Rotten Ink That’s Where You’ll Find Diver Dan!

Welcome back to Rotten Ink! Are you as shocked as I am that we are already in November 2022? This year has flown by and crazy to think Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away! The 10 Year Anniversary for this blog has been in full effect and we have looked at many classic things that I am sure brought back memories for many of you readers as well as maybe even acted as you first introduction to some of the update topics, and todays update is one that many of you might have grown up watching while others of you reading have no idea about and that is Diver Dan a very cool and yet also cheesy kids show from the 1960’s and when chosen topics for this year I just knew he had to be one of them. As I did not grow up watching Diver Dan but once I was introduced to the show I quickly became a fan and knew we had to go on a deep-sea dive adventure with him! So lets get our deep dive suits on and check our oxygen tanks as its time to enter the water and see what we can find.

Diver Dan was created by cartoonist J. Anthony Ferlaine in 1960 as a spin off of his comic strip “Fish Tales” and was the show was made by Brian Cartoons, and distributed by ITC Entertainment and was aired mostly on NBC stations during its original run. And each episode ran around seven minutes long and it would normally be paired with other cartoons like Felix The Cat and be apart of children shows that were hosted. The show would have 104 episodes and would last until 1970 given it a good ten year run. The under water scenes were shot through an aquarium with the fish on the showing being a mix of real ones as well as puppets that was mostly voiced by Allen Swift who also played the voices of the Narrator and the off screen character Captain Murphy. The lovely Suzanne Turner played the mermaid Miss Minerva. Diver Dan was very well loved by young viewers and would even have many years life after it ended thanks to reruns. And while Diver Dan was not for everyone as lots of kids wanted animated shows and not live action ones, it’s legacy of being a beloved 1960’s kids show is still strong and was one of the favorites shows of my Ex-Girlfriends dad who is the one that introduced me to the show. The show can be found originally on grey market VHS tapes and now can be found on DVD via Alpha Video as well as other budget labels and can also be watched on YouTube. I also have to point out that the shows theme is very cool and catchy, look it up and give it a listen and see what you think.

Diver Dan is a deep-sea diver who is studying fish and is a good guy and a hero to the aquatic life that makes up the waters he is in. A true good guy character who is likeable and noble and is truly that classic kid show standard of who you should grow up to be like. Diver Dan was played by actor Frank D Freda who was known for being a writer for the animated show “The Smokey Bear Show” as well was Ronald McDonald in some early McDonalds commercials. He was also a Broadway actor and was a sales person for HBO and Cellphones and is the first person to cell a car cell phone in New York. But back to Diver Dan who 100% is a true iconic character in the world of kid shows and has inspired many people over the decades to be a good person, to want to study bodies of water and fish and even helped fuel creative minds. On a side note I would love to see Diver Dan return to TV and do it as the next generation and the show could follow his Grandson who has followed in his grandfathers footsteps and is going on adventures in the same sea. Also if he was in public domain I would totally write a comic mini series based on Diver Dan for Sparkle Comics!

Ok lets take a moment to chat about Miss Minerva the blonde mermaid who was friends to the fishes and would keep her distant from Dan who she just would call The Diver. She as I said was played by actress Suzanne Turner who was a very good stage actress as she was featured in the play “Auntie Mame” and as for other TV or Movie roles she had no other as Diver Dan was he only work in that field. Miss Minerva had long blonde hair and would wear a crown and speak to the fish who would warn her of the dangers coming or tell what they have seen. She was a kind mermaid who would watch after her friends as well was the target sometimes of the fish of the ocean that are not so kind. After he work on Diver Dan not much else is known about Suzanne Turner as she seemed to drop off from acting, and during her time on the show she was the crush of many young viewers. And when trying to look up information on her it looks like she might have passed away, but sadly not much is out there about her after the show ended.

The shows two main baddies was the fishes Baron Barracuda and Trigger Fish who acted as stooges and help set up the dastardly plots the plans they had cooked up in their cave hideout by Teetering Rock. You see even in the deep ocean we have gangsters that want to cause harm to the people or should I say ocean dwellers. They are your typical kid show baddies as they have silly plans to just ruin peoples fun and to cause just annoyance to all around them. And to be honest the show really needed Baron Barracuda and Trigger Fish to add that villain element to the show and they both are the spice needed to make the show more enjoyable.

Diver Dan like all good kids shows of the time had lots of amazing merchandise for fans to collect and own! Besides the comic books they made a board game, vinyl record, coloring book, fanzines and later episodes was released on DVD and before that on VHS with many of those being from the grey market. I think the odd thing about all this is that Diver Dan never got an action figure and I for one think he should have. And thinking about it Super7 should do a Diver Dan ReAction figure and Funko should do a Pop! of Diver Dan as well as Clutch Cargo. But if you are a fan of Diver Dan there is some cool stuff for you to collect and I myself besides the comics own the DVD sets from Alpha Video.

So now that we have chatted about Diver Dan and the characters that made up his show as well as the merchandise he spawned I think we should now move onto his comic adventures and see what Dell Comics has in store for him. I also want to remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready like I am lets go on a deep dive adventure with the one and only Diver Dan!

