Horror Host Icon: Baron Von Porkchop

Dayton, Ohio really does have its fair share of Horror Host history, with many of them being household names and each meaning something to their viewers. Names like Dr. Creep, The Creeper and A. Ghastlee Ghoul have graced the TV Screens of many late night viewers and each have inspired and entertained generations of Monster Kids and each of them helped shape my creative mind in their own ways. And in 2010 the Dayton market was pretty dry when it came to Horror Hosts as Iris & Retina of Mondo Smash A’Go-Go had slowed down and reruns of New Shock Theater and The Ghastlee Movie Show were hard to find on the access stations DATV and MVCC, and then that void was filled when Baron Von Porkchop and his Terrifying Tales of the Macabre hit DATV like a frightening freight train! And still to this day Baron Von Porkchop is the cities current King of late night viewing and a fan favorite to many. This Horror Host Icon update will be one that will not only talk about Baron Von Porkchop and his Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre, but will also give a little behind the scenes and facts that many do not know. So it’s with great honor and pride that I bring to you readers Horror Host Icon: Baron Von Porkchop. So let’s travel to Porkchop Manor and see what BVP has in store for us.

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Baron Von Porkchop is a ghoul who originally died in the 1800’s after a wagon accident that also left his wife The Baroness dead! The couple was buried in two different locations when their enemy Count Van Lambchop paid for their burials as a fake act of kindness to impress the townspeople of New Burlington. Decades passed and in 2010 Baron and Baroness Von Porkchop where dug up and come back to life and while Ghouls they continue their lives at their now moved Manor as their old town of New Burlington was flooded and the town moved to a hidden location in Ohio. And while their pork meat empire slaughter houses are now closed they did generate money while they were dead and their bank account is well stocked with cash and making it very easy for them to continue on and have all types of adventures around the state of Ohio. Baron Von Porkchop dresses in a nice black coat, with a top hat, blue vest, glasses with a magnifier and has very pale grayish skin. While he is a ghoul he is not a flesh eater and has a very fun loving nature with a hint of an ego. He really enjoys hosting the movies and bringing his viewers his show as his “Piggies” as he calls them are like his close friends. Baron is very much in love with The Baroness as he would do anything to make her happy, and his best friend is the family butler Bean. Baron Von Porkchop besides his show has done lots of cool things in and around Dayton as he has hosted a Halloween Theme Dinner party at Lily’s Bistro, he has been a guest and attended conventions like HorrorHound Weekend, I.C.E. and Cinema Wasteland to name a few. He has hosted movies at theaters Englewood Cinema and Danbarry Huber Heights. He has hosted verity show “Dirty Little Secrets” at Wiley’s Comedy Club. At Gilly’s Jazz club an event called “Baron’s Ball” was held that had many great music acts play for Baron and his guests, not to mention he even hosted the freakshow event called “Captain Johnny’s Whiz Bang” at Gilly’s. He has attended Halloween Parties for fans and even has done charity events. Plus he has appeared in comic books namely “Shocking Macabre Theater” by Sparkle Comics. As you can see Baron does lots of great things for fans to enjoy, and he has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. Stephen Alexander II is the man who plays Baron Von Porkchop and is not only my cousin but also was a founding member of the “Gem City Gentlemen Of The Gilded Beard” a beard club that did events for charity, he also is a writer for comic book company Sparkle Comics and is a pretty creative guy who also makes custom Funko Pop! Figures, creates enamel pins and repairs old smoking pipes.

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Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre began in 2010 and started airing on DATV, MVCC and The Monster Channel with host Baron Von Porkchop and took viewers by storm as the area of Dayton, Ohio was in need of an active Horror Host as many of the hosts had taken time away or retired. Out the gate Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre gained a great following with loyal viewers who enjoyed Baron Von Porkchop and the crazy world around him. The show is still going strong as of 2021 and has had a number of regular episodes as well as many specials, showing that BVP is here to stay! The show is one that takes Baron all around the city of Dayton as well as conventions and events and even has guests and story arches…it’s like a Horror Host sitcom wrapped around cheesy films. Baron on the show not only hosts classic public domain films but also hosts many independent films of all types of budgets. Baron has even hosted wrestling matches from Rockstar Pro Wrestling for a special. Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre is a staple of Dayton airwaves and still has many more episodes and specials to come.

But did you know that Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre was original going to be new episodes of Shock Theater and was slated to be the return of Dr. Creep as Dayton’s Horror Host? For years Dr. Creep and I talked about bringing his show back as while his health was on a decline he had the itch to get back to hosting movies and entertaining viewers. So to prepare for his return I wrote out several episode ideas and decided to film a Horror Host show that would be just seen by my friends in order to truly get ready for Dr. Creep’s return. So while chatting with my cousin Stephen we decided that he would act as the host and the name Baron Von Porkchop was created by me due to his sideburns. We came up with an idea of Baron going fishing to capture a Creature From The Black Lagoon type fish monster in order to serve him to dinner guests, Baron was more of a snarling sinister type Host with a toned down voice, in other words he was more played on fear and not laughs. We choose the movie Night Fright to host and once filmed I made generic opening credits for the show we were calling “Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre” and once edited I burnt it onto a DVD and gave copies to a few fiends including Rick Martin and Andy Copp both who brought back Dr. Creep with New Shock Theater back in the late 90’s, and the response we got from the episode and Baron Von Porkchop was overwhelming with everyone saying that we should do more episodes and turn him into an ongoing Horror Host! Andy Copp told me he thought I had something special with Baron and even said that he could get it aired on public access station DATV, and with those kind words among many others Stephen and I decided that we would indeed keep Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre as it’s own series and when Dr. Creep’s health would get better I would do both shows! Sadly Dr. Creep’s health only got worse and on January 14, 2011 the world lost this amazing man and host, and this was very sad for not only Dayton but for all who enjoyed Dr. Creep’s antics.

As the show grew I knew that I had to cast my friend and then co-worker Stephanie Stidham in the show so she became Baroness Von Porkchop, and the show just kept growing from there. While working on Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre BVP has had the pleasure of working with many of the Horror Hosts from Dayton’s past like A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Dr. Freak and Iris & Retina and this to me shows the bond that our area hosts have together. Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre has become a true Friday night tradition for many viewers as we have gotten fan snail mail and emails from viewers as even our home station of DATV has gotten mail about how much the shows means to our viewers and one amazing thing was a local retirement home have movie nights watching Baron! Heck even during the 2020 pandemic we even filmed a few Specials to help our viewers out and give them some laughs during the hard time. I truly love creating the show Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre alongside my cousin Stephen and we have more ideas and spooky, silly adventures planned for Baron coming up over the next few years.

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As like all good Horror Hosted shows Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre has it’s fair share of amazing cohosts and sidekicks that live in and around the Porkchop Manor. The lovely Baroness Von Porkchop is the voice of reason when it comes to the decisions made in and around the Manor, she is elegant and stunning and was a former Miss Slaughterhouse Pageant winner and is one of New Burlington’s most beautiful women, The Baroness is played by Stephanie Stidham. Bean is the longtime hunchback butler for the Porkchop’s and is the one who for over a century took care of Porkchop Manor and is responsible for finding them and bringing them back to life, he is a silly goofy man who helps BVP get into all types of wacky adventures and always encourages his off the wall and lazy ways. Bean is played by Bruce Lerma who is the nephew of Horror Hosts Iris and Retina from Mondo Smash A’ Go-Go! Jenkins The Pigman was the first pigman experiment that BVP and Bean created and they decided not to kill him for his meat and keep him as a member of the manor, Jenkins is very strong and also has a darkside and will do whatever he can to protect Baron and Baroness. Jenkins The Pigman was played originally by Gary Wolf and later on by myself among others. The manors cook is JD The Meatman a loyal and skilled meat cutter who has worked for Baron in his old slaughterhouse and now works in his kitchen, JD is played by artist Eric Shonborn. Viola Poison was at one time the maid for Porkchop Manor and was skilled in not only cleaning but also using Poison, she also had a massive crush on the Baron and this is what lead to her leaving the Manor, Viola was played by Emily Marshall. And these are the main sidekick characters that make up Porkchop Manor!

Baroness Von PorkchopBeanJenkins The PigmanJ.D. The MeatmanViola Poison

The Baron also has some friends in and around town that includes his neighbors Sleazy Tom a laid back ladies man who while sleazy does have a good heart who was played by Max Ervin (who sadly passed away in 2013) and on the other side is Mr. G the lizard headed mascot form the closed down Renaissance Music Media store who is enjoying retirement and is still played by Geoff Burkman. The Son Of Hercules a strong man of myth and legend and is one of Barons best friends and is played by Mike Ritchie. Melvin is a monster-faced goofball who is the helper of Stephen Von Frankenstein and enjoys hanging out with Baron and is his Halloween buddy, Melvin is played by the legendary local actor Josh Weinberg! And this is just a drop in the hat of the townies that live in New Burlington as names like Oliver The Werewolf, Mr. Pepperton, Susie The DJ, Beerwolf, Wolf Hunter Duke, BK King, Reporter Ted The Fox, Mr. O and so many others make up the townies.

Sleazy TomMr. GSon of HerculesMelvin

Also Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre has had some review hosts that make up one of the shows segments with the original being Reverend Zealot who brought back The Cult Corner that he use to do on New Shock Theater that was hosted by Dr. Creep! Filmmaker Andrew Copp played Reverend Zealot for the second season and sadly he passed away in 2013 making another loss for the show. Brett does video game reviews on his Bad Or Rad segment that started in the third season and he is blogger Brett Prescott. Both Zealot and Brett help make episodes of Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre more special for viewers and both are vital to making the show even more fun.

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But while BVP has his fair share of friends he also has those in New Burlington who dislike him and the fact he hosts movies for viewers of Public Access, and these sticks in the mud want to end Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre…or even take it over! His main nemesis is Count Van Lambchop the poultry King played by Thomas Smith who is extremely competitive and is upset that he did not become the host of Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre as he and his wife the lovely Countess Van Lambchop played by Jaimie Mazzone were resurrected before the Von Porkchops. They also have a very loyal butler named Cornbread who dislikes Baron, but he truly cannot stand Bean! The three of them do whatever they can to annoy and be thorns in the side of Baron as they think they should be the center of attention. The next major hater of BVP is Baron Von Porkchop Jr. played by musician Todd The Fox is a crazy fraud he has the people of New Burlington believing that he is truly his son, he is manipulative as well as short tempered and dangerous! And this is just a drop in the hat of the villains of the show as names like Chicken Man, Fulci Zombie, Headless Horseman, The Sadness, Crazed Fan and David J. Getz also cause issues. Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre is like no other Horror Host show from the area as it truly does have a massive world and tons of characters that make it up.

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When Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre started up as a full show I spent so much time building the world of New Burlington and knew that I wanted it to be filled with all types of townies from normal people, monsters, retired mascots and even movie characters from indie made films…and one other character that was planned was Baby Von Porkchop who was going to be The Baron and Baroness’s daughter that was going to be played by my friend KD Cyr, the character would have been stuck in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey and would have sent video messages to her parents about her adventures from the haunted woods. You see KD lived near the barrens and was a creative soul that I meet on social media and we hit it off as both of us loved Horror and cheesy movies, and when creating the character I had her 100% in mind and she as well helped create the attitude and storyline for Baby. I was so excited to have her on board for the show and at one point an episode was planned that would have had Baron, Baroness and Bean heading into the Pine Barrens to find her only to have a run in with the Jersey Devil of course! KD would do some trial run footage with a friend and make-up designs, but would never share as she always said that footage was bad as she was nervous in it, and I would encourage her and of course put no stress on her. We put off the characters debut so that she could find what worked for her with playing Baby, and all was going well. But sadly in 2015 the world lost a truly amazing person as KD passed away from a car accident when a reckless driver crashed into the back of her car. Truly heartbreaking news when I found out and even if she never made an appearance on the show she is still to all of us a part of our cast family, and I felt it was only right when writing about the show that she gets the respect she deserves. My deepest sympathy goes to her family and friends as she was an amazing and creative soul.

KD Cyr Baby Von Porkchop

One thing that I love seeing is fan art done by our viewers as well as just fans of Horror Hosting and over the years we have gotten some pretty amazing pieces of art sent to us! Crazy even some of the artists have who sent us some of the art ended up being on the show! As a creator of Baron Von Porkchop and Sparkle Comics when anyone takes the time to make art for us it’s very appreciated and we love seeing them! Below is some art from many of the talented artists who have drawn BVP over the years. And I want to also send out a massive thank you to everyone who has ever sent us fan art or done art featuring Baron Von Porkchop or any of the cast of Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre. Artwork below features ones done by Brett Prescott, Eric Shonborn, MonkeyGoatBoy and Bradley Beard.

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Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre has had many regular episodes as well as specials over the years and each of them I enjoyed making, being apart of and even watching, but one has always stood out as the most important episode to me and that was Episode 8 as it was the tribute to the late Dr. Creep who passed away before the episode was filmed. The original idea for the episode was it was suppose to be Baron Von Porkchop hosting a dinner party that the guest of honor was to be Dr. Creep who would have taken over the episode sharing stories of his years of being a Horror Host and they would have hosted a Bela Lugosi film. But sadly Dr. Creep who was in poor health passed away on January 14, 2011 at the age of 69, and this was a sad day for all of Ohio and those of use who grew up watching Dr. Creep and knew the man behind the grease paint. And the episode that was suppose to be his comeback to TV ended up being turned into a celebration of his life and memory. The episode was turned into The Baron and Baroness throwing a dinner party to honor Dr. Creep’s memory and had many of his friends on talk about his life and tell fun stories. Many names showed up like A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Dr. Freak, Jeff McClellan, Rick Martin, Geraldo The Hunchback, Reverend Zealot, Mr. G and even characters like Melvin, Duke The Wolf Hunter and Son Of Hercules showed up to pay respects. After the guests shared their stories we showed classic clips of Dr. Creep from Shock Theater. It was very magical hearing each of these guys sharing their stories of traveling, hanging out and working with Dr. Creep. Many also told stories of meeting him for the first time or shared stories he had told them…it was very magical and was something that I hope he would have been proud of. Below is a picture from that film shoot with all the people involved in one shot. Well I need to also say thanks to Juliet Fromholt, Emily Marshall, Maurice Smith, Josh Weinberg and Eric Shonborn all who helped makes the special possible but are not in the picture.

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For me one of the greatest honors of doing and creating this show was when on September 11, 2021 when Baron Von Porkchop was inducted into the Horror Host Hall Of Fame as part of the 2020 class in Ohio! BVP took his place with the other Icons from Dayton that was placed in the Hall Of Fame like Dr. Creep, A. Ghastlee Ghoul and The Creeper! This introduction was well attended and BVP was inducted by “The Mummy and The Monkey” an amazing Horror Host duo from Cleveland, Ohio. It was really cool seeing Baron on stage getting the honor of being inducted in, as the years of hard work paid off and it was awesome to see the fans clap for him to get this honor. While the Hall Of Fame was very odd as it was a smaller event due to the on going pandemic and some audio issues plagued the start of the ceremony it was something very special for BVP and myself.

Baron Von Porkchop and his Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre as you can see is a show that has became a main stay in Dayton, Ohio and has expanded to the world thanks to the online stations like The Monster Channel and even the online viewing streams of DATV and MVCC. And really one of the biggest honors making this show is getting feedback from the fans as well as being inducted into the Horror Host Hall Of Fame thanks to fan votes as well as votes from his peers. And we are now at the point of this review to talk about the episodes and I decided to not cover all of the episodes of Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre as I will cover Baron Von Porkchop again in the future so I decided to cover seasons one and two as well as the specials that went along with those two seasons. The movies plots will be taken from our pals at IMDB with some being written by myself as well as all the hosts segments. So if you are ready lets spend sometime at Porkchop Manor and have some fun with BVP and his friends that make up New Burlington.

Baron Episode 1

TTOTM: House On Haunted Hill
Starring – Vincent Price & Carol Ohmart         Not Rated       1959

Host: Earl The Gravedigger leads Baroness Von Porkchop and Bean to a dug up gravesite and when the coffin opens its Baron Von Porkchop! Once back at the manor that is located in New Burlington they get cleaning as the place is dusty and Baron even meets his neighbor Sleazy Tom for the first time that wants him to watch his 1900 # dating ad. In the end Baron informs the Piggies at home that we will be returning next week with a new spooky film to share with them.

Movie: Eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren and his 4th wife, Annabelle, have invited 5 people to the house on Haunted Hill for a “haunted House” party. Whoever will stay in the house for one night will earn ten thousand dollars each. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors.

Baron Episode 2

TTOTM: Driller Killer
Starring – Abel Ferrara & Carolyn Marz     Not Rated     1979

Host: Baron Von Porkchop and his friend and butler Bean are working in the manors garage on making a pig man in order to raise and then slaughter and sell his meat as Pig Man Sausage! Throughout the episode Baron and Bean work on the Pigman trying to give him life and add organs as well as use electricity to try and start his heart. In the end when all looks as if it has failed the Pigman rockets up to life and runs from the garage…Baron and Bean end the issue by shooting the Pigman dead so that he would not run amuck in New Burlington.

Movie: Reno is an artist struggling to survive in NYC. He draws inspiration from scenes of daily street life and occasional random violence. Under pressure to finish his oft-delayed grand masterpiece, his psychotic alter-ego takes over and he begins killing random vagrants to boost his creativity, not quite realizing that it is happening in reality. When an art dealer grimly rejects Reno’s finished masterpiece, Reno’s mental condition quickly deteriorates.

Baron Episode 3

TTOTM: Frankenstein ‘80
Starring – Gordon Mitchell & Xiro Papas     Not Rated     1972

Host: While walking through the woods Baron Von Porkchop runs into a weird looking creature man named Melvin who informs him that Stephen Von Frankenstein needs his help! As Baron follows Melvin to Castle Frankenstein he is told by Stephen that his Monster is now free and wondering the woods! So Baron along with Melvin go looking for The Monster only to find him in a very bad mood!

Movie: A mad scientist creates a monster called “Mosaico,” who breaks out of the laboratory to hunt down and kill beautiful women.

Baron Episode 4

TTOTM: Ulysses Against The Son Of Hercules
Starring – Mike Lane & Georges Marchal     Not Rated     1962

Host: Baron, Baroness and Bean get a call from The Son Of Hercules that he needs their help in order to get back a golden apple that is in the hands of an old witch that is inside a haunted collage! So brave Baron and Bean take the quest and leave Baroness behind, while on the quest the encounter a zombie and ghosts before coming face to face with the witch…the coward out and run away before getting the apple. On their way back to face The Son Of Hercules they are coming up with a story in why they failed in the quest only to be greeted by the Baroness who had went the quest along and retrieved the apple!

Movie: Ulysses offends the gods by blinding the Cyclops, so they send Hercules to capture him and bring him to them.

Baron Episode 5

TTOTM: Five Minutes To Live
Starring – Johnny Cash & Ron Howard     Not Rated     1961

Host: Baron and Baroness head to grocery store Big Bear in Lebanon, Ohio in order to sell them his freshly made Pigman sausage as when he was alive that chain was very much into stocking his quality pork products. But to their horror Big Bear is out of business and hanging around was one of the stores old managers who tells them they should sell their meat by going door to door…and Baron and Baroness do just that and turn it into a computation on who can sell more! The split up and meet all types of strange people trying to sell them this meat…in the end The Baroness comes out the winner!

Movie: Fred narrates the film in flashback, detailing a suburban bank robbery that goes awry. In his simple plan, he hires a hard-up hood, Johnny Cabot to take the wife of the bank’s vice president hostage. Cabot will hold her until he gets a call alerting him that Fred has been successful in getting ransom money. Cabot waits, and watches the Wilson house as the husband leaves for the bank and their young son heads off to school. Posing as a door-to-door guitar instructor, he forces his way into the house and takes Nancy Wilson hostage. At the bank, Fred talks his way into Ken Wilson’s office, and presents his personal check for $70,000, intending that Wilson will withdraw the funds to cover the check as a ransom for his wife. He has Wilson call home to prove that Nancy is being held by the unstable Cabot, and gives Wilson 5 minutes to make his.

Baron Episode 6

TTOTM: Fury Of The Wolfman
Starring – Paul Naschy & Perla Cristal     Rated PG     1972

Host: Baron Von Porkchop gets the invite of a lifetime as he is able to sit down and have a one of one interview with world famous werewolf hunter Duke! Duke The Wolf Hunter was seen in the second shot on video film “The Wolf Hunter II” and shares is secrets of hunting down werewolf scum. Also along for this amazing interview is Bean who is star struck by the hunter, as well as a heck of a lot of blood sucking Cicadas who are trying to ruin Baron’s show!

