the tiny figure playset craze to kids who liked monsters and aliens. And this helped them even more stay afloat and many sets were released. Sadly by 1996 Mighty Max toys came to an end, and by 1998 Bluebird was bought out by Mattel who carried over many of the company’s toys. It’s crazy to think that Mighty Max was so popular when I was a kid and many of my friends had them, but now it’s unknown to modern kids! Growing up for some reason I never had any Mighty Max figures but I really wanted them and can remember seeing them on the shelves at Big Bear/Hearts, very cool figures and a great idea for kids to take on trips. I do remember my Mom saying that the figures were too little and we could lose them easy.

Following the success of the toys, Bluebird Toys teamed with Bohbot Entertainment to deliver to the fans a cartoon series that would follow Mighty Max, a young box who travels trough time to fight evil all the while being stalked by the henchmen of the sinister Skullmaster. During his adventures, Max makes friends with Virgil, a humanoid who has a fowl look, Norman a warrior who will protect Max with his own life as well as his family, friends and pet iguana named Thor. The cartoon was well liked by fans of the toys and brought a story and new characters into the Mighty Max universe with many of them making it into the toy series. But some parents were not as keen on the cartoon as it was filled with reference to death, characters died and at times it had a very grim outlook, and like all annoying parent groups, they had to complain and cause issues for the cartoon. But these sticks in the mud did not bring the toon down as it ran for 40 episodes and a total of 2 seasons. Episodes of the cartoon have been released on VHS and weirdly enough has never been released on DVD or Blu-Ray and no official release of the full series has ever been made. You can find the series on the Grey Market as well as episodes on YouTube.

Like any great toy and cartoon series from the 80’s and 90’s, Mighty Max got the video game treatment thanks to Ocean who delivered a fun side scrolling game for systems Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis, heck even a Tiger Handheld game was made featuring Max having a pixel adventure! The cool thing about the SNES and Genesis release was that Ocean packed them each with a different VHS episode of the cartoon, making players get more bang for their money spent. I have played the Genesis version of this game as I can remember renting it from K&L Video many years after it was released. The Genesis game had you trying to fight and bring down the evil ways of the Skullmaster and was a pretty fun play. So if you are an old school gamer and enjoy the Mighty Max toys, I would say give the game a play. As far as the Tiger Handheld version, I am sure it plays just like every other Tiger game…and that is both a bad and amazing thing.

Plus like all good toys Mighty Max has had its fair share of other cool merchandise that includes comic magazines, posters, board games, card game, a puzzle and even his trademark red hat with the M was sold to fans! Max even had his fair share of bootleg merch showing and proving just how popular the character was around the world as fake stuff was being passed off to fans. Sadly I never had any of these cool items growing up, but as I have stressed before I wanted them! Oh I should also say that some of this merchandise was released overseas only like the comic magazines.

But in 2020 I finally cracked down and decided that I needed to collect the toys, keep reading for my collection breakdown, and man its going to be a long one. The first Mighty Max playset I want to chat about I own is called “Hammers Ax Man” and this one is really cool and plays up a slasher killer theme! The compacts look is that of a monster with green skin and wooden handles and a blade sticking out of his flesh! He has bloodshot eyes and purple teeth and looks like he is ready to eat your face off. It’s a medium sized playset and is called a Horror Heads release and is from the second series of the lines release. Below is a look at this playset closed and open that is from my collection, give it a look!

The top part of the set has a man chained to a wall and he looks super skinny and while I think he is alive, he could also be a zombie! It’s clear that he is in a dungeon and is being held captive by the sets bad guy and is clearly his next victim if Max fails to save him. The bottom part has a massive blade trap as well as a metal trigger that Max can set off to chop up the bad guy! Also there is a massive wooden pillar and almost all the floor and walls are green. A very cool over all set in the Mighty Max Horror Head series. Take a look below to see the layers of this playset.

The figures that came in the Hammers Ax Man set of course is Mighty Max who is in an almost flexing pose, and he has a goofy smirk on his face. And the sets bad guy is Ax Man aka Spike is a Viking warrior who was buried alive and has now returned with murder on his mind and is armed with an ax and a chainsaw! Very cool figures and Ax Man is badass and one of my favorite figures in the line! Check them out below.

Next lets take a look at the set called “Brain Face” and is from the Shrunken Head series and this set is a little different as its smaller and comes with only one figure and that’s Mighty Max who in this set is holding a pair of wire cutters as he will need those to bring down the playsets villain! The compact is a face one what looks like a surface of a brain and is a light green in color and he has bronze probes on his head and silver teeth! His eyes are red with his pupils being green. When opening the compact we get the sets bad guy who is called Brain Face and he is brownish in color and well has a brain for a head and is wearing a white lab coat as he was a scientist who’s experiment went wrong and now wants to use his knowledge in electricity to fry Max! A pretty cool bad guy and it’s a shame he is built into the set and never got his own mini figure. The bottom of the compact has a trap for Max that has wires connected to a metal floor plate. A pretty cool mini set that showcases a fun scenario for you to try and get Mighty Max to safety and stop the evil Brain Face from frying his brains with his trap. Check out the pictures below to see what this set looks like.

Next up lets take a look at the some of the mini figures I have and two of the loose figures I have are the good guys Norman the warrior who is rocking his green and grey armor and humanoid Virgil who has his purple robe on, these figures are really cool and where sold in figure packs that where tie-ins for the cartoon. These two are really great and if I were a kid they would have been helping Mighty Max on his adventures! Again I really wish I had got some of these when I was a kid. Take a look at Nathan and Virgil’s mini figures below.

The next playset we will take a look at is called “Totally Toy Holiday 93” and was a playset that was given away in McDonalds Happy Meals in 1993! This compact has the face of the Yeti on it and for a fast food toy the design is really cool and is the Yetis face! Once opened the top of the compact has two Yetis on ice and snow and hidden away is golden treasure. The bottom of the compact is Max and a massive Yeti surround by a blue ring of ice that appears to have eyes! This playset is also very different as its figures are both attached to the base as Max runs around the Yeti that’s in the middle. Max is very generic in appearance and is all yellow with a green cap on, while the Yeti is really cool and is all white with a snarl on his face. This is a really cool novelty item for fans of Mighty Max to add to their collection. Check out below to see what this Happy Meal toy set looks like.

I also have the set called “Battles Skull Warrior” and is a pretty cool little playset that’s compact show cases a weird green teethed mutant with a big green eye and a nose and a ears like a bat humanoid, he looks like a comic book bad guy! This is a medium size playset and is form the first set of Horror Heads line. This ones theme is a bounty hunter from space, so basically an alien attacks feel. This was one I was able to get off Ebay for a good price. Here is the compact closed as well as opened to show you the style of this set and what you had to work with during play.

The top part of the compact has gears and a platform for Max to stand on and with some skill you can remove the platform and make it into a flying board for Mighty Max or Skull Warrior to ride! The top part of this set is a little boring and is not all that exciting of a place for Max to battle Skull Warrior! The bottom of the compact is also not all that eye catching as its brown in color and just has a few broken robots on the ground, its clear that this set wants you to take the villain Skull Warrior and place him on his flying board and to chase Max outside of this so-so playset. To sum that up when closed the compact looks really cool…when opened its kind of bland. Check out below to see what the top and bottom halves look like.

The figures in this set is of course Mighty Max who is rocking a purple hat and has a really awkward side pose, but he does have his hands in fists so just looking for a reason to punch a baddie in their eye. The bad guy for the set is Skull Warrior a green skinned mutant cyborg bounty hunter from the Skull Territory who thinks Max is a fugitive and uses his sky board and his pistol to try and deal out intergalactic justice! Skull Warrior by all accounts sounds like a generic throwaway baddie, but I think his look helps bring him to the level of cool. Over all this is not my favorite set, but is a good one to own. Take a look at Skull Warrior and Max below.

The next Shrunken Head mini play set that I own is called “Vampyre” and the Mighty Max figure in this set is holding a massive wooden stake, he is a very cool figure for Max and breaks the norm of his generic posses. The compact has a purpled skinned, red-eyed vampire with bloody fangs! A cool little compact for fans of classic monsters like Dracula as if really does play up on the look of a vampire that we grew up with on cheap Halloween decorations. When opened the top part of the compact is our villain who is the vampire called Von Viesky who looks like Sesame Street character The Count strung out on blood from an addict! Really Von Viesky looks like a pissed off Muppet, and he is awesome for that reason! The bottom of the compact is an open grave, very spooky and once more packs that classic horror movie feel into it. Over all a cool tiny playset that youngsters and collectors of vampire and Dracula merchandise will love. Check out the pictures below to see Max and Von Viesky in all their tiny glory.

The next figures I have that I would like to take a look at is Skull Master and his evil fire henchman! For those who do not know Skull Master is the main villain of Mighty Max and is a super bad guy who wants nothing more than to kill Max! Skull Master’s figure is pretty cool and has him wearing a purple cape and looks like he is ready to jump out and scare anyone foolish enough to enter his Mountain base. He is a living skeleton as well and was created for the cartoon and latter shows up in the play sets as seen here with this figure. I also have one of Skull Master’s Orange Lava Henchmen who is pretty dang cool as he has a sword and shield and is ready to slash Max’s head off! Check out the figures below and see these two villains.

I also have another of the McDonalds Happy Meal Mighty Max releases and this one is called “Totally Toy Holiday 95” and this one is pretty cheesy and hands down the worst of the Mighty Max play sets! The compact has a cool look as it is a blue ice skeleton and really does have a cold horror look to it. The compacts upper layer has nothing, and the bottom has our figures that are built into the set and is an ice maze that has a bottom pit that is filled with stolen Christmas gifts! Mighty Max is in a running pose with as cheesy smile on his face, and also features Ice Creatures that are the sets villains. Over all this one is just kind of blah and wish they would have had mini figures and not things built into the toy. Check it out below and see it in all its lameness!

The next major set and in my opinion one of the most iconic in the series we will be looking at is called “Escapes From Skull Dungeon” and is from series one of the toys. The compact looks like a giant skull with sharp fangs, has one red bared out eye with the other being a yellow and red in color. The color of the skull is grey and looks like concrete and it also has the Mighty Max classic MM logo on its forehead! A very cool looking set and really has a creepy Halloween horror look to it. The theme of the set is Mad Scientist in a creepy castle dungeon and surly is inspired by classic Universal Monster films. Check out the over all look of this set below and see how cool it is, oh yeah and the jaw of the skeleton also opens!

The top inside of the compact has many levels with the top being a study that is filled with a desk, books and lab stuff, the next level has a hidden door as well as a skeleton chained to the wall, and the final level has stairs that lead up stairs as well as the front door. The bottom of the compact is the lab that has electronic equipment as well as the table for the Monster as well as levers and desks. I am missing two parts of this set and it the two rods that go next to the table. Over all a very simple and affective design for this play set that really does bring a classic monster feel to the toy series.

The three figures in this set include of course Mighty Max who is rocking a blue cap, has big bug eyes and is given the arms up victory pose like he just ate a bowl of Wheaties. The bad guys of the set are Dr. Gore a mad scientist who has a hunchback and is wearing a white lab coat, the other is a green skinned Frankenstein’s Monster looking creature that is named Smasher! The figures are really cheap looking and not as detailed as the figures in later sets but this lack of detail also gives them some charm. Check out the picture below to see what the figures look like.

The next Shrunken Head mini play set I want to talk about from my collection is called “Head Case” and the compact has a melted zombie look with two shades of green and purple skin with an eyeball out of socket. When opened the top of the set has the villain known as Dr. Toxin standing among lab items, he looks like a melted green skin zombie, as he loves toxic chemicals! Max from this set is holding a flamethrower and looks like he knows that he is going to torch Dr. Toxin and still have time to go to McDonalds for a kids meal! This Max figure is really cool and one of the best in the series and Dr. Toxin is a great looking villain who reminds me of the 80’s film Return Of The Living Dead! Very cool set and make sure to give it a look below.

The next solo figure I want to showcase is a very cool one as it’s a double-headed orange dragon that was apart of the “Trapped In Skull Mountain” play set! This figure is really cool as beside having orange skin and two heads he also has green eyes and is looking for Max so he can end his adventures once and for all! This was a must have figure for me when I started my Mighty Max collection, check him out below.

Next up is another from the Horror Head series and was called “Survives Corpus” and has a cemetery theme! The front of the compact has two openings and has a face of a zombie with green goo coming out of his noise and worms coming out of his eyes and crack in his skull. The face also has tan skin and brown metal plates screwed into his skull. He also has a weird purple color around one of his eyes and crack in his skull! This one has a creepy look to it and is pretty dang cool over all, check out the pictures below and see what I mean about its creepy cemetery vibe. Wait now looking at it again it also has a generic b-movie Frankenstein’s Monster look as well!

The top part of the compact is a creepy stairwell with a tiny door, boards, a green goblin head, a torch and lots of skulls and bones. This is clearly the steps that lead to our bottom part of the compact that is a crypt! In the crypt are some bones that have been left behind as well as an old wooden coffin that is broken and busted! This graveyard theme is very classic and creepy and will remind you of classic horror movies as well as Halloween ghost stories. Check out below to see this play set open!

This play set as well came with three figures with one being Mighty Max of course with this figure having him rocking a red cap and a weird stance! The bad guys are Mort The Gravedigger a short chubby guy with a shovel who likes to dig up bodies, as well as a massively tall zombie who wants to drag the living into the grave with him. Great figures for Mort and the Zombie as he looks great with purple skin and red eyes! I will say the Max of this set is just ok…but give them a look below!

Let’s take a look at another Shrunken Head set I own, this one is called “Mummy King” and the compact is a purple skinned Mummy with brown wrappings and blood shot eyes and reminds me of old Halloween decorations in appearance. When the compact is open the top part is the bad guy mummy named Thanatos who is in pyramid and is standing with a snake and scorpion and has a true undead look to his face! The bottom of the compact has sand and some treasure and has a very generic Egyptian horror look. The Mighty Max figure of this set is pretty cool and has him holding a torch and ready to use it to not only light his way but also to also use it against the Mummy, snake and scorpion! A very cool set that features a classic monster, check out the pics below and see what this set looks like.

Next up let’s take a look at another loose figure from my collection and it’s from the “Skull Mountain” play set and his name is Rock Monster and he is a henchman of Skullmaster! He is made of solid rock and wants nothing more to bring down Mighty Max and will do whatever it takes to do so! This figure is really cool and has red eyes and looks super mean! Hands down this was a must have figure for me to add to my collection.