Diver Dan # 1   **1/2
Released in 1962      Cover Price .15      Dell Comics    # 1254 of 1354

Diver Dan is helping Miss Minerva and the fish to set up and have a Masquerade Ball, and as they all go to get ready Baron and Trigger as well as Rocky who is the nephew of Trigger go to the party and break everything down and destroy things as they have a plan to finally take down Diver Dan. When Minerva, Diver Dan and the fish return to find the party ruined they are sad as the ball seems like it will not be taking place, but our dastardly fish baddies show back up dressed up pretending to be party goers and acted shocked that the party has been attacked, and suggests a new location that they have a trap set at via a octopus. When Diver Dan and the party guests get there they set back up as Baron and Trigger even try to get Dan in trouble with his Captain when they snap a picture of Diver Dan and Minerva with the party lights behind them and deliver it above to the Captain who is mad as Dan is supposed to be looking for hidden treasure. But when Baron and Trigger’s plan goes wrong and the octopus gets trapped they decided to try and kidnap a young female fish and get ransom for her safe return, but that backfires when Rocky returns her to her friends and the baddies are chased off by Rocky’s angry mother. And the Ball happens and all are happy as Diver Dan wonders off to find the treasure.

This first issue of Diver Dan is really a kid friendly fun read that has Diver Dan in trouble with his boss as well as trying to help his fish friends to get a Masquerade Ball to happen after it was sabotaged. Diver Dan is a good spirited human who does what he can to bring joy to all his friends that live in the waters and is helping set up a party when he is being paid to find a treasure, and this fact also gets him in trouble with his boss and Dan still just continues to help his fish friends and even gets his boss on the boat to send down a camera! The one flaw of Diver Dan in this issue is that he is way to trusting as he does not see that Baron and Trigger are right in front of him luring them all to a trap and dismisses the concerns of fellow fish who alert him that they think the two are at the Ball! Baron and Trigger are such fishy little jerks as they get joy of breaking and ripping down the Ball decorations all because they want to lure everyone into a trap, and for what reason…cause they dislike Diver Dan and want to ruin his day. Sadly mermaid Miss Minerva really does not do much in this issue and that stinks, but the one thing they do show is that almost all the fish respect and love her. The story is as basic as can be and is very much kid friendly and the message is being mean, a trickster and bad never pays out and that good will always find a way and that friendship and community is important. And with a few odd elements like Dan and Minerva being around each other when in the show that was not the case for the most part, I do feel that it captures the mood and feeling of the show. The cover is great and features Diver Dan, Baron and Trigger and is eye catching for fans of the show, and the interior art is done by an Unknown Artist and is really good and has that classic Dell look but I think this is even slightly better art then the average Dell Comic. Over all I would say this is a super fun and silly Kid Comic read that does Diver Dan justice, and I am very much looking forward to reading the next issue.

Diver Dan # 2  ***
Released in 1962     Cover Price .15     Dell Comics     # 2 of 1

Carolos is leading a band of gypsy fish to find a new queen as his daughter the current one has been kidnapped and Baron and Trigger send them the way of Minerva and the gypsies have chosen her to be the new Queen, and without telling her this news they set up a show for the area to enjoy first, and with tea they knock out Minerva by acting as if they are reading her fortune and flee fast from the area. But not before Carlos also hypnotizes Baron into being a nicer fish to others after he and Trigger tried to rob his wagon. The fish go and get Diver Dan in order to save Minerva and he along the way runs into Baron who goes along to help. But before Minerva can be made Queen the old one shows up as she has escaped and her captor a fellow bands Prince who is after her as he wants to marry her! The gypsies would rather have Minerva as the Queen but after some arguments she is able to kind of get away and to Diver Dan. In the end Baron gets punched by accident when Carlos and the Prince get into a fight and this snaps him out of his trance, and as Diver Dan and Minerva get away the Queen and Prince ride off and Trigger is almost forced into marriage before Baron saves him.

This second issue of Diver Dan is one great read as it has a fun kid friendly story, the artwork is fantastic and I feel that it did a great job of capturing the feel of the show its based on. This one has a band of gypsy fish kidnapping Minerva to make her their Queen, only for Diver Dan and the unlikely ally of Baron coming to her rescue. This issue also is mostly about the mermaid Minerva as she is the target of the gypsy and is the one who has to try and tell them she does not want to be anyone’s Queen and that her home is were she is at in the ocean, I also like that even with her kidnappers she tries to be kind and not hurt their feelings as while they did something bad they are more misguided then evil. Baron and Trigger as well have bigger parts as the Baron is under the trance he turns into a good guy and forces his goofy henchman to go along with him. The Gypsies are cool characters who have Queens and Kings and will do sneaky things in order to honor their culture, but as I have stated I do not feel its to be mean. Diver Dan kind of takes a backseat in this issue as he does not come around until the end of the comic and even then he does very little and I like that as this gave other characters from the show a little time to shine and be the focus of a story that was really entertaining. I also have to say that the cover for this issue is great and features both Diver Dan and Minerva and is super eye catching for fans of the show. The interior art is done by Sal Trapani and is 100% fantastic and he captures the characters likeness so well. Over all a great series Diver Dan was and it’s a shame that the comic series only lasted two issues as it should have lasted way longer on the comic racks as well as on TV. Check out the artwork bellow as I think it showcases the work that went into this series.