Movie: Waldimar Daninsky, a lone survivor of a Tibetian expedition, returns home to find his wife has been unfaithful to him. Carrying the curse of the pentagram (or pentagon, as stated by the monk who nursed him back to health), the fury of the wolfman is unleashed! After disposing of his cheating spouse, he finds himself captive in a castle by a female mad scientist conducting mind control experiments. In a vein attempt at escape, he discovers the freaks left over from past experiments dwelling in the dungeons.

Baron Episode 7

TTOTM: Night Fright
Starring – John Agar & Dorothy Davis     Not Rated     1967

Host: Baron Von Porkchop is going fishing to try and snag a fish creature using Beans brain as bait! He is trying his hardest to capture this creature as he wants to serve his meat to his dinner guests that are gathering the next episode to honor the late great Dr. Creep! In the end Baron is able to snag the creature!

Movie: A government space experiment into the effects of cosmic rays on animal life goes horribly wrong, creating a mutant monster that terrorizes a rural community.

Baron Episode 8

TTOTM: Dr. Creep Tribute
Starring – Dr. Creep & Dow Thomas     Not Rated     1970-1990

Host: Baron and Baroness Von Porkchop are throwing a dinner part to honor Dr. Creep the Dayton, Ohio iconic Horror Host. They have JD The Meatman cook up the Creature Meat and have snacks and treats for the guests as Bean escorts them to the dinner table. Guests include Rick Martin, A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Jeff McClellan American, Dr. Freak, Geraldo The Hunchback, Duke The Wolf Hunter, Son Of Hercules, Melvin, Mr. G and Reverend Zealot and they all share amazing and fun Dr. Creep stories and myths.

Movie: Clips of Dr. Creep over the ages from his shows Shock Theatre, Saturday Night Dead and New Shock Theater. As well as some of his public appearances over the years at events.

Baron Episode 9

TTOTM: Independent Short Films
Starring – Dave Wean & Kipp Poe     Not Rated     1990’s-2000’s

Host: The Baroness wants Baron and Bean to clean up the garage as its getting out of hand with boxes that is filled with old media, toys and forgotten relics…but cleaning is no fun so they decide to dig out some independently made horror short films and share them with the Piggies at home! They also find out that Mr. G has moved in next-door and he as well shares a short film! And when all said and done Baron and Bean do nothing and the Baroness is not very happy!

Movie: Indie short films shown on this episode are “The Cask Amontillado”, “Dreadful”, “Callback”, “Songs In The Key Of Satan” and “Outpost 31”.

Baron Episode 10

TTOTM: Phantom From 10,000 Leagues
Starring – Dave Wean & Kipp Poe     Not Rated     1955

Host: Baron Von Porkchop is very distracted from hosting the nights film as he has gotten himself a video game console and is playing the game Space Invaders as he thinks that by playing the game he is saving the Earth. He is so focused that he is ignoring the issues of the manor as well as his wife The Baroness and friends Sleazy Tom, Bean and Jenkins The Pigman!

Movie: An unusual radioactive rock on the sea bottom mutates the ocean life into a horrible monster. When charred, radioactive bodies begin to drift ashore a scientist and government agent investigate the phenomenon, and it’s connection to a local marine biology professor.

Baron Epiosde 11

TTOTM: Quiet Nights Of Blood And Pain
Starring – Amanda DeLotelle & Loren Goins     Not Rated     2009

Host: Baron Von Porkchop has cult indie filmmaker Andy Copp over to the manor to chat about his legacy of making films, television shows as well as his work with Dr. Creep. And of course Bean is around to make sure their guest is uncomfortable or is that comfortable?

Movie: The movie deals with two soldiers home from the Iraq war suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but in vastly different ways. One see’s her life falling apart in night-terrors, flashbacks, insomnia, and a total lack of government support. The other still believes he is fighting the war now that he is back on American soil. Still convinced he is supposed to torture and kill any and everyone who can be viewed as Anti-American. Soon they will be at a crossroads and blood will be flooding the American streets.

Baron Episode 12

TTOTM: White Pongo
Starring – Richard Fraser & Maris Wrixon     Not Rated     1945

Host: Baron Von Porkchop and Bean are on the hunt for a creature that broke into the manor and stole one of the Baronesses little figures! The two head to the woods and soon find that they are looking for a Were-Gorilla, and they try to get the item back as well as avoid its rage.

Movie: Suspecting that a safari guide is a wanted killer, undercover policeman Geoffrey Bishop joins a safari led by the suspect for a scientist that hopes to find and prove that a fabled white gorilla is a missing link.

Baron Episode 13

TTOTM: I Eat Your Skin
Starring – William Joyce & Heather Hewitt     Rated PG     1971

Host: Baron and Baroness Von Porkchop get a visitor who claims he is their long lost son, but the thing is they never had a son! Baron Von Porkchop Jr. starts to be a menace around the manor as well as starts to interfere in the personal life and business life of Baron that causes him lots of issues. But it’s soon seen that BVP Jr. is not stable and Baron must find a way to get ride of him once and for all.

Movie: A cancer researcher on a remote Caribbean island discovers that by treating the natives with snake venom he can turn them into bug-eyed zombies. Uninterested in this information, the unfortunate man is forced by his evil employer to create an army of the creatures in order to conquer the world.

Baron Episode 14

TTOTM: Atomic Age Vampire
Starring – Susanne Loret & Alberto Lupo     Not Rated     1960

Host: Baron Von Porkchop is forced to find a job as Baroness is sick of him just hanging around the manor so he gets hired to be a DJ at New Burlington’s radio station. And of course Baron has no clue what he is doing and causes all kinds of havoc on the air as well as broadcasting dead air!! And as fast as he is hired he hides so they can not fire him.

Movie: A stripper is horribly disfigured in a car accident. A brilliant scientist develops a treatment that restores her beauty and falls in love with her. To preserve her appearance the doctor must give her additional treatments using glands taken from murdered women. His unexplained ability to turn into a hideous monster helps with this problem but does nothing to win her love. The doctor’s woes multiply as the police and the girl’s boyfriend begin to close in on him.

Baron Episode 15

TTOTM: Wolf Hunter 1 & 2
Starring – Matt Hoffman & Jason Gilmore     Not Rated     2001/2006

Host: Baron Von Porkchop heads to the werewolf infested Malice’s Bridge in order to get an interview with the famous Wolf Hunter, but he soon finds out that the hero is not showing up but instead he is being stalked by many werewolves from Independent B Movie films like Scars, Red-Eye, Man-Beast and Oliver. But lucky for BVP his luck foils many of their attempts to make him dinner.

Movie: The Wolf Hunter: Malice king of all werewolves is rampaging in Ohio and a business owners daughter has been kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend who is now a werewolf and the states only hope is The Wolf Hunter. Wolf Hunter 2: Malice is still on the loose and now his biggest rival Ravenger has entered Ohio and a werewolf turf war is about to go down, and The Wolf Hunter who is trying to kill off the werewolves and keep order has his own issues when Duke another Wolf Hunter is called in. Can the two work together and stop this werewolf invasion?

Baron Episode 16

TTOTM: Vampire
Starring – John Beal & Coleen Grey     Not Rated     1957

Host: Baron and Baroness Von Porkchop get sad news that their butler and friend Bean has to leave the manor as he has found a wife and plans on starting his own family. And now Baron and Baroness must hold interviews in order to find his replacement and all types of people show up in order to get the job and some of them are perfect fits while others are weirdoes. In the end BVP shoots them all down before hiring maid Viola Poison strictly on her good looks. Lots of cool cameos in this episode including Geraldo The Hunchback from New Shock Theater.

Movie: A kind, small-town doctor mistakenly ingests pills made from vampire bat blood and they turn him into a dangerous fanged creature.

Baron Episode 17

TTOTM: Legend Of Bigfoot
Starring – Ivan Marx & Peggy Marx     Rated PG     1975

Host: Baron Von Porkchop gets fellow Dayton, Ohio Horror Hosts Iris & Retina to help him hunt down a Bigfoot as he needs the creatures meat in order to make his famous BigFoot Chili to enter into the New Burlington Chili Cook-Off! The Horror Hosts wonder around the woods and hear the yells of the creature as well as find the evidence that they need to know they are on the right track. And in the end Baron is able to take down one of the creatures.

Movie: A documentary about the legendary creature, Bigfoot, with emphasis on him being the missing link.

Baron Episode 18

TTOTM: Undertaker And His Pals
Starring – Warrene Ott & James Westmoreland     Rated R     1966

Host: Baron Von Porkchop has brought his whole crew (Baroness Von Porkchop, Jenkins The Pigman, JD The Meatman and Viola Poison) to the New Burlington Chili Cook-Off as he has entered his famous Bigfoot Chili, but the compotation is heavy as rival Count Van Lambchop and his wife The Countess has also entered their chili in the contest. Viola and Jenkins try to help rig the voting by messing with others chili as Baron and the Count continue their life long feud. With a panel of guest judges that include musicians and comic book artists it’s a chili showdown for who takes first place. This episode also has a cameo from Bean!

Movie: An undertaker and his two friends, who are restaurant owners, drum up business by going out on the town and killing people; the restaurant owners use parts of the bodies for their menu, and the undertaker gets paid by the families to bury the remainder. Their racket goes awry when 2 detectives suspect that something isn’t quite kosher.

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Now that we have taken a look at the first two seasons (season three and on will be for another future update) lets take a look at the special episodes that when along with these first two seasons.

Son of Hercules Special

Son Of Hercules Power Hours: Samson
Starring – Brad Harris & Mara Berni     Not Rated       1961

Host: The Son Of Hercules hosts his own show that was a failed TV Polit that he was trying to get TBS to air in the 1980’s. This special has Son Of Hercules giving work out tips, arm wrestling an alien as well as showing his love for heavy metal music. A silly fun time with the Mighty Son of Hercules!

Movie: While traveling through the kingdom of Sulom, Samson is arrested and finds that the queen no longer reigns and that a power-mad warlord and his army of mercenaries now controls the kingdom. Samson teams up with some of his one-time adversaries to battle the usurper and restore the rightful queen to power.

Baron Halloween Episode 1

BVP Halloween Special 1: The Sadness
Starring – Jason Young & Garrison Kane     Not Rated       2006

Host: Baron Von Porkchop celebrates Halloween by going to the site of The Sadness Collage Murders, and once there he starts coming across bodies and thinks that the students are adding the spooky holiday festivities, but the Baron soon realizes that The Sadness has returned to the scene of the crime and that Baron might just be his next victim.

Movie: A young collage student witnesses the murder of her next door neighbor and makes the mistake of talking about it on her friends radio show, and now the killer knows as The Sadness has shown up to the collage and wants to silence her and her friends forever as he never leaves a witness behind.

Baron Beards of Science Special

BVP Charity Special: Abraham Lincoln
Starring – Walter Huston & Ian Keith   Not Rated       1930

Host: Baron Von Porkchop and Count Van Lambchop are having an argument about the location of Lambchop’s new poultry farm when the zombie of Abbe Lincoln and his subjects come back from the grave and are hungry for brains and both Barons and Counts look good to them, so now the two foes must survive together in order to escape the zombie version of America’s 16th President. Done for the Gem City Gentlemen Of The Gilded Beard charity event.

Movie: Brief vignettes about Lincoln’s early life include his birth, early jobs, (unsubstantiated) affair with Ann Rutledge, courtship of Mary Todd, and the Lincoln-Douglas debates; his presidency and the Civil War are followed in somewhat more detail, though without actual battle scenes; film concludes with the assassination.

Baron Halloween Episode 2

BVP Halloween Special 2: Werewolf Of Ohio
Starring – Josh Weinberg & Matt Hoffman     Not Rated       2001

Host: Baron Von Porkchop and his friend Melvin are going trick or treating and Baron is not following the safety rules and is making all kinds of mistakes, but they soon meet an old man who tells them the story of The Headless Horseman, and little does Baron know that The Headless Horseman is now in New Burlington and has his site on making this Halloween very fighting for our Horror Host.

Movie: Josh is a young man who’s family has been killed by a werewolf and has spent his life trying to track and kill the beast, now with a trusty Cameraman and the world famous Wolf Hunter he tracks down this killer beast for one final showdown.

Baron Horrorhound 2012

BVP HorrorHound 2012 Special: Corpse Vanishes
Starring – Bela Lugosi & Luana Walters     Not Rated       1942

Host: Baron Von Porkchop is a guest at the HorrorHound 2012 convention and has decided to leave Viola Posion and Susie The DJ in charge of his table as he goes on a quest to find and win the heart of Horror Hostess Marlena Midnite of Midnite Mausileum. And while on his quest he stops along the way to talk to his fellow Horror Hosts as well as celeberties in attendance including Gunner Hansen and Doug Bradley. And when Baron finds her will he win her over or chicken out.

Movie: Dr. Lorenz, a mad scientist, wants to keep his elderly wife young. He does this by kidnapping young females and extracting fluid from them. He then injects this fluid into his wife.

Baron Arcade Special

BVP Arcade Special: Beast of Yucca Flats
Starring – Tor Johnson & Conrad Brooks     Not Rated       1961

Host: Baron Von Porkchop heads to the store Game Swap as they have just gotten in a new Pac Man Arcade Machine for play and he is annoyed that he has to wait in line as all he wants to do is play a game of Pac Man and even has brought his tip book as well as Jenkins The Pigman along for the experience. But will Baron be able to play a game before the store closes as the line is long and his anger is rising.

Movie: A defecting Soviet scientist is hit by a nuclear explosion near Yucca Flats and roams around as a beast.

Baron Halloween Special 3

BVP Halloween Special 3: Indie Short Films
Starring – Stephen Alexander & Zach Prater     Not Rated       1990’s-2000’s

Host: Baron Von Porkchop and Melvin are dared to stay the night in the haunted graveyard of Dr. Freak by JD The Meatman and with snack food in hand and shaky nerves the two hang out and tell each other ghost stories that are really short films from Indie Horror Film directors. But when Horror Host Dr. Freak shows up will be mad about his trespassing guests or will he join in on the spooky tales of terror this Halloween night.

Movie: Indie Films show are “El Toro 2”, “Hellraiser: Warehouse”, “Mummy vs. The Stalker”, “The Return Of Freddy”, “Bark At The Moon: Malice”, “Bark At The Moon: Scars”, “Nightmare” and “High Hopes”.

Baron Black Friday Special 1

BVP Black Friday Special 1: Farmer Joe
Starring – Mike Ritchie & Henrique Couto     Not Rated       2001

Host: Baron Von Porkchop has made a half man and half chicken creature that was suppose to be for Thanksgiving but had pitty on the creature and let him live, but now the Chicken creature is a menace and is always on his cell phone and is just rude to everyone he comes across! Baron goes to get advice from the BK and learns that he must kill his creation with an ax, but can he do it?

Movie: Danny is a young kid who is being bullied and on a dare goes to a haunted farm and summons the spirit of the crazed Farmer Joe who is out for revenge on the man who sold him bad seeds and ruined his harvest many years ago, but he also has Danny and his bullies on his radar of death, can Danny’s Dad save his sons life and soul, or is all hope lost now that Farmer Joe has returned.

Baron Halloween Special 4

BVP Halloween Special 4: White Zombie
Starring – Bela Lugosi & Madge Bellamy     Not Rated       1932

Host: Baron Von Porkchop and Melvin this Halloween decided to rent a small cabin in the country to get away from all of the craziness that they have been through the past three years, but unlucky for them the Fulci Zombie an ax swinging undead serial killer is around and wants to make them both dead! But will Baron and Melvin figure out a way to stop this murdering rampage or will they just be more victims on his ever-growing list.

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

Baron Black Friday Special 2

BVP Black Friday Special 2: Razor
Starring – Jason Gilmore & Josh Weinberg     Not Rated       2002

Host: Chicken Man is back and is running all around New Burlington causing issues for all the locals and making them all very angry, and they want to know who is the man behind this menace and many point the finger at Count Van Lambchop and Baron now must stop his creation before the town discovers the truth that this cell phone texting annoying chicken is his doing.

Movie: A young man is plagued with memories of a past he seems to have lived and a father who was pure evil, now Mike must unravel a mystery that all leads to a blood drinking killer that has been around for centuries and try and figure out how his life and past are tied to this psycho.

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Baron Von Porkchop is a Horror Host that has brought Dayton, Ohio and beyond viewers laughs, scares and cheesy movies for over 10 years now and the cast of characters that make up New Burlington have all did their part to make this show special. And from the bottom of my heart I want to think every cast member and every fan that has made Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre must see TV and apart of your life, as well as make the dreams of this blogger come true as I have always wanted to create my own show and I cannot think of a better person to create this show with then my cousin Stephen. And like I have said this will not be the only Horror Host Icon update about Baron Von Porkchop so you fans, friends and readers will have more to look forward to in the future. But now lets talk about our next update that will be our Halloween update and will take us away from the world of Horror Hosts and into the world of SOV Horror as we look at a 1990’s gem called “Hatchet”! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch an indie film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for some VHS Horror Fun.

HatchetSOV copy

Best Fried Food Chicken – Dayton, Ohio Edition

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. For this update I am going to do something a little weird and yet so fitting for my tiny slice of the world-wide-web. I am sure you are wondering just what I am up to, right? Well alongside my cousin Stephen and my pal Josh, we are going to decide who has the best fast food fried chicken in the Dayton, Ohio area! You see originally a few years back we were going to do this for signature fast food hamburgers, but unlucky me cannot eat red meat anymore…so we all decided to do this with ranking fried chicken instead! We decided that Saturday nights would be our Fried Chicken eating time, we would have to eat a three-piece meal after work and we would base our voting on these things:

Presentation: How well the chicken looks as well as the over all look of how the restaurant put our meal together.

Breading: How the breading tastes with how much flavor it packs.

Tenderness: How juicy the chicken meat is.

Taste: The over all taste of the Fried Chicken, how well do all these elements blend together.

Each of these things are graded on a scale of ½ – 5 points each with a perfect score being 20 and the lowest being 2 points. So if you are ready, let’s talk Fast Food Chicken for this silly update that could be the start of Rotten Ink’s food reviews! So pack some extra napkins as this one is going to get a little greasy. Oh and let’s start our list from worst to best. We ate a total of six restaurants, and “Thank You” to all these Fried Chicken places for making this update possible. Also we only based this on one meal and keep in mind all fried chicken is good fried chicken so just sick back and have fun with this update.

# 6

Lee’s 3pc Chicken was one we ate around 8:35pm, and the presentation for me was very low as I found my chicken not too appealing and very dry looking and my wing was thrown in with my green beans. So I gave it a 2.5 as again the presentation was not that appealing at all. Next up was the breading that was lacking in flavor and had just a black pepper taste earning a score of 2. The tenderness was not present for most of the chicken in this meal, and because the leg was pretty dang tender I gave it a 2.5…and I am not sure why I gave it that high. And lastly is taste, and over all I gave it 2.5 as well as the Presentation and Tenderness was not top notch and the Breading was what kept the meal very tasty. I should also note that after I ate the chicken I had green beans, mashed potatoes with gravy and a Pepsi to drink. Lee’s is the second most popular fast food chicken restaurant here in Ohio, and while I’ve had good meals from them before, this was not one of them, and that’s why here on Rotten Ink it made it to the #6 spot. I should also say that both Stephen and Josh rated their 3pc chicken about the same as mine which helped it lock this spot. Total Score for Lee’s is 24.5 out of 60.

# 5

Church’s 3pc Chicken was one we ate around 9:00pm, and the presentation for me was standard as I found my chicken to appealing but nothing special. So I gave it a 2.5 as again the presentation was average. Next up was the breading that was lacking in flavor and was very bland. I mean the breading to me had no flavor at all so that earned it the score of 2 from me. The tenderness for Churches was very surprising as I found the meat to be tender and juicy, and this was a solid 3 from me! And lastly is taste, and over all I gave it 2.5 as the Presentation and Breading was average and the tenderness was what kept the meal really good thanks to the Chicken leg. I should also note that after I ate the chicken, I had mashed potatoes with gravy that was just okay and a tasty honey biscuit. Church’s Chicken was a fast food place I ate lots when I worked near one, and I find it to be a good cheap chicken restaurant that, while not at the top, it did lock the # 5 spot! And this was one 3-piece meal that we all gave almost the same scores! Good old Church’s brought in a total score of 31.5 out of 60.