The next play set I have is called “Trapped By Arachnoid” and is from series one Doom Zone set! The compact of this set when closed looks like a massive spider with six green eyes, a furry back complete with a batch of purple spider eggs, has two fangs and eight legs. It also has the massive MM (Mighty Max) logo as well. A great and creepy looking compact that surly fits the mood and style of this toy series. This is another of the sets I remember the most being on toy shelves as well as friends having on the playground, with Escapes From Skull Dungeon being the biggest one from my childhood. Give it a look below and see how cool and creepy it is.

When open the top part of the compact has lab equipment that is also covered with purple webs as well as skulls, also a massive circle window is present. Clearly this is where the sets villain does his evil deeds. The bottom of the compact has a stone floor that has well has bones as well as a purple teleporter and a small web cage. Also some blood splatter covers the floors showing that many of people have lost their lives in this lab. A great looking set that fits the theme of this release.

The three figures of this set are of course Mighty Max who in this set is rocking a blue cap and has a go-getter pose, very fun and cheesy Max figure for sure. Next up is Arachnoid a four armed, green-eyed spider person mad scientist, he is pretty dang cool and a great bad guy for this set and he reminds me of a monster from a 50’s sci-fi film. And last is Creep a massive spider and creation of Arachnoid who is also like his bloodthirsty pet! This really is an amazing set with some great figures and leads to some great adventures you could have with Max.

Let’s take a look at another Shrunken Head set I have that’s called “Rat Trap” and sadly is one of my least favorite mini sets I own as it over all feels very lazy. The compact when closed does look great, as it’s a yellowed sharp toothed, dark purple furred rat with red and silver eyes with a patch of red fur on his forehead. When opened we get a look at the sets bad guy the giant rat himself Rat Trap who is standing on a silver shelf and looks awkward and poorly thought out, one of the worst bad guys in the Shrunken Head sets. The bottom of the compact has a dirty floor and is ok looking and the Mighty Max figure of this set is also pretty cool as he his holding a lantern and a sword! So what the best thing about this set being is the Max figure and the compact when closed…the main villain and the rest are at the bottom of the barrel in the Mighty Max world.

Next up I want to take a look at some more loose figures I own and these figure are from the “Takes On Terror Talons” large play set that sadly I don’t own fully. I have from this set Space Aliens # 1-4 with each having their own look and Space Alien # 2 being my favorite as he has a sharp yellow teethed grin! Alien # 3 and 4 are small red guys and are pretty dang cool with one being dinosaur like. Very cool figures and check them out bellow.

The next Horror Head set I will be looking at from my collection is called “Defeats Vamp Biter” and is a creature themed set. When closed the compact has the appearance of a massive grinning bat with razor sharped teeth and red eyes, to be honest he is very menacing looking and a very frightful looking playset. The ears of the bat for this compact are also made up from the bad guy figure from this set. This is a great looking set that once more almost has a classic Halloween feel to it. This is a medium sized set and features two figures so take a look below to see just how cool this set is.

The top of the compact when opened not only acted as a perch for the massive bat, but also has stones, slime and stairs. The bottom of the compact is rocky and has bats as well as a pool of blood! Very cool and fitting for the style of this playset and is what I would imagine a lair of a giant bat would look like! A very cool compact for this set and makes good use of the medium size.

This play set comes with two figures with one of course being Mighty Max and this time around he is rocking a blue hat and a stance that makes it look like he is going to punch you in the face! The sets baddie is the giant bat that is called Nightwing and this massive guy is looking super mean and is flashing a sinister grin with a mouth full of teeth! And his backstory is that Nightwing is not only a blood drinker but also is super smart! While only consider a minor villain Nightwing really is a cool looking bad guy!

Next I want to take a look at a single figure I have and that’s Lava Lord who was from the “Blasts Magus” set and to be honest is the second biggest villain in the world of Mighty Max as he was once a minion who rises up with a goal to overthrow Skullmaster and be the one to capture and kill Mighty Max! Lava Lord is a cool looking figure and is lumpy and red and green in color and looks mean and ready to smash the face of Max, check him out below.

I want to next take a look at another medium sized Horror Head set I own that’s called “Pulverizes Sea Squirm” and this is a cool ocean monster compact when closed and like before the bad guy figures help bring the look of the compact complete making up the creatures tongues, eyes, horns and nose! The blue color of the compact is also very eye catching and to be honest when seeing Mighty Max sets used at toy and comic stores around here in Ohio this is the one I have seen the most showing that it had to be a big seller and a well liked one among Max fans. Check out the pictures below to see what this set looks like closed as well as opened.

When open the top part of the compact showcases a underwater cave look with some sea creatures around the walls, nothing to special and a little bland in look but fitting for the set. The bottom of the compact is like the bottom of the oceans floor and has shells, bones, sea creatures, an anchor, slime and a treasure chest all things you would surly find one any water based floor bed! I like the treasure chest as kids could use it as to the main reason of why Max is wondering around in the water. This set is well thought out and while not the flashiest or even the coolest set in the series it’s a solid one with a basic and yet super fitting design.

The Pulverizes Sea Squirm set comes with three figures with one being our main man and hero Max and in this set he is rocking a green hat and is standing looking like he is scared our of his mind, I am guessing he is scared of drowning as he is not wearing any diving equipment and is probably wondering why he has made such a poor life choice. The first of the sets villains is the black and blue skinned, red teethed Sea Serpent a wicked creatures that wants to kill the foolish Max for entering his watery home. And the sets main baddie is the massive Krillor that rocks blood stained claws and bright red eyes who is the protector of this cave as well as the watery graveyard…so you can see he wants to kill Max cause he is in the cave with the idea of stealing money and jewels from the treasure chest that belongs to those who are buried there…in other words Max is being a real drag! Check out the pictures below to see what they all look like.

Another of the Horror Head Series I have is called “Hounds Werewolf” that is really cool as I am a massive fan of werewolves in pop culture and Horror. The compact when closed is a werewolf face that has red eyes, yellow teeth and blood coming from his mouth. The ears of the werewolf is made up from the wings of the sets bad guy figures and he has like a purple/grey fur and this is a really cool looking set. Take a look at the pictures below to see the Werewolf in all his glory as well as open so you can see it fully as it has a kind of castle theme.

Once open the top part of the compact you see grey stones, green stairs, an iron gate as well as a dead rotten tree and a tombstone. Some of the stones at the top also have blood splatter on them and this has a classic spooky Horror vibe. The bottom part of the compact has more grey stones as well as more graves with one cross tombstone being broken and on the floor. Also a gold iron cage is present as is more blood splatter. This really is a cool playset and has lots of danger for Mighty Max to face.

The Hounds Werewolf set comes with three mini figures with one being our hero Mighty Max himself, this Max is rocking a red cap and is in a flexing pose like he is showing off his massive muscles…that he has none of. The other two figures are the Horror Hounds a pair of winged purple skinned wolves that are ready to attack and maul our hero. The Horror Hounds are cool and help make the ears of the werewolf compact, but I do wish they would have just had a normal werewolf in the set and not these winged hounds. Check out the pictures bellow to see them in all their glory.

Ok this is getting out of hand as you readers and friends can see I went on a Might Max shopping spree so I am only going to cover one more from my collection and its my favorite and is from the Doom Zone sets…and this one is called “Tangles With The Ape King” and is hands down one kick butt set! The compact when closed is a very angry looking gorilla who has black fur, purple skin and blood on his fangs! Truly a menacing looking creature who plays on the old Jungle Adventure movie vibe. The set when open as well has a great jungle them and really is one of my top picks when it comes to Mighty Max sets!

When opened the top part of this set features green thick vines, a golden cage, bottles and even shrunken heads! A part of the vines also swings out and make a platform for some of the figures to stand on, this is really well done and designed. The bottom of the compact is also fantastic and features the jungle floor, a dead warrior, a pot filled with with bones simmering over a fire, bloody skulls and even a massive purple cobra snake! Great classic Jungle Adventure stuff here.

The playset comes with three figures with one being of course Mighty Max who is wearing a red cap and has a pose and a look on his face of being surprised. It also comes with a native who looks like he is ready to fight both Max and the Gorilla and last of course we have Ape King a massive gorilla who is looking to eat some human meat and deal out some death…very cool figures and some of my favorites in the toy series. Check out the picture below to see them.

Mighty Max is as classic 90’s toy that while I never owned in my youth but as I said always wanted to, and in 2020 as you can see I went a little crazy and ordered so many of them! It’s crazy to think that kids of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s had so many amazing toys that are now in days very collectable. Thanks for taking that walk through my collection as its crazy to say at the age of 42 I find this toy series to be really cool and just wanted to share with you my readers and friends.

So now that we have taken a look at the Toys, Video Games and Cartoon of Mighty Max we need to now get to the Promo Comic that was released by Game Players in order to promote the video game that was being released of the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo. I would like to thank an Ebay seller Holiday Comics for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I want to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if your are ready lets jump into the portal and go on a adventure with Mighty Max, Norman and Virgil as we all try and save the day.

 The Adventures Of Mighty Max # 0  **
Released in 1993   Cover Price $0.00   Game Players     # 0 of 0

Easter Island is being plagued with earthquakes and the cause is coming from Skullmaster who is using his lava men to try and open a portal so that he can return to the above world from his underground prison. Meanwhile Mighty Max and his friend Felix are at a baseball game and enjoying their time, when a home run is hit Max’s way he catches it only to find a message from Virgil that he is needed and where to find the portal that will take him to his destination. Max rushes to the portal that is located on the ball field and finds himself at Easter Island along with Virgil and Norman and find that the Lava Men are hard at work working on the hole that would bring Skullmaster back! But after Virgil reads old scrolls Max gets an idea and jumps onto one of the Easter Island Statue Heads that triggers them to come alive and use the near by ocean water to cool off the Lava men that’s now dead bodies seal the hole trapping Skullmaster even more. After the fight is over Max along with Norman and Virgil return to the baseball game being the heroes of the day once more.

This Mighty Max promo comic was just ok and while entertaining it also was very uneventful as Max does not really fight any monsters and the only danger he finds himself in is when a Lava Man throws a rock at him. The plot has Skullmaster trying to escape his underground prison only to be easily stopped by Might Max and his friends. Mighty Max in this promo comic is a very young ego driven lad who is kind of a brat, but does rush to be the hero of the day and even figures out what the scrolls mean in order to stop the plot of one of the worlds super villains. Norman is shown to be on alert and takes his bodyguard statues of Max very serious and leaps into action when ever he thinks he is in danger and that means when a rock is thrown or even a foul baseball is coming his way. Virgil is around and mostly just makes the call for Max and reads the old scrolls, a cool character that is just not given much in this comic. Skullmaster besides causing the earthquake doesn’t do much besides scream orders at the Lava Men who as well don’t do much. I do think it was a wise choice to also feature Baseball in this promo comic as MLB was very popular with the youth of America in the early 90s as Baseball Cards had a major boom. I am not going to lie and act as if this comic is fantastic, while I do think it does justice to the Mighty Max toys and cartoon I do find this promo comic to be very underwhelming and nothing special at all. And it’s really a shame as to be honest there just is not much of a plot nor a threat to really write about. The cover is eye catching and is just the reused cover for the video game. The interior art is really good and captures the Mighty Max vibe is done by Gary Hartle who worked on may Marvel Comic titles like Thor, Daredevil and Conan The Barbarian. Over all this just an ok kids comic that is a fun read for fans of Might Max…but will not change your life. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Hartle.

Mighty Max in the early 90’s was a to series that I am sure made many of kids Christmases brighter when Santa brought them their most wanted play set and that is why I truly enjoyed writing this update for Christmas Eve 2021! That’s one great thing about doing this blog as it not only brings back memories of my youth for me but I hope it does the same for many of you. While Mighty Max is no longer a toy nor cartoon being made it’s still a very iconic one from the 90’s that helped make so many childhoods awesome. For the next update I will be of course talking about my favorite films that I seen in the theater in 2021 and I hope you will all return and join me for that one. And again I would like to send a heartfelt thank you for joining me this Christmas Eve and because of you this blog has been going for 10 Years!! That’s right 2022 marks 10 Years of Rotten Ink and next year I will be covering many things that I find near and dear to my heart and has captured my imagination in youth and even some more modern day discoveries that have got my attention. So until next time enjoy this Holiday Season, spend some time with a friend or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you at the movies!

For the Honor of Greyskull: She-Ra Through the Ages

Greetings readers – it’s Juliet, reporting back in for blogging duty. Back in the early days of Rotten Ink, 2013 to be exact, Matt asked his friends what franchises they thought should have been made into comics.  Interestingly several of my picks have become comics since then with one franchise in particular enjoying a reboot and subsequent relaunch into popular culture.  That franchise is She-Ra, and today we’ll be taking a look at both the classic Princess of Power and the modern Princesses of Power series including a modern comic for younger readers.  So saddle up your flying horse, grab the Sword of Protection and let’s head to Etheria for the honor of Greyskull!

In 1985, Filmation launched a spinoff to it’s animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.  Geared at young women, She-Ra: Princess of Power followed Princess Adora, the twin sister of Prince Adam (aka He-Man), who was kidnapped by Hordak at birth and was taken to Etheria where she served as Force Captain of the Horde.  After being saved by He-Man and reunited with her family, Adora then chooses to return to Etheria as a freedom fighter in the rebellion, taking up the Sword of Protection and the mantle of She-Ra.  

She-Ra: Princess of Power introduced many supporting characters, some of whom were created by Filmation and others by Mattel, presumably so they could add toys and other merchandise featuring the new characters. The series made its debut on TV in 1985, and the five episode introduction was packed as the film He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword. She-Ra: Princess of Power would run for two seasons and a total of 93 episodes. 

The original She-Ra series is one of those cartoons that’s just always existed for me.  I was so young when it debuted, that I can’t actually remember the first time I saw the show, rather, it was ever-present throughout my childhood.  Even after it went off the air, I had a VHS copy of He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special taped off TV that I’d regularly watch.  I loved the characters, but moreover, I loved the idea of the characters and their world.  These were the types of characters that I’d make my own stories about while daydreaming (hello, future fanfiction and original fiction writer). Like many cartoons of its era, it faded away for a while but saw a huge resurgence of interest with the rise of nostalgic pop culture in the late 90s/early 00s.  And of course, the release of the show on DVD helped fuel that fire.  I have the DVDs, and it’s been fun getting reacquainted with the series, especially getting the watch the entire run in order, something I didn’t get to do as a child.  