Diver Dan is one of those classic 1960’s kids shows that I feel just never gets the respect in these modern times like it should as it was a simple concept that made oceans, fish and a deep sea diver cool! And sadly in 2022 I am sure many of you younger readers have never heard of Diver Dan and his show and I hope this update has at least sparked your interest in getting the Alpha Video or Digiview releases or even look them up on YouTube. That is one thing that I hope that Rotten Ink is able to do and that’s help keep vintage and old school stuff like this alive and not only bring joy to fans who remember but also I hope bring new fans into the topic. And with that said I would like to let you know that Rotten Ink’s 10 Year Celebration continues as we head back to the Rotten Ink Theater to chat about Silent Cinema and it will be 1921’s one time lost German classic “The Island Of Lost”! So until next time read a indie comic or three, watch a Diver Dan episode or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you soon and make sure to be ready to travel to an island filled with mystery and horror!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comics: Blade The Iron Cross

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update series. For this one we got something very fun that I have been looking forward to covering on here since it was announced as I am a fan of the character, the film series he is from, a fan of the production company as well as all the comics that have been released around his universe…and this pint size terror is the main star for many of the fans of the films as he is very cool looking and is one badass dealer of death to good and bad people depending on who’s pulling his strings! And if you have not guessed it yet, I am talking about Blade from the Puppet Master film series created by Charles Band and his Full Moon Entertainment! And Full Moon Entertainment understands that comic books are an amazing way to promote films and even opened their own company to release them! So if you are ready, let’s head into the world of Puppet Master and chat about everyone’s favorite tiny knife handed killer Blade!

Let’s take a look first at Blade and his was of dealing death to foolish humans that cross his path or set as his target. Blade is 1’9” tall puppet that wears a black hat as well as a black trench coat and shoes. He has a white face with spiked bullet eyes and white hair. His left hand is a hook and his right hand is a razor sharp knife and all this above is part of his tool to set up the kill as it puts fear into the hearts of those who see him. Because of his small size, he is super fast and can use it to rush in for an attack as well as can use it to hide from those he wishes to get away from or be undetected. His hook and knife hands are booth sharp and he uses them to cut, stab and slash human flesh and are the main tools of his death dealing. He also has two tiny blades in his eyes that can cut and stab through human flesh. The soul that resides inside Blade is that of Dr. Hess, a surgeon who was forced by the Nazi’s to use his skills in order to try and create super soldiers, and when his kidnappers killed him, his soul was placed inside one of Andre Toulon’s puppets. Blade is also very much a pack hunter as while he kills on his own he is also kills alongside his fellow Puppets and when they kill together he is very much more dangerous. The fact that while Blade has a soul it for the most part don’t effect his personality as what really does is who controls him at the time, and because whomever is the Puppet Master at the time brings us to one of Blade’s weakness…the fact he can be controlled and told what to do as via all his movie appearances Blade has went from a good guy to a bad guy several times. Another weakness of his is that he needs a serum made of brains to survive as that is what makes his puppet body and gears come alive, but if he don’t have it he will become weak and at some point just stop moving and go into a freeze state. His small size, while a good for attacks and hiding, also can be a weakness as people can knock him around if they get their hands on him. Blade can be broken as well and stuff like gunshots, fires and dismemberment can stop him and cause him to have to be repaired…stopping his killing spree cold. While Blade is pint sized, he is super dangerous if you become one of his attended victims.

Now that we know just how deadly Blade is, I think we should take a few moments to talk about the film this one shot comic is based on! The film’s write up is coming from our friends at IMDB and then I will write about the film’s production and history as well as my thoughts of the film. So if you are ready, let’s talk about this film in Full Moon Entertainment’s Deadly 10 film releases.

Blade: The Iron Cross (2020)

“In 1945 a psychic war journalist gains a telekinetic link to a murderous puppet and uses its help to sabotage a top secret Nazi experiment that involves using a Death Ray to transform people into zombies.”