# 4

The KFC 3pc Chicken was one we ate around 8:30pm, and the presentation for me was very low as I found my chicken not too appealing and also I felt was very small compared to other chicken I have had from them in the past. So I gave it a 1 as again the presentation was not that appealing. Next up, the classic 11 herb and spices for the breading is legendary and there is a reason so many other fried chicken places have tried to mimic the recipe, so I gave it a very solid 4! Now for tenderness I would say that the three pieces I ate was good but was lacking in juice and tasted more like store bought oven baked fried chicken…so in other words, it was middle of the road hence I gave it the score of 2.5 as it was very average. And lastly is taste, and over all I gave it 2.5 as well as the Presentation and Tenderness was not top notch and the Breading was what kept the meal very tasty. After I ate the chicken, I had green beans, mashed potatoes with gravy and a Pepsi to drink. Over all KFC is the most popular Fast Food Fried Chicken Restaurants and here on Rotten Ink it made it to the # 4 spot, showing that not all popular things are the best! Keep in mind, I do like KFC and respect what Colonel Harland Sanders did for the world of Fried Chicken it’s just a shame that the meal this time for me was just so-so. I should also say that both Stephen and Josh rated their 3pc chicken slightly better then I did which helped it lock this spot. The 11 Herb and Spices brought in a total score of 36.5 out of 60.

# 3

Popeyes was eaten on October 5, 2019 at around 9:45pm and was our dinner for the evening. When getting this three piece meal, it came in a box with the companies logo on it and once opened the fried chicken was covered in Caujun Fries and the chicken itself looked really good and that’s why I ended up giving it a score of 3 for presentation! I moved on to tasting the breading that was on my chicken and after taking bites of it I found that it was really good and had its own style of flavor unique to Popeyes and that’s why I as well gave it the score of 4! The Tenderness of the chicken was good with the leg being juicy and the wing being kind of dry, and that’s why I decided to give it a score of 3.5. The taste of the chicken, the great presentation and the tasty breading made for a top notch meal, and that’s why it got a 4 and was a solid meal with a great tasting biscuit, flavorful fries and a cold Coke to drink. I have yet to have a bad meal from Popeyes and after adding up the scores from Josh, Steve and I they got 40 out of 50 locking the 3rd spot easily.

# 2

On October 11, 2019 we had Sharks Fish & Chicken for lunch, and as always we all got a three-piece meal and we ate it around 1pm. The meal came in a Styrofoam container and the three pieces of chicken sat on top of a mountain of french fries, two pieces of white bread and came with coleslaw and hot sauce, and when looking at this I was impressed and it reminded me of a good home cooked meal so that’s why for presentation I gave it a very solid 3 ½. Next up was the breading and after taking a few bites off one piece that tasted slightly over cooked, I decided to take some off another piece, and wow it was very good and had a salty and yet kind of sweet taste and I gave it 4 points. When eating my first piece as I stated before it was slightly over cooked and the meat was a little dry, but good gosh the next two piece was so juicy my mouth is watering just thinking about it and that’s why for tenderness I gave it a 4. And lastly, the taste over all was great and the breading and the juicy meat is what locked 4 more points from me! I would say that this was a really good meal and very tasty and after adding up all out points Sharks got a score of 43.5 out of 50 showing that Sharks knows how to do friend chicken right!

# 1

Krispy Krunchy Chicken was eaten on September 28, 2019 at around 2:30pm and instead of dinner, we had them for lunch! When getting this three piece meal it came in a nice white bag that had the companies logo on it and once out of the bag, the friend chicken and sides looked very tasty and that’s why I ended up given it a score of 3.5 for presentation! I moved on to tasting the breading that was on my chicken and after taking several bites of just the breading, I found that it was amazing and rivaled the 11 Herb and Spices of KFC and that’s why I as well gave it the score of 4! Like the breading the tenderness of the chicken was on point and was very juicy and very tender and that’s why I gave it a 4.5 as it was very close to being perfect. The taste of the juicy tender chicken and the flavorful breading made for a fantastic meal that was top notch and that’s why it got a 4.5 and was again almost perfect. I want to also note that I had Mashed Potatoes and a biscuit with my meal, and they as well were really good. Stephen and I rated Krispy Krunchy very similar as Josh was a little more rough with them and gave lower points. And after adding our scores together Krispy Krunchy brought in 45 out of 60!

So there you have it, in Dayton, Ohio a group of three friends have awarded the Best Fast Food Chicken Award to Krispy Krunchy Chicken as the meal we all had was pretty dang fantastic! But I am sure you are wondering what each person’s top three chicken places were. Well, let me break that down for you as well and will list starting with the top ones on each person’s list.

Stephen: Krispy Krunchy, Sharks and Popeyes
Josh: KFC, Sharks and Popeyes
Matt: Krispy Krunchy, Sharks, Popeyes

Well I hope you enjoyed this silly update and who knows maybe next time we will cover some other weird food and let you the readers know what is the best of the best in our books. I am also working on the design for these Food Review updates so bear with me as I know this one is not that visual appealing, and I hope for the next one it will be amazing! So for my next update I am walking out on Fast Food and will diving into another of our American Hero updates, just in time for the Fourth of July.  Our hero this time? Super Green Beret! So until next time, read a comic of three, eat a friend chicken meal or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for the adventures of the Super Green Beret.

Bill Fugate's Super Green Beret

 

The Large Howl Of The Werewolf On Halloween Night

The moon is full in the sky, and the urge to roam the nearby dark woods takes hold because Rotten Ink has been cursed by a wolf…a Werewolf! Ever since I was a kid, werewolves have been my favorite classic monster and I could not get enough of them in movies, comics, TV, books and video games! I spent many nights pretending to be a werewolf as we would drive home from our grandparents’ house down country roads imagining myself running as fast as the car was moving stalking and hunting for prey. I was obsessed with watching werewolf films on TV with the 1941 Universal Monster classic The Wolf Man being one of my all time favorite films, and I could not get enough of films like An American Werewolf In London, The Howling, Curse Of The Werewolf and Legend Of The Werewolf to name a few. I was also very much into watching the old FOX and later USA show Werewolf! The first shot on video film I ever directed was Werewolf Of Ohio. Not to mention, I have lots of great memories of sitting in my room reading comics like Werewolf By Night, Howl and Werewolf At Large with the latter being the subject of this Halloween update! So dim the lights crack a window to let a cool breeze in and let’s take a creepy look at some spooky stuff!

In 1987 in San Mateo, California a rash of fires began being set by some one who was angry about new homes being built and wanted the land to be left alone. Messages like “No New Homes” and “ Neighbors Revolt” was left at the scene of the crimes painted on walls and for years the case went unsolved. The fire department knew that they had an arsonist on their hands but had no clues to who was guilty and why the picked the targets they did. But in 1990 a father and son had an issue with their truck of Highway 205 and pulled off the road miles away from San Mateo, as the father went to find a phone his son wondered around the side of the road and found an army jacket with heavy metal cassette tapes, a fake skull and a VHS tape all wrapped up inside it and decided to take the tape home to see what was on it. What they found on the tape was a house burning and an eerie voice bragging about setting it and comparing the fire to Hell and babbles like a generic comic book villain complete with an evil laugh! The father was so creeped out by the video that he turned it over to police and the tape floated from town to town until it finally landed at the police department of San Mateo were they were able to link the tape with one of the early arsonist house fires in 1987. On the tape the eerie voice says a name Omar and the police decided to ask the TV Show Unsolved Mysteries for help and they broadcast it on an episode and they where able to get a hit on a group of teenagers who the people of San Mateo are able to pen point as Omar! Omar claims he was not the one who set the fires and gives them the name and address of his friend who was the one that did this evil deed. The new main suspect’s own garage catches fires and after putting it out the cops and fire department are shocked to what they find as dead animal bodies are all around, large knives and even a Freddy Krueger mask and gloves litter the ground. The cops take the 18 year old into custody and while searching his house they found news paper clippings and VHS tapes of broadcasts of the fires as well as Heavy Metal posters and cassettes, items of devil worship and VHS tapes of the young man dressed as werewolves and vampires talking about killing and acting out violent acts on dummys dressed as people. Once all this was discovered the young man admitted to setting the fires as well as to doing sacrifices to Satan via animals, he was sentenced to a mental help facility to get psychological help and after this the fires stopped. I first seen this case on Unsolved Mysteries when I was a kid and the creepy over the top voice of the young man always stuck with me and over the years when it was solved and was shown on shows like Cold Case Files and Forensic Files and the video of him acting out on camera as monsters made me dub him the Werewolf Arsonist!

The odd thing when I was a kid I enjoyed comic books, horror films, video games, Horror Hosts and rock music and I can remember myself being blamed for slashing tires and setting a fire in a trash can at school! Now while I didn’t do any of those things it goes to show you that if your odd you do get blamed for things you didn’t do and this can cause people to act out and become what they are accused of. While these two young men acted out and did things they shouldn’t have like setting fires and killing animals, I turned my love for monsters and things considered weird into comics and shot on video movies and become a very creative person and I really wished these young guys would have done the same, who knows they could have made a low budget horror classic that all us fans would be talking about to this day if they could have taken that raw teen anger and angst energy and turned it into a creative drive. It would have been nice if their parents, friends and teachers could have seen the troubled path these guys were headed down and took the time to redirect that built up energy and anger into something way more positive for them as young youths looking for their place in the world. I am glad that over the years I have had the pleasure of being able to portray many characters in films from The Wolf Man in “Werewolf of Ohio” to a kickass homeless vet named The Beast in “Fun In The Old Town Tonight”, I have created comic characters like Mr. Emo, Benny The Squirrel and Robo-Raccoon and characters like Baron Von Porkchop, King Kryan and The Sadness in TV and Film. I am sure your wondering why I am talking about all this and what is the connection to the Werewolf Arson well its simple I could have easily headed down a bad path as by the time I was a mid teenager I had a chip on my shoulder and was looking for a reason to explode I was mad that I had to move away from my friends in Waynesville in the 9th Grade, I was mad that my Mom was battling cancer and I was mad that most of my new teachers in Kettering were judgmental buttholes who treated me like trash cause I had long black hair an ear ring and wore metal and horror film shirts, I was mad they branded me a Satanist, Cultist and a Danger to others. But I didn’t go down that path because of people like my parents and my brother Bryan who stuck by me no matter how stubborn I got. Friends like Josh Weinberg, Matt Hoffman, Dave Wean, Rion Neeley, Linda Webb, Sarah Fix, Jason Gilmore, Andrea Seay, Patrick Neely, Mike Ritchie, Rick Martin, Andy Copp, Henrique Couto, Jason Young, Geoff Burkman, Chris Workman, Barry Hobart, Bob Hinton, Jeremy Hoyt and so many others who helped guide my mind away from anger and towards joy and friendship and were the gateway to new lasting friendships. The good teachers and Principles at Kettering like K.B. and Dr. Shangline who kept me focused in school and showed me how to redirect that anger into making art again. Kenny from K&L Video who would give me pep talks when he seen that at times I was in a foul mood. And I should even thank Horror Hosts Dr. Creep, A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Dr. Freak, The Creeper, Rhonda Shear and Joe Bob Briggs for given me an escape from reality when I needed it when their respected shows were on. I am thankful to all these people and many more for keeping me on track and making me a happy person like I am today with a great girlfriend, a fun job, a TV show, a owner of a Comic Company, making shot on video films again, working for one of the best indie wrestling federations around and enough creative energy to fill the galaxy! And Werewolf Arson where every you are I hope that you found great people to surround yourself with and are happy in life and found a creative outlet for all your ideas. Plus over the years I myself have played werewolves in many no budget films like The Wolfman in Werewolf of Ohio, Scars in one of the Bark At The Moon flicks as well as Emo in Wolf Hunter 2 and The Carrier in Wolf Hunter 3.

So lets get to some things that remind me of Halloween I need to share a memory of when I was in first grade and in my class was one of the best games ever, one that had all types of monsters on the cover like a werewolf and Dracula and was a game called Yipes! So on August 23, 2018 I decided to get some of my friends together to play a couple of games of Yipes! so after a long day at work we all meet up to get our classic board game on. The friends I had over for this spooky time was Natalie Claude, Jeremy Hoyt, Theresa Daniels, Josh Weinberg and my cousin Stephen Alexander all whom were playing this game for the first time! The first game was very fast paced and had all of us rushing to get to the lab in order to be the one who turned into the Monster and eat the other players. While it was a close race Jeremy ended up being the monster and ate Natalie, Josh and Theresa with Stephen and me being the only kids to escape! The second game was more intense as for the longest time Natalie and myself were the ones in the lead to become the Monster but sadly we both got knocked back to the start and the first to reach the lab again was Jeremy but so did Theresa who ended up becoming the Monster! And while we all tried to make it out alive….we did not as Theresa controlling the Monster ate us all! This is such a fun and easy to play game and was a blast to hang with friends and have a good flashback to my youth. So if you want a fun and easy spooky kids game to play this Halloween season and can find a copy of Yipes! for sale give it a shot as its one that might add some chills to your spooky holiday. Below is some pictures I took that day and I do want to say thanks to my friends for coming together and helping me relive my youth.

In 2014 in Brazil, a werewolf was on the loose and attacked locals and even was caught on camera lurking around some ones backyard! The video sparked mixed reactions as many people think that its nothing more than a man in a costume walking on all fours while others think it’s the real deal and shows a real werewolf on the loose. And weird enough Brazil over the years seems to be a hot bed for werewolf sightings and this leaves the world wondering if werewolves are real! Lets look at this sighting as a real werewolf spotting and it makes you wonder just why would it be looking around a backyard and why didn’t it attack the owners of the house if it was looking for food or a kill? I think it could be the fact maybe the werewolf was in fact maybe a neighbor and when they transformed they cut across the backyard to head to woods near by…or maybe the werewolf was scoping out that house to see if their was an easy way in to get a quick meal. Now lets look at this as a hoax and why someone would do this, and this is a easy one in this day and age of the internet lots of people are looking for fame and what better way to get attention than to show the world video of a real life werewolf that is just prowling around your backyard late at night. Plus imagine the news coverage that he could get that could sweep across the nation…in other words if a hoax this would have been done for fame and money. Now for my two cents on the Werewolf Of Brazil on if I feel it’s real or fake…and I hate to say I think the footage is fake as the movement of the werewolf seems like a guy in a suit who has watched one to many Horror Movies and thinks jerking his head around equals scary. Do werewolves walk among us, I can not say but one thing is for sure if they do none of us want to run into one as things would go bad very quickly.

While I know this is not Halloween themed I still would like to take a few moments to talk about Iggy Azalea’s newest released “In My Defense” that was released on August 2, 2019 and is here major full album return to the rap game. As I am sure you readers know I am a fan of Iggy and her style of rapping and enjoy her music videos that often take it a humor or overly sexual tone. So after a wait the CD was release and I would like to share my thoughts of the release with you all real quick. I first want to say that I really enjoyed this release from Iggy as this shows that she really is the queen of the rap game…well at least for me! I also want to say that In My Defense is the perfect soundtrack to any and all strip clubs and most nightclubs. I listened to this CD in my car while driving around and I must say that I enjoyed almost every track on it with my favorites being “Started”, “Sally Walker” and “Freak Of The Week”…but I should also say I really dig “Just Wanna” as the track is sexually charged and is just pure Iggy style. Don’t want to spend to much time talking about In My Defense as it’s not very spooky nor fit for Halloween…so to sum it up this is a great release and if you like Iggy’s music from the past give this one a listen. I for one am looking forward to the next Iggy release, as I am sure it will be fantastic like this release.

So I turned 40 years old this year and decided to hold another Horror Movie Marathon to celebrate this time of my life! So we loaded up on some snack food, drinks and some good meals that included Little Caesars Bacon Wrap Pizza, chicken and breakfast casserole and geared up for a good time hanging with my lady Juliet and watching some amazing horrors that these films had to offer. I started out with a pre-show that was on September 7, 2019 starting at 3pm and kicked off with the 1940 Sci-Fi Horror Comedy “The Invisible Woman” that is about a young model that volunteers to be turned invisible who ends up helping a playboy and a scientist against mobsters. Up next was “Dr. Renault’s Secret” a classic black and white Horror Chiller about a strange servant for a Dr. who acts very animal like and protective over the Dr.’s niece. Third up was “Mad Butcher” about a crazed pork butcher who uses human meat for his sausages! The cult classic “I Dismember Mama” was next and is about a crazed young man with mommy issues and his hatred for women and love for the young. “The Love Butcher” was on tap next about a man whose inner struggle has him dealing with rude and crude women he deems unworthy. Short werewolf film “Howl” was next and has a young lady fighting for her life against a werewolf. And to end the pre-show was “Giant Monster Playset” about a kid’s new toy that comes alive and smashes its way through town. What a fun pre-show this was and a selection of some pretty good and different films. Before I get too much into our top and worst picks I would like to say that Caleb from The Love Butcher had the most kills for the night with six kills!

Now for my Golden Turkey I picked “I Dismember Mama” a film that was a major letdown for me as I can remember seeing it on the shelves at video stores and just now I finally was able to watch it and I was underwhelmed, some creepy moments but over all very blah. Juliet picked “Howl” as she liked it and gives them props for trying, it just did nothing for her. My Top Three films of the night goes as follows #1 goes to Dr. Renault’s Secret a fun classic Horror Chiller that was well acted and holds a real early horror charm. My # 2 was The Invisible Woman as I am a sucker for Universal Monster movies even if the Horror is played way down and its more of a goofy comedy, I still enjoyed it. And my # 3 was Giant Monster Playset a cool 10min short film that brings elements of Kaiju and Alien Invasion together for a good time! Juliet’s went as follows #1 Giant Monster Playset, # 2 The Love Butcher and # 3 was Mad Butcher!

My Birthday Horror Movie Marathon Bash started at 7am on September 8, 2019 and I kicked off the morning right with the Universal Monster classic “The Invisible Man Returns” a film that stars Vincent Price and is about a man framed for a murder who must turn invisible to escape jail and find who really did it before he looses his mind. Next was another Universal Horror “The Black Cat” from 1941 starring Bela Lugosi that is about a family who are trapped in their house during a rain storm and some one is killing people off. Third fright flick of the day was “The Vineyard” about a wine maker who uses human blood to stay young forever whose victims become zombies. Shot on video film “Metal Noir” was next that featured a Dark Metal God tormenting a woman in her new house. “Slice” a film about masked killer murdering attractive young ladies was next up. We then watched “Curse Of The Undead” a 1950’s Western/Horror film about a vampire! ScreamTeam Releasing Horror Comedy flick “Dude Bro Party Massacre III” was next and was about frat boys going up against a female masked killer called MotherFace! Indie slasher film “Curse Of The Slasher Nurse” was next, but sadly we had issues with the DVD and did not get to watch it. Sleazy Horror Thriller “Night Killer” about a masking wearing claw using lady-killer was the next horrors on the TV Screen. The next movie was a recent release and mixed a kid show with horror and was “Banana Splits” about kid show characters on a killing rampage on the studio lot. “Critters Attack” the 5th film in the series has those killer aliens attacking a young woman and the kids she is babysitting. And the final spooky film of the night was the 1946 shocker “The Flying Serpent” about an Aztec lizard bird that kills all those who get too close to ancient treasure.

This was such a blast and was a fun way to spend my 40th Birthday, as the food was good, the company was great and the films fun and scary! So my Golden Turkey of the main show went to Black Cat, and it breaks my heart to put a Universal Horror film as the turkey but I had to as the terrible humor through out the film ruined the scary nature. Juliet picked Metal Noir as she found it charming and also slightly boring. Now for my Top Three Films I decided that Juliet and I could add a 4th for my 40th so this one became our Top 4! My # 1 was Banana Splits as I was surprised on just how fun and bloody the film was and the evil robotic Splits were fantastic. My # 2 was Dude Bro Party Massacre III a Horror Comedy that worked as it was funny and very bloody with a cool killer with MotherFace. Coming in at # 3 for me was Invisible Man Returns as this direct sequel to the classic Invisible Man was pure Universal Monster gold. And finally my # 4 I would give to Critters Attack as I found it to be a great welcoming back to those little space fur balls! And I must also note that Night Killer almost made it as my # 4. Juliet’s top list went as follows # 1 Banana Splits, # 2 Dude Bro Party Massacre III, # 3 Critters Attack and finally # 4 Night Killer and she wanted me to say Black Cat almost made her Top 4 list. What a fun evening and I very much am looking forward to my next Horror Movie Marathon.

And now its time for the Golden Chainsaw Award this group of killers made the event more gruesome and they had the highest body count going well over 15 kills and this killer group is The Banana Splits! My favorite kill is when they rip a man apart and his bloody limbless torso hits the ground hard. So here is to you Banana Splits my your bloody rampage return for a sequel that I hope gets made.

Before we get to the comic reviews of Werewolf At Large by Eternity Comics I want to take a moment to say that when promoting this comic, they did it right as I find the ad that was placed in comics to be very cool and eye catching and would have made this monster kid and horror comic reader very hyped to track down issues when released. Nowadays I think many comic companies have dropped the ball when it comes to making ads for upcoming titles as Marvel, DC, Image and even Dark Horse I feel could do a better job as they just do not have flashy ads in my eyes. Companies like Eibon Press and Rough House Publishing in my opinion are doing it right as when they have future releases coming out, the ads are very eye catching and show care and respect for the title being showcased. Check out one of the Werewolf At Large ads below.