In 2018, a new version of She-Ra debuted on Netflix.  She-Ra and the Princesses of Power was developed by Noelle Stevenson, already well known for her Nimona and Lumberjanes comic series.  It focused on a teenaged Adora’s journey of love and friendship from being a Horde force captain to taking on the mantle of She-Ra, the savior of Etheria. This series ran a total of five seasons on Netflix to wide acclaim for both its storytelling and its inclusive characters and relationships.  

I had heard good things about She-Ra and the Princess of Power since its launch, but being notoriously late to the game on Netflix shows, it took me until the fifth and final season was released to start my watch.  In all honesty, however, my timing couldn’t have been better.  I watched the entire run of the show in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and was fairly awestruck.  It was amazing to see beloved, albeit sometimes one dimensional characters from the original series reborn with intentional stories and personalities all their own in bodies and with identities that reflect the varied and awesome realities of our world with a fantasy backdrop.  And then there’s the storytelling.  I have such appreciation for shows that are geared towards younger folks that don’t shy from complex stories and don’t pander to their intended audience.  Watching She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, I was moved to tears on more than one occasion and could imagine my younger self feeling all of the feelings when watching it.  

One thing that really surprised me going from She-Ra: Princess of Power to She-Ra and the Princesses of Power was which characters became my favorite from each show.  In the original show, I was a huge fan of Adora/She-Ra but also loved the looks of Peekablue and Frosta.  In She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, I totally adored Mermista and, mostly surprisingly of all, became a diehard fan of Scorpia.  Both of those characters grow so much through the series, and with Scorpia, you just want her to win and find happiness.  

Before we go on, I have to talk for a moment about music.  Both She-Ra series have memorable theme songs.  The original 80s theme is a riff on the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe theme with a voiceover from titular hero and a chorus of their name, though I find the She-Ra theme to be much catchier.   The theme for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, however, takes catchy to a whole new level with the song “Warriors” performed by Aaliyah Rose.  It’s such a great anthem that’s guaranteed to get stuck in your head.In addition to the original run of Mattel figures and their accompanying playsets upon which the show was launched, the 80s version of She-Ra had plenty of merchandise both then and now including t-shirts, coffee mugs and cups, sticker and coloring books, board games, backpacks and Funko Pops. Starting in the 2000s, Mattel began to cash in on toy collectors’ nostalgia with several series of reissued He-Man and She-Ra figure sets, beginning with Masters of the Universe Classics.  This first series ran from 2008 until 2016 and featured She-Ra characters scattered among those from He-Man throughout the line.  These were good looking collectors’ figures that were based on the original Masters of the Universe sculpts rather than the original She-Ra figures (so they were bulkier and all plastic with sculpted hair).  My own collection includes both Adora and She-Ra as well as Teela from Masters of the Universe. There have been several additional reissue series in the same vein of Masters of the Universe Classics over the years with a new one that just started (the She-Ra from that series was released in February, 2021) and a line of ReAction figures.  Like its predecessor, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power also has its share of cool merchandise including t-shirts, enamel pins, stickers, a line of books and graphic novels aimed at younger readers, and an awesome line of Target exclusive figures.  

I had many of the original She-Ra figures growing up including She-Ra and a Crystal Swiftwind.  I remember always wanting the Crystal Castle playset, but alas, never actually had it (though my extensive Jem and the Holograms collection more than made up for that), but I do still have my childhood She-Ra coloring book.  I haven’t gotten any merchandise from the new show yet – save for the topic of our review, but I blame that on having watched it entirely during the pandemic and having not set foot in a Hot Topic in over a year as of this posting.  

So let’s talk about what we’re going to review today — in 2019, Scholastic (who you may know from your childhood book fairs) released a chapter book designed for grades 1-5 called She-Ra: Origins of a Hero.  Written by Tracey West, this book kicked off an unconnected series of books for the same age group that took place in the world of the Netflix show.  The fourth book, released in early 2020, however was a graphic novel called She-Ra: Legend of the Fire Princess.  It was written by D.G. Gigi and illustrated by Pauline Ganucheau with input from Noelle Stevenson.  That graphic novel, which was a gift from Matt, is the subject of today’s review. As a reminder, here on Rotten Ink, we grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and are looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So get ready for an adventure of friendship and wonder as we look at She-Ra: Legend of the Fire Princess

She-Ra: Legend of the Fire Princess  ****
Released in 2020   Cover Price $12.99   Scholastic   #1 of 1

The Spirit Ember is the hot topic of the day as both the Horde and the Rebellion are seeking this lost rune stone.  As Entrapta and Catra plan their search, Glimmer tells the other princess of the legend of the Fire Princess, whose years of solitude trying to master the secrets of the Spirit Ember ended up destroying her kingdom.  Adora is disturbed by the legend, but soon her attention shifts as a Horde vehicle is reported outside Thaymor.  Queen Angela sends Adora, Glimmer and the others to investigate and permits them to search for the Spirit Ember. Meanwhile, Catra and Scorpia are on their own search, but are decidedly not on the same page about their objectives for the day.  As both teams race toward the Spirit Ember, it becomes clear that everything is not as it seems with the lost runestone and each team will have to not only decide if the rune stone is worth it, but also confront issues of trust and friendship along the way.

Comics based on cartoons (as opposed to cartoons based on comics) can really go either way: they can provide fans with additional stories that are faithful to the shows they love or they can utterly pale in comparison with the source material.  Lucky for us, She-Ra: Legend of the Fire Princess is the former. Just like the show, while this graphic novel is aimed at a younger audience, it’s a great read for fans of any age.  The story of a quest for a lost rune-stone would fit perfectly in the middle seasons of the show and, like all of the episodes, manages to balance the “quest of the day” with the larger things the characters are dealing with emotionally and interpersonally.  You can tell Noelle Stevenson had a hand in this because the tone is just right.  Gigi D.G.’s script is well-paced and gives each character time to shine, and Paulina Ganucheau’s art, which you can see below, fits perfectly with the style of the show.  Given that it is aimed at young readers, this will be a quick read for most, but it still manages to pack in a lot of story and a lot of heart.  If you’re a fan of the show and are craving more She-Ra content after the final season, definitely check this one out.

What a fun trip down the nearer and further stretches of memory lane.  When I proposed a She-Ra comic back in 2013, I had hoped that it would provide context and depth to the 80s characters.  Never could I have imagined a show as amazing as She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and I’m so happy we have it.  For our next update, I’ll be handing the blog back to Matt, but we’ll stay in the world of nostalgia as we visit the 90s for a look at Malibu’s Prototype.  In the meantime, support your local comic shop, be strong and be brave.

American Hero: Super Green Beret

July 4^th is a very special day for America as way back in 1776 we as a nation declared that we were no longer under British rule and that we would be our own nation and the United States Of America became one of the world’s biggest and best. This day every year since has been filled with fireworks, friends & family time and of course grilled out food! This year for July 4^th my lady Juliet and I decided to hang out and enjoy the day and good conversation about movies, comics and of course Horror Hosts and times like these are what make memories that will last. For this Independence Day American Hero update, I have chosen an obscure war hero named Super Green Beret who lasted only two issues and is a character that fits perfectly for Rotten Ink. So if you are ready to spend a little of your holiday time with me here at Rotten Ink and chat about Super Green Beret, then let’s grab a cold drink and get ready for the fireworks to celebrate our freedom.

The United States Army Special Forces, known as The Green Berets, were founded on June 19, 1952 and are the best of the best when it comes to Army soldiers. Growing up in a small village during the Gulf War really exposed me to the military as American Pride was very high. I mean sure, before that I knew a few people in the military like my Grandpa Salyers, but he would never really talk much about it. This was my first real look at military pride as in school for months we had to sing “Proud To Be An American” by Lee Greenwood and our music teacher acted like our Soldiers would know we were singing this for them. When I was older and in my early 20’s, the tragic events of 9/11 happened and once more pride in our military was high as they waged war on terrorism and nations who supported it. And of course this war still rages on to this day as many of our troops are still in areas of high fighting. Also here in our area is the famous Air Force Museum as well as Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, making the area very big for military personal as well as those who are into the history of our fighting forces. So here is to all the brave men and women who have served in our military and have fought for our freedoms and in their own way helped make this blog and update possible.

I’m just going to very briefly touch on the origin of this amazing American Hero known as Super Green Beret! Thile working for Lightning Comics, the team of C.C. Beck and Otto Binder created a war character called Tod Holton Super Green Beret that first hit comic racks in 1967 and was a way for them to deal with the Vietnam War as well as the stress of the time of war that was rippling through America. Super Green Beret lasted a total of two issues before Lightning Comics went out of business, and this was the only comic series made from the company. The character Tod Holton is a high school student who, when he wears a magical Green Beret and salutes, turns into the ultimate hero solider Super Green Beret! When thinking of War Comic characters, names like Sgt. Nick Fury, Sgt. Rock, The Unknown Solider and Enemy Ace come to mind, and sadly Super Green Beret really is a Forgotten Hero who in the world of comics is an American Hero.

Before we get to the comic reviews and before the fireworks fill the sky, I would like to chat a little about a cool toy line that I remember from my childhood that was made by Mattel in 1986 and featured soldiers as well as ninjas! This toy series was called GUTS! and they were all the rage for a very short time among my friend group. I can remember these little guys being everywhere when I was a kid. From the playground all the way to my cousins’ house, it seemed these army toys were super popular. I even owned some of them and can remember playing with them outside in the yard. To be honest, I think that the kids of my generation really liked them as they were a cooler version of the classic Green Plastic Army Men that have been must-have toys for generations. The series would not only feature Army Soldiers and Ninjas but also Laser Fighters and Underwater Attack Forces and not to even mention it had two vehicles released in the series. And the crazy thing being, with about 58 figures made, they all came out in the same year and the toy line only lasted that one year. It was clear Mattel wanted these figures to be a big hit as each character in the series got its own name. The downside to the figures was they fact they were not pose-able and had zero moving parts; plus they were only about 3” tall, a size that did not make them fit in with G.I. Joe figures and was bigger than even the M.U.S.C.L.E. toys making them a very awkward size. It makes one wonder if Mattel will ever try and release a new series of GUTS! and if they will change they style in order to make them more modern. Below are some pictures of GUTS! that include the back of a package that showcases some of the soldiers, an ad for the figures on sale and a group of the figures that was at Game Swap Kettering a year back.

Well at this point I hope you have a grilled cheeseburger or hot dog in hand and your favorite beverage by your side as it’s time for use to take a look at the comic series Super Green Beret from Lightning Comics. I need to first thank YouTube show Comic Tropes for bringing this American Hero character to my attention, and I also would like to thank sellers on Amazon and Ebay for having these comics in stock making this 4^th of July update possible. I want to remind all you readers that I grade these issues on a standard 1-4 star system and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, their entertainment value and their art and story. So let’s see what Super Green Beret brings to the world of war hero comics!

Super Green Beret # 1  **1/2
Released in 1967     Cover Price .25       Lightning     # 1 of 2

“Super Green Beret” Captain Roger Wilson is on leave from the Vietnam for two weeks and visits his nephew Tod Holton and gives him a gift that is a glowing green beret that was given magical powers by a Monk that Roger saved from a wild boar. And when Tod puts the beret on, he becomes an adult that is in complete Green Beret Gear, and he and his uncle find out the magic is real and that Tod has now become Super Green Beret! After his uncle leaves, Tod finds out his magical beret also can pick up war transmissions, and he rushes to Vietnam to save American soldiers that are pinned down inside a cave using his magic to get them out and back to base safely all the while bringing down the enemy. “Rebel Rat-Hole” the President of a Latin American country is under attack by rebels who want to end his life as he wants freedom for his country, and when Tod hears about the attack he puts on the beret and saves the life of the President but also loses his beret to a rebel who steals it and runs away. With the magical beret gone, he turns back into Tod and gets captured and taken to the rebels camp where he is to be shot and killed and asks to die with honor of wearing the green beret and turns into Super Green Beret and beats up the rebels and turns them over to the government. “White Magic In The Black Forest” Tod is at home and working on his history homework about World War II when he gets a message from the past and decides to time travel to the Black Forest of Berlin to aid some American Soldiers against a band of Nazis, and the ultimate payout for this mission is to stop Hitler from getting on a plane the day before he kills himself! The final story is “Sorcery Against Saboteurs!” Tod nexts picks up an evil plot by the Vietcong that has them wanting to blow up a bridge that American trucks are driving on, and when he gets there to stop it his beret falls off and into the water and he is once more taken prisoner but not before he stops the explosion! They then throw Tod into the river where the beret is and with the help of an alligator he is able to get the beret back on and stops a suicide boat that next tries to crash into the bridge. In the end Super Green Beret is able to save the Army Truck filled with soldiers, repair the bridge with magic and then lead the US Soldiers to the enemy base and once more Super Green Beret saves the day!

This first issue is King Sized and featured 4 action packed Super Green Beret adventures and one just normal war story and gives the readers a full dose of a war comic hero that Lightning was hoping would have been a major hit with comic fans and would have been their top character and could have launched them into a major player in the comic industry. Each of these stories featuring Super Green Beret are different and yet still the same as it follows a very simple formula of Tod getting a message from the beret, he puts the beret on and uses magic in order to help American soldiers and from time to time he loses the beret during the battle and turns into normal teenage Tod who most of the time easily gets it back. And while by modern comic standards this would be considered a very boring issue, I enjoyed the fact that it was clearly a product of its time and tried its best to deliver a message of USA is the best and anything is possible in a world so seriously strange…wait isn’t that the catch phrase of YouTube star Rob Gavagan? Tod Holton is a teenager who wants to grow up and be like his uncle and become a war hero, and when he gets a magical green beret he becomes a supernatural soldier hero that always saves the day. Tod is a smart kid who knows his history and can think quick in order to problem solve and have a plan to defeat the enemies of freedom. Super Green Beret is really just an adult version of Tod that is protected by magic and can use this magic in order to protect American Soldiers and use against the foreign armies. Over all Super Green Beret appears during the battle or event, uses his powers and like a phantom in the night is gone and returns back being Tod. The bad guys are the Vietcong and even the Nazis and the ones they show are bloodthirsty, terrorist freedom hating goons who are dangerous and dumb. The cover is pretty great and is eye catching at is show Super Green Beret kicking some butt and the bright yellow background makes it stand out. The interior art is done by Carl Pfeufer, and while very classically simple and not ground breaking, I like it for the most part besides some of the over exaggerated features of the comics bad guys, I could do without that. Over all Super Green Beret # 1 is a fun read, and while not amazing, it’s a great American Hero style comic that’s perfect for your July 4^th holiday.