In 2019 Charles Band, the owner of Full Moon. made a major announcement that sent shockwaves through fans of independent horror films when he talked about the “Deadly 10” film releases and showcased the 10 films on the list. Fans were super excited when titles started to be announced as new titles like Grim Rapper, Hourglass, Shadowheart Curse and Weedjies peaked interests, but the sequels were what drew everyone in as we finally were getting new films in the worlds of Subspecies, Necropolis, Sorority Babes In The Slime Bowl-O-Rama, Head Of The Family, Femalien and of course Puppet Master with it being a solo Blade film! Full Moon teased fans with not only the titles but also posters of the titles as well with the bombshell that the only way to see them first was to subscribe to their streaming service called “Full Moon Features Streaming” and that they would be released over the next several years. The film went into the filming stages and as always Full Moon did a fantastic job of showing clips and on set images to build up the release of the film. They also released a comic book based on the film to promote it and many Horror Websites covered the film coming out and kept building the hype for the film. The film had John Lechago as the director who had directed many of the companies Killjoy sequels and had such actors and actresses as Tania Fox, Vincent Cusimano, Griffin Blazi, Angelica Briones and Roy Abramsohn in big roles and even indie film director and creator Dustin Ferguson as a production assistant, not to mention Richard Band doing the score music! And finally when the fright flick was released in 2020 it was met with mixed reviews with many fans enjoying it and even some critics enjoyed it! After a little time of it being on the streaming platform it was released on both DVD and Blu-Ray for collectors to own. The film was one of three of the Deadly 10 films released in 2020 with the other two being Necropolis: Legion and Weedjies, both who also got comics and will be covered her on Rotten Ink soon! Blade: The Iron Cross was one of the biggest releases for the Deadly 10 films and made its impact on the world of Puppet Master as that is a massive indie horror franchise and this film is apart of its legacy.

When Full Moon announced the Deadly 10 releases, I was super hyped as I have been a life long fan of the company and even a member of the old fan club, I joined it when I was a teenager! I was really the most excited by Subspecies V: Blood Rise as them bringing back Anders Hove as Radu and Denice Duff as Michelle with Ted Nicolaou back as director was something I was waiting for many years now, but a solo Blade movie was also on my radar as the Puppet Master series hands down is Full Moons most iconic movie series. As the film was in production I noticed many websites as well as Facebook groups I was apart of promoting it and then I noticed that even indie filmmaker Dustin Ferguson was on the crew showing that as always Full Moon was helping up and coming filmmakers get their name and experience in film. I of course bought the comic when released and waited for the film to be released on home media before watching it as I am a fan of physical media and theater and not so much of streaming a film as I feel the streaming aspects makes the movies seem disposable. Juliet and I choose to watch the film in January 2021 while eating a good meal from Ajanta a great Indian food restaurant. And the first thing we both noticed was the weird bigger size of Blade as he was way to large and his jaw was weird looking, but Blade looking weird aside the film was an alright watch that had some pretty cool kills and made me more of a mega fan of actress Tania Fox who has played the character Elisa Ivanov in two Puppet Master films, she is a great actress and very lovely. The over all acting of the film as well was good with a few bit part players being way to over the top and hammy, I also would say that the film needed more Blade as the first solo film in the Puppet Master series he sure did seem to take a back seat in much of the plot. But I would say that while the film was flawed it was over all a fun watch on a late cold night, Juliet thought the same as said it was “Ok”. Puppet Master is Full Moons main franchise and Charles Band knows it and this I think will be the start of many more solo films featuring the Puppets to come.

The Deadly 10 is a great concept from Charles Band and allowed Full Moon fans a look at films to come and had films for everyone, while Blade: The Iron Cross was not a mega hit with critics or fans it still is a film that fits into the legacy and story of the series. Now let’s take a look at the comic that was released along side the film a very cool promotional item that helped spark even more interest for the film. I want to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics for getting me a copy of this comic and would like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s see what Blade has in store for the Nazi’s in this Horror Comic one-shot!

Blade: The Iron Cross # 1  **1/2
Released in 2019    Cover Price $3.99    Full Moon    # 1 of 1

The year is 1939 and Andre Toulon and his young apprentice Peter are about to go to bed, but they first welcome Blade to their puppet family. You see Blade is really German Dr. Hess a man who was working on a project that would bring dead soldiers back to life for the Nazis, you see while he had to work for them he was not loyal to them and was killed when he helped Toulon escape a camp. Once Toulon is asleep Blade gets up and runs out into the streets and towards his old lab and watches as two Nazis are talking about stealing the dairy and notes of Hess and sealing them to the Americans so that both sides can kill each other off! Once inside they find the notes just as Major Vogt enters and takes the notes from them as he wants the glory for turning them into the Reich. As the two soldiers grab more from the lab Blade ends their life by slitting ones throat and then rips another out with a hook! As Vogt and another Soldier enter they as well fall victim to Blades vengeance as he slashes the belly of the soldier, and then massacres Vogt by cutting his eyes and removing both his tongue and head! But Blade is not done and also kills the Nazi truck driver before returning back to his new home with Toulon and his fellow puppet brothers. But the solider with the belly slash is not dead and has the notes and escapes into the night.