So with it being Halloween, with a chill in the air and all the ghost & goblins roaming the streets looking for treats or tricks, I think it’s time we dive into the comic series of Werewolf At Large, a weird hybrid of Horror and Superhero comics that is clearly inspired by Marvel’s Werewolf By Night. I want to thank Bookie Parlor and Mavericks Cards And Comics for introducing me to this series all those many years ago, and I want to thank Bell, Book And Comic and Lone Star Comics for having these in stock so I could get them back and make this update possible. So if you are ready to howl at this Halloween moon, let’s take a look at this Werewolf who is at large!

Werewolf At Large # 1  **1/2
Released in 1989     Cover Price $2.25    Eternity Comics     #1 of 3

A young girl has been kidnapped and her abductor is a crazed man with a gun who is keeping the youngster at his home that is in the middle of the woods, but lucky for her a werewolf appears and takes out the sicko and saves her and takes her back home. Meanwhile a satanic cult called The Demon Horde has turned on one of their own for being a snitch and talking to a news reporter and after killing him they set their sights on her. While in town that same reporter named Casey Casternak is working another story about an agency that helps people, and while there she meets Martin Cross a worker who helps people in need. After leaving the agency Casey is attacked by some of the Devil Cult thugs and is saved by the werewolf! As Casey runs away she runs into Martin Cross who takes her to a safe home that is his Grandma’s house who is named Marta Monrovch a woman is very much into helping charities. Once inside Casey tells Marta and Martin about the story she is working on and what has made her a target of The Demon Horde and that her informant has been murdered as seen in the paper, and worse Casey lets them know that the story was being cancelled by the paper so the man died for no reason. Betsy O’Donnell who has pushed the group to do human sacrifices runs the cult and is pure evil. When Marta explains to Casey that the werewolf she seen was in fact Martin and that she is a psychic who can see things, the young reporter runs from the house and is quickly kidnapped by the cult who take her to a room and she is selected to be killed by Betsy who transforms into a demon named Asomodeus King of Demons!

Werewolf At Large issue one is just as I remember it as a kid, as I both enjoy it and also disappointed in it all at the same time! I will get into what I mean by that statement right after I talk about the plot that has a satanic cult targeting a female news reporter for digging to deep into their doings as all the while a werewolf is running the streets and is saving the day for people in need. Now what is cool about this comic and the world this issue is building is that Martin Cross the Werewolf is a good guy, an avenger much like Jack Russell from Marvel Comics Werewolf By Night and even Eric Cord from the TV Show Werewolf and that adds a real classic feel. I also dig the fact that our main bad guys are called The Demon Horde who are a satanic cult that is made up of collage kids. But while I do like the idea of a good werewolf I also feel that this also weakens the series as for a Horror Comic this is bloodless and has no chilling moments and I dislike that the werewolf don’t kill and only beats people up and has 100% control over his beast side. Martin Cross as both man and werewolf just kind of lurks around and watches to see when he is needed, while not a stand out character he for sure is one that has room to grow. Marta Monrovch is a woman who not only has money but also has the ability to see visions that can be very helpful in her plane to help save the innocent, pretty cool character and one that could fit fight in place with Marvel Comics Doctor Strange. Betsy and The Demon Horde are pretty bloodthirsty and have no issues with killing and bringing evil out into the world. As I have stated before this issue is pretty much bloodless but does have a murder depicted and the issue brings no scares as the werewolf is clearly in control and don’t want to kill. The cover is pretty great and does kind of warn the readers that this is not a full fledge werewolf Horror Comic, but is very eye catching. The interior art is done by John Ross and is very cool and is top notch Indie Horror stuff! Over this issue was a fun read and while Horror Comic fans might be disappointed fans of Marvel Horror might really enjoy it. So let’s see how issue two stands up to my childhood memories.

Werewolf At Large # 2  **1/2
Released in 1989     Cover Price $2.25    Eternity Comics     #2 of 3

The werewolf tracks down the Demon Horde and right before Asomodeus can take the life of Casey he attacks the demon and is able to would it by using a cross, but he as well is injured by silver daggers as he tells Casey to get back to Marta’s house. As Casey runs for her life members of the cult with knives in hand give chase, but lucky for her one by one they fail with the last one being hit by a taxi cab letting Casey make it safely to Marta’s house. Meanwhile the werewolf is not doing so well as Asomodeus has the upper hand and even removes the beast from the host and the werewolf has a blood thirst that Martin can supply. As the werewolf is about to attack Martin takes control and merges with the werewolf once more and attacks Asomodeus over powering the demon and killing its host Betsy with a neck break. Martin once transformed again grabs his cloths and the cross he used on the demon and heads back to his home where he and his mother Marta talk to Casey about joining them on their quest to save the innocent, she accepts and as she and Martin have some coco in the kitchen Marta’s uses the cross to truly send the spirit of Asomodeus back to hell as it tried once more to get revenge in the body of Betsy that was rotting away.

In this second issue the story has Martin as the werewolf trying his best to kill the evil demon that has spread its hateful message to its followers and is trying to also rid the world of anyone that will expose its plans, and while this is going on poor journalist Casey is being hunted by the cultist who have the orders of killing her and sending her soul straight to the devil! The stakes in this one seem very high as the odds are against both the werewolf and Casey, but with some luck and inner power they both pull through their battles and end the Demon Horde Cult. Marta Monrovch is the clear brains of this paranormal team as she can use her visions to help plan rescues and has the knowledge and guts to tackle some very evil beings. Martin aka The Werewolf is the muscle of the group as his raw beast power makes him be able to stand toe to tow with any human and clearly most demons! Casey Casternak is a good reporter who digs deep into the stories she is given and clearly is a survivor as she fights for her life when its in danger, plus she makes a great new addition to the team! Plus I love that Marta lives in a big house with her grandson Martin and now Casey. I just really like the idea of theme three in the house doing research on missing persons, unsolved crimes and unnatural beings! The Demon Horde is no more and their members that are just a bunch of collage-aged punks got out smarted and out classed by our heroes. Asomodeus King of Demons is one bad creature of darkness that almost is able to pull off the sacrifice and controlling of the werewolf, and even when defeated Asomodeus tries to drag it’s dying body to get revenge! This issue is filled with elements of horror, action and fantasy and is well done even if there is no blood nor gore and the scares are very limited. The cover of this issue is great and very eye catching, the interior art is once more done by John Ross and is well done. Oh I should note one thing about this series is sometimes the time lapse between panels is a little awkward and come off slightly disjointed. This second issue just like the first held up and is just as I remembered, so lets see if the third one still has the charm.

Werewolf At Large # 2  **1/2
Released in 1989     Cover Price $2.25    Eternity Comics     #3 of 3

The Werewolf is roaming around in the woods loving the fact he is a beast and yet his human side Martin is in control and mixed with feelings for his new housemate Casey. Once Martin heads home he over hears Casey talking on the phone about a man named Reed and also how its been living with Marta and Martin. Meanwhile outside the house Reed along with Conibear The Huntsman are watching and have a plan to kidnap and brainwash Casey who Reed says is his wife. Martin and Casey go and run an errand together on the orders of Marta and while out Casey is kidnapped and Martin is injured trying to save her that leaves him with a broken arm. As Casey is dragged to a cabin in the woods Martin goes back home and has his grandmother use her powers to find the whereabouts of Casey and once they find it he is off and transforms into his werewolf self once in the woods. While inside the cabin Casey tries her best to tell The Huntsman that she is in fact not the wife of Reed and she only went on one date with him and he became obsessed with her, but this does not seem to phase the crazed Huntsman who just admits he will break her will and that the truth does not matter. The werewolf shows up to the cabin and after out smarting the Huntsman he is able to save Casey, beat up the Huntsman and drives Reed crazy with fear. Turning back human Martin and Casey go home and so ends the Werewolf At Large series.

This series clearly while entertaining really was lost in what direction it really wanted to go in as it clearly was meant to be a full fledge Horror Comic and by publish time it was more of a superhero title, and while fun I do really think that this brand confusion is what lead to the series having a very short run. This final issue’s plot has The Werewolf coming to the conclusion he is getting a crush on his new co-worker and roommate Casey and must travel to a cabin in the woods to save her from a crazed ex and his hired gun. Casey in this issue is really liking her new job helping Marta and yet still feels a cold vibe from Martin who she thinks don’t like her. She is such a strong character and even when kidnapped she tries her best to talk reason to her captures and even saves their lives when the Werewolf comes calling. Casey is a pretty good character and she had lots of growth that could have happened if the series would have continued. Marta Monrovch is a woman who loves her community as well as the arts and she is very special as she has the ability to have visions that can help find the missing and injured. Pretty cool character and she has a really low key Master Of The Mystic Arts feel to her. Martin aka The Werewolf is a true hero who through out this series tries to save innocent people and will put himself in harms way to do so. While Martin clearly likes being a werewolf he also does not like knowing that people have seen him transform and that’s some of his oddness with Casey. It’s also clear that at times Martin would love to go full Werewolf but his human side stays in control. Reed is a creep who went on one date with Casey and now thinks she is his property and Conibear The Huntsman was a one time loser who now thinks he is a gun for hire and has respect of people. Over all this series was good reads and held up for me on what I read as a youngster and I do find it a shame that it only lasted three issues as I feel the characters had way more adventures and scumbags to bring down. I would have loved to seen this series dive more into the world of Devil Worship and add in such creatures as vampires or even voodoo cults into the weird mix. The cover for this third and final issue is well done like the others and is super eye catching for Horror Comic readers. The interior artwork is once more done by John Ross and is pretty good and holds a really late 80’s and early 90’s indie comic look. While Werewolf At Large is not a full fledge Horror Comic, it has enough of the elements that will make readers enjoy its story and hero Martin The Werewolf. Check out the art below to see the style of John Ross and to see what The Werewolf looks like.

I hope you enjoyed this look at Werewolf At Large and that you have had a great Halloween this year. If you are like me, Halloween is the true kick off for all the great holidays that are coming in the next few months like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. I also want to say thank you for spending a part of your Halloween with me here at Rotten Ink and I hope this update added to your spooky day. I also hope it helped sharpened your senses to beware of the full moon as, who knows, there could be werewolves among us! For our next update, we are leaving the world of Horror Comics behind and will be taking a look at another TMNT knockoff comic team called the Cold Blood Chameleon Commandos, yep this is going to be a fun one. So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for a rocking chameleon good time.

The Undead Files: Bones

Growing up a comic reader in the 80’s and 90’s, the market was flooded with lots of options with many coming from the big companies like Marvel, DC and Archie, and during this time a powerhouse in the world of comics was Malibu! And like all good independent comic companies, they did a line of Horror Comics and even had some they mixed with humor.  For this Undead File, we will be taking a look at one of their more humorous offerings in a series called Bones! This weird comic series is one that has been in my life since 1987 when one of my Dad’s close friends bought my brother a stack of comic books for his birthday.  The first issue was in that pile, and it quickly became a comic that we both read and I became a fan of. And now in 2018 I am going to revisit that first issue and read the rest of the issues for the first time! So grab your anti zombie repellant as we head into the old bone yard and see what flesh eating ghouls we can find along the way.

First I want to give a crash course history lesson about Malibu comics before we get to all the spooky dead stuff, so sit back and enjoy. Malibu Comics was created in 1986 by Dave Olbrich, Tom Mason and Chris Ulm and was an independent comic company that was trying to get a foothold in the comic industry. They started very small with their releases being creator owned titles that were in black and white.  Their first release was Ex-Mutants with other titles like The Fist Of God, G.I. Mutants to follow, among many others. And very quickly they also gobbled up Eternity Comics, Aircel Comics and Adventure Publications and in 1989 those imprints did the Horror, Action, Drama and Adult Comics while Malibu was just for Superhero titles now. In 1992, Malibu was the company who published the first books from Image Comics and helped lead the fight against Marvel and DC that were dominating comic shops. Before 1993 Malibu had been releasing some great titles under all its imprints, but it was The Ultraverse line of comics that made them truly stand out by delivering cool new high quality hero characters like Prime, Night Man, Mantra and Sludge to readers.  They also upped their paper quality and used a great digital coloring process in order to make them stand out from their competition that now included Image Comics who became self published. Their Ultraverse comics did well for them, and many of the characters became popular with comic readers even getting the characters toys and in the case of Night Man, his own Live-Action TV Show! In 1994, they even opened up a branch called Rock-It Comics and did comic books based on popular bands like Black Sabbath, Pantara and Lita Ford.

But sadly the comic industry was in a decline due to the main two, DC and Marvel, pumping out gimmick filled releases of death of heroes, hologram & foil covers and all other types of cash grabs. Sadly comic buyers were limiting what comics they bought at the time and companies like Malibu suffered as readers dropped them from pull lists and still stayed with the comics of Marvel and DC. Malibu tried to stay afloat by cancelling lower selling titles. By mid 1994 DC Comics had shown interest in buying Malibu to own their characters as well as their coloring style, but by November of that year Marvel Comics stepped up and bought Malibu Comics and barely used the characters and had them mostly in crossover books before they disappeared shortly after 1996. Many rumors have went around comic shops on why Marvel does not use the characters anymore with much of the talk coming down to money as it’s said that for every Malibu title created now in comics, the creators of the characters get 5% of profits.  Other rumors that have been spoken are that the characters just do not fit in the currant Marvel plans all the way to the small hum that something is in the works with Malibu characters coming back to the Marvel Universe. With the character Topez showing up in Thor: Ragnarok, maybe there is hope. I would love to see Night Man in Daredevil comics, Prime join The Avengers and Prototype join sides with Iron Man.  Will this happen in the future? Well, that’s up to Disney and Marvel.

One of the world’s scariest places is said to be in the underground of Paris, France and houses over six million skeleton human bodies that many have been their sense the 1800’s! This place is called the Catacombs Of Paris and is a maze of tunnels with no lights that is filled with the dead and long maze like tunnels that easily a person could get lost in. Being lost in the catacombs I am sure is a nightmare for many of you and in fact this has even been the topic for some horror movies like “As Above So Below” and “Catacombs” showing that this area really is a scary place. In the early 1990’s an explore went into the catacombs armed with his video camera and shot all that he seen down in the tunnels that are forbidden for people to go into, while walking around he finds lots of rooms filled with bones and skulls and even some drawings on the walls from explores of the past. But during his time down their something seems to spook him and clearly as the tape goes on he is slowly building up to a panic as he realizes he is lost and the tape ends with him dropping the camera into some water on the ground and he runs off into the dark! So was this man truly in a state of fear that allowed him to make a terrible decision by leaving behind his camera that had the only source of light for him or was he being chased and possessed by the spirits of the dead? No one know for sure if this man ever made it out of the catacombs as his body nor he has ever been found. This lost explores video can be found on YouTube and aired on the ABC Family show The World’s Scariest Places”.

Zombie Cop is a 1991 shot on video film directed by J.R. Bookwalter that is a cheesy horror film that I really do think would make a great comic book series that mixes the elements of action, horror and camp. So for you readers that don’t know what this movie is about here is the write up from our friends at IMDB “During a drug raid, a narcotics officer confronts a strange Voodoo priest named Dr. Death, who is chanting. The officer and the priest shoot it out and they both wind up dead. Later, the two rise from their graves and return to the land of the living as zombies. Dr. Death is resurrected with a new mission in mind, to take over the world. The “zombie” cop enlists the aid of his old police buddies to stop the mad priest.” yeah it’s as cheesy and over the top as it sounds. My idea for this comic series would be that it would be set in modern times and Zombie Cop is still working for the side for good, but something wicked this way comes when a relative of Dr. Death shows up in town and wants revenge and raises demons to run amuck and take down Zombie Cop. The comic would have the odds against Zombie Cop and the demons would be very mean spirited and brutal in their killing ways and would be more gory than the film. If we did the book at Sparkle Comics I would say that for writer besides myself I would like to see Natalie Claude tackle it and if I had to choose an artist I would say Marc Gras Cotes or Jason Gilmore would be my choice. If another company was to tackle this I would like to see Rough House Publishing or a returning Fangoria Comics do it. Will Zombie Cop ever be a comic book…only time will tell.

Speaking of Horror Movies on April 15 2018 I held another Horror Movie Marathon at my cousins Stephen’s house that was filled with good food, great friends and lots of movie watching! The attendance was small but once more filled with fans who love Horror and love to be around friends and were Stephen Alexander, Theresa Daniels, Juliet Fromholt, Josh Weinberg, Jason Young, Jeremy Hoyt, Todd The Fox, Queen V, Sarah Sharp and Garrison Kane. As always we started this event at 7am with the first film being the 1945 film “The Vampire’s Ghost” that was about a Vampire in Africa that is the target of voodoo and Americans who are wise to his blood sucking ways. The low budget Horror Comedy “Swamphead” was next and about a cursed killing severed head that targets a group of friends out camping. The third film of the day was released by Dead Alive and was called “Mr. Ice Cream Man” about a murderous merchant of ice cream who targets a young man on his birthday. The 2016 film “The Crooked Man” took the fourth film spot and was about a nursery rhyme legend that is real that goes on a killing spree years after a young woman is charged with one of his past crimes is freed from an asylum. The werewolf film “Night Shadow” was next and was about a werewolf on a killing spree that leaves on family and the cops into a world of horror. The sixth thriller of the day was “The Headhunter” as 1989 release about a evil sprit brought on by voodoo on a killing spree in Florida and the two cops that have to stop it from claiming more heads for it’s trophies. “Sweatshop” was next and followed a massive brute in a wielders mask killing some party planers and goers during a warehouse rave. Next we had another Horror Comedy that was called “Bonejangles” that has a supernatural killer along with the cops who captured him being stuck in a small town that is being over taken by an evil witch and her undead minions, oh and did I mention Elissa Dowling stars as the witch! We needed to add some Italian Horror to the mix so “New York Ripper” was next up and is a slasher film about a duck-talking killer who targets women in the streets of the Big Apple. What would a Horror Movie Marathon be without a Fullmoon Entertainment film so I unleashed “Unlucky Charms” a film about a leprechaun and his magical friends being used by an aging model to drain the youth off models on a reality TV Show. Next up was the locally shot creature feature “Don’t F*** In The Woods” about a giant turtle like humanoid that kills any one foolish enough to make love in his woods. And our final film of the night was the 1976 Horror, Martial Arts and Gang movie called “The Devil’s Express” that has a New York kung-fu master taking on a Chinese demon freed in the subway tunnels by the foolish actions of on of his students. Over all another great all day Horror Movie watching marathon spent with good films, great friends and tasty eats.

Like always this was a super fun event and one that I always enjoy doing with friends! Like before I have chosen Stephen to give you his choice for the Golden Turkey of the day as well as his top three films as he was along for the horror ride from start to finish. Me being the host of the event and this fun little blog will go first and for me the Golden Turkey of the day had to go to Night Shadow as I found it to be a very boring and uneventful werewolf movie that sadly barely showed the beast until the very end, this one I had high hopes for and it just didn’t deliver a scary werewolf horror film. I also want to say that Swamphead almost made my Golden Turkey pick as it was really silly, but at least I chuckled a few times and that made it safe from getting the worst pick. The # 1 film of the event for me was New York Ripper as it’s a sleazy Italian Horror flick done by the godfather of gore Lucio Fulci and has a weird duck talking killer and plenty of nudity and gore to please fans of splatter. # 2 for me was The Vampire’s Ghost as I loved the mixture of voodoo and vampire and the African setting helped add to the over all mystery and thrill. I also really liked the bug eyed evil performance of Jon Abbott who played the vampire. My # 3 was a little harder to pick as I enjoyed many of the other films but I think I would have to go with Sweatshop as it was an over the top splatter film that had lots of brutal killings done to goofy raver kids. But to be fair Headhunter and Devil’s Express almost took this spot as all three were close in enjoyment for me and all for different reasons. For Stephen the Golden Turkey of the marathon was Swamphead as he had this to say about it “It was just completely ridiculous and there was so much that just made no sense.”! His # 1 film was The Vampire’s Ghost as he said this about it “I have an affinity for those old black and white horror films”. His # 2 was The Crooked Man as he almost was going to make it his number one. And his # 3 was Devil’s Express! And for a runner up he wanted me to let you readers know that it was New York Ripper. So with another Horror Movie Marathon in the books, I look forward to the next one as they really are a wondering time to be had.

The Golden Massacre award that is presented to the one killer who has the biggest body count of the day went to The Beast from the film Sweatshop as he smashed and crushed a little over 20 people in the movie! One of the best kills in the movie for this Horror fan was when The Beast rams a woman’s head through a metal grate on an elevator leaving her face looking like hamburger meat…really brutal. So here is to you The Beast for being the killing machine of this Horror Movie Marathon!