Super Green Beret # 2  *1/2
Released in 1967     Cover Price .25       Lightning     # 2 of 2

“The Lion God Of Mokuru” A pair of American Peace Corps members are about to be thrown into lava on the orders of Simba The Lion God as they want to bring electricity to a small village, and Simba is not having it. The Monk that has the beret power calls on Tod to become Super Green Beret who saves the two men and fights off the villagers, who now are begging him to protect them from Simba’s rage! Super Green Beret starts looking around the volcano and ends up getting poisoned and taken prisoner by Domo Yamata, who is the President using the legend of Simba to make his people fall in line. Domo then tries to murder Super Green Beret by placing him in an active volcano with dynamite that will explode and set off some rumbles that will scare the villagers to think Simba is mad at them. Super Green Beret escapes the trap, but the explosion sets free Domo’s pet lion who goes after the Presidents son with Super Green Beret arriving at the right time and saving the young man, stops the lava from hitting the village and these actions make Domo the leader of his people he should be and that includes allowing the electricity to come to the village. “Dawn Of American Freedom!” Tod is hanging out with his classmates at a soda shop and remembers he needs to write a paper on 1776 and rushes to the library only to find it closed! He then decides to do the next best thing and that’s put on the magical Green Beret and time travel to 1776 in order to learn about that years history and battles. And right off the bat saves some Americans against British Soldiers and meets Martha Page and takes her to a ball hosted by General Howe. Once there he is found out to be an American Spy and is set to die via firing squad and escapes just in time in order to help the American Soldiers defeat the British ones. “Ambush” a small village in Vietnam is supporting US troops, but the North Vietnamese keep stopping any and all food shipments making the American Soldiers and the villagers starve. Super Green Beret arrives in time to save the village’s leader who sadly turns out to be a spy and has been helping the enemy all along as he is getting food while his people go hungry. Super Green Beret figures this out, but is attacked by the Village Leader’s Wife and they drop him off to the General of the bad guys that wants to kill him after they stop the next food drop off attack. But thanks to a young kid, Super Green Beret escapes and sets up his own plan and along with American Soldiers they take down the Vietcong with their own ambush. Super Green Beret gets the soldiers and villagers food and then returns home and his life as teenager Tod.

Wow, this second issue of Super Green Beret is really bad, and for the most part, sad to say, is super boring with poor storytelling! Some of my biggest problems with this issue are the fact they cannot keep their own lore straight as in the story “Dawn Of American Freedom” Super Green Beret walks around with the magical beret off, when every time before this made the hero turn back into a teenager, not to even mention his magical powers seem to go away for the most part and are replaced with super strength, and the Monk who placed the magic in the beret seems to be the one now who contacts Tod via the messages coming from the magic hat…like they really needed to get their character folklore down. While in the first issue I found myself enjoying every adventure equally as they each had a fun nature to them, in this second issue I found that I really was not much into any of the stories and “Ambush” would be the only one I can say had a glimmer of hope at being a solid War Hero comic story. Tod in this issue seems to kind of just have a smirk on his face at all times and has no issues blowing off his school work to go play hero, and even at one point turns into his alter ego just so he can try and catch up on a history paper he was slacking off on. So in other words Tod has changed and is not the teen that we meet in the first issue. Super Green Beret also has gone through a change as he is no longer super magically charged and now has the power of a weight lifting steroid addict! He also for some reason delivers some really bad one-liners while he is fighting the baddies even at one point talking about how he is from the Pepsi Generation…just terrible. The bad guys in this issue as well come off as dummies that have the upper hand and are defeated quickly when they fumble around. The cover for issue two as well is pretty dang good and eye catching, not to even mention the interior art is once more done by Carl Pfeufer and is great simple classic style stuff. Over all while I have never been a major fan of War Comics, I did find the first issue to be an enjoyable read and Super Green Beret to be a noble and patriotic character that was worth a read, and found the second issue to be the opposite and very much a boring poorly comic adventure. So Super Green Beret is a comic American Hero, and while he is no Captain America, he did do his part to fight for Freedom! Check out the artwork below to see the style of artist Pfeufer.

So I hope that you enjoyed this look at Super Green Beret on this 2020 July 4^th Holiday update! And I hope that during this virus crisis we are all going through together, you are getting to spend some safe/socially distanced time with your loved ones and eat some great grilled out food and that there are some fireworks in your area to fill the night sky. While this crisis is scary, I do also hope that it’s made us all appreciate our family, friends and co-workers even more than ever have before. For our next update, I am going to keep The American Hero theme going as I will be covering a DC Comic One Shot issue called Battle Classics that brings together many of their War Comic Heroes including Sgt. Rock! So until next time, enjoy your holiday and tell your family and friends that you care about them. See you next update for another round of War with comic book heroes.

 

The Bright Colored Fur Balls Known As The Popples!

Welcome back to Rotten Ink, my place on the World Wide Web that brings my past and present together and allows me to chat about things I enjoy from comic books, movies, video games, music and Horror Hosts. It’s crazy to think that it’s already 2019 and 2018 is in the history books. Before we start our look at Popples, I am going to answer a few questions that I get asked by readers and friends about what are some of the most popular posts on this blog! I will break them down and share the top two posts for some of the most popular update themes, “Horror Host Icon” and “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic,” the ones you readers seem to love the most and the ones I get the most requests to cover. The “Horror Host Icon” updates are hands down one of my most popular themes as they hit home for many of you readers who grew up watching Hosts on TV and even modern viewers who catch their favorite’s on the internet. The top three most read Horror Hosts I have covered as of this posting are: Morgus The Magnificent being the most read Icon update followed very closely by both Commander USA and USA Saturday Nightmares! As for the From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update that has been the most read, that honor goes to Phantasm and is followed by I, Frankenstein and The Willies! So there you have it and with more updates in both of those themes, who knows what updates will be the top in 2020! So with that out of the way, I think it’s time we once more visit that magical world of Star Comics and chat about their mini series based on the popular 80’s plush dolls The Popples. So get your cool 80’s gear on and let’s travel back to when plush dolls were cool and no one had a smart phone glued to their face.

Popples were stuffed dolls that were weird looking animal creatures who could roll up into a ball and were a craze for a short time in he 80’s. So let’s take a look at Popples: the doll, cartoon and comics! American Greetings company Those Characters From Cleveland (TCFC) was the company behind the creation of Popples as their employee Susan Trentel was the designer who invented the roll up action of the dolls as she drew inspiration from rolling up socks! Susan was also the designer who brought to life Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake showing that she was a pioneer of 80’s toys and characters. She along with Thomas Schneider created the first Popples prototype. They went to toy company Mattel, and in 1986, these stuffed dolls were unleashed in toy aisles as well in the world of cartoons thanks to DIC Entertainment and comic books thanks to Star Comics. The dolls would last until 1988 and would have many waves and styles released during this short run including Pocket Popples, a line that was almost like action figures. The cartoon would run for 44 episodes and would go off the air in 1987 with three episodes never airing. The comic series would last for 4 issues and would come to an end in 1987. This sadly is much like many of Star Comics releases based on toys and cartoons. But while the Popples did not make their way into the 90’s and the toy industry moved on, they had two short lived comebacks with the first being in 2007 when Playmates released new Popples figures that only lasted four releases and in 2015 Netflix did a new cartoon series for their streaming service and toy company Spin Master ended up doing a toy line based on this new show. What does the future have in store for the Popples? In 2018 they were sold to Hasbro leaving them open to be made into more toys, cartoons, comics and even video games!

Growing up a kid of the 80’s and 90’s was glorious. As you have heard me say before, we had so many amazing movies, video games, comics and toys and it really was a great time growing up! In these times before the internet was all the rage, many of the big deals that were the talk on the playgrounds was stuff like video games, wrestling, comic books and the newest toys that were on everyone’s must own list…and I can safely say that while I heard them mentioned from time to time and even saw some of the girls have them, the Popples were never a major deal at my school. I remember my neighbor Joanna had some and that’s how I got to first interact with one, and while it was cool that they could turn into a ball, I never did want one as by the time they were released so many other toys, games, comics, horror movies and one special girl were on my radar. Now I need to stress I had nothing against the Popples, they were just clearly more geared toward girls and they were just not something many boys were flocking to. In fact I can remember many toy ads for these plush dolls showing up in comic books I was reading at the time, showing that the toymakers were really trying to make youngsters pay attention to them and help create the demand for them to be on every child’s Christmas and Birthday list. So while Popples were around and a part of my youth, I never really had a major connection to them and by all accounts they just were viewed by my friends and I as girl toys.

So like all good 80’s toys at the time Popples were just not dolls and action figures as these little puffballs have graced all types of other merchandise! The Popples also had the cartoons released on VHS. They had their own vinyl records, books, coloring books, lunch box, board game, shirts, cake pan, bowls, TV tray, stickers, valentine cards and much more. In other words the Popples were everywhere, and they were being pushed to really be a powerhouse in the kids market. While they had a good run, they never did capture the market like Care Bears, Smurfs and Strawberry Shortcake did before them.

Stuffed Dolls in the 80’s and early 90’s were very popular among the youth as besides Popples ones like Pound Puppies, Care Bears, My Pet Monster, Rainbow Brite, My Buddy and Teddy Ruxpin were all on kids must have lists and many of my friends as well as myself had many of these plush. So let’s now dive into the world of Star Comics who made a very short lived comic series based on the cartoon version of the Popples and see how well they were as kid comic stars. I want to think both Lone Star Comics and Bell Book And Comic for having these issues in stock and making this review possible. I must also say that I am very shocked and yet really not that Star Comics decided to do a comic series based on Popples in 1986 as they ignored some vey popular toys from the time like Teddy Ruxpin, Jem And The Holograms, My Pet Monster, Nerfuls and so many others. Plus I still really wished that they would have done a comic series based on one of my childhood heroes and icons Commander USA, who was a Horror Host that would have made an amazing kids comic book hero. But let’s not talk about would could have been and instead, let’s focus on what was, as we take some fun adventures with the Popples. Oh and what would an update be without me reminding you all that I grade these issues on a star scale of 1 to 4 and you are looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story.

Popples # 1   *1/2
Released in 1986      Cove Price .75       Star Comics      # 1 of 4

Youngsters Billy and Bonnie have gone into New York to go shopping, and after some time passes, the Popples decide to follow them and wind up wandering the city. While walking the streets they come across a dog who has stolen an orange from a stand and follow it back to a limo where they find Alice the young daughter of the ambassador, who has decided to run away from home and hide in her father’s car. Some of the Popples follow the dog into the mansion and find out the young girl’s babysitter is really Madam Spy who is looking for top-secret information! When Alice decides to go back home, the Popples warn her of Madam Spy and they all escape in the limo as a Popple uses magic to drive and Madam Spy puts on jogging shoes and gives chase! Madam Spy wants to get to the Ambassador first so she can take him hostage and find out the big secret, and Alice with the Popples want to get to him to warn of the spying! In the end the Popples and Alice warn her father of the danger and Madam Spy and her helper are arrested with Alice learning the big secret is she is going to be a big sister! In the end the Popples find Bonnie and Billy who hide them in their shopping bags and set out for home.

This Star Comic first issue based on an 80’s toyline is not very good and is so far the weakest I have read from Star to date as I found this kids comic very boring and the characters of the Popples really annoying! The plot of this issue has the Popples going to New York and helping a sad young girl to warn her father of the evil Madam Spy who wants to steal all the secrets he has. The Popples who are the heroes of this comic are riddle talking, bouncing around little fuzzy goofballs who just want to have fun and help capture a spy by accident by stumbling in on the crime. Plus I need to say the Popples also all have weird names like Potato Chip, Party and Puffball to name a few. Madam Spy is the main baddy in the issue and she is by no means dangerous, she just really wants to steal secrets and bring them to the league of spies. Alice, Billy and Bonnie are all just goofy kids who enjoy shopping, oranges and having fun. The thing about this kids comic is that it really is kind of dull and never once did I feel like Alice, her father or the Popples had any danger around them. The cover is pretty eye catching and has that true 80’s kid comic charm, and the interior art is good and done by John Costanza and has that Star Comics style. Over all I don’t have much to say about this issue besides it was a below average read, and it makes me hope the rest of this series is not this bland.

Popples # 2   **
Released in 1987      Cove Price .75       Star Comics      # 2 of 4

Bonnie and Billy come home from school super sad, and the Popples find out that they have both lost their positions on the sports teams and are down in the dumps over it. Some of the Popples stay home to try and cheer up the kids while the others go to the school to see who replaced their friends on the teams. And while there, they meet Tina Terrific a young lady who never jokes and laughs and is good at everything and have replaced Bonnie as head cheerleader and Billy as quarterback. All the other kids fear and dislike her as she shows them all that she is the best and likes to rub it in their faces. After practice a Popple tries to make Tina laugh and find himself being kidnapped by her, and as the others find out the all give chase to get their friend back and that includes Billy and Bonnie. Finally the Popples are able to get their friend back and try to make Tina laugh, and even inform her that people dislike her over her behavior and attitude. This upsets the young girl who runs away and into Billy and Bonnie who end up inviting her to a party at their house and find a new friend in her as she also changes her way of thinking and becomes a fun person.

Issue two brings this kids comic in the right direction as it offers a lesson as well as a fun and goofy adventure for our heroes the Popples. This time around the Popples meet a young girl who pushes herself to be the best at everything and has an ego about herself that drives her peers away, and our fuzzy little friends must show her the error of her ways. This comic has a message and that’s make sure to have a little fun in your life and don’t treat all other around you as if you’re better than them, it also has a message of don’t judge people before you really get to know them. The Popples in this issue are the same fun loving, cheesy joke spewing fuzz balls who just seem to be wandering through life spreading joy and laughter. Tina Terrific is a lonely young girl who has no friends and is so good at everything she walks around school like she’s pro wrestling icon Ric Flair! The thing is she is just a sad youngster who would love to have friends but doesn’t know how to make them. I want to also point out that Puzzle Popple is a jerk as he with no thought tells a young kid that nobody likes her, I mean my gosh I was surprised he didn’t just tell her to kill herself! Puzzle Popple, you’re a terrible little creature with no respect. The pacing of this issue is better than the first issue and while better is still about and average kids comic based on toys. The cover on this issue is just okay and nothing special and this time around again John Costanza does the interior artwork. Over all not a terrible issue and was entreating for the most part, so let’s see what issue three has in store for us.