What a fun comic based on Blade of the popular Puppet Master film series! The story has Blade trying his best to get rid of loose ends from his human life and he wants to stop the tests to try and bring the dead back to life as well as deal good old fashioned death to some Nazi scum. The issues main bad guy is Major Vogt who serves the Third Reich and wants to be the one who gets the glory of finding the notes of Dr. Hess so that the tests and project of re-animation can continue, he clearly was a man driven by ego and greed and that’s why he gets the most gruesome death in the issue! The Nazi soldiers as well are spineless worms who are looking out for themselves and would sell away secrets that will coast many of human lives for their own gains, and that’s why its nice to see them pay…well, all but one maggot that is able to get away. Andre Toulon and Peter are just trying to hide and get some sleep in a war stricken building, and deep inside I think Andre Toulon knew that Blade was going to go and massacre some fools that night as when the puppet returns its as if Toulon was waiting for him. Blade is on a mission in this comic as he heads to his lab, listens to plans, sizes up how many targets he has and then takes his shot and brings them all down super fast and super brutal. He is silent, tiny, deadly and focused and shows that while the puppets from Puppet Master can be pack killers they are just as deadly on their own. The comic is pretty violent and is filled with blood and gore as a head is removed, blood is pouring out of massive slash wounds and a tongue is ripped from a skull, great stuff for a Horror Comic like this! I should also note that this comic is opened and closed by The Gore Collector from the Bunker Of Blood series that was released by Full Moon that showcases clips from their most popular films. The story was written by Shawn Gabborin who is a great writer for Horror Comics is the man behind the stories for Action Lab comic series like Puppet Master and Black Betty to name a few and his story for Blade: The Iron Cross fits really great into the world of the films and shows that Shawn understands the Full Moon world he is writing in. The cover I have is very eye catching and has Blade standing on a mountain of skulls with the Charles Band Deadly Ten logo at the top, very cool! The interior art for the Blade segments is done by Yusup Idris and is fantastic stuff and he is super skilled in the world of Horror Comic art, I would love to see him tackle more comics based on spooky films. Over all Blade: The Iron Cross is a great comic book that is well written and fits like a glove in the cinema world created by Charles Band. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Idris and you will see just what I am talking about when I say I want to see him do other Horror Comics based on films.

I am glad that Charles Band has opened up Full Moon Comics and has the likes of Shawn Gabborin who was once the main man at Action Lab Comics on staff. As Full Moon has so many great characters that would make for great comics like Castle Freak, Killjoy and Tourist Trap all films that have never gotten the comic treatment. Blade is the most popular puppets in the Puppet Master series it was cool seeing him not only get a solo film but also a solo comic adventures and I hope more of these type of films and comics are released in the future as I am looking forward to a Jester ones if they every decide to do them. Well for our next update I will be turning over Rotten Ink to Juliet and she will be covering a Horror Hostess that she loves as she will give Stella Desire the Horror Host Icon treatment! So that should be a great update for Horror Host fans like myself and until next time read a Indie Horror Comic or three, watch a Full Moon film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for a update with Stella and her show Saturday Night Deeeeaaaddddd.

January The 13th: The Muppets Take Manhattan

In 1989, hockey masked killer Jason Voorhees, aboard a cruise ship filled with high school seniors, slashed his way into Manhattan, New York and took that city by brutal storm. But just five years before, in 1984, a band of goofy stage performs took it by laughter and cheer.  This band was lead by a noble green man named Kermit The Frog and his friends are The Muppets, and yes, they as well took Manhattan! This film and its STAR Comic mini series adaptation are the topic of this second update of 2018…wow, we are in 2018 and this is amazing as 2017 seemed to fly by. But let’s not focus on that; let’s focus on the third Muppet movie that starred Kermit and the gang getting into a fun and wacky adventure. Like many kids my age, growing up I loved The Muppets and saw this movie a tons of time as it played on HBO when I was a kid. I even taped it off TV on Beta when I was younger. My gal Juliet also loves The Muppets, and I almost had her do this update but decided that I also had some things to say about this movie! So let’s travel to New York with our pal Kermit and see why he and his pals decided to take Manhattan.

The Muppet Show was created by Jim Henson and was a variety show that aired on ABC from 1976-1981.  My brother Bryan and I used to watch it in reruns as even our Dad was entertained by these colorful puppets who had great personalities and added humor by interacting with their celebrity guests. Kermit The Frog was the head of this rag tag group of performers that had the likes of Fozzie Bear a terrible stand up comic, Miss Piggy a diva actress and singer, Gonzo a weird big nosed guy who would do stunts and Rowlf The Dog who played the piano and sang, to name a few. Amazing guest stars like Alice Cooper, Vincent Price and Mark Hamill added to the enjoyment of this program that would go on to spawn movies, comic books, video games, novels, cartoons and toys, and this is why Disney ended up buying Jim Henson Productions and continues to make Muppet stuff for fans to enjoy. Now I could really get into the history of The Muppets and their creation and such, but I would rather save that for another update that possibly Juliet will handle.  So our main focus for this update is the third movie adventure they had. But to sum it up, growing up I was a big fan of The Muppets and watched the show in reruns, loved the cartoon Muppet Babies and enjoyed the heck out of the movies over the years….so in other words, The Muppets Rule!