So now that the dead are all around use we should maybe find some shelter in this old tomb and hope that all the old undead that use to live here are out trying to find some human flesh to eat. So as we close this rusted old door I would like to thank Game Swap Kettering and Lone Star Comics for having these issues in stock and making this update possible. As the sounds of the dead echo off these stone walls I want to also remind you all 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, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So lets take a look at the Undead Files and take a look at Bones!

Bones # 1  ***
Released in 1987      Cover Price $1.95      Malibu Comics      # 1 of 4

Seymour was an advisor to the King of Myrill and was well respected and loved his pampered life. The Kingdom was set as they had technology, food and peace, all was perfect…that is until the King died and with this his loyal soldiers and Seymour were murdered and placed in the tomb with him. Years pass and Seymour wakes up in the tomb rotting and yet alive and surrounded by The King and his Men who as well are rotting and they all have a hunger for human flesh! But things soon get bad for Seymour as he is picked on and bullied by his fellow undead in the tomb and finally decides that he has had enough and walks out of the tomb for good and into the Kingdom that is now in ruin and ran by Trolls! After being caught and beheaded by the Troll King, our skeleton hero as only a head pieces a new bottom together from bones in a body pit and is able to escape the Trolls but during his escape falls into a water well and washes up on shore and found by two young alive children.

This first issue starts off with a bang as we have Seymour’s skull flying through the air and landing in a massive body pit. From their we are treated to his back story of being a man who had the respect of his King and the Kingdom’s people, to becoming an Undead Ghoul who is teased and bullied to becoming a Skeleton on a mission to live and make his own way in the world of chaos around him. And reading this comic again after all these years, I found it still as enjoyable and still as brutal in spots as I did back then with the most gruesome scene being when the guards spear and kill Seymour in order to bury him with the King. Seymour as a man and undead is a peaceful man who enjoys to write plays, poems and stories and is wise and smart when coming to dealing with other people. But because he is such a good guy also makes him an easy target to be bullied by those who are stronger than him, but during this first issue we see him not only use his mind to survive but also his killer instinct as he takes out his anger on two sarcastic skulls stuck in the pit with him using a large rock. Plus at the end of this issue it makes you wonder what adventure awaits Seymour and will he eat the kids that find him to stop his hunger. The King and his Men are just undead ghouls now who just want to eat flesh and stay hidden in the tomb and play cruel pranks on Seymour. The Trolls are large, fat foul creatures who are lazy and as well like to kill the living and anything else including their own kind! Plus they are simple minded and that’s why Seymour is able to trick them and escape their Kingdom. The cover for this comic is very eye catching and I love the fact our hero is pounding on a tomb door for his life as a shadow of a Troll is sneaking up behind him. The interior art is also fantastic and is the style I love for independent Horror Comics of that time and is done by Bryon Carson who I would have love seen do a few comics based on Horror Movies. So to sum it up issue one of Bones is fantastic and really makes me look forward to reading the next issue, and whats cool is this will be the first time I have read the rest of this series!

Bones # 2  **1/2
Released in 1987      Cover Price $1.95      Malibu Comics      # 2 of 4

Seymour awakens and is hungry and wants to scare and eat the kids, but he soon finds out these kids are brats and they rip him apart and fling his skull into a hot water gauzier firing him our like a cannon ball and through the window of Ursula who works for the Boy King Drake in the Kingdom of Spontoon and after Seymour and her chat she takes the skull to the King and his Knight Maddog who want to know the location of Myrill as they want to steal all the gold that has been left behind. Maddog bullies both Seymour and Ursula until he gets the location and after doing so he and his men set out to bring back the riches and Seymour tells Ursula that he has sent them on a death mission as the suns heat and the goblins that await them will for sure end Maddog and his men’s lives. Ursula tells Seymour about the murder of the prior King and that he was beheaded and she thinks Maddog was the murder! Seymour then tries to get Ursula to be on his side to take over the Kingdom and his plan includes killing the Boy King and she does not want to have anything to do with it and plans to smash Seymour with a hammer when Maddog enters the room with an arrow in his forehead and looking for answers to why he was backstabbed.

This second issue has Seymour once more being the victim of bulling as two youngsters rip him apart and torment him for their own amusement. And after this torment he at least finds himself in a Kingdom with what he thinks is a new friend. In this issue Seymour is really loosing his human side as he really wants to eat humans and is going through a weird power hungry rage as he thinks that he should have taken the thrown at least once in his lifetime. I also like that in this issue he uses his mind in order to try and get ride of the King’s right hand man who has also has a very dark side. Ursula is a woman who practices necromancy for the Kingdom who is very bored in her job and hates most of the people in power as she thinks they are the ones who beheaded and murdered the former King. Sadly for her the scheme of Seymour has put a target on her back as the Knights think she was apart of their slaughter. The Child King Drake as well seems bored with being in charge and just wants toys and ponies! The real evil s.o.b in this issue is the head night named Maddog who is calling the shots more than the King and who uses intimidation and death to get what he wants, and he is so strong that even an arrow to the head does not stop him! This issue leaves us on a major cliffhanger as well as Ursula is about to smash Seymour and Maddog has returned and is in a clear rage….wonder who will survive and what will be left of them! The cover of this issue is ok and is nothing special and looks like a number of other independent comic covers that are filling quarter and dollar bins the would wide. Bryon Carson once more does the interior art and it’s as good as the first issue and I must say I enjoy his work. Well this second issue is a solid follow up and proves this series has gas in its tank and makes me look forward to reading issue three.

Bones # 3  **
Released in 1987      Cover Price $1.95      Malibu Comics      # 3 of 4

Maddog is not pleased and wants to kill both Seymour and Ursula and his blind rage is making him charge like a bull, and Ursula uses a spell and makes a T-Rex appear to distract the mad knight. But the T-Rex does not slowdown Maddog who attacks the beats and rips it apart with his bare hands and Ursula pulls a trap door switch that causes her and Seymour to fall into a bottomless pit. The Pair fall for days and finally find that the pit is not so bottomless as they land in a village filled with simpleminded people who believe that they are Gods that have fallen from the sky. Old Coot is their King and he has Seymour and Ursula locked into a hut, were Seymour comes up with a plan to rule the village and build his own empire! In the morning as Seymour speaks one on one with the villagers telling them that they are all now soldiers and not farmers, Ursula goes to Old Coot to try and warn him of the uprising, but the old King admits he don’t care as he himself only uses the villagers for his own gain and as they talk Old Coot is crushed by a fallen horse that is ridden by Maddog who has lead his army into the bottomless pit to get revenge on Seymour and Ursula! The Knights kill most of the villagers and take Ursula prisoner and football kick Seymour into the ocean.

This third issue is a weird one…wait this whole series is weird this one is just a little more odd as the plot is Seymour and Ursula falling throw a pit and landing in a weird village that thinks they are Gods that ends up being under attack from Maddog and his knights who want to take over the village and get cold revenge. Seymour in this issue is more and more power driven as he lies in order to gain power and wants to cause a war and eat human flesh! Seymour has slowly turned more and more evil over the past issues and it’s clear that while he likes Ursula he would turn on her if she got in his way. While Ursula is a good person who is a bad Necromancer and has been stuck in bad situations cause of all the ego driven power of Seymour. King Old Coot is a weird and yet wise man who has himself used his people to make his own life better, very cool and odd character. Maddog is one mean knight who is willing to fling himself and his men into a believed to be bottomless pit in order to get revenge on people who set him up to die, oh yeah and he uses his bare hands to kill a T-Rex! This issue slips a little and is not as horror and comedy filled as it seems more like a comic that had a little more of a message about peoples will to follow something. I do like that this issue leaves you on a cliffhanger as Seymour has been kicked out to sea, Ursula is a prisoner and could be killed by Maddog who has now taken over the village and claims it for his own! The cover of this issue is a little weak and once more screams cheap bin, the interior art by Bryon Carson is solid and good and to sum this one up its middle of the road a good issue but nothing special. So lets move onto the fourth and final issue of this cool Malibu Comic series.

Bones # 4  **1/2
Released in 1987      Cover Price $1.95      Malibu Comics      # 4 of 4

Seymour’s head is eaten by a giant whale and while inside the belly of the beast he meets the skeleton heads of a pirate ship crew as well as see’s their ship and their Captain Long John Ugly who is mean but is quickly smashed by Seymour who finds a new body in the whale and now Seymour is the Captain and he comes up with a plan that frees him and his new ship and crew from the Whale. Seymour is filled with power and rage and wants his new undead pirate crew to help him get revenge on all those who he thinks have wronged him like Maddog, The King, Ursula and the Trolls and while heading their way they come across a small boat that is filled with wise and spiritual men who are all slaughtered by the word of Seymour who in turn feels bad for what he has done and this makes his crew kill him…and this time Seymour is dead and wakes up in Hell! He soon finds that he is on trail for all of the crimes he has done while undead and his being trashed by all those he has killed with the now dead Ursula being the only one to defend him. In the end Seymour defends himself and as this is only his first offense is sent to ghoul training and will allowed to go back to his Undead world, were he will be a better scary creature of the grave.

This final issue in the journey in the life and undead life of Seymour takes us from him building an army of dead skeleton pirates to being killed again and being put in the hot seat while being judged in Hell and while it was a cool idea with some cool moments sadly the send of Bones is a little of a letdown. Now let me explain why I feel this way during this four issue mini series we watch as Seymour was the most trusted right hand man of the King, then in death becomes a victim of bullies who then turns into a power hungry skeleton who wants to be a ruler who later feels bad for all the mayhem he has caused only by the end to be right back to being a power hungry goofy ball flesh eater…so while the character grew in the end it all was really the same for him. I really did like how in this issue all of the people/creatures he killed or lead to be killed all come back to share their story of how terrible he is so the likes of King Old Coot, Captain Long John Ugly and Ursula to name a few are all in Hell at his trail and it made for a great way to cameo all the characters from the past issues. Seymour while kind of a jerk in much of this series still is in his own way a likable main character who does do bad things that ends up hurting himself and others, but seems to really feel bad when he is faced with the horrors he has done…well that is until he is told he will get another chance. Seymour really is a character you find yourself loving and hating at the same time and that perfect for an undead skeleton who’s the star of a horror comedy comic. Ursula the poor Necromancer who meets her fate at the hands of the Knight Maddog is swept up into this twisted web of goofy horror thanks to Seymour and its kind of a letdown as your not really sure how she died. The Skeleton Pirates are a cool touch and were in this comic long before they became cool again in Independent Comics with Captain Long John Ugly and his dead parrot being the standouts. So while this series ends it clear that maybe another mini series might have been in the works as the ending is very lackluster and ends on a “Here We Go Again” kind of joke…pretty disappointing really. The cover for this issue is fun and pretty eye catching with the use of the color orange, and the interior art done by Bryon Carson is good stuff. So while the final two issues in Bones are just ok the first two issues are lots of fun making this a Horror Comedy Comic that I would recommend to fans of this style of humor and indie comics. Check out the art below to see the style of Bryon Carson as well as the glory of Seymour and his friends.

So it seems like the dead are starting to return to their graves and I really had fun looking back at Bones and reading some of the issues for the first time on this update. While doing this update I really did find myself missing Malibu Comics as they did so many great comics from Horror all the way to Superheroes and offered something different from Marvel and DC, but with Marvel owning them and not doing anything with them for many, many years we can only hope that they decide to someday bring the characters back to comics. But for our next update we are leaving the world of the dead behind and will again try to travel to space with Juliet as she takes a look at Forbidden Planet! So until next time read a independent comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. Hope your ready for a space time adventure my next update!

The Forgotten Dusty Vault Of Doomnation

Welcome back to Rotten Ink!  Lately I have been thinking about the new boom of independent comic companies who’s issues have found life not only at your local comic shops but also online on their official websites as well as crowd funding sites like Kickstarter and Indie Go-Go giving us more selection to choose from besides Marvel, DC, Image, Archie and Dark Horse Comics, all of whom have been around for the long haul of the rise and fall of comic book popularity. I mean companies like IDW, Boom and Action Lab, among many others, have their issues in Diamond Previews while companies like Eibon Press, Rough House Publishing and Digital Phantom Press all deliver their comics directly to the reader and cut out the middle man. Even Jason Young and myself have gotten into the act when we opened Sparkle Comics and its sub branch Blood Scream Comics as we also wanted to deliver high quality comics to our readers and be creative with our friends. But back in the mid 80’s – early 90’s, lots of independent comic companies popped up and tried to deliver black and white comic books to cash in on the 1985 success of Mirage Studios who had a huge hit with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Many of the companies had their own mutant animal books who knew Kung-Fu or were like elite task force fighters.  Many Horror books were made during this time, and while some companies were made on the spot to try and cash in, many others suffered as the market began to be flooded with poorly made and drawn comics that filled comic store shelves and burnt readers with their terrible stories. With such titles as “Geriatric Gangrene Jujitsu Gerbils”, “Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters” and “Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos” being pushed upon readers, the independent comic company bubble burst in the late 80’s, and as quickly as the boom happened, it imploded on itself and many companies folded up or were bought out by the other companies while others just faded away to have their issues end up in dollar bins. This update is about one of those comic companies that I knew about when I was a teenager thanks to a local comic shop that had them in stock and my favorite comic in their short-lived life called The Vault Of Doomnation.  So sit back and enjoy this quick “looking back” update, below is my tribute to some of the comic companies from the past that left the comic racks way too soon.

One of those pop-up companies was B-Movie Comics, who started in 1986 and by 1987 was out of business with only four titles under their belt with only two of those titles having more than one issue! The company’s titles were “B-Movie Presents,” a series that lasted four issues and was about fake movies like Tasa Congo Queen and Matrix The Accelerator. They also had “Vault Of Doomnation!” a horror comic anthology much like Marvel Comics series Dead Of Night that very sadly only lasted one issue. And they had “Eric Preston Is The Flame,” a generic Superhero comic that lasted one issue. And lastly another Superhero comic called “Reacto-Man” that appears to have lasted a total of three issues. From what I can gather, B-Movie comics was based out of Indiana and was a creator owned company that had Mark Paniccia as owner and maybe editor in chief, and they were a company that tried to make it big with the black and white independent comic boom of the mid-eighties but could not compete with all the competition. Mark Paniccia, later in his comic career, would go on to work for Malibu Comics, TokyoPop and Marvel Comics where he still works as an editor as of the time of this update. It’s been hard to find direct info on this company as they did not last long enough to make an impact and many websites, blogs and chats I have read all have different information on what comics they released and how long they stayed in business. Their logo was white and black and had a man behind a camera, and this logo, while not all that eye catching compared to other companies, always stood out to me as I was always mesmerized by shot-on video-films and shows like “Moraine Playhouse Theater” on MVCC and other horror and science fiction movie stuff, and their logo reminded me of the small guy trying to make big entertainment. I first learned about B-Movie Comics thanks to Mavericks Cards and Comics when I was a teenager and started shopping there. While going through the back issue boxes looking for old Horror Comics, I stumbled upon the comic Vault Of Doomnation! and can remember buying it for $1.85 and taking it home and reading it in my room in Waynesville and enjoying the horror stories, and if memory serves me correct, I read it during a thunderstorm! While gone and by most accounts forgotten, I for one enjoyed B-Movie Comics and thank them for making their tiny mark on the world of comic books. Below are some comics they released as well as the company’s logo.

While working on this update back in October 2016, I was feeling very nostalgic for the past and with a slow day at work on October 7th I left work early around 1:30pm and along with pal Josh Weinberg we headed to my true hometown Waynesville to check on a rumor that the old Dairy Corner was torn down and a new Dominos Pizza was up in its place.  Sadly enough, the rumor was true and a place I loved as a child was gone and a soulless major chain restaurant was in its place.  I’m really letdown that the Waynesville board let this happen. We could not stop at the antique stores in Waynesville as Main Street was blocked to get ready for the Sauerkraut Festival that was gearing up to take place the next day. So we drove to Lebanon to visit Peddler’s Mall as Josh had never been there and I wanted to soak up the past again of being in the old Big Bear and Hearts (Big Bear Plus) and walking into that place always reminds me of toys, comic books, Cracked and MAD Magazines and breakfast cereal as at the time the had the largest selection I had ever seen, and this is where we would get these items growing up. Walking around that place, I shared a few stories with Josh about when it was the iconic grocery and department store as we looked at vintage antiques and collectibles. As we left, I wanted to see if maybe behind the building if the original Big Bear Plus store signs were left behind as in the main lot the only thing left to show Big Bear was even there is a parking lot sign. While driving behind the building, it was clear that sadly the signs were gone but we did find on one of the loading docks they had signs for each department like meat and dairy, and after getting out of the car to snap a pictures, I noticed that the dock must have been a hang out for kids as broken beer bottles and pill bottles littered the ground. As we left the parking lot, it hit me that it really is a shame that Big Bear went out of business and that stores like Kroger and Wal-Mart were the ones who put the nail in its coffin as they did with other stores like Cub Foods in my area, but as they say, you can’t live in the past you must live for the future, and while I know I have chatted about Big Bear on here before I wanted to also share the pictures I took that day with you friends and readers, so enjoy.

So I am sure you’re wondering if I found anything at the Peddlers Mall in Lebanon on that trip, and I must say I sure did as I found a big Imperial Godzilla just like the one I got from my Aunt Laverne and Uncle George for my birthday when I was a kid for $25.00. This toy also triggered memories of the past from having Godzilla fight with my 12” Incredible Hulk Mego figure during my Toy Wars to Sarah Fix hanging out in my house on Pittsfield chatting about it while looking for a Horror Movie to watch when I was a teenager. The other item I found was an old rubber caveman figure that looks lots like a Jiggler from the late 60’s that was only $2.50! The one items I regretted not picking up was the Starting Lineup figure for golf legend Arnold Palmer as I had been on a kick of drinking the drink named after him that’s a tea and lemonade mix as it was only $4.00 and a Blue Falcon and Dynomutt metal lunchbox that was $25.00. Below is a picture of Godzilla and The Caveman I took on the day I bought them both.

When leaving Peddlers Mall, we decided to drive once more through Waynesville, and we ended up driving down the old street I lived on Royston Drive where I really realized that I 100% really do miss that neighborhood and all the kids that my brother Bryan and I use to run around with in our youth. So many great times of playing baseball, football, basketball, ball tag, Nintendo games and toys were had on this street. 645 Royston Drive was the only home that I have ever lived in that felt like just that home.  My old room on the second floor just above the garage with the terrible white wall paper with flowers was a place that I played with toys, read comics and paperback novels, worked on my own short stories and drew up my own comic book characters and monsters. The walls of my room was covered with posters of Bart Simpson, The Joker, Pro Wrestler The Great Muta and many more pop culture characters, I also had a very old and vintage blackboard that was in my room that I would draw pictures of Swamp Thing and Spider-Man on with colored chalk and even made fake boxing and pro wrestling event brackets. A hallway and a bathroom separated my room from my brother’s and I always knew that he was close if ever an emergency were to happen. So many great memories is in that house from watching Commander USA on TV to playing Nintendo against my Dad to even hanging out with my pet mice Grey and White and all the fun times of making crafts with my Mom and even reading comics in my brothers room, this truly was my favorite house I have ever lived in. I can’t really express just how magical that house and the neighborhood were to me, and no matter were I live I will always be a Waynesville Spartan! Below is a picture that my Mom took of the house just after my Dad bought it and I am proud to share it with you my readers and friends, and I will have to end this little segment that if it ever went back up for sale and I could afford it I would love to buy that house and live their again!

I have worked a number of jobs over the years and many of them were lots of fun, and I have met friends I still have at many of those jobs like Odd Lots, Krogers, Replay Media, Mavericks Cards And Comics, Buy Backs and Hotel Liquidations to name a few, but the one I miss the most hands down over the others is the video rental store Blockbuster Video on S. Smithville Road, a place I worked when VHS was still the king and was even around when DVD pushed them out of the stores and into the dumpsters out back. I was there for the roll out of the Rewards Project as well as when they started to take in trades! I meet many of wonderful women that I was able to take out on dates that were employees and customers and I had many of weird moments from grown women flashing me their boobs for free rentals to weird prank calls for films that never were made. It was a place I worked mornings as well as many late nights and was a place that always seemed fun even during the busiest of days and with most annoying customers. It was also a place I worked that acted as the set for many of the shot on video films I made from “Werewolf Of Ohio 2: 10 Years Before” and “Cocktober Blood” and even though Blockbuster policy was to not allow filming, my bosses always were cool about it. I was never a manager and was a full time CSR that was paid well and even had 2 weeks of paid vacation a year and won many bonuses from winning contests as well as was one of the fastest movie scanners in the area. I can remember around Halloween time one of my managers would allow us to watch Horror films instead of the Blockbuster TV tape/disc that we were supposed to play at all times, and when we would leave, I would hit play on the player and with store dark and at late at night movies like Phantom Of The Opera would be playing on the TVs. I really do miss this job and also really miss the world of Video Rental stores.  No matter what people tell me, scrolling through Netflix’s very limited horror selection will never take the place of walking through a video rental store’s Horror section! The Blockbuster Video I worked for was one of the last to close in the area, and when they finally closed the building sat empty for a while and within the last 2 years it has been split into three smaller stores with a pizza place on one side and on the other end is a pharmacy with the middle still empty and most of the Blockbuster shelves and counters still in there. Here is a pic that Josh and I took on January 11th of the middle section of what is left of Blockbuster Video that was a big part of my working life. As well as one of my old name tags I found in the old Independent B Movie studio!