Popples # 3   **1/2
Released in 1987     Cove Price .75      Star Comics      # 3 of 4

The Popples are on a camping trip with Billy and Bonnie and have decided that they wanted to explore the wilderness for awhile and have fun by building a campfire and telling stories. Meanwhile at one of the nearby cabins, a young man named Seth who only watches TV that features aliens is forced to go outside by his mother and freaks out when he sees the Popples in the woods as he thinks they are aliens! As the youngster runs for his life he runs into real aliens Yuckle, Buckle and Clive of the Kelvin Empire who look like normal people and decide to investigate these fuzzy aliens the youth is telling them about. And once the aliens find them the Popples welcome their new friends to spend time around the campfire and play and this scares the aliens out of their minds! The aliens think that the Popples are bloodthirsty war machines and run for their lives as the Popples chase them thinking they are playing chase, the aliens make it to Seth and them have themselves beamed back up to their mother ship. With the aliens gone the Popples end up talking and playing with Seth who learns they are not aliens and has made new friends.

Issue three of the Popples this far is the best in the series as it really captures the true fun and silly nature of a kid’s comic and brings more personality to them. The plot has the Popples on a camping trip were they meet a new friend who is a fan of Sci-Fi films and as well unknowingly save the Earth from an alien invasion as their fun ways chase them off. The Popples in this issue are in nature and enjoying life by playing and telling stories by a fire, and thanks to their good nature attitudes they are able to scare off aliens who wished to do us all harm. The Aliens who look like little kids start off as war focused and fearsome on wanting to take down Earth and soon turn into cowards when they come face to face with the Popples magic. What makes this issue work for me is the fact it’s a camping issue as I feel that kids comic based around doing this activity always makes for a good atmosphere and brings back so many memories of being a kid running around the woods. The cover is pretty good and is eye catching with the use of the color yellow that always makes a cover stand out. The interior art once more is done by John Costanza who really does great work in the world of kids comics done by Star as it has a really cartoonish look. Over all this is a solid and fun read and mixes Kids comics with Sci-Fi comics and this far is the best issue in the series, I wonder if the next and final issue will be as good or better…so let’s not wait and find out.

Popples # 4  **1/2
Released in 1987     Cove Price .75      Star Comics     # 4 of 4

Bonnie and Billy are down in the dumps as they do not have enough money to buy their mother a gift for her birthday, and this even has the Popples a little down. But when Billy comes home with a flyer for a pet show that pays $50.00 to the winner the Popples are go out into the world and is going to find a pet for their friends they think could win. While across town at the mansion of the Van Ritz their pet French Poodle Prince who is sick and tired of being treated like a puppy by his owners and escapes the house via the fireplace that turns his fur black and while on the streets he is being chased by a dog catcher and is saved by the Popples who take him to Billy and Bonnie as their new pet they name Champion! But things look rough as Champion due to being babied his whole life does not know any tricks or the ones he does he completes them all wrong. But the Popples and the kids don’t give up and end up training Champion so well that he becomes the winner of the contest! But during his award ceremony Champion has an itch and by scratching he knocks off the black color and the Van Ritz come alive when they see their lost dog Prince is in fact Champion! So the Van Ritz’s get their dog back and Billy and Bonnie win the money and end up buying a puppy for their mom for her birthday.

The fourth and final issue in the Popples comic series from Star Comics is a pretty good read for fans of these fluffy plush dolls and those who love 80’s kids comics. This issue’s plot has the Popples and their human friends finding a stray runaway dog and training him to win a dog show so they can get the prize money and buy the mom a great birthday gift. This one is fun as it really felt like a cartoon episode that you would have seen on Saturday Morning Cartoons back in the 80’s and as well had a little Harvey Comics feel. That’s the one thing that for me always set Star Comics apart from the other Kids comics being made in the 80’s and even early 90’s is they always delivered entertaining adventures for home grown characters as well as others that came from toys and cartoons. And while I do think that the Popples is one of the weakest series they released, it still holds lots of nostalgic fun for a reader like me who grew up in the 80’s and know what the Popples are. The Popples not only in this issue but in the whole series are silly, happy go lucky fuzz balls who enjoy pranking, partying and laughing and its clear P.C. Popple is the leader of this group as he has the true magic touch and can do what ever he wants just by snapping his fingers. Billy and Bonnie are just good kids who enjoy as well having a good time but also show they focus on being active and doing the right thing. This ones cover is ok and is eye catching for fans of these guys and once more John Costanza does the interior art and shows that he has true talent for drawing kids comics. Over all this comic series was just ok and this could be one of the cheesiest and lowest rated from me this far on Rotten Ink, but I still had lots of fun reading it and revisiting the 80’s and when Popples originated no matter how little they impacted my youth. Check out the art below to see the style of Costanza and see what I mean that his style really does fit for kid’s comics.

So now that we have had a fun time with the Popples and shared some flashback memories with many of you readers, I think my next update will be something cool from my past that did mean something to me and impacted my youth and that’s the original Star Trek and the film Wrath Of Khan! As I promised back on my update for the Marvel Comic Star Trek series, I think it’s time to start the adaptations of the films and our next update will do just that. So until next time, read a comic or three, buy a 80’s toy or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next time for another space adventure with Captain Kirk.

 

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.

Should Have Beens From My Friends

Welcome back to part two of the wish list of what should have been made by Star Comics/Marvel.  With my top 10 picks done, let’s take a look at a few others people’s thoughts and wants. This is going to be a long update, so sit back, scroll down and have fun looking at these picks down memory lane!

First up is my brother, Bryan Brassfield who is only three years older than me and also grew up through the 80’s and 90’s. Bryan is a collector of movies and toys and also enjoys a good comic. In fact, when we were younger he used to make his own comic called “Weird Tales of Waynesville,” a fun horror comedy look at our home town. Bryan has also directed a few no budget films that include Twisted Batman and Nightmare.  He also was making a film called The Kenny Rogers Project that fell into development hell. Bryan also has acted in many Andrew Copp films that include Black Sun, Atrocity Circle and Quiet Nights of Blood and Pain, and played a drunken abusive father for Josh Weinberg in his One Second Too Late series. Bryan now is married and lives peacefully with his wife and daughter in Germantown, Ohio. So without further ado, let’s get on to his top 5!

#5

Most people wouldn’t give a shit, but I would have loved to seen a Sucker-man comic book with him being a crime fighter!

#4

Hey WWF and WCW had their own comic books, why not the AWA! Imagine Sgt. Slaugher, Rick Martell, and Greg Gagne battling the likes of The Road Warriors and Baron Von Rashke.

#3

Gross out humor comic that would be a combination of Mad/Cracked magazines with the Garbage Pail Kid gang. This would have been really cool.

#2

Another comic book that would have a good cast of characters who could have dealt with the mythology and back story. If I’m not mistaken, I think it also had a Manga based on it.

 Note From Matt: Small Publisher BlackThorne had a 4 issue run of Battle Beast in 1988.

#1

They probably made a Magna out of this, but I think they could have done one for American audiences that would feature Muscle Man and his “Thug Busters” battling Teri-Bull and his “Cosmic Crunchers.”

The second to share his list is my cousin Stephen Alexander II, who just so happens to also be one of my best friends.  At a young age Stephen lived for Bon Jovi, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Horror Films, and Nintendo, but he was terrified of Chucky from Child’s Play that lead to many pranks that I am sure warped him to this day. Nowadays Stephen is one of the founders of a beard & mustache club in Dayton called the Gem City Gentlemen of the Guided Beard who have been seen on the IFC show Whisker Wars. Stephen also is a no budget actor who has starred in such films as Wolf Hunter 2, Vampire Peeper of Greene County and Bark at the Moon: Oliver to name a few. He also enjoys a fine glass of beer and repairing old smoking pipes. He also is responsible for helping me to find and dig up Baron Von Porkchop to host the show Terrifying Tales of the Macabre. So let’s get to his top 5 list!

#5

To me this is a no-brainer, you have just the right amount of disgusting mixed with a cast of crazy characters to make a great comic.  They could have literally done anything with this (besides make a crappy movie).  A comic would have been a perfect route for this franchise.

#4

This one may take a little bit of imagination, but it could be done. The way I picture it is you follow a main character or several main characters that are on a quest to defeat arena Pog masters all over the world to be crowned Pog king or champion or whatever. While he/she/they are on their quest they run into all kinds of insane Pog warriors. I think it would have made a great series of comics, and hell I probably would have owned the whole set.

#3

I think this was another huge missed opportunity on it’s creators part. This could have been an epic journey through the mind. As a mad scientist creates these nasty Crawlers to take over the world, but one hero/heroes stands in his way. Every edition could have different ways the mad scientists makes new Creepy Crawlers, and the hero/heroes have to find a way to stop him. It would have been comic gold!

#2

I loved this show as a kid, and it would have translated into comics amazingly. They could have just continued the travels of Mike and the robots through space, and we could have caught a glimpse of what happens when they don’t have to watch a terrible movie. Every comic could even be a continuation of one of the shows even. It would have been something I would have owned for sure.

#1

One of my all time favorite Nickelodeon shows. This could have easily translated into a comic. They would just take the Midnight Society and make them do what they do best, tell ghost stories. It practically writes itself, and they could do more with the comic that the show maybe wouldn’t allow, effects and that kind of jazz. Drawing it the pages of a comic would be much more cost effective I would think and it would have been a great comic book line for kids of all ages.

Next up is Matt Hoffman a friend of mine since high school and one of the co-founders of our no budget film company Independent B Movie. Matt is a comic fan and some would say a super fan of Superman.  Matt used to have a crush on Britney Spears and is one hell of a good cook.  Matt, known to his friends as Hoffman or Hotch, has been in many no budget films like Teen Suicide, Vampire Peeper of Greene County, Werewolf of Ohio 2, Bark at the Moon: Scars, Farmer Joe and is known for playing The Wolf Hunter in numerous films as well as writing and directing two films so far in that series. Hoffman no longer lives in Ohio but is still hunting wolves in Colorado. He also worked at Mavericks Cards and Comics as an early teen. Hoffman is a great friend and has picked some franchises that have had comics, and some odd choice ones for kid comics, but who am I to cross the Wolf Hunter! 

#5

I would have love to see this in a comic book form because it really reminds me a lot of a mix between Starship Troopers and Avatar.  Both has its own merits , but if you took both those concepts and visual graphics, it would have been a cool concept to make as a regular series. Imagine the story would continue from the first game that then leads into the second game where its a terran all out battle. The last remaining of the hive enslaves the photos to destroy the terrans last stronghold before total annihilation.

Note From Matt:  Publisher WildStorm had a 7 issue run of Starcraft in 2009.

#4

The movie left out a lot of details and information as of how things really happened and what happened there after the peace between man and the machines. I would have loved to seen the different aspects of the creation of it to the total enslavement of all humans as batteries. I see the comic story breaking into several different titles given focus on certain characters like Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus along with Agent Smith. I can see one off branch giving the pre-story while others follow each character as it leads into the movies while even finishing the story after the movie series end.

Note From Matt: Small Publisher Burly Man had a 2 issue run of Matrix in 2003.

#3

Hear me out on this one. With all the folklore and myths about the end of all supposed humanity and life will never be the same again based off of 1000 years old testimonies of a forgotten tribe, you could really have played with in so many ways. The movie was okay , but the comic could show different parts of the world or even how the world gets destroyed. The story could involve characters from all parts of the globe and how their civilizations and countries are preparing for an unknown disaster and not knowing how to prepare for it. Mass chaos would erupt and violence and devastation would rule the land. And it comes down to the exact moment, and the series ends just like that. 

#2

Now tell me that isn’t self explanatory . The story is awesome, you can go with different stories, different levels. The action and the graphics are killer and just overall it’s my favorite game of all time. I don’t really have to create to much imagination just to have it continue on where the games and movies have left off. I would love to have known more about Leon and Claire and the town of raccoon city before it got hit with the T-virus to during the initial onslaught of the zombies. Kind of like The Walking Dead but with those characters instead.

 Note From Matt: Publisher Marvel had a 1 issue run of Resident Evil in 1996 that was a free give away. In 2009 Wildstorm had a 4 issue run and then a 6 issue run that started in 2000.

#1

Now I know you expected this one to pop up. The story behind the movies are so in-depth that they really can’t be translated to film as well as into a comic form. The vast amount of characters and villains would be ample amount of writing material to create a graphic novel/comic series. I see it picking up from after Armageddon to find that The Wolfhunter has been left blind in one eye and one of his hand has been ripped off from his battle with Ravenger. Malice has been killed and Ravenger disappeared.  The government has created a lethal army to hunt down and kill all remaining werewolves and to capture the Wolfhunter. Oliver was able to transform back to human form and is aiding in the capture efforts of the Wolfhunter. Duke and the Wolfhunter guild are in hiding while trying to regain forces to make one last stand against the Werewolves den. The Wolfhunter trains his apprentice to carry on his legacy as he fights his last battle.

Note from Matt – In 2008 a Wolf Hunter comic book was in the works and was being worked on by local comic artist Justin Wasson. The series while not fully dead in the water, is on the back burner and has been there for many years now. But never say never that this series might see the light of day, below is some art for the comic, so enjoy!

Now it’s time for a dear friend of mine named A. Ghastlee Ghoul, a local horror host from Dayton, Ohio. Ghastlee has been hosting his show “The Ghastlee Movie Show” since 1989 and has tickled the funny bone of late night TV viewers. Ghastlee also has appeared on many other shows such as New Shock Theater, Terrifying Tales of the Macabre, Media Only and many more. Ghastlee is the godfather of the Horror Host Underground, a show trading network that allows hosts to show fellow hosts in their area. He also hosts Weird Web Theater, a YouTube horror host show, and has done Friday Monstercasts on The Monster Channel. He’s also been nice enough to have me on his show to play his “son” or a crazed guy who says he is his son! Ghastlee has also directed movies like “Joe Nosferatu Homeless Vampire” and starred in films Black Sun, Songs in the Key of Satan.  He’s written books and short stories and plays music in two bands! His band Splattertude is also the official band of Cinema Wasteland Horror Convention. Ghastlee also loves a good cigar and is a master of the Karaoke arts.  I call Ghastlee Father and great friend, and a man who has inspired me in ways to create.  So let’s get into his top 5 because I could go on forever on the legend A. Ghastlee Ghoul!