Growing up I was lucky that my Mom would buy me lots of toys from stores like Hearts, Hills and Gold Circle and would find also lots of great toys at garage sales.  Besides The Muppet Babies figures that were in Happy Meals from McDonalds, I had the cool Fisher Price figures called “The Muppet Show Players” that they released in 1978 with a total of seven figures in the set that included Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Animal, Rowlf and Scooter. The figures stood about 3-4” tall and had limited movement and came with a stick that allowed you to clumsily move The Muppet around and make your own plays and shows with them. Now keep in mind that these toys were made a year before I was even born and as a kid, I got some of them from Odd Lots, who had them in stock in the 80’s!! I am not sure if maybe if Fisher Price rereleased them or if a large stock of them was found, but my brother and I had many of them growing up. As I said, our parents got us many from Odd Lots and we also found a few at garage sales. I know I owned Rowlf, Fozzie, Animal and Scooter and remember my brother owning Kermit, Animal and Gonzo, and we both really did enjoy them and kept onto them for many years before we ended up giving them to our cousins when our mom “pushed” us to give many of our toys away to them. But I can remember playing with these toys and having them on the side of the Jedi in the toy wars I used to have when I was a youngster growing up in Waynesville. So did any of you readers grow up having these Muppet Fisher Price toys?

To me, the Muppets are as iconic as Looney Tunes and Disney Cartoon characters and seem to have always been a part of my life from watching them on TV all the way to reading comic book adventures about them and everything in-between! I mean heck, one of the first vinyl records I ever owned was the soundtrack to The Muppet Movie. My favorite Muppet of the main cast of characters was Fozzie The Bear as I found him to be a lovable goofy unfunny comedian who was funny because he was not funny! The other that comes close to Fozzie in my book is Gonzo as I love the fact he is so weird, had a creative mind and his close friends are rats and chickens! But my favorite minor character always has been Sweetums, a large ogre monster who towers over Muppets and humans alike and looks like a mean son of a gun but is a semi nice guy unless he is pushed or you mess with his friends. Sweetums first appeared in the TV Special “The Frog Prince” in 1971 and was a bad guy and son of an evil witch Taminella and would later make appearances on The Muppet Show becoming more of a cast member in season two. He would also go on to be in many of The Muppet movies as well as video games, comics, books and toys throughout the run of the show and beyond. I think I have always liked Sweetums lots because I have been a Monster Kid for as long as I can remember, and he looks like a giant monster that could have been the main baddy in any G rated horror film of the 70’s. Many actors have played the character, but the one who made this giant Muppet suit monster his own was Richard Hunt who played him from 1975 to 1991 and the original suit actor was Jerry Nelson who only played him once in 1971 for his first appearance. So while Fozzie and Gonzo are amazing characters who are my main cast favorites, good old Ogre Sweetums has a special place in my heart as well. Take a look at the pics below to see why this aging Monster Kid dug him.

Growing up I always thought that the monster used as a mascot for Noble Roman’s Pizza in the 80’s was The Muppet Sweetums, and once older, thanks to YouTube, I was able to finally see that he was not indeed pushing cheep greasy pizza to hungry people in the 80’s but instead the pizza place made their own walk around Muppet who very much looked like a knock off of Sweetums complete with his under bite bulldog like jaw! But let’s be honest, I really do like the fact Noble Roman’s Pizza has a mascot, and while he is not as memorable to many fast food junkies as say Ronald McDonald, The Noid or Colonel Sanders that we have covered here on Rotten Ink, he still made his mark for those kids in the 80’s who remember him…plus it appears as if they still somewhat use him but have changed him quit a bit as he no longer has brown fur like Sweetums and now has blue and purple fur much like the My Pet Monster doll! In my youth I can only remember eating Noble Roman’s Pizza less than a handful of times and can remember eating there with my cousins Dino and Norman. I have never been a big pizza eater and can remember not really enjoying my slices of the pie from them. Just wanted to throw this in as I am not sure when in the future I would be talking about Sweetums or the knock off Noble Roman’s Pizza mascot…check out the pics below to see why younger me thought they were one and the same.

So I think we are at the point of this update where we will be taking a look at the movie that spawned this comic adaptation and was a film that my brother Bryan and I watched many times and even owned on VHS for years until I, like a fool, sold all my VHS off to a second hand store that underpaid for them all. But here is what we will do for this quick look at the film, I will take the write up from our pals at IMDB and then will talk a little about watching it for the first time aka what I can remember and then talk about how well it did at the box office and such. I hope you’re ready to talk about some Muppets cause we are about to dive in their world!

The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)

“The Muppets graduate from college and decide to take their senior revue on the road. They hit the streets of Manhattan trying to sell their show to producers, finally finding one young and idealistic enough to take their show. After several mishaps and much confusion, things begin to come together for them.”

If memory serves me right, I first saw this film on HBO when I was a youngster and my Mom use to hype up all the big kids movies that came to that paid station (that we would have on and off during my youth) to me and my brother who always were so eager to watch movies as we both loved cinema even at a very young age. There was always something very magical about watching a Muppet Movie as they always seemed like events much like many of the film series from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s did.  When a new Superman, Star Wars, Star Trek, Jurassic Park or Batman film was released, it was a major deal to many of my friends as well as the film going public and for the longest time The Muppet films felt that way! While The Muppets Take Manhattan is a great family film and was one I liked, it never was my favorite Muppet film growing up as I always loved The Great Muppet Caper as that one was just over the top silly and was one I had seen more often on TV and home video. The film was released to theaters on July 13, 1984 and was a hit for Tristar as it brought in $25,534,703.00 at the US box office on a budget of $8 million and came in at # 39 for the year beating out such films as A Nightmare On Elm Street, Sixteen Candles, The Neverending Story, Children Of The Corn, Supergirl, This Is Spianl Tap and Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai to name a few. So as you can see, in the 80’s The Muppets had box office draw and were favorites of kids and the young at heart. One thing I do want to also say is that as I kid I always thought it was amazing that the cast of Sesame Street was in this film as they are guests at a very special wedding that we will talk about in the comic review…I wonder if they will make an appearance in the comic or if they will be cut out due to rights issues?