Also on January 11th Josh Weinberg and I decided to visit some of the top locations that we used for some of our most “popular” shot on video films! It was a perfect day for it as the weather outside was chilly and rain was in the forecast, and we selected to start a look back at a location that we at Independent B Movie called “Suicide Hill” as it was the final place we used in our first film Teen Suicide that was shot back in 1998 where the character Matt played by Matt Hoffman killed himself after being bullied by cruel classmates. This location is in a park in Kettering, Ohio and was also used in such films we made as Werewolf Of Ohio, Tree-Man Christmas, Cocktober Blood and Vigilante C: The Hunt For Man-Beast among many others and I must say the location has changed very much as the hill is now over grown with weeds and tree branches and the amount of trash near it was saddening, we stood around for a few moments and chatted about Teen Suicide and just how overgrown the area had became. After a few minutes we left and started to our next location. Below is a picture still from the movie as well as one taken on Jan 11th to show you just how much the area has changed.

The next location we went to was used for the 2003 supernatural ghost flick Farmer Joe directed by Mike Ritchie that we all called “Farmer Joe’s Barn” that acted as the cursed area that the killer farmer would stalk his prey as well as have the powers to change the weather. And as we pulled up, we were saddened to see first hand that the barn had been torn down by the church that owned the land it was on and in its place was now just grass and four basketball hoops.  Worse, the land that was behind the barn had been sold and over priced giant homes now sat where the characters’ cursed crop fields used to be. Josh and I did our best to try and figure out just where the barn and its green doors used to sit on the now blank land and chatted about the production of the film and funny moments of filming under Mike Ritchie’s direction. Josh had to take a business call, and I just walked around not only remembering the filming of Farmer Joe but also the fun filming day of Vigilante C: The Hunt For Man-Beast that took place on that land, I also remember fun times hanging out at that barn with Jennifer Perkins and Misty Altick looking up at the stars in the sky. As the weather got colder, we headed to our next location and chatted a little more about Farmer Joe and the comic in the works from Blood Scream Comics being done by Jeff Potter and Juliet Fromholt. Below are pictures of the barn from the film to that day of our visit.

Our next stop was in Bellbrook for one of the main locations used in my first film, the 1998 classic Werewolf Of Ohio.  It’s a small little park near Dot’s Market. The site was supposed to be the location where the main character Josh played by Josh Weinberg’s family lived and in the shelter his sister wrote her name in the wood with the name being Kanny.  It was already there when we decided to film the found footage style shot on video horror film, and I was shocked to see the white painted name still there on the second to last beam; while it was faded it was still there! Josh and I laughed about a scene from the film that was shot in the shelter that had his character Josh having a breakdown that had him almost trip over a trashcan he was kicking! Behind the shelter was also another location from Werewolf of Ohio, a stream that acted as the characters’ backyard, and this location had changed as all the woods near the entrance have been removed as was the old muddy and gravel path that was near it. This location, while different, really did bring back memories of the good old days of Independent B Movie when me and my friends had no money but big ideas for horror movies. Josh and I chatted about the idea of doing a Werewolf Of Ohio 3, but we knew that if it is ever to happen, it would have to be now made as a comic book. After walking around for a while, the sky became darker and we decided to head to our final location and stop and get some lunch. Below is the stream from the past as well as the present.

Xenia was our final location visit, and after stopping at Roosters for some chicken wings, we headed out to what we have always called “Malice’s Bridge,” the main location for the final fight between The Wolf Hunter and Malice in both the 2003 film The Wolf Hunter and its sequel, the 2006 film Wolf Hunter 2. The rain was starting to come down as we made our trip to the bridge and all the way there we chatted about all the films and TV shows we had filmed at the bridge and memories of Wolf Hunter and Wolf Hunter 2 mostly. As we pulled down the street that lead to the bridge, we got a bad shock as the bridge was being blocked by road workers who looked annoyed that we were coming down the road! We turned around and decided to get some drinks at a gas station in Xenia and wait to see if the rain that was now really coming down would make the road workers leave, and we got lucky as when we got back to the bridge the workers were gone! Josh decided to stay in the car as the rain was coming down pretty heavy, but I did get out and noticed that the area around the bridge had been stripped of the grass and brush and was now just mud, I also noticed that much of the bridges wood was new and it appeared as if maybe some one set it ablaze as wood on some of it had scorched marks! Clearly this classic covered bridge has been the target of some arson and that’s a shame as the bridge is pretty damn cool and holds history as well as shot on video history. I quickly stepped on the bridge and had to laugh as some one spray painted on a support beam “I Love Matt” and I just imagined a fan of Matt Hoffman aka The Wolf Hunter painting that hoping that he would see it. After getting back into the car, I reflected on this day of visiting the old filming spots of Independent B Movies and realized that many of the classic set places have changed and many are now just gone, but it also made me miss the days of making movies with friends as being creative is something I have always loved to be. I want to thank Josh Weinberg for coming along for the ride on this look back and I think he as well had a great time looking back and slightly misses making SOV films as well. Below is a pic of Malice’s Bridge from the past falling apart and the second is from the present.

I am having such a great time looking back at the past and thought, hell, let’s also cover a Horror Movie Marathon that was held on July 23, 2017 at my cousin Stephen’s house! For me, the Horror Movie Marathon is very special and is an event that has brought many good times to my life hanging out with family and friends while watching the scares on our TV screen. This event was semi well attended and many of my friends showed up to enjoy the blood, guts and scares that was selected to show as Stephen Alexander, Theresa Lopez, Josh Weinberg, Juliet Fromholt, Jason Young, Todd The Fox and Garrison Kane all showed up throughout the day. The first film of the day was “Dark And Stormy Night” a modern flick that has a classic retro feel about a mansion under attack on a stormy night by two hooded killers during a will reading. “Dangerous Worry Dolls” was the second film about a woman in prison who is possessed by a worry doll that causes her to kill those who stand in her way. The shot on video film “The Dummy” was next up and follows a killer doll that is making short work of a group of friends thanks to a voodoo lady who put a curse on them. The 1991creature feature “The Runestone” was next up and was about the Norse wolf Fenrir running wild in modern times to try to bring on the end of the world! The low budget slasher film “Hayride 2” was up next and brought back the killer from the first film who still has lots of blood to spill and even targets a hospital on his rampage. The creepy film “Child Eater” was next in line to scare us and was about a freak that lives in the woods that kills, eats and steals the eyes of children! Finally got to watch the female slasher film “Blood Widow” about a crazed masked female killer who lives in an abandoned house and has targeted the new neighbors and their friends. The 2017 creature flick “The Raking” was next and follows a group of collage kids looking into a creepypasta creature that turns out to be real! The retro style film “Beyond The Gates” followed and is about two brothers having to play an old VHS Board Game in order to save their souls and their dead fathers. My cousin Stephen picked the next film called “Pitchfork” that follows a crazed masked killer who has a pitchfork for a hand as he kills a batch of partying youngsters. And the final film of the night was “The Slayer” about a creature on the loose on an island who wants lots of death and no happy ending.

This marathon was lots of fun even if the turn out was not packed and was filled with good food and great drinks and great horror movie talk with amazing friends. For me the worst film aka the Golden Turkey of the night was The Raking as I found it to be a very boring slow paced film with dorky characters and a monster that was way under used. Now as for my top three favorite films of the night, I would have to say my # 1 was Blood Widow as I enjoyed the killer and the atmosphere reminded me of the independent horror films of the 80’s not to mention it also had some pretty brutal effects with a leg snapping being the stand out…you should have heard all of us when this happened. The # 2 film for me was Beyond The Gate as I loved the retro feel to the film and it was short and sweet and filled with some great bloody effects. And # 3 was Dark And Stormy Night a great throwback parody film of the 30’s and 40’s haunted house films! I need to also say that I enjoyed The Slayer and The Dummy as well. Another great Marathon was in the books and here is to many more to come!

The killer of the marathon was Fenrir from Runestone who had a body count of over 30 people with many of them coming from massacring a whole SWAT Team! He was brutal in his killing nature and showed no mercy! So the Golden Massacre Award proudly goes to Fenrir for his over 30 kills.

So while we cannot live back in the past, we can indeed remember it and share our memories with family and friends keeping those adventures alive and well. So now that we looked at old film locations from the past, I think it’s time for us to travel back into the world of B-Movie Comics and to their spooky Vault of Doomnation that is filled with chills and thrills and aims to scare with the terror it holds within. Not sure if you notice, but this Vault is super cold and the walls have slime and it looks like this message is etched into the stone “Remind Your Brave Readers That You Grade These Comics On A 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…The Have Been Warned!” weird I wonder what ghoul from this comic left this message for us. I think we better just all sit together and share in this comic that was a favorite of mine in my youth and avoid the monsters that await outside.

Vault Of Doomnation! # 1  ***
Released in 1986   Cover Price $1.70     B-Movie Comics   # 1 of 1

“Zombi” in a graveyard a grisly murder has taken place and the grave of John Smith has now open and appears like it was opened from the inside.  Around the grave, two bodies are found that have been murdered. Jenell Adams is one of the investigating officers, and she and the cemetery caretaker go to look up the history of John Smith, as across town on the stormy night a Zombie is roaming around and kills the mayor and his wife. After this second murder, the Commissioner takes her off the case and Janell’s mind is working over time as she uncovered that John Smith was a fake name and the young man in the grave is an unknown person. And after another murder, Janell notices that many of the victims are wearing a strange ring with a lightning bolt on it and finds that it’s the symbol of an occult and that the Commissioner is in fact a member of it and that the zombie was in fact the son of two of the occults victims and he has come back from the gave for revenge! “Valentine’s Day” is the story of Nick Wheeler who is a playboy who has married rich older woman Ellen Hayes as he thinks she will die soon and he will get all her estate. Nick is annoyed when the older woman does not die fast enough from old age as he wants to be with a younger woman named Liz and needs the money to do so and his wife to be out of the way. After pushing her down the stairs Ellen dies and Nick is able to be with Liz…but love never dies as Ellen returns from the dead and wants what’s hers and that’s Nick’s heart! “Something Evil” is about a family who’s TV grows and evolves and becomes a living gross ooze life form that attacks the family and the world with monsters and characters from TV and Movies that are playing on the stations. In the end, the world is over run by the gross TV goo and a TV is born from the goo. Our final story is “That’s My Boy” and is about a father and a hired private investigator find the house of his estranged wife and have the goal to get his son back, but soon they find the wife had killed the son who now returns from the dead in order to tell his dad he loves him and to avenge is death by killing his own mother.

The Vault Of Doomnation is a horror anthology comic that I feel is often overlooked by Horror Comic readers who often just write it off as a generic independent comic that is found in the cheap bins at comic stores and conventions for a $1.00 or less, and while this comic is not ground breaking or blood chilling scary, it is a good classic style horror comic that is filled with four creepy tales that mostly deal with the dead coming back to get revenge on the living. The first tale Zombi seems like it might have been inspired by the 1986 film Zombie Nightmare as it has a young man who was wronged coming back to get revenge for himself and his family. I should also note it oddly also feels like The Crow that was released in 1989 but done with way less backstory, could this story have inspired both The Crow and Zombie Nightmare…I doubt it. Valentine’s Day is also about a murdered victim returning back from the dead to get revenge, and this tale seems like it could have been right at home in an issue of The Vault Of Horror. Something Evil takes always the zombies and ads in a Goo that is created by a TV that torments a family and later takes over the world.  This one is a cool story but kind of feels out of place art-wise. The final story That’s My Boy brings back the undead and has a Dad having to find the body of his son who was murdered by his ex-wife who in turn is killed by the zombie son! This one as well could have been at home in an issue of Vault Of Horror or even Twisted Tales. Some of these stories have blood and violence with the first two stories bringing the most to the readers and the last two stories more play on fears and shocks. The art varies from cool independent comic style to more armature punk rock style doodles, with the best art for me being Paul Fricke who did the art in That’s My Boy and the weakest for me is Scott Barker who did the art for Something Evil. My favorite monster of this issue is the zombie of Ellen Hayes the old bride who was murdered as she reminds me of the zombie bride from The Video Dead. The cover for this comic is very cool and is eye catching for independent horror comic readers and over all this is a fun comic with cool classic horror stories that will entertain those looking for a spooky good time. Vault Of Doomnation might not be a must own comic for readers, but is one that I think fans should read. Check out some of the art from this comic below and see some of the horrors that await you in this Vault.

Vault Of Doomnation # 1 is one of those comics that really does make me think back to my youngers days and shopping at the local comic shops like Bookie Parlor and Mavericks and how amazing it was to uncover Horror Comics and Superhero Comics that I have never heard of and buying them to rush home to read in my room or in the living room next to the fireplace. But again, you can’t live in the past, and I still very much enjoy going to a local comic shop like Bell, Book And Comic and finding new comics that I have never heard of. For our next update we are leaving the dusty old box of Horror Comics and looking at another character that is overlooked and underused by DC Comics, Jonni Thunder! So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch a horror movie or two, make your own shot on video movie and as always support your local Horror host! So see you next time as we go on a case with DC Comics most underused detective!

SAW Your Way Into This Halloween!

A cold chill is in the air, and the ghouls and ghosts are roaming the streets looking for free candy.  That must mean it’s Halloween, and with this day also comes the spooky holiday update to Rotten Ink! This year we will be playing a game with Jigsaw as we take a look at the IDW comic for SAW and do so to honor the fact Lionsgate has allowed this horror series to come back to cinemas this year and reclaim the Halloween season with Jigsaw, the 8th film in the series that was released on October 27, 2017! So besides taking a look at the Saw franchise we will also be looking at a strange weird life happing in Ohio, a Horror Movie Marathon, a Creepypasta, 5 Questions with a Horror Host and a real life ghost hunt that I went on for this update. That’s the thing I love about this time of the year, something just seems to be in the air, and it makes me crave watching horror films, playing horror video games and reading horror comics even more than normal. So as I sit here for the first time in my new house that I am calling Blood Scream Comics Manor for Halloween, it’s time to get down and scary as we dive into the world of SAW.

Let’s start this Halloween update off with a Creepypasta I like that’s called “Candle Cove.” It’s about a kids’ TV show that warped and frightened kids who watched it… that is, if it even ever aired! The story goes that in the early 1970’s a weird kids’ show would air at 4:00pm on a local TV station that has seemed to be forgotten. In modern times on a website called NetNostalgia Forum, a group started a post to talk about it and share memories of the plots and characters. The show was said to be about a young girl named Janice who in her mind was friends with pirates.  They would go on odd adventures and even had to dodge a character called Skin-Taker, a skeleton pirate who wore the skin of children! They start to creep themselves out even more as they remember episodes that just was a female screaming in pain and later they even find out that the station they watched was nothing more than static! The theories of this show ran wild as people think it was supernatural while others thought it was made by the government to mess with the youth. The show was not animated and was said to be puppets and each had their own charm and sinister side and those who claimed to watch it seem to remember the characters in great detail. The mystery of this kids show is that there are zero official sources that say that it was real and on any TV station in the 70’s plus the mystery is why adults didn’t see the show when on and only saw static on the screen! Plus why were some of the characters super scary including one who skinned kids! So is this show real…well yes and no.  Recently the SYFY Channel did a TV show based on this story while all other accounts point that the old show never did air and was just a story written to try and spook people on the internet. But while this might not be a super bone chilling Creepypasta, it does make you wonder how many shows you watched as a youngster were real and what was in your mind. I am sure we all have shows we remember that we cannot place a name to and only limited amount of friends remember….was that show of your past fact or fiction?

Back in the 1920’s, a man walked to the town of Sabina, Ohio in hopes to find work and start a new life.  During his journey, he passed away of natural causes on 3C highway near Borum Road.  On June 6, 1929, his body was found and he had no ID and only thing that was found in his pocket was a slip of paper with the address 1118 Yale Ave. on it and this did not turn up anything as the address was a vacant lot! The person living nearest to the lot was named Eugene Johnson, and this man’s first name was also given to the body of the unknown man who was believed to be of the age of 50-80 years old. The local undertaker ended up embalming the body of Eugene and waited to bury him just in case a relative could come and claim him and they could find out his real name. For decades no one every claimed the body and so Eugene became a tourist attraction and his body was on display at the funeral home’s small back shack for those who wanted to see a body. Eugene The Mummy became a local celebrity and a fixture in this small town, with his fame also came pranks and thefts as high school kids as well as  college students would steal the body and take him on joyrides and leave him in weird and wild places. Each time he was taken, his body was recovered by the local police and returned to the funeral home. But finally in 1964, after many years of being on display and loved by the community, the body of Eugene The Mummy was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery after the pranks became too disrespectful and they decided it was time to let him rest peacefully. So if your ever in Sabina, Ohio make sure to stop by the cemetery and pay your respects to Eugene, a man who found fame in death and sadly never did get his real story told. So that was another Strange Ohio Tale that showcases why my home state is a weird one.

For Horror Hosts, Halloween time is like Christmas as they fill the local airwaves with their specials as well as air on any number of online stations. And for this year I chose to interivew the iconic legendary St. Louis, Missouri Horror Host Baron Von Crypt who scared late night monster kids from 1970-1971 with his show! The good Baron Von Crypt is a vampire who built himself a very loyal and rabid fan base that even got him into the Horror Host Hall Of Fame! Baron Von Porkchop and myself were very lucky to have gotten to meet Baron Von Crypt at Horrorhound, and now it’s my honor to present to you my readers on this Halloween update, “5 Questions With” Baron Von Crypt!

Matt: So Baron Von Crypt, tell us about your classic Horror Host show…

Baron: The show aired on KDNL-TV, Channel 30, a new UHF station which began broadcasting in June of 1969 in St. Louis. In early 1970, the production manager and I created a live host to try to generate buzz around and audience for classic horror films of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, like Frankenstein, Dracula, The Invisible Man, The Mummy, The Wolfman, etc. We created a vampire character called Baron Von Crypt and also a sidekick for him called Igor (of course). We had a castle dungeon set and a casket from which the Baron arose each Saturday night at 10pm to introduce the movie. The Baron would interact with his disrespectful sidekick Igor who was always an off camera voice. We tried to do things that were new and different visually … special effects that were leading edge at the time, but nothing like the special effects of today. We just wanted to have fun. The objective was to increase the audience ratings for Channel 30 – which we did!. I wrote and performed in all the sketches as Baron Von Crypt and I also voiced the off-camera voice of Igor. During the roughly 1 ½ years the show ran, I also made a live appearance for an advertiser at the Midwest Camper and Boat Show. It was an absolute blast!

Matt: What Horror Hosts of the past influenced you as a host?

Baron: There weren’t a lot of horror hosts around in 1970 and my inspiration for the character of Von Crypt was really Bela Lugosi, the original Dracula on screen. I basically created a parody of his performance and poked fun at the whole horror genre with wacky humor, silly visuals and inane banter with my sidekick, Igor.

Matt: So being a vampire and all, do you ever get urges to drink the blood of your fans?

Baron: I never did drink the blood of my fans and since I long ago retired as The Baron, I only have vague urges. I do, however, have a strange affinity for Bloody Mary’s which I enjoy whenever I can.

Matt: You have been to a Horrorhound Convention and during this event, what celebrity were you most happy to meet? As well as what other Horror Host?

Baron: My son’s family, including my 11-year old granddaughter, who attended the event as well, are great fans of The Walking Dead and were thrilled to be able to see some of those stars up close and personal. I really enjoyed meeting the many current horror hosts such as The Bone Jangler.

Matt: You being a Vampire and all who is your favorite actor to ever play Count Dracula in film?

Baron: Clearly my favorite actor to play the part of Count Dracula is Bela Lugosi … the originator of the role and my inspiration for Baron Von Crypt.

 Matt: Any final words for my readers?

Baron: Just to share one of my favorite poems written by Baron Von Crypt:

 A birdie with a yellow bill Hopped upon my windowsill.