#5

“One of my favorite games as a kid. Robots punching each other until their heads pop off. How cool is that? Long before Robot Jox or Real Steel, the Marx toy company knew how cool it is!”

#4

“A bizarre late 60’s/early 70’s cartoon by Dave DePatie and Friz Freleng. Vibrant, surreal art and smart writing. The show only ran for seventeen episodes, but the concept has so many possibilities. In the right hands it could still make a great comic book series today. Maybe they could write in a robot.”

#3

“Classic sci-fi. I’m surprised it was never turned into a comic. The Krell, monsters from the Id AND Robby the Robot?! Yes, please!”

 Note From Matt: Small Publisher Inovation had a 4 issue run of Forbidden Planet in 1992.

#2

“It’s a concept you could have as much fun with today as we did on Saturday mornings when I was a kid. Pre-Power Rangers stories where the kids are heroes…and, oh yeah, there are robots and things blowing up!”

#1

“A given for me. My childhood hero! I could see Creep as your gentle, wry guide through the world of the macabre, and then at the end of every vignette he shows up and kicks the bad guy’s butt with a mighty HOO-HAH-HAAAAA!!! The best of all worlds! And Big Robot from Clubhouse 22 could even make a cameo!”

Next up is my pal Louie Lerma who is known around here in Dayton for being a founding member of the lucha surf rock band Team Void and for also being Retina on Horror Host show Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go! Louie is one cool guy, and we have worked on many TV shows and concert events together. In fact Louie is also the uncle of one of my friends, Bruce.  So without anymore wait, let’s get to Louie’s List!

#5

1960’s – Starting with one of my heroes Ray Dennis Steckler. He was an actor/director/ camera man/writer/ producer. He worked on low budgets. Ray Dennis Steckler was inspired by and used what was around him: friends/ family/ location/ costumes. He believed shooting without a script freed up the storyline which made his movies better. Scripts and props especially crippled movies because once you chase a script and must buy certain props you have stopped the movie’s creativity.

Ray’s Movie List: Wild Guitar. Thrill Killers. Incredibly Strange Creatures Who died And Became Mixed Up Zombies. Lemon Grove Kids. And so many more…

I would like to see this comic based on him as he is making one of his crazy movies. Each movie that he made is the issue title. Depict Ray putting together his movie and convincing other people to become part…. as the comic unfolds you will see the full feature itself. Just like in Ray’s movies such as the “Thrill Killers,” it starts out as an intense thriller and ends as a cowboy chase on canyon roads… wild ride plot twists always surprising and fun!!

One of my favorite Ray Dennis Steckler movie is “The Adventures Of Rat Phink And Boo Boo.” It starts out as a hostage movie, then the characters become superheroes by jumping into a closet to save the day! Leading up to the “Incredibly Strange” issue that would be a monster musical. You never know where each adventure will take you, loose storyline written as we draw up this comic using his stan!

#4

1970’s – A comic based on horror show host, Svengoolie from Chicago on his show Screaming Yellow Theater. The comic would be drawn in R. Crumb style and follow Svengoolie as he hosts a mondo crazy movie. Each issue would open up with a special guest sneaking over to his coffin -knocking ever so gently to wake the star up!

The comic must highlight Svengoolie’s quick wit one liners firing off to the audience, draw them in left and right directions across the page, go wild with the comic like his style joke delivery. It would have to have him waving around a rubber chicken and having fun while having a blast with his guests, sketches sick parodies breaking out. Include commercial page inserts of products to use during his movies as funny jokes for breaks…

I would like to see this one made because I’m a horror show host myself and love Jerry G. Bishop as the original “Svengoolie” funny cool style.

#3

1980’s – A fly-on-the-wall comic based on H.P. Lovecraft’s “Herbert West” and drawn Brian Yuzna style. Lead character likeness of 80-s actor Jeffrey Combs. The issues would be printed black/white using textured highlights in Re-animator neon green and bloodiest reds.

Issues begin at private research laboratory as Professor Grubber goes all through West’s career coming to experiment at America’s unsuspecting colleges. Feature his curt wit working through daily wicked routines. A day in the life of Re-animator: who he befriends to conduct experiments and his enemies due to his demoralized ethics. Have to feature taking off the Dean’s head; the head becomes a voice for devils advocate to West’s gruesome fun.

 Note From Matt: Small Publisher Adventure Comics had a 3 issue Movie Adaptation in 1991, and a 4 issue run in 1992 followed. Dynamite Comics had a 1 shot issue in 2005.

#2

1990’s – Twin Peaks -The Comic Saga. This was one of my favorite shows through early 90s. I love mysteries but I do believe David Lynch and the writers were messing with everybody! In this series the comic will explore Laura Palmer’s death affecting all Twin Peaks neighbors: quirky characters that knew and loved her.

The comic would be taking place in Twin Peaks after Laura’s death, narrated by Special Agent Dale Cooper, FBI speaking into his voice recorder to his secretary, Diane. Interjections by D Lynch via intercom speaker, telephone, one final cameo in front of the camera.

Twin Peaks soundtrack brings the dark mood: reverb resounding echoes of everyone’s life and thoughts. Too bad you cannot hear the music while you read the comic! (2012? Yes, easily the comic cover would have a CD insert/i Phone code/ recommendation for the reader to listen to the score by Angelo Badalementi as you feel this twisted story.)

#1

2000’s – Based on true facts for paranormal and supernatural unexplained phenomena. Name this comic “Uncovered True Paranormal; Ghosts, UFO,s USOs, Mothman, Bigfoot, Sea Creatures, All Strange Creatures And Mysterious Landmarks As We Discover Them.”

Each issue would follow three cases/ encounters and their witnesses in regional proximity to each other. Maybe discover links as the comic explores the topics.

Each situation would feature experts to the scenario and bring the reader knowledge about each witnesses experiences. I would really love to see this comic use all new, latest technology invented to investigate these claims. A compelling comic series dealing in facts that keep growing as people learn more about all these phenomena and our world.

If anybody wants to take on these comics with me, please do. Thank you for reading my thoughts about the 5 decades of my life for comic books. This goes out to my buddy Matt Brassfield who inspired me to write this page.

Yours truly,
Luis Lerma

Chris “Bizcuit” Corwin is next up, and I have know this man since I was in my late teens when he was one of my managers at Blockbuster Video, and one of my favorite co-workers. Bizcuit nowadays works for a movie theater in the Greene and is also a stand up comedian that can been seen on the stage of The Funnybone Comedy Club! Bizcuit is a film lover and a comic book reader who has also was an extra in the Sylvester Stallone film Driven. So with that in mind let’s get onto the funny man’s picks for his top five should have been comics in his youth.  Oh yeah, and he was a rebel and could not keep his picks to 5.  So he did 8, and I am okay with that!

#8

I think this would be great because there were so many more stories that are to be told and situations to get out of using everyday objects, gum, and paper clips. It would be like a “How To” guide if you were ever held hostage or had to defuse a bomb with only 30 seconds left.

 Note From Matt: Publisher Image had a 5 issue run of Macgyver in 2012.

#7

Crooked small town sheriff and his inept deputy who moves like a jungle cat (watch the show to get that joke) and their misadventures solving crime. With guest appearance occasionally by B.J. and the Bear. I liked Lobo even though he was flawed he tried to do good.

#6

This just screams comic to me. Writers could delve in to Magnum’s history and his time in Vietnam. What is Higgins’ background? He could be a super badass and you would never know. How about Rick and CC? Plus as an added bonus it is set in Hawaii so comic book girls in bikinis.

#5

Stephen King’s IT terrified me as a novel but as a movie not so much. IT took the form of Pennywise more than once over its lengthy existence. I want to know what that tale is. What is IT? Where does it come from? Why the clown? I feel there is way more horror to be expounded upon.

#4

The what? The Shirts Tales. It was a cartoon from the 80’s that starred a panda (Pam), tiger (Ty), mole (Digger), raccoon (Rick) and an orangutan (Bogey- who was voiced with a Humphrey Bogart impression) and were a group of super agent spies with all the gadgets that lived in a tree in Central Park. Seriously, do I have to say more?

#3

Aliens use a video game as a test to find the ultimate fighter pilot and then come to Earth to take him back so he can save their world. Spoiler alert: he totally wins. Is that it though? I mean there are a lot of bad guys in the universe. There is as many stories as there are stars.

 Note From Matt: Marvel Comics Did a three issue movie adaptation of the film in 1984.

#2

Perhaps the greatest kids movie ever made. My apologies to Surf Ninjas but you know it is true. I wanted and STILL want more Goonie adventures. They live in a coastal town there has to be more treasures find and bad guys foil.

And the number 1 thing I would have like to seen turned into a comic book is…..

#1

The French Chef with Julia Child! I know you just read that and said WTF?! Yes, I said Julia Child. Why? Well quite simply I loved watching that woman cook. Yes I know they mad a crappy movie about her. Do you know what they left out of that movie? That Julia Child was a spook, a spy if you will for the Office of Strategic Services which in WWII was the forerunner to the CIA. She was Jane Bond and she could handle a knife and she could cook. She travelled the world under the guise of THE celebrity chef and was spying on people when she did it and no one saw her coming. Would anyone suspect her? Um no, because she is Julia F’n Child. It practically writes itself. Julia travels, cooks and spies. Throw in a bad cooking pun for some comedy whilst she is killing a bad guy or two and pesto! ( see what I did there) instant comic book heroine. You also get a positive role model for young girls. For those who like to cook you can put a recipe on the last page or two.

So, that is my list. I hope you enjoyed it and thanks to Matt for asking me to do this. I had fun.

I have known Jason Young for a very long time and met him via Mavericks Cards and Comics in Kettering Ohio.  He was always trying to help me to find classic back issues and Topps comics when I was a teen shopping at the store. Jason is an award winning comic book artist who makes his own bio comics called Veggie Dog Saturn that comes out via his own comic company Buyer Beware Comics. Jason is also a no budget actor and has been in many films like Werewolf of Ohio 2, Slashers Gone Wild, Wolf Hunter 2 and Cocktober Blood to name a few. Jason also loves the 80’s hairband Poison and even has the band’s logo tattooed on his arm! Jason also does a podcast with our friend Eric called Gutar Trash. I also lived with Jason for a few years, and he was a great roommate and a good cook of tofu and eggs! Jason is a man who loves comics and movies and hates Magic the Gathering and with that let’s take a look at his top 5!

#5

This TV series from the late ’80’s was more like a cartoon than the live action show it actually was. It featured not only a semi truck that could turn into a helicopter (I know right?!?) but also the Australian bodybuilder “Jacko” who used to do commercials where he screamed at the top of his lungs and burst through walls all in the name of selling Energizer batteries.

I would have bought this comic. It would’ve been drawn by Rob Liefeld and featured foil embossed covers. It maybe even would’ve included a trading card bagged in issue #1. It would’ve been so bad that it would’ve been amazing. So, so amazing.

#4

This was a super short lived toyline that me and my brother went crazy for… and then it disappeared. It was like a cross between M.U.S.C.L.E.S. and G.I. Joe. They were tiny little metal army guys each one with distinct personalities (the fat bearded Harley was my favorite). Although Wikipedia says there was a comic I don’t believe it. I’ve worked at a comic book shop for more than two decades and have never seen one. There were six panel comics on the back of the action figure packages and those made me long to see a full length book!

The comic would’ve been pretty much like the ’80’s G.I. Joe comic. I mean let’s be honest here… Eagle Force was a G.I. Joe rip off pure and simple (they fought a terrorist organization called RIOT which featured soldiers and ninjas and was led by General Mamba) but it still remains one of my favorite toy lines ever and I would’ve absolutely loved to read a comic book about them.

#3

This was an amazing cartoon from the late ’80’s based on Martin Short’s character from SCTV and Saturday NightLive. It was bizarre and subtle at the same time and featured science lessons by the Amazing Gustav Brothers and the live action horror host Count Floyd. This show could be an adult swim show… truly ahead of it’s time this thing was.

 The comic most likely couldn’t have captured the vibe of the show but I still would’ve bought it. I definitely would’ve wanted all the different segments from the show as those were some of my favorite parts (The Gustav brother are responsible for my to this day only using unwaxed dental floss).

#2

What young man in the ’80’s didn’t love the Garbage Pail Kids? The grossest, weirdest most hilarious trading cards ever to exist would’ve been great as a comic book! I mean, look how sweet the movie turned out? Okay, so the movie is kind of hard to watch but a comic could’ve been great especially since Art Spiegelman (a brilliant comic book writer/artist) came up with the series!

 In my mind the comic would’ve been a series of short stories involving no more than a handful of G.P. Kids at a time. Maybe like those old Richie Rich, Casper and Hot Stuff comics where you’d get a few stories each issue. That way they’d be short and sweet… and hopefully gross and hilarious!

#1

(Millions of Unusual Small Creatures Lurking Everywhere) : This would definitely be the ’80’s property I’d most liked to have seen made into a comic book. There were just so many great characters (like the evil Michael Jackson glove!) that it was mindblowing! When I was a kid I loved wrestling, monsters,robots and toys so this line was a no-brainer as it included all of those things. It was basically a toyline of two inch tall characters that would be right at home in a GWAR stage show… simply amazing.

I guess what I’d like to see in the comic would be quite simply: Mondo Violence! Sure you could throw in some comedy and perhaps some allegiances between some of the characters but I have to say the violence would be key. Since their name suggests they’re tiny little creatures maybe the intergalactic wrestling could take place under kids’ beds as they watch in delight while they should’ve been going to sleep… I don’t know. As long as it was uber violent and funny it would’ve been great to see.

Eric Shonborn is an amazing artist who back in the day worked on books like Razor Baby, and nowadays has his website Shonborn’s Carpal Tunnel where he gives his thoughts and shares a sketch a day. Eric has tried his hand at acting as well and has been on episodes of Terrifying Tales of The Macabre and starred in a movie called All The Marbles. He has also worked on many DVD covers that include Werewolf of Ohio for Warlock Home Video, Vampire Peeper of Greene County for Independent B Movie and did many covers for the releases of New Shock Theater on DVD. He also has three podcasts that include Gutter Trash, The View Masters and The Stupid Sexy Podcast in which he and his co-hosts talk comics, movies, TV shows and many more fun topics. I met Eric via Mavericks and became friends with him thanks to Jason Young and am proud to call him a friend! So with that let’s take a look at his top 5 picks!