Now that we have talked about Muppets Take Manhattan as well as about my favorite underrated b-cast Muppet, I think it’s time we dive into the adaptation comic mini series released by Star Comics! It’s been a while since I did an update about a Star Comic, and it feels good doing one based on The Muppets as they are a fun one to talk about! Also this is not the last time I will have an update here at Rotten Ink about them as sometime this year or next my gal Juliet will do a bigger update on The Muppets in general. So before we get started, I need to remind you that I grade these on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. I also want to thank Bell Book And Comic and Lone Star Comics for having these issues in stock and making this update possible. So let’s take a trip to New York with Kermit and the rest of The Muppets and see just how they take Manhattan with laughter.

The Muppets Take Manhattan # 1  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Star Comics   # 1 of 3

Kermit The Frog as well as his fellow Muppets have just put on a musical show the day the graduated collage and the show is such a hit the crowd and his friends push Kermit to go to New York and try and get it on Broadway! Kermit and friends pack up their stuff and head to New York with fame and stars in their eyes and the first day they go and meet Martin Price who claims to love the show and wants it to go straight to Broadway…but only if Kermit and his friends all pay him $300 a piece! The Muppets know this is wrong and before they can say no the police bust in and try to arrest Price for fraud over the years and this criminal tries to take Gonzo hostage but the blue weirdo is saved by Animal and price is brought to justice. Kermit and pals don’t loose their faith in the show even after day after day and meeting after meeting they get told NO! With no money in their pockets they stop at a diner for some soup and meet the owner, his daughter Jenny and rat waiter Rizzo who all befriend the struggling stage actors and as Kermit gets the soup, Scooter talks the rest of the gang that they should split up and make their own way to impress Kermit and themselves! As his friends all leave New York one at a time Kermit goes to the Empire State Building and looks at the city and gets motivation to get his friends back and his show on Broadway.

This first issue in the adaptation is really well done and captures the mood, music and characters of the film very well. The plot of this first issue has Kermit graduating collage and putting on a great musical show that leaves him being pushed to bring the show to Broadway by the audience and his fellow friends. And once in New York he finds that getting the show on Broadway was way harder than expected and he and his friends sleep in rented lockers and in the end his friends split off from him to get jobs and leave Kermit all alone in the Big Apple. Kermit The Frog is a very creative Muppet who believes in his projects and his friends and is chasing his dreams to be around his friends and entertain the world with his production shows. Kermit is just a great frog who has a heart of gold and makes friends wherever he goes. Scooter is a Muppet who pushes Kermit to do this show and is the goof who tells the other Muppets they should all split up and get normal jobs…what a goon…stand by your friend man if you believe in his art. The rest of The Muppets are around and all have faith in Kermit and don’t want to split away from him but it’s the idea of Scooter that forces them to all walk away, so it’s sad to say but I think Scooter is this issues bad guy next to the con man Martin Price! Jenny and the diner workers are all good people who you know will be playing a bigger part in issue # 2! Very solid issue and a great way to start off this mini series, and I must say the cover is amazing and very eye catching for fans of The Muppets and the interior art it top notch kids comic stuff done by Dean Yeagle and is the style that made me fall in love with Star Comics all those years back in my youth. I can’t wait to see how issue 2 brings the story to life.

The Muppets Take Manhattan # 2  ***
Released in 1984      Cover Price .60      Star Comics     # 2 of 3

Kermit is motivated to get his show on Broadway and his friends back in New York and heads to Pete’s Diner and gets a part tome job working in the kitchen as does Rizzo’s fellow rat friends! While Kermit is trying to get his show picked up a weird person in shadow keeps following him! Kermit has Jenny help him by designing cloths that he thinks will make agents pay him more attention and sadly this seems to not help get his show off the ground. The shadow figure following him is Miss Piggy who gets upset when she see’s Jenny hug Kermit and worse when se returns to her job she is fired after getting an extreme make over from her co-worker! Kermit does not give up and this time takes Rizzo and the other rats to a high-end restaurant in order to build up his show but once more he his tossed out and the show is not picked up. After being defeated again Kermit is down in the dumps and runs back into Miss Piggy who has beat up a would be purse snatcher and he gets her a job at Pete’s as a waitress. Good news comes via a letter when Kermit is called to meet a producer who turns out to be the young son of the producer who wants his first project to be Kermit’s musical! Super hyped Kermit calls Jenny at the restaurant and tells her that the show is going to happen and that she can do costumes and to let Piggy know that they are Broadway bound. As Kermit leaves the building to get back to Pete’s he is hit by a car and looses his memory!