He broke the glass with his peck, peck, peck, And a large sharp piece just slashed his neck!

 You gotta admit that is pretty good stiff!

Great poem indeed! That Baron Von Crypt is a class act, and I for one would love to see him return to the world of Horror Hosting with new episodes that would air on say…The Monster Channel…hint, hint guys! I am also proud to say that in the world of Sparkle Comics, you just might see Baron Von Crypt soon in some pages of one of our ongoing comic series. I want to thank Baron Von Crypt for taking time to answer our questions, and I suggest you guys check out his official Facebook page for more info on this classic iconic host. Also thanks Timexx Seabaugh for not only help setting up this interview but also helping bring Baron back to the spotlight. Check out these pictures below of the one and only Baron Von Crypt.

For my birthday Juliet and I had a Horror Movie Marathon that not only had a Pre-Show but also had an After Party! The pre-show took place on September 4, 2017 that also happened to be labor day, and lucky for me, we closed early at work so I was able to get home a little after 4:00pm. We started our Pre-Show at 5:00pm, and the first film of the evening was “Camp Blood 4” that followed a young woman and her friends camping out the night before a big concert and being stalked and killed by a clown masked killer. The second fright flick of the night was “Cannibal Claus” about a fired store Santa who decides to get revenge and kills and eats people that are mostly hot naked chicks! The third film of the night was the 1987 shot on video film “Death Nurse” that is about a brother and sister who run a private clinic and kill their patients to collect the money from their deaths and care. And the final film of the night was the creature feature “In The Devil’s Courthouse” that has a young woman and her brother with friends fight for their lives against evil primates who kill in brutal ways. For dinner we decided to have pork chops and baked potatoes, and we both enjoyed the night of spooky horror! We both agreed that the Golden Turkey of the night was Camp Blood 4 as sadly this sequel was made up mostly of flashbacks of part 3 as well as montages of weird things like girls shopping at a second hand media store and putting on makeup.  Plus it ends super quickly, with a “watch part 5” ending. The pluses for the film were the soundtrack was great, the ladies were all attractive and it was cool to at least see a new Camp Blood film. My best film of the night was hard to pick as I enjoyed both Death Nurse and In The Devil’s Courthouse as I found them both to be solid shot on video films from two different eras of independent horror filmmaking, but in the end I would have to say that In The Devil’s Courthouse won out as I found that it was lots of fun with a great set of woods and hills that gave it a creepy atmosphere, the characters were likable for the most part, the gore effects worked and were pretty well done and the really had me with killer monkeys! Plus you can’t go wrong looking at actress Ashley Marie Nelson for 85 minutes. Juliet’s top pick of the night was Death Nurse as she found it to be a great example of the early roots of shot on video horror films. This first night was lots of fun and made me even more hyped to watch the films of the main attraction the next day. So with the end of the movies came winding down for the night and getting some good old sleep.

The next day we started our marathon at 7:00am, and nice enough the house was filled with a chill as we started the first movie “Devil Bat’s Daughter” about the daughter of a famed “killer” who made huge bats and her battle to deal with his legacy. The next film was “Camp Blood 5” and has the surviving young woman and her friends going back to the woods this time to get revenge on the killer. The third film was “The Night Shift” that follows a security guard watching a mansion that has a cult of demons in it. The next flick was “Evil Bong: 666” that has Eve teaming up with the survivors of the past films and doing battle with the Devil of Sexy Hell! The Jess Franco zombie film “Oasis Of The Zombies” was our fifth film and was about Nazi Zombies killing off people who try and find their hidden treasure. “The Haunting Of Morella” was next and follows a young woman whose mother was a witch and killed and now she wants to come back to life by taking over her daughters! The 1992 shot on video film “Dark Harvest” was the next fright flick and has a group of hikers fighting for their lives against killer scarecrows. The Henrique Couto film “Amityville: No Escape” about a group of filmmakers trying to document fear was then selected to try and bring the fights. The anti drug film “Hellmaster” was next and followed a group at a college kids trying to survive an attack by drug fueled human monsters. “The Wicked One” was film # 10 and is about a brutal killer called The Wicked One who attacks and kills a group of friends on a vacation at a family farmhouse. The no budget slasher film “Dark Shade Creek” was next and has masked killer Cyrus hacking up some goofy friends who make the mistake of entering his woods. The supernatural slasher film “The Windmill Massacre” was on deck next and follows a group of strangers on a tour bus ride through Holland who become the target of a burnt up monster killer! The final film of the night was the 1991 shot on video film “Hauntedween” and has a frat house being targeted by a crazed masked killer who loves haunted houses. All through the horrors of the small screen Juliet and I had cookies, Zapps potato chips, breakfast casserole, corn on the cob and flat buffalo style chicken to munch on, and man did we eat well! The golden turkey film of the night was Camp Blood 5 as both Juliet and I picked it due to it once more being mostly flashbacks and having very little of a storyline. My top three fright flicks of the day was the following # 1.) The Windmill Massacre, a really good slasher film that had a cool and interesting brutal supernatural killer as well as felt like a reimagine of the wrap around story to the original 70’s Tales From The Crypt movie. # 2.) was The Wicked One, a great slasher film with a cool killer, solid acting, likable characters and a plot that will remind you of Halloween in ways. And my # 3.) was Hauntedween, a classic cheesy shot on video film from the early 90s that had everything a maker and fan of these style films would enjoy. I want to also say that Devil Bat’s Daughter and Hellmaster both almost made my # 3 spot! Juliet’s top three films of the night were the following # 1.) The Windmill Massacre…#2.) Hellmaster and # 3.) The Wicked One! After the last film ended we chatted about the day’s movies and later went to bed in order to start the after party the next day.

Bright and early on September 6 we started the after party at 8:50am and started off with “Camp Blood 666” this time around a satanic cult brings the killer back from the grave and he starts up his killing ways once again. The second film was the 90’s shot on video film “Jungle Trap” that follows a group traveling to the rainforest and finding themselves targets of native ghosts! “Monstrosity” was our third film and this Andy Milligan film was about a group of friends making a Golem to fight crime on the streets of California. The final film of the day was the gross out flick “Night Of Something Strange” about a STD that turns people into sex crazed zombies who want to have sex and kill! It was a great after party and the films were lots of fun and this time around Juliet and I had different Golden Turkeys as she picked Night Of Something Strange as she is bored like I am with gross humor horror films being made just for shock value. Mine I would have to say was Monstrosity as while I enjoyed it and found its dark humor to work really well and the characters likeable it just kind of felt like a mess and was a little to long. Juliet however picked Monstrosity as her top film as she found it to be silly and lots of fun.  She has really become a fan of Andy Milligan’s films. I would say my favorite film of the day was Camp Blood 666 as I found it to be just like the first two camp cult classic films in the series plus it had Tina Krause in a cameo! So what a great three days to spend with my lady watching Horror Films for one of my favorite things to do and that’s a Marathon.

As most of you long time readers know, in 2016 my friend Jason Young and I opened a independent comic company alongside many of our friends who are artists, writers and creators and we have released some great all ages books like Shocking Macabre Theater # 1 that features Dayton, Ohio Horror Hosts Dr. Creep, A. Ghastlee Ghoul and Baron Von Porkchop sharing spooky tales. And we also released two comics based on knock off toys of the 80’s with Defenders Of The Planets # 1 and Adventure Man # 1! And finally a comic has been made about the Independent B Movie character The Wolf Hunter who got a first issue and brought the classic shot on video character back to life. But in 2017 something really cool happened as we also opened a branch of Sparkle called Blood Scream Comics that was a way to showcase more extreme horror, underground and adult comics! I have always loved Horror Comics, and these comics are issues I am super hyped to create with my friends to entertain the readers. Check out our cool logo below!

We released several Blood Scream Comics this year with our first 3 being based on the shot on video films of Bloodline Video and Independent B Movie and they are Farmer Joe # 0, Scars # 0 and The Sadness # 0, all being 12 page comics that allow the readers to vote on what character they would like to see get a full issue # 1 in 2019! So far the amount of votes we have gotten has been great and the race to get a first issue is very close with all the characters getting respect. We then released a comic adaptation of the cult classic film Don’t Look In The Basement that scared and shocked readers with its amazing art and creepy breakdown of the film. And just this month we unleashed on the comic reading world a really spooky comic called Screaming Skull: 1888 that is a really cool reimagining of the 1958 fright flick The Screaming Skull! And this is just the start as besides all the comics that we do that are for all ages we have so many amazing Horror Comics coming your way readers! So I want to also think my Sparkle Comic family all who believe in the company motto “Comics Made By Friends For Fans”, this update is for you Jason Young, Jeff Potter, Damien Brunk, Jason Gilmore, Theresa Lopez, Marc Gras Cots, Scott Scarborough, Juliet Fromholt, Jeremy Hoyt and Stephen Alexander all of whom have made some amazing comics this year that have entertained the comic reading world. Check out the covers below for the current release of Blood Scream Comics and make sure to check out or official website at www.bloodscreamcomics.com for ways to not only order the comics but get info on upcoming comics.

On September 9, 2017 Blood Scream Comic teamed up with Horrorama Dayton at the Danbarry Huber Heights and brought moviegoers the Indie Horror Showcase! This first time event was lots of fun to do and was a great way to not only expose horror movie fans to some of these cool independent horror films but also the comics of Blood Scream and Sparkle Comics as we sold copies of our comics at the Movie Theater. The event started at 6:00pm for the preshow that played trailers for indie horror films and we screened “The Wolf Hunter” the Independent B Movie SOV film directed by Matt Hoffman as well as the zombie short film “Outpost 31” by Dustin Austen. The main show started a little after 7 with the first film being the slasher film “Babysitter Massacre” directed by Henrique Couto, and it was followed by “The Barn” the super cool 80’s throwback monster film directed by Justin M. Seaman. The next film on the playlist was the demon film “Redsin Tower” by Fred Vogel, and we ended the night with the George Romero zombie classic “Night Of The Living Dead”! In between the films we played trailers, music scores and short films and the event seemed to really entertain those who were looking for a good time of seeing great films on the silver screen. It was really amazing seeing The Wolf Hunter playing on the big screen and hearing the crowd have a good time with this shot on video cheesy rubber face werewolf flick. I hope to do another Indie Horror Showcase next year in September as I love bringing the world Horror Comics and indie horror movies and I think they both go hand and hand. I also ran the booth upstairs and had a great time watching the films from the projection booth. Check out the pictures below to see what you missed if you did not attend. And yep we did do a normal Horrorama this year on October 14th and it had the theme Revenge Of The 80’s and showcased some amazing films from that decade like Nightmare City and The Gate to name a few.

Sadly over the centuries the world of cinema has lost many films and by lost I mean they are no longer around and we all have a very small amount of hope of ever finding a copies of them. Many amazing films have been lost like many of the Fatty Arbuckle comedies and even a Paul Naschy werewolf film called “The Nights of The Wolf Man” that was possibly never finished that filmed in France. The holy grail of lost Horror Films hands down is the 1927 film “London After Midnight” that was directed by Todd Browning and started Lon Chaney Sr. as The Man In The Beaver Hat, but while I 100% would love for someone to find both London After Midnight and The Nights Of The Wolf Man, another film that I hope is found someday is a 1921 silent Hungarian film called “Dracula’s Death” that’s right a Dracula film that was released a year before the 1922 classic silent film “Nosferatu”! This lost vampire film was directed by Karoly Lajthay and this was his only film as director as he went on to be an actor in many Hungarian films. The film’s plot is about a woman who visits a mental asylum and meets an inmate to claims to be Count Dracula and after this meeting she is plagued with horrible visions and must figure out if this inmate is who he claims to be! The inmate or should we say Count Dracula was played by Erik Vanko who had a pretty long acting career and has the honor of being the first actor to ever play Dracula! I hope some day that this film as well as the many others is found in a vault, basement or in a private collection and becomes available for the world to see again just like Edison’s Frankenstein. Below are some stills and the poster for Dracula’s Death and you can take a look and see what you think this film would have been like.

On October 2, 2017 Juliet and I made our way back to Evans City Cemetery to celebrate the Halloween season right! On this day after getting some coffee from Mars Brew House, we headed to the cemetery and the drive was amazing as the weather outside was in the mid 70s and Juliet and I chatted about Lost Films as well as Sparkle Comics and all the cool comics we have in the works. Once arriving at the cemetery we took a drive through it and going around the second time we stopped and got out and walked around. This cemetery is a great place for creative people in the horror world to visit as it seems to help get the creative juices flowing, plus it’s a great place to sit back and think about the legacy that George A. Romero left behind. After spending around 45 minutes chatting and soaking in the beautiful weather we left the cemetery behind to return again next year for Monsterbash 2018! Below is a picture I snapped while there on this fun day.

One thing that I look forward to doing every Halloween season is the Alpha Rhythms Halloween Special for WYSO that is nothing but 3 hours of horror movie score music! My gal Juliet does the talking, and I do the board and select the spooky sounds that will haunt your evening. This show always is something special for me to do and with Baron Von Porkchop taking a long vacation, this is the one Halloween Special that I can count on to create every year. I choose from many different artist like Goblin, Richard Band, Danny Elfman and Fabio Frizzi and pic icon scores from such films as Bride Of Frankenstein, Halloween, Psycho and Phantasm and try my best to pick the songs that will not only chill your bones but will also make you remember the first time you watched these horror films at the theater, on VHS or even via streaming. The Alpha Rhythms Halloween Special every year is the Sunday before Halloween and starts at 8pm and runs until 11pm and can be heard locally on 91.3 FM or anywhere via their website stream at www.wyso.org! Below is a sneak peek at behind the scenes of me programing this year’s Halloween Special that aired on October 29th and if you tuned in, I want to say thank and I hope I made your night a little scary.

What is a Halloween update without a little ghost hunting adventure alongside my good pal Josh Weinberg! The big issue this year of picking a location was that over the years we have done so many of them and have debunked or even scared spooked ourselves with strange people and noises while at them. So after some time of chatting and trying to figure it out we decided on a rematch against Hyde Road’s Bridge in Yellow Springs as last time around we got ran off by the weirdo in his SUV who for some reason was hiding out in the woods and thought it would be a good idea to chase us and try and trap us on the bridge. We decided to go on October 25th and once more we had to kill some time so we had a little dinner and hung out at WYSO in Yellow Springs. For those who don’t remember the legend of the bridge and its ghost, here is the rundown again. The legend goes that a mother killed her baby and herself on the bridge at midnight, and if you park your car footprints can be found on your hood from the ghost mother trying to get in! So Josh and I drove around the bridge once and this time around no weird SUV was parked near the woods so we were able to get onto the bridge at 11:59pm and at Midnight we turned off the headlights and killed the cars engine and waited and the bridge was super quiet…and at 12:01am we turned back on the headlights and the engine and got out of the car and to no surprise we did not see no foot prints, hand prints, ghosts or ghouls and we can finally say that the bridge of Hyde Road just is not haunted by a ghost but might be patrolled by a wacko in his car! Below is a picture that I took after we turned the lights back on and shows that we were center in the bridge…shame that this one was a dud as it would have been cool to have a cool ghost hang out in Yellow Springs.

So we have chatted about lots of great spooky stuff up to this point and even had a rematch against Hyde Road and its cursed bridge. But now it’s time for us to play a game and take a look at Saw, the original movie that not only sparked a ton of sequels but also the IDW comic we are covering for this Halloween update. So lets make the right choice and play by Jigsaws rules! I also want to say that I am taking the write up from IMDB and I will also chat a little about the first film’s production and my first thoughts of seeing it as well as its legacy.

SAW (2004)

“Waking up in a undisclosed location in a unknown room two men, Adam and Gordon are trapped into a single room with a dead body. Given random tools with riddles hidden around the room. Wondering who could have done this there are clues to who might of done it; the jigsaw killer. The question is not just who but why would a serial killer leave two men in a room. Both Adam and Gordon hiding secrets they must trust and work together to get out or die…can they survive jigsaws game or die trying?”

Australians James Wan and Leigh Whannell wanted to team up and make a film on a modest budget after being inspired by The Blair Witch Project, and they came up with an idea that involved two men stuck in a elevator and being filmed on security cameras, and it later morphed into an idea of two men chained in a bathroom with a dead body between them. After the talk the name SAW was written down and became the title of the film they began to work on writing and building. During the development Leigh Whannell was having some medical issues and came up with the idea of the killer of their film known as Jigsaw being ill and having a short time to live and setting people up to feel what he does and to not take life for granted. Funding came next and to start they only had about $30,000.00 for a budget, so they made a short film to showcase the bear trap scene and was lucky enough to find Twisted Pictures who enjoyed the what they saw and invested more money into the film. Next came casting and now with a bigger budget they brought in names like Danny Glover, Cary Elwes, Shawnee Smith and Tobin Bell was hired the play John “Jigsaw” Kramer! The film started filming and once finished the film’s score music was composed by Charlie Clouser.  Lionsgate stepped in to distribute the film worldwide, and the film became a surprise hit! Saw was the # 57 of the year and beat out such other horror and cult films as “The Phantom Of The Opera”, “Resident Evil: Apocalypse”, “Secret Window”, “Exorcist: The Beginning”, “Open Water”, “Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid”, “Darkness”, “Shaun Of The Dead” and “Seed Of Chucky”! The film did great for Lions Gate as the film had a budget of only $1.2 Million and brought in a total of $55,185,045.00 at the box office here in America. While it has been dubbed “Torture Porn” the SAW series of films are really Horror/Thrillers that once you get past the mass amounts of blood and gore has a message.

I first saw SAW on home video when it came out on DVD and watched it with my then girlfriend Jennifer, and I can remember we both were glued to it, as I really enjoyed the twist and turns of the story! The funny thing about it was during this time I remember that my friends all who were into horror films really enjoying this flick and Jigsaw was the new “it” killer in horror films as Pigmasks and robes for a few years was staples at Halloween parties. But some were along the way mainstream media and none horror fans started a campaign that films like SAW were nothing more that torture porn set to turn on sickos…yeah this worked as well as many people turned on the series and the box office dollars became less and less for Lionsgate and with that came the end of the series for awhile in 2010 and not until this year (2017) has another been made. Say what you will about SAW, but it’s a solid film that spawned some good sequels that grossed out and freaked out movie goers for many years and was for the longest time the series that kept Horror in the theaters for Halloween! So if you have not see this film, do yourself a favor and check it out! Oh I also want to say that actor Cary Elwes in the films he is in for this series is laughably bad most the time.

John Kramer is the man who goes by Jigsaw, and we are going to be taking a quick look at this man who is the backbone of this long running film series. Jigsaw is the mastermind killer who never himself kills his victims, as they are responsible for their own deaths as well as those who are connected to them.  You see Jigsaw along with his helpers select a person they think is taking advantage of being alive and sets them up to play a twisted game of life and death by using traps and puzzles that lead to murder, self mutilation and sometimes salvation. John Kramer started his quest to teach his twisted life lessons after he himself was diagnosed with cancer and after treatments failed to work and his insurance company refused to pay for other forums of treatment he set his goal in life to teach those he feels abuse their lives a message in pain and sorrow all the while showing them what it means to have life. John in his torturous/teaching ways is always joined by apprentices as well as a creepy tricycle-riding puppet named Billy all who help set up and captures the players for what he calls a “game”. I will not say who is helpers are as they would be spoilers for those of you who have not watched the series yet or are not caught up. Jigsaw uses traps that result in death or mutilation as his way to get to his victims, also have to say that sometimes his apprentices are more brutal and kill in cold blood or even set up traps that can not be beat! Jigsaw is also very smart and uses words and puzzles in order to also strike fear into the hearts of those who have became his target. This next part does have spoilers, so you have been warned! But the weakness of Jigsaw is the fact he is a normal human who is dying from cancer and became weaker and weaker through out the series up until his death, but while he has been gone for some time his message and traps live on. While not a supernatural unstoppable killer John “Jigsaw” Kramer is still a very scary person who feels he is right in what he is doing, and that’s why I would say Jigsaw is a very dangerous man with dangerous followers who all have a twisted yet strong message of life.

I guess I should take a few moments and talk about the fact SAW was so popular that it sparked lots of merchandise over the years like all good Horror Film franchises before it and after it. Besides the IDW comic we are covering in this update, Jigsaw and his apprentice have graced the likes of t-shirts, posters, magazines, fan art and action figures & dolls. The film series scores have been released on CD and yep I have played music from it on Alpha Rhythms during the Halloween season. Two video games were made based on SAW that were released on PS3 and Xbox 360 and released by Konami. So as you can see, this film series has left its mark on the world of Horror and delivered lots of great items for fans to collect.