#5

My favorite sitcom as a kid, and quite frankly, as an adult. I still find it to be an absolute delight. I don’t think it’d be a great comic, but it’d be a weird comic, and 8 year old me would be all over it. During the later seasons, Night Court got more wacky and over the top and was almost like a living comic book anyway. In an actual comic, the sky would be the limit and nothing could be held back. The comic book adventures of Harry Stone and The Criminal Court Part 2 could be in session anywhere, anyway, anyhow. 

#4

Max Headroom was such an oddity. An ad campaign for Coca-Cola that took on a life of its own as a weird Britishy/American 80s vision of the post-apocalypse sci-fi tv show. Admittedly as a comic, Max would lose it’s greatest asset – actor Matt Frewer. But like Night Court, with comics there’s no budget or human limit to adhere to. The comic could up the ante in the sci-fi and apocalyptic imagery and go places the show could only have dreamed of.

#3

It’s weird. I’ve never thought of myself as a sci-fi fan, and yet so much of what I loved as a kid was rooted in it, much like John Carpenter’s rebuttal to his own earlier movie, The Thing. He wanted to create a positive, friendly alien movie and in the process created the sympathetic and heroic Starman. There was a short-lived TV show that followed the movie. I’d imagine the comic would pick up from that, and maybe even gear the lead character to be a stripped down, low-level superhero of sorts while still playing with the Stranger in a Strange Land themes.

#2

Man, this cartoon is so dumb and ridiculous. Even as a kid, I’m pretty sure I thought that, but I still loved it. I remember watching it all the time, but can barely remember it outside of the origin of the character. A young kid gets in an accident and fuses with his car, which he then can transform into. It’s so weird. The comic would just be a continuation of the cartoon, and it would be weird and make no sense and I would devour every issue and beg for more.

#1

This is one is kind of a cheat. There was a three issue comic released in 2008 written by William Katt himself. There’s also a great parody/homage comic from the early 2000s called “Truth, Justin and the American Way”. The show was itself a sort-of knock off of Green Lantern. Aliens give a worthy human a powerful tool to save the world, but he loses the instruction manual. Wackiness ensues. The comic would be the show, but bigger and bolder. More comedy, more action, more emphasis on the haphazard superheroics of Ralph Hinkley and his friends and perhaps more superpowers. So like I said, there eventually was a comic, but not when I was a kid – when I wanted one and when I would have loved one.

Next up is my good friend and fellow co-worker at Mavericks, Jeremy Hoyt, who is a man who loves almost everything from Japanese culture that includes everything from Godzilla to Manga. Jeremy also is a super fan of Voodoo from the super hero team Wild Cats and also is a man who loves the Muppets and owns a few life size replicas. He is also a fellow member of the board game club I belong to and is a fellow PS3 player that has helped me beat such games as Resident Evil 6, Lost Planet 2 and Aliens Colonial Marines. He has also acted in a few no budget films that are not completed like Long Dead Winter and Frankenstein vs. The Werewolf. Hoyt is a living legend and one cool guy to call a friend, so let’s take a look at his top 5! 

#5

This was a great action game on the NES back in the 80’s and would make a great “period piece” comic series. I enjoyed the game and the art sensibilities of those 80’s video games would really make it stand out in the market today. A smart licensor could pair it with promotion of that show “The Americans.”

I see the story developing as a cross between political intrigue and all out action, think “Ghost in the Shell” meets “Rambo.” A group within Russia makes the calculation to launch a covert war against America and our allies and only one man, and his team of tactical advisors and espionage experts, can stop them.

#4

This was one of my absolute favorite cartoons back in the day, mid 80’s. I and my little sister would stop whatever we were doing when it time for the show, and it dominated our lives for an entire summer.  Fantasy adventure with a hint of a history lesson thrown in, what’s not to love.

The comic adaptation could follow the adventures of some of the secondary characters or maybe take place years before the show as a prequel. Fantasy and ancient technology merge in the midst of the Spanish conquest of South America and the subjugation of its people. Add in a possible alien invasion and boom instant classic.

#3

This is one of those no brainers that I’m amazed never came to be. Yes, there were Metroid villains in “Captain N” and Metroid manga in Japan, but here in the states in the 80’s we got left out in the cold by Nintendo when it came to Metroid merchandise.

I don’t really need to say why this would be cool do I? Bad ass bounty hunter Samus Aran combs the galaxy fighting space pirates and monsters while in search of lost alien technology and the truth behind the living weapons known as Metroids.

#2

To be honest I don’t remember too much about Robotics other than its amazing theme song…ROOOBOTIX, robotix… Anyway, it was a cool build it yourself toy line of giant robots.  Transformers meets Legos. Yes, there was one issue made back in the 80’s but that was it, no series, no resolution.

Simply put I love robots, kids love robots. The possibilities of launching a franchise on the scale of Transformers would wet any executives’ appetite. Technology run amok, terrorists with giant robots to back them up, and a rag tag group of heroes working with sentient machines for the good of Earth. Oh, and a killer theme song… uhh, comics don’t have theme songs you say. Well, as a bonus the first issue could come with a soundtrack CD.

#1

Yes, there have been manga, but as with Metroid, back in the 80’s we got none of that here in the states, and to be honest, there isn’t a Final Fantasy presence in comics today. It’s a huge franchise with limitless possibilities.

The story could literally go anywhere. Medieval fantasy epic, check, futuristic cyberpunk, check, alternate reality hoping, check, time travel, check.  You name it, and it could happen in this book. It could even be an anthology series with different creative teams and different worlds for each story arc.

Bruce O Hughes is a local comic artist who I met via Mavericks Cards and Comics thanks to my friends Jason Young and Eric Shonborn.  I quickly became friends with this talented man. Bruce has worked on many great local comics like Clobber Vance, Iron & Ink and Razor Baby, and has done many great DVD covers that include Terrifying Tales of The Macabre, Goatman of Maryland and episode 4 of The New Shock Theater. Bruce also does a comic podcast called The Break Ins where he and fellow local comic artist Justin Wasson talk about all things nerdom. Bruce has also tried his hand in acting and has been in All The Marbles and Missing. Bruce works for a local TV Station and also does some animation for Minor League Baseball Teams.  So in short Bruce is your go-to guy when it comes to your artwork needs! So let’s get a few words from Bruce and then go into his top 5.

I was born in 1978 & prone to reading comic books on the many 4 hours drives to see my Granny in Kentucky once a month so I am no stranger to Star Comics. Many of its short lived titles such as Silverhawks, Heathcliff, Madballs & Count Duckula were right up there with Spider-Man & Batman for me. I loved being able to take their adventures with me where ever I went & having the oppurtunity to sit down & study exactly what they looked like as well as the world around them. Truth be told, I probably make my own comics because of the comic books that my dad bought me at the Hook’s corner drug store before every car ride down south. Thank Gawd I was an impatient child!

#5

This is a movie I watched many times in school for some reason. I think it’s one of the few VHS tapes that the school owned so anytime we could not go outside for recess this, got crammed into a tape deck & rolled out in front of us. The story is simple in an unnecessary kind of way. There is a reason for the characters to spend some time together at odds with one another, then once they have achieved their goal they move on… but what if this was made into a Star Comic back in 1986, what would have happened after the credits rolled? I’d like to think the comic would have ignored the second half of the movie where David gets to go back in time & live a semi-normal life with his family & new alien pet. I’d like to see the comic start with Max & David showing up in the future, or an alien world, anywhere but where they wanted to go. The stories could have been about them trying to get David back home or Max completing his mission or even them returning all the other aliens on the ship to their homes. Each issue a different planet, a different problem. I would have bought this on sight!

#4

What started out as a spin off of the Filmation Ghostbusters gave me an appreciation for not only westerns but also good old fashion sci-fi! I remember coming home from school to see the namesake Marshall & his horse, Thirty-Thirty, keep New Texas safe from Tex Hex & all the other no-count outlaws. It was perfect. There was that sense of old-timey home spun morals mixed with robots, aliens & even a time traveling Sherlock Holmes! These stories ended after 65 episodes & a failed movie… but what if they continued? There was a BraveStarr comic series but it didn’t last long & was in 3D. I’m talking old school blue & red 3D. Who liked that? Yuck. I like to imagine that the adventures of Marshall BraveStarr, Thirty-Thirty, Deputy Fuzz & JD would have translated to a universe spanning epic. There could have been other Marshalls, more of the legal system could have been explored, what happens when all the ore has been mined? It’s such a broad canvas to explore.

#3

The teen drama that should be given credit for almost every CW show! Doogie was a super smart teen doctor. That’s it. The show had a straight forward concept but it used it to explore so many social issues… such as racism, sexism, insurance & its prices, aging, losing your virginity, spousal abuse, etc. This was a much deeper show that we would all like to admit & it ended abruptly. The last thing we ever saw was Doogie quitting his job & heading off to Europe. He was unhappy with the direction his life was going & had made the decision to leave it all behind & see what he could do with his natural talent besides make money & save a few while a majority suffered. If this story ever continued it could be the equivalent to “a hero’s journey” tale. Our young, once doctor, could travel around the world looking for something bigger than himself, stopping here & there to improve the lives of others along the way. It lends itself well to a monthly comic but even better a series of graphic novels. Hell, this may be the one idea on my list that could come back on television if done right!

#2

First Teen Wolf was a movie, then a cartoon, then a TV show… why not a comic book? The cartoon differed a bit from the movie.  For one, Scott Howard was still hiding his Wolf-ness from the town.  The second big change was that he had more family, two grandparents & a younger sister. The cartoon only lasted two seasons & none of the episodes pushed the envelope when it came to new or original ideas. But… if there had been a comic I’m sure someone would have seen this for what it could have been; awesome! Think of a world that already has Werewolves, now why not other “monsters”? Vampires, ghosts, zombies, etc. could have all made appearances in the Teen Wolf world. This was ripe for new stories!

#1

What can I say? Michael J. Fox was a big part of my childhood! We’ve all seen the movies, we all know the characters, there was even an animated series for a few years. Time travel will always lend itself to endless stories & in comics the budget is a lot less for a lot more than you could get out of a movie. Imagine if the story continued after Doc Brown & family drove off on their flying train (ignoring the animated series for a bit). Where did they go next? What did they do? Who did they meet? Why hasn’t there been another movie already?!?

Note From Matt: Publisher Harvey Comics had a few issues of the animated Back To The Future in 1991.

Garrison Kane is a friend I meet via Fairmont High School who was in the media class ahead of me, and one the the first times I met him, he was doing a prank call on the school radio station’s phone! After school I worked with Garrison at two jobs: Krogers and Blockbuster Video, and he works with me again currently. Garrison is a man who collects Nintendo products, Legos and Masters of the Universe vintage figures. Garrison is also known as Dr. Gakman to his friends and many video game forums, and has also been in many low budget films like The Sadness, Vigilante C: The Hunt For Man-Beast and Wolf Hunter 2. Gakman is also a member of the board game club and has been a great friend for many years so before we get to his top 5, here are some words from the one and only Dr. Gakman.

Hello, my name is Garrison Andrew Kane, and I’m here with my list of 5 franchises that never had a comic book series. It’s not really a “top 5” for me as I just came up with these rather quickly to put together for a friend upon his request on short notice. Also, as such, this isn’t going to be a comprehensive/descriptive list of what I’d personally want or think is needed to become a comic as most things that I really would want to be on a “top 5” list is probably already a comic.

#5

This one is kind of a throw away which is why I list it first (I guess #5). As an ‘80’s child I can tell you it was HUGE for me and a lot of kid’s back then. As with anything that kids like and makes money it was a target for persecution by the powers that be (the “we hate _____ ‘cos it’s ruining our children” police, the media, hell…parents). Eventually they put an end to the fun, but not before Topps continued with GPK series’ reaching double digits, responding with an even more radical (and more violent) “Dinosaurs Attack” trading cards set to the theme of the old “Aliens Attack” cards before them (both of these also deserving of a comic) and then finally a Garbage Pail Kid’s major motion picture. If anyone remembers this would’ve been an easy conversion to comics as many cards had comic-book like panels on the back featuring silly stories about the gross characters from the universe.

#4

If you know me you know I had to put in a Japanimation-themed franchise up for an American comic. There are TONS of Japanimation franchises, but I wanted to limit myself to one for this list. I looked up whether or not there was a Robotech (AKA Macross) comic (mind you, back when the cartoon first made it’s way to American TV circa ’85) in America and there actually was so I went with something less-known and Ronin Warriors (AKA Samurai Troopers) popped in my head. Now there certainly is a Japanese manga of this series, but nothing adapted into an American comic like was done for the Robotech cartoon. I think this one could make a cool comic mainly ‘cos of the armor and weapons…I imagine a really good artist could get lost on the details there. 

#3

Speaking of detail SSSF had amazing detail in the animation and character designs and again, this would translate best in comic for with the right artist. This entry is probably very obscure/unknown to most, but it was a short-lived (and equally short-loved) ‘90’s American toon that appeared soon after the “Con: The Adventurer” cartoon series was done and featured many of the same people (including voices) from said Conan cartoon. It seemed to follow the ‘80’s toy/cartoon formula much like say…He-Man or TMNT and the like, but it didn’t work as well. It was mean to be deeper, darker…more grown-up than those cartoons before it, but just never was a hit.

#2

Mentioned TMNT already and that started as a comic and had the Casey Jones & Usagi Yojimbo spin-off comics too…but never a Neutrinos spin-off. So yes, I would like to find out more about these hot rodin’ teenagers from Dimension X (in fact, that should be the name of the comic, hmm: HRTFDX or maybe HTDX?). In this case it wouldn’t be so much about the art or even detail…but just to read what these far-out futuristic ‘50’s inspired daddy-o’s would say and where a hover car & dimensional portal would take them!