Kermit in this issue pushes forward on trying his best to get his show to play in New York as well as get his friends to come back so they can all work together and make something special. Kermit also tries to change who he is in order to get the attention of producers and dresses like a goof and even acts and says things like one. Also Pete’s Diner turns out to be great place for Kermit to work as it puts a little cash in his pocket, is a home base for him as well as he has met lots of new friends. Jenny, Pete and Rizzo as well as the fellow rats are all great people who clearly believe in Kermit and his musical, as they are all willing to help him in his time of need and depression. Miss Piggy while she has walked away from Kermit she still loves him and has stayed in New York in order to keep an eye on him and once they meet back up she ends up working with him at the diner. The young producer is a good kid who clearly has seen the talent and special nature of the Kermit musical and chooses it as his first project even though his father does not share his love for Kermit’s play. This issue is great and builds up more of the will that Kermit has to make his own way and to impress his friends and also delivers us drama in the way of Kermit getting hit by a car and forgetting who he is making the musical’s future in jeopardy. The only down side of this issue is that besides Kermit, Miss Piggy and Rizzo none of the other Muppets make an appearance besides a brief cameo of The Muppet Babies in a two panel flashback and this is a bummer for fans of the other characters. This issue has a good cover and once more fantastic art by Dean Yeagle and is another top notch kids comic adapting a great kids movie. So lets see what issue three the final issue in this mini series has in store for us!

The Muppets Take Manhattan # 3  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .60     Star Comics   # 3 of 3

Kermit is taken to the hospital after being hit by a car and is a blank slate not even knowing his own name. Meanwhile Miss Piggy, Jenny, Rizzo and Pete are awaiting his return and when hours pass and the producer of the show stops by to say the show starts in 2 weeks they must try and find their missing friend! As they hit the streets looking for him Pete writes telegrams of the good news and The Muppets all come back to town and meet at the diner and all are told of Kermit missing and all hit the streets looking for him and all come up empty handed. Kermit is now going by Phil and is working at an ad firm and just by luck on opening night he and his co-workers stop at Pete’s for lunch and his friends are happy to see him, but he don’t remember them so they kidnap him and take him to the theater to try and jog his mind. After hours of trying they are not able to and the show starts and just before they are to go on without him Kermit laughs at the fact Miss Piggy loves him and she slaps him so hard he hits his head on the wall and snaps back to normal and rushes to get onstage on time for the start of his opening night of his big musical. The show is a hit as the crowd loves it, Kermit has his friends all around him as they do the show and he and Miss Piggy are married live on stage as part of the show and this is how The Muppet Took Manhattan!

The finial issue in this adaptation is just as good as the first two issues and shows just why Star Comics when around was the best kids comic company going, better than Archie and Harvey and all others of that time. The plot of this issue has Kermit with memory loss wondering around New York as Phil as his friends and musical are in need of him. And when all looks lost Kermit remembers who he is and pulls off a massive hit musical and even marries his long time girlfriend Piggy live during the show! I love that Kermit takes on the name Phil and works along side other frogs and creates cheesy ads and slogans for products like soap! I also love as Phil is he kind of rude and laughs in Piggy’s face when she talks of her and Kermit’s plans for marriage…yeah he laughs in her face and gets slapped for his terrible manners! But I love that when he remembers who he is Kermit kicks into creative gear and gets stuff done! Miss Piggy in this issue loves her green skinned man and worries about him missing and does what she can to try and find him, and while she tricks him into marriage she is not nearly as diva acting as she normally is. The rest of The Muppets (Gonzo, Fozzie, Scooter, ect.) are all background players and do what they do well and that’s add fun moments to this comic and story. Jenny, Pete and Rizzo show that they are great friends as they as well get worried about Kermit and do what they can to help find him and make his show a hit. I also love that they did add the Sesame Street characters to the wedding and that through out the issue you get cameos from those cranky old critics Statler And Waldorf who as well add their own brand of humor. The cover of this issue has Miss Piggy and Kermit getting married and is eye catching for fans of The Muppets and once more Dean Yeagle and is great stuff. This three issue mini series is a must read for fans of The Muppets and the film its based on as it is a pure fun all age comic series that is entertaining and just plan fun! I would say that my favorite Character in this mini series is Kermit as how can you not like a guy trying to chase his creative dream and wants to share it with his friends. While my favorite backup character would be Rizzo as who don’t like a rat who waits tables and gets all his other rat friends jobs. So to sum it up make if you dig Kermit and his friends make sure to give this a read. Check out some art from this comic series done by Dean Yeagle below and see just how fun it is.

The Muppets are icons of TV and kid friendly shows, and while they have lost some steam nowadays, they still have a special place in my heart as seeing them they make me think of my youth and all the good times I had with my family watching them on TV and movies. And as I have said, this will not be the last time you will see The Muppets here at Rotten Ink.  Juliet confirmed with me that she will indeed be doing an update about them in the future! For our next update, we will be walking away from New York and The Muppets and head to the world of Horror Hosting and a rundown mansion that is the home of the one and only Ghost Host.  This Maryland Horror Host will be the next Icon we chat about. So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update ghost and ghoulies!