#1

I’m a Nintendo nut…and my favorite franchises from them or…from anyone, is Metroid! Yes there was a Super Metroid comic in Nintendo Power magazine and there was a Japanese manga, but I would like more. But not too much more really…sometimes certain things are better left to mystery…so we can use our own imagination. When it comes to the Metroid games, I think it is better when there’s not too much story in it and likewise if they were to adapt it into a cartoon, movie or comic I would say just show the action…less story please! Too many sci-fi themed franchises spend too much time explaining everything and look ridiculous or boring as a result, with something as precious as Metroid is to me…I’d want the opposite. Metroid is at the top of any list you throw at me, but at the same time, I’m torn as to whether I’d want something like a comic or movie based off my favorite franchise ever to tarnish it. If either were a go, art (great special effects or 3D if a movie) like lenticular pages, holographic images implanted into certain panels of the comic or add glow-in-the-dark ink to find “secrets” while reading the comic in the dark would be what I’d want along with very detailed art. Action and art being the focus NOT story…leave that to mystery…which is part of Metroid’s charm.

Next up is my girlfriend Juliet Fromholt, a young lady who puts up with all my weird loves in all that is nerdom and who also loves all this geeky stuff! I meet Juliet at a used media store where she worked called CD Connection, and after a few years of being friends we ended up dating and are going on five years now.  Juliet is a bright young lady who got a degree from Wright State and ran their Radio Station for 2 years. Juliet now works for a local NPR station as a reporter, DJ and webmaster.  She can also be found as a movie and video game reviewer for Bloodline Video, and also acting in local no budget films like Quiet Nights of Blood and Pain and episodes of Terrifying Tales of the Macabre. Juliet is a great friend to the local media art scene and is a supporter of all things local, and a lover of theater arts. So with that let’s take a look at her top 5 picks. 

#5

They’re lovable; they’re huggable; they’re Pound Puppies! I was the proud owner of several Pound Puppies and Pound Purries (their feline counterparts) as a child. My 4^th or 5^th birthday was actually Pound Puppies themed complete with a pin-the-tail-on-the-Pound-Puppy game and a cake topped with figurines of Cooler, Nose Marie and the rest of the gang. I also still own the VHS of 3 Pound Puppies cartoon adventures including The Newborns at Camp Okay Boney. That story alone would make a great comic book, but really there are so many things they could do with the Pound Puppies characters all the while helping make a case for adopting shelter pets (and of course, the non-profit employee in me even envisions the proceeds going to help real-life shelter animals).

 

#4

Based on the classic Universal Monsters, Count Chocula & company have become pop culture icons in their own right. They’re so iconic in fact that I can recite many of the commercials that aired during my childhood, without having actually eaten the cereal until I was well into adulthood. I was actually really surprised that there was never even a single-issue, prize in the box/mailaway comic created for these characters. When Matt asked me to make my Star picks, this was one of the first franchises that came to mind and it’s because of one particular commercial. In 1988, the Fruity Yummy Mummy and his accompanying cereal were introduced. The Yummy Mummy was, of course, another try at a mixed fruit flavored cereal, the first mascot thereof being the Fruit Brute. In the commercial, we see Count Chocula and Frankenberry exploring a pyramid. They fall through a trapdoor, into the tomb where the Fruity Yummy Mummy emerges from his sarcophagus and sings to them about his cereal (and yes, you can see this on YouTube). An expanded version of this story alone would have made a really fun comic – it’s like Indiana Jones meets Universal Monsters meets a well-balanced but sugary breakfast. While I don’t particularly think a series based on Count Chocula would have lasted more than 3 or 4 issues, I could dream up a wealth of story lines to keep it rolling for a while including sugary parodies of each monster’s Universal film/legend and the traditional Addams Family/Munsters-style haunted hijinks. 

#3

The California Raisins were born in 1986 when a member of the California Raisin Advisory Board exclaimed in a marketing brainstorm session, “We’ve tried everything except singing, dancing raisins!” So what did they do? Created singing, dancing raisins. The first appearances of the California Raisins were in claymation commercials and the Emmy-winning Claymation Christmas special, which is still one of my favorite TV holiday specials of all time. The Raisins made a few more claymation appearances as the individual characters were developed, and then they made the leap to Saturday mornings with their own cartoon. The cartoon only lasted 13 episodes, but it certainly made an impression on me as my mom and I still talk about the episode where the punk rocker Lick Broccoli (who was a guitar slinging stalk of broccoli) tried to steal the girl Raisins’ (The Sweet Currants) new song. Like that episode, most of the cartoon’s plots were based on the musical adventures and mishaps of the Raisins, and a comic based on the characters could certainly do the same. One of the things I always remember about the cartoon was the clever use of other fruits and vegetables for the supporting cast of characters. I think that would be so much fun and could have been done so well in a comic. One relic from the California Raisins brief media saturation is a really great line of Raisin figurines, similar to the Smurf figurines that made their way from Europe to the US in the 1980s. I have a fairly decent collection of the Raisins, but just learned that some of the side characters from the cartoon are also lurking out there somewhere. But that’s probably an issue to take up in a different blog.

 Note From Matt: Small Comic Company BlackThrone Did a five issue 3-D run of the raisins in 1988.

#2

It was just a given in my mind: there are He-man comics, therefore there are She-Ra comics. But we all know what happens when you assume….you’re wrong and you get no She-Ra comics because they don’t exist. Someone was seriously missing the boat on this one. I could actually see a comic version of She-Ra being almost like Sailor Moon in terms of franchise: a multi-arc book based on the title character and her universe with plenty of room to explore side characters either in their own arcs or even their own books. While there are certainly more female comic characters, especially in the hero’s role, today than ever, I still don’t feel like there are necessarily a lot of comics geared towards girls, and this franchise could have easily filled that void. I could see the series following the cartoon closely to appeal to younger readers, or, again, following the Sailor Moon model, it could taken the base action/adventure/fantasy storyline a bit deeper to appeal to teenage/adult readers. They could even follow DC’s Teeny Titans model with super kid-friendly stories about Adora, Glimmer and Madame Razz for the younger set and then a regular, more adult series. There’s of course, crossover potential with He-man characters and stories, and I could even see some of the She-Ra side characters getting their own mini-series/one-shots. A smart comic company with good writers could actually probably still make this happen with some success today – banking on nostalgic young ladies of the 80s like myself and then introducing the She-Ra characters to a whole new generation of young women. There’s such a wealth of stories to be told….if anyone needs me, I’ll be re-watching the cartoon series and taking notes.  

#1

Glamor and glitter, fashion and fame – Jem is truly outrageous…and much cooler than Barbie. The dolls were incredibly fun and each came with his or her own cassette tape featuring original music “performed” by the characters, and if you were super lucky, you’d play those cassette tapes in the built-in player in Jem’s toy limo. The cartoon series, which was recently released in its entirety on DVD, was also really fun and so of its time with lots of 80s rock and roll fashion and the popstar vs. punk rock vs. new wave story arc. As with the aforementioned ideas for She-Ra, a Jem comic would have been an awesome way to get more young women reading comics from an early age. The lead character has your classic comic trope of the alter ego – Starlight Music owner Jerrica Brown is really international rock sensation Jem. How does Jerrica balance her two lives and with whom does she share her secret? Throw in some amazing villains who are as loveable as the heroes in the form of the Mistfits and the Stingers, super computer/holographic helper Syngery and poor confused Rio who can’t decide if he loves Jem or Jerrica, and this book writes itself. It’s crazy that this wasn’t a comic, and even crazier when you consider that Marvel Productions had a hand in the cartoon.

Josh Weinberg has been one of my best friend since I moved back to Kettering when I was in the 9^th grade and was one of the first kids to go out of his way to be friendly to the strange guy in his Evil Dead T-shirt. Weinberg and I have worked many jobs together that include Krogers, Blockbuster Video and Game Swap and have worked on many films as well that include Andy Copp’s Black Sun, Matt Hoffman’s Wolf Hunter, and he has starred in many of my own films like Werewolf of Ohio, The Sadness and Cocktober Blood. Weinberg has also made his own films that include One Second Too Late, Two Seconds Too Late and Bark At The Moon: Oliver. He also spends holidays around Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny as he works the photo sets located in the malls around here. He is also a sports nut and loves both the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals. He also loves to hunt ghosts and Bigfoot and doesn’t mind roaming the backwoods of Ohio trying to find the legends with me. He also is a fellow music lover and has been to many concerts with me that include seeing bands like Motley Crue, Alice Cooper, Cinderella, Poison, Dokken and Kiss to name a few. He is married to his wife Lisa, and I was his best man in the wedding.  Josh is a kick ass guy that I am happy to call friend and with that let’s get into his top 5.

#5

Number five on my top five would have to be Tony the Tiger. Growing up I would always love to see that tiger come on the screen to advertise his cereal. Nothing wrong with sugar coated cereal in my opinion. I think it would have been cool to make Tony the Tiger a super hero. Kind of like Batman or Superman in the sense that he would have an alter ego as the cereal selling tiger but by night he would be out fighting crime. He could even team up with other mascots to aid him in this. The possibilities for this are endless as far as story lines.

#4

Number four on my top five list would be Secret of the Nimh. Growing up this was one of my all time favorite movies. I used to watch it over and over again just to see what would happen. As if anything would change each time I watched it. I think it would have been cool to see maybe some adventures that the characters could have had exploring the world of Nimh after the second movie. They would just go off and explore the rest of the world. Mix in maybe some more back story into the main characters of the first film that did not survive.

#3

Number three on my top five list would be Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Same thing as Secret of the Nimh, this was another childhood favorite of mine. To this day I still love this movie and hated to see it remade. The movie portrays all the diferent types of people that are in the world all the way down to your average good person that may or may not have everything they want but make the best out of everything. Proving that hard work and dedication as well as some morals really do pay off. If I was writing the comic, I would love to see where Charlie takes the chocolate factory after he takes over. To see if he would open it up more or keep it just as secret as always.

#2

Number two on my top five would be the video game Montezuma’s Revenge. I remember this game growing up because it was on the first video game system that we had, the Atari. It was contained on the floppy disk. I just remember sitting there for hours playing this game and not getting bored but somewhat frustrated with it, trying my hardest to beat it. The comic for me would be simple; just show the adventures Panama Joe would have while trapped in the temple. The whole goal would be to escape the temple and free himself and his people.

#1

Number one on my top five list would be the Cincinnati Reds, especially the 1990 squad that went wire to wire. Growing up I was like most kids, loved sports and playing outside. Then came the 1990 Reds. They are the reason I still love the Reds to this date. They had so many characters on that squad that just made you want to watch. Everyone from Chris Sabo (which I had a book as a kid where he was my coach) to Eric Davis, Paul O’Neil and of course Barry Larkin. I would have loved to be able to have read a comic based on that year. Then going on into Reds history in general. There is a lot of rich baseball history in Cincinnati. Even though most of those players did not last very long in the majors. That year and that team to me remain one of the best in baseball history.

Kipp Poe Speicher is a fellow no budget filmmaker that I met in my days of traveling to horror film conventions, and we quickly became friends. Kipp Poe has made the short film Dreadful and has worked on many other films that include Werewolves of the Relic, Cult of the Jester and Church of the Eyes. Kipp is also an author of digital books now and is one all around great guy. Kipp also is the man who filmed Josh & Lisa Weinberg’s wedding! So with that in mind, let’s get to Kipp’s Top 5!

#5

Max A Collins Nathan Heller series made into comic form as the Private Eye revisits popular True Crimes of history and gives us an alternate reality of them as he tries to solve them.

#4

Universal Monsters was a big influence on my childhood I didn’t watch many cartoons but always loved it when Super Host would have on any of the Universal Monster shows on. I think a comic book of them teaming up would have been a cool read.

#3

It was an album that formed my life and I could see a series based on it as a youth and being alienated and building a world around you of Art and noise.

#2

Manos The Hands of Fate …Why because it would have to be incredibly awful and a total trip.

#1

A comic book series geared towards crimes that happen in today’s world and the steps that Law Enforcement takes to put an end to it. The series would give insight to children what cops do and hopefully bring social acceptance between youths and Police. This would also work with Adam 12.

I meet Rick Martin via my brother Bryan and friend Andy Copp and quickly became his friend. Rick is the owner of RMM Agency that put out Ultra Man, Cannibal Ferox and Best of Shock Theatre on VHS.  He is also one part of the team that brought Dayton horror host icon Dr. Creep back to TV with The New Shock Theater. Rick was also Dr. Creep’s manager and close friend. Rick Martin loves board and role playing games as well as horror films, Godzilla, Samari Cinema and the hit BBC show Dr. Who. He also is one of the original team members who put on Horrorama, an all night horror movie marathon for charity! Rick also taught classes at Sinclair Community Collage about classic horror films and is currently teaching classes at SWORD about the films of Kurosawa. I am proud to call Rick and friend and with no further ado here is his top 5.   

#5

The action figure and toy line called Horrible Hamilton. These toys were of giant space insects and the humans who are fighting them off from world domination. They toys were amazing and a comic would have rocked!

#4

King Zor was a giant space dragon toy from my youth. A comic series about his exploits, conquests and battles would have been a child of the 1960s dream!

#3

I would have loved to have seen a comic book of the Rat Patrol TV series. Watching those soldiers fight Rommel’s Africa Corp on TV was fantastic – a comic could have been even more so!

 Note From Matt: Publisher DELL had a 6 issue run of The Rat Patrol in 1967.

#2

I always wanted a comic series following the exploits of the Universal Monsters. It would have been cool to see them all meet up and fight!

#1

Last but not least, I always wanted to see a regular comic book series following the adventures of my favorite anti-hero of the movies – Peter Cushing’s Dr. Frankenstein from the Hammer film series! Imagine him moving from town to town trying to perfect his perfect creation while the church and the judicial authorities try and catch him and make him pay for his unholy experiments!

The titan of no budget fright, The Warlock is next! I met The Warlock thanks to Chris Seaver and came to respect him for his love for low budget cinema. The Warlock, for those of you who don’t know, is the spokesghoul for Warlock Home Video, a company that puts out shot-on-video films on both DVD and VHS. I have even had the honor of being interviewed by The Warlock about making Werewolf of Ohio and The Sadness! Now be warned, The Warlock lives and grew up on the darkside so his picks are a little more sinister than most! So here is a few words from the man and then let’s take a look at this cool ghoul’s top 5.

Greetings Horror Fiends, The Warlock here from Warlock Home Video. While resting in my crypt, I came to contemplate why so many amazing things in this world have not been turned into ghoulish comics. Here is the Warlocks Top 5 list of things that should have been comic books:

#5

Who wouldn’t want to read about the comic misadventures of one of the most beloved psychos of all time?

#4

Invading naked aliens dropping weird space slugs on to earth, creating zombies out of college kids+Atkins= MAGIC!