So we took a look at the original film as well as Jigsaw, the killer from the film series, and now its time to dive deep into the world of Horror Comics and take a look at the IDW Comic book of SAW! This comic was a one shot release and proves that IDW is a great company who from time to time does some fantastic work in Horror and release comics based on cult and popular films. I want to thank an Amazon seller for having this comic is stock and making this update possible and wait what’s this a tape recorder, let’s see what’s on it! “Matt Let’s Play A Game…You Have Spent Your Life Watching Horror Films And Reading Comic Books. Now It’s Halloween 2017 And You Once More Have Found A Horror Comic To Review….And I Wanted To Remind Your Readers That You Grade These 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…Good Luck.” So looks like with that we are read to take a look at SAW: Rebirth from IDW Comics on this extra spooky update!

SAW: Rebirth # 1  **1/2
Released in 2005     Cover Price $3.99     IDW       # 1 of 1

John Kramer is a man who is working a dead end job, he is just going through the motions and not putting any effort into advancement in the company. His boss Paul is a guy who has good pay, a family to go home to while John and his girlfriend Jill have just called it over as he would not marry her and start their own family and worse while others around him seem to have it all he is now coming home from work and getting sick every night. John decides to go to the hospital and has some tests done and soon finds that he has cancer and it cannot be cured and his life is sadly coming to an end! While in the hospital he meets Zep an orderly who spends time chatting with him filling him in on the Doctors dirty secrets as well as patients who have came in like Amanda a pretty young woman who overdosed on heroin as well as is boss Paul who tried to kill himself. John leaves the hospital and changes what’s left of his life around and shaves his head and starts to work on his mission and traps to carry it out.

This is a very slow paced and character background driven Horror Comic that does not deliver on any scares nor does it even have any gore or violence with the only blood being shown is on a bandage via an attempted suicide, but while this might sound like a dull comic I ashore you fans of SAW will enjoy it! The plot is simple John Kramer is a man on borrowed time as he has cancer and while waiting for death he comes up with an idea to teach those he feels is wasting their life to be thankful for it. The main character is John Kramer who is a man who just is living his life with no goals and when his life is on a time limit a switch goes off in his brain that makes him turn a little dark and twisted in the mind and he becomes Jigsaw a man who will torture and kill to get across a message or to teach a lesson. The rest of the characters are background players and one cool cameo is from Amanda who overdosed in this issue and who becomes a major player in the series of films that followed this comic. Besides this comic lacking in blood and scares the major flaw of the comic is off from the sequels as this comic act as if John is not married when we in the series find out he indeed is and was happily married. But I think that this part is wrong as this was released after the original film and before the second film even hit theaters. The cover is pretty eye catching as it’s just the poster with some minor changes to it, the interior art is good and while not my favorite style of art for a horror comic, artist Renato Guedes does a good job and John Kramer looks like actor Tobin Bell. Over all this is a good Horror Comic that plays more on the downbeat life of our villain and is a great read for fans of the SAW movie series, but I think normal Horror Comic readers will not be that impressed or entertained by this comic so I think they should skip it! Check out the cool artwork below to see what the art looks like in this comic, and oh yeah IDW should have made a few more issues in this series and should do more comics based on Horror Films soon!

So I hope you had a great Halloween and hope you enjoyed our look at SAW in the world of comics as well as all the other spooky stuff I chatted about. And want to thank you all again for spending a little of your Trick Or Treating time with me.  For our next update, we are starting our countdown to Thanksgiving, and we will be taking a look at a Superhero named Drastik who sadly has long been forgotten by the comic book reading masses! So enjoy what’s left of Halloween 2017 and make sure to visit your local theater and see Jigsaw the 8th film in the SAW series and until next time read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! Remember to be back here next update so we can all learn about Drastik!

 

The History Of The Horror Movie Marathon

Welcome back to my little space on the ‘net where I talk about comics, movies, toys and video games and share some of my great memories with you all. One of my favorite pastimes was an event I call “The Horror Movie Marathon” where I would show horror flicks starting early morning until very late into the night.  This started out at what was called Independent B Movie Studios, that was really my parents basement, and would have me and some of my closest friends like Matt Hoffman, Josh Weinberg, Jason Gilmore, Dave Wean and Brandon Womeldorff over.  We would stuff our faces with potato chips, snack cakes, popcorn, soda and pizza and watch many horror films on VHS that we would buy the morning of the event from local second hand stores. The event only lasted a few years (like from 1999-2003) at that location, and the gang would come and go. Many times it would be just me and Josh or Jason as the rest of them were at work. And as quickly as they started, this fun bonding event disappeared as we all started moving away from our parents’ houses and got full time jobs and made our own films. The VHS days of this event were a blast, and we would spend hours looking through the horror shelves at video rental stores like K&L Video, Accent Video, West Coast Video and Blockbuster Video and buying PVT (Previously Viewed Tape) classics, but mostly we would buy cheesy films from places like Second Time Around and Replay Media and get titles like Winterbeast, The Prey, Demonoid Messenger of Doom, Dracula’s Widow, Terror On Tour, Hack-O-Lantern, Judgement Night, Grim Reaper, Phantom of the Opera and many more creepy schlocky horror. Fans of VHS tapes know what I mean when I say nothing will ever take the place of watching a horror flick late at night with friends and having the grainy glow of the TV fill the darkened room, and watching the film and at the best part, be it the kill or nudity, the tape would roll from being rewound and watched too many times.  Not to mention the sound of the tape rewinding as you and your pals talked about the film and what shocking horrors awaited you in the next creature feature. Those days were the best, and I will always cherish those moments I had with these friends.  One day I would love to get together with Gilmore, Weinberg, Hoffman, Wean and Womeldorff and have a classic marathon of VHS horror!

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The Horror Movie Marathon was not a new concept to me as my brother Bryan and I would have many of these all night horror film watching session years before these events, with films on TV like USA’s Up All Night, Saturday Nightmares and TNT’s Monstervison.  We would also watch rented or owned horror films on VHS before and after the cable shows. Anyways years after the the semi-retirement of the event I found myself living with my good friend Patrick Neeley and out of a job as I was let go from my work loading and unloading furniture trucks around 2006 and had no leads of finding a new one. Around the same time I has having issues with my then girlfriend Jennifer that lead to a breakup and could only find part time work at Mavericks Cards and Comics and the kicker was Patrick was going to be moving out! But thank God my good friend Jason Young allowed me to live with him and his roommates Doogie (Chris) and Zippy (Josh), and after a few brief and failed relationships I was able to find my cool as hell girlfriend Juliet. As things were getting back on track for me in 2007, I was missing the days of the marathon and was itching to have another one, but had no place to do it when Juliet was kind enough to offer her apartment for me to host the event! This was amazing news for me, and I went out and bought tons of snack food and pop and restarted the event that had always been so near and dear to my heart. But with this new age of the Marathon VHS was out and DVD was in, and while Josh Weinberg and Matt Hoffman were returning faces from the past, the guest list now included my cousin Stephen Alexander and friends like Chris Lett, Max Ervin, Lisa Weinberg, Jason Young, Doogie, Lauren Campenell, Mike Ritchie, Nick Williams, Thomas “Maurice” Blurton and many others. Juliet’s apartment became the new spot for the Marathon and we watched many films for the first time as well as revisited classics like Dracula’s Great Love starring Paul Naschy, Bigfoot, Salvage, Ghidorah The Three Headed Monster, Ice Queen and a mountain of other monster and slasher films. The small kitchen of her apartment was filled with tons of food like chicken wings and pizza as well as snacks and pops and beers.  The events became a huge hit again with my old high school friends as well as my friends I made along the years, and this became an issue as the venue, her apartment, was not large enough to fit all my friends who were coming over to watch the films! At one point we had a full room of people watching Dracula’s Great Love at around midnight and everyone was squeezed in like sardines around the old tube TV in the studio apartment. But like before, The Horror Movie Marathon came to a end as I started a new job managing Game Swap in Kettering as well as worked still for Mavericks and other things started to get into the way of us having marathons as well as friends less and less showing up at one point I held a Marathon and the only people to show up were Stephen, Chris Lett, Doogie, Juliet and myself making for a fun time with a very tiny turn out. During this Horror Movie Marathon 2.0 I also started a little thing called the pre-show that had a select few coming over to the apartment that I was now living at with Juliet to watch a couple of horror films before the main day. The select few were Stephen and Josh, and it was a cool way for us to hype ourselves up for the next day. But due to poor turn outs, not enough space for big turn outs and just life, the marathon once more was retired and thus ended its first comeback into my life in around 2012.

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Flash forward to 2015 when my cousin Stephen had just bought a house in Dayton.  While at work, he and I started to chat and toss around the idea of having me bring back The Horror Movie Marathon at his house as it has plenty of room and he as well as other friends missed the event and wanted it to return. I also missed the event and after thinking for just a few minutes, I agreed to bring the event back and so was born the current Horror Movie Marathon 3.0 that is still going strong to this day! We choose May 24th 2015 as the date of the marathon and Juliet, Stephen and I came up with the idea that at this event would be tons of independent sodas and beers would be available for our friends to drink all day and night to help add to the festive and gathering feel. We also ordered tons of chicken wings from Frickers as well as had candy, chips and hummus for people to snack on while watching the horrors of the small screen. We also had a Pre-Show the night before, and besides Josh, we also invited our pal Garrison Kane to watch films like House Of Wolfman, Frankenstein Theory and Deadly Mantis to kick off the event right. The first event at the new location was a big hit, and many friends showed up from Todd The Fox all the way to Jeremy Hoyt and everyone inbetween was there and ready to get scared and spend time with friends. The films included Deadly Manor, Summer of Massacre, Headless, Wolf Cop and Return To Boggy Creek, to name a few. The next event we had at Stephen’s house was on September 27, 2015 and had us watching such films as 100 Tears, Crimson, Stiches, Redwood Massacre, New Years Evil and Frankenfish to name a few and like the first event we packed the house, and everyone had fun. But sadly the third event that we held on April 10th 2016 slowed down in attendance, but those who showed up all had fun watching films like Elves, Dr. Jekyll And The Werewolf, XTRO, Demon’s Rook and Madhouse! Also during this time Juliet and I would also hold our own marathons for just the two of us, complete with pre-shows and all the great snacks and terrors that go along with the full attraction ones. With a new location and new and old blood mixing to have a good time and watch some horror films, the marathon seems to have a new home at Stephen’s house. One thing that has always been a highlight of The Horror Movie Marathon from the past to the present is sitting with friends and talking about the films we have just watched and seeing why they liked or disliked the film.  One of the best recent fun discussions was when Jeremy Hoyt got worked up over the film Headless and its extreme violence toward women and the rest of us saying what do you expect from a gore film? The Horror Movie Marathon is back, and if I can help it will never fade away again.

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So I decided for this update that I am going to cover not one, but two of the latest Horror Movie Marathons I have had with the first being held on November 13th 2016 with the Pre-Show taking place on the 12th that was a all-welcome friends marathon held at Stephen’s house. For the Pre-Show we had Garrison Kane, Theresa Lopez and Jeremy Hoyt, and we watched the following films to kick us into the spirit of this after Halloween blues marathon starting with “Evil Unleashed: The Mummy” that was about a Egyptian princess who sells her her soul and in modern time comes back as a vengeful Mummy on the prowl to kill some college kids who have stumbled onto her plan of ruling the world and bringing evil down on us all. The next film was released by Wild Eye Releasing called “ The Mothman Curse” and was about two woman who are working for a movie museum who are having visions and nightmares about the Mothman who seems to slowly bringing them into madness. I was feeling pretty rough from a sore throat and cold so we didn’t have a third film of the night that would have been the old Independent B Movie film I made called “Vigilante C: The Hunt For The Man-Beast,”  We all decided that the best film of the night was Evil Unleashed and not because it was good, just because it had some laugh out loud cheesy moments as well as backyard effects and a naked Mummy! The worst movie was Mothman Curse as we all found it very boring and while it felt like an arthouse film, it was just lacking being scary or entertaining. The night was fun, and everyone seemed to be having a good time, but oddly enough Josh Weinberg no showed the event as the date was picked for him to make it before the holiday rush of his work! But once the horrors of the small screen ended, bedtime was up and I got some much needed rest to try and shake the wicked cold that had me in its grip.

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The next morning at 7:00am sharp, we began the full Official Horror Movie Marathon and started with the 1943 Universal Monster film “The Mad Ghoul” about a scientist who falls in love with one of his student’s fiance and uses a gas that turns people into zombies in order to break them up and use his student as a tool of murder as a love triangle is in play. The vampire musical “Suck” was the next film and was about a down and out band who become vampires in order to become rock stars, but soon after meeting a vampire hunter try and stop their blood sucking ways! “Xtro II: The Second Encounter” was the third film and was about scientists in a underground facility being stalked by a killer alien from another dimension. The 1991 evil demon children film “The Boneyard” was next and was about a pair of cops as well as a psychic and a reanimated young lady who committed suicide stuck in the basement of the city morgue fighting for their lives against three evil demon children and their sinister creations. The next film was a Sci-Fi Channel original called “Scarecrow” about a killer you guessed it Scarecrow killing off a group of troubled kids as the owner of the farm and their teacher fight to try and save them. A independent slasher film was up next called “Hayride” about a killer who runs wild during Halloween and attacks people during a hayride attraction and customers and workers are his targets. The 1971 creature feature “Octaman” was next and had scientist battling a full size octopus man who wanted revenge for the taking and killing of his children and of course he ends up falling for one of the females that leads to the creatures downfall. “Gnome Alone” was the next flick to entertain us about a cursed witches bloodline that is plagued by a evil Gnome who also acts as their protectors and sadly a young girl becomes next in line, but this pint size terror also has a lust for not only revenge but blood. Kane Hodder and Bill Mosley starred in our next film called “Old 37” about two brothers who grew up watching their father who was a paramedic kill those in need, and now along with his old ambulance has taken up the killing ways. With the world being scared of creepy clowns, the next film for the marathon had to be the slasher flick “Clown Town” and was about a group of friends being stalked by killer clowns in a rundown town and they must quickly fight back in order to stay alive. And what better way to follow up a film about killer clowns than to deliver one about a serial killer in a easter bunny suit who along with his crazed friend stalk and kill women and that film was called “Bunnyman Massacre”. The 1985 shot on video film “The Ripper” was the final fright of the night and was about the spirit of Jack The Ripper being stuck inside a ring that possesses a school teacher who in turns starts up the killing spree of women in modern times, and cool enough FX Master Tom Savini plays The Ripper at the films climax. The event was pretty well attended with such friends as Stephen Alexander, Theresa Lopez, Jason Young, Jeremy Hoyt, Mike Ritchie, Juliet Fromholt and Garrison Kane all making appearances throughout the day, and weirdly enough once more this day Josh Weinberg didn’t show up to watch the spooky features of the small screen.

As always the Horror Movie Marathon was packed with some great food from snack food like potato chips and M&M’s all the way to pizza rolls and subs from Submarine House. As always we all had fun watching the films with Stephen, Theresa and I being the ones that stayed and watched all twelve films! I mean of course I was there the whole time as I am the host of the event, but have to say a big thanks to those two for enjoying every film alongside me. So for the best and worst list, I am going to have Stephen as well pick his to share his insights of the days horror flicks. This was a tough one to pick my best as I enjoyed many of the films that were shown and I felt all of them offered something different to the Horror Film world. My worst film of the day was pretty easy to pick as I would have to say Bunnyman Massacre as I felt that while watching a killer in a bunny suit chasing around women with a chainsaw was cool, it was the side character Joe who was also a killer who had some of the most lamest cuss spewing lame dialogue I have ever heard that, killed the mood of this slasher. Stephen as well selected Bunnyman Massacre as his worst and said this for his reason “It started strong and ended weak”. My # 3 of the day was The Ripper as this is one I seen on VHS many moons ago when my brother and I rented it from K&L Video.  For some reason, the cheesy storyline along with the gruesome gore effects makes it a guilty pleasure film.  Plus you can’t go wrong with Tom Savini as Jack The Ripper! My # 2 pick was Suck as I found this Rock N Roll musical to be well made and super funny as it also mixed comedy into the formula.  Plus you can’t go wrong with a film that stars Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop and Henry Rollins. Hands down, my # 1 was The Boneyard as I found it super fun, super creepy and over all a great flick! I mean whereelse in the world can you see a Phyllis Diller giant monster as well as a killer poodle monster? For me the film The Mad Ghoul almost made it to the my list as the third film but The Ripper was able to edge its way into the spot or should I say slash! For Stephen his picks were as follows: For his # 3 spot went to Octaman with his reason for picking it being “Solely because of the monster and how much they used him.” His # 2 spot was The Boneyard, and he had this to say, “Because it was fun and the monsters were very cool. Plus the use of average everyday people (as the actors) was refreshing”. And his # 1 spot went to Suck and this is why, “It was funny and a surprise. It had some cool people in it and the effects were cool. I definitely had the most fun with it by far”. So with that, this After Halloween Horror Movie Marathon came to an end and was a great time with great friends, good flicks and tasty food.

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For me growing up as a Monster Kid, having these get togethers with some of my nearest and dearest friends and family members is something that is just really special as I have a love for Horror Films and this allows me to share that with them. Plus what’s neat about these films I have shown for the Horror Movie Marathon 3.0 version is 98% of the time the films that are selected are first time watches for many of us and 2% of the time is stuff that we might have seen before but was so long ago that we want to revisit them. Take the above marathon for insistence, I had only seen two of the films before with them being Evil Unleashed: The Mummy and The Ripper, both that I had seen when I was younger with the rest being first time views! But to be fair, I can’t remember if I had seen Octaman before. And with that the next marathon I want to cover for this update was one that Juliet and I had at our apartment and was filled with many horror films that I helped via Kickstarter or Indie GoGo and only one film that I had seen before and was an event I was very much looking forward to! So check out below for a few more films I can remember the old gang watching on VHS for the first wave of the Horror Movie Marathon’s life and then we shall get into the main event of this update!

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Juliet and I selected April 3, 2017 as the day for this marathon as we wanted to pick a date to make this History of The Horror Movie Marathon fresh. So like normal, I had a typical day at work and headed home so that we could start the pre-show sharply at 6:00pm, and we had sausages for dinner.  We started the first film on the night, the 2016 flick that I helped on Indie Go-Go called “Killjoy: Psycho Circus,” the 5th film in this popular Full Moon Entertainment series that has the killer demon clown Killjoy hosting his own talk show called Psycho Circus and he and his band of killer clowns must rumble with Beezlebub who wants revenge. “Silent Night, Bloody Night: Homecoming” is a semi remake to the classic 1972 holiday flick and was the next fright flick pick.  It follows the cursed Butler Mansion and the killer that is stalking its grounds killing off the residents of the small town. “Monster On Campus” was next, and this Universal Monster film followed Doctor Donald Blake who by accident turns himself into a neanderthal man when he is cut on the hand by a prehistoric fishes tooth. And the final film of the night was “Sorority Slaughter House,” a cheesy killer doll film that has a college dean killing himself over a broken affair with a student that has his soul going into the body of a clown doll called Bobo. All these films helped add to the excitement of the coming Horror Movie Marathon day with both Juliet and I picking Monster On Campus as our favorite film of the night as it was a true cheesy science fiction horror film that was complete with a cool monster and historical women fainting into the arms of our monster. We both had different picks for our Golden Turkey of the night as I picked Sorority Slaughter House as mine because it was just plane bad! The film’s killer, Bobo, was not scary and voiced by Eric Roberts, and they reused the same shots over and over of the dolls feet moving around the house.  None of the cute girls get naked, and the plot was lame when they factor in a forced lesbian storylines and terrible shirtless male actors, but that’s what you get with modern David DeCoteau films. Juliet’s Golden Turkey pick was Silent Night, Bloody Night: Homecoming as she felt like it was a rushed remake that didn’t add anything new to the story and by all accounts would have been confusing to fans who had never seen the original as it did a poor job of diving into the film’s character history. But with the pre-show done and visions of bloody murders in my head, we went to sleep to gear up for the long day of Horror Flicks that awaited us.

On April 4th the weather outside was chilly yet nice spring weather, and Juliet and I woke up around 7am and started the marathon with the 1958 vampire film “The Return Of Dracula” that has Dracula hiding from his hunters with a family as posing as one of their relatives. “Godzilla 1984” was the next film and had Godzilla returning to Japan to once more destroy everything in sight and only a flying air craft and a scientist are the worlds hope. The third creepy flick was “Insane” about a couple buying a new home that has a sinister past of murder and when a clown show up things only get weirder. Shot-on-video film “Night Of The Clown” was up next and followed a family being stalked and killed by a killer in a clown suit who seems to hate pickles. The Massacre Home Video release of “City In Panic” was up next and was a cool slasher film about a killer who targets people with HIV. The sixth film of the day was directed by Don Dohler and was called “Fiend” about a killer spirit that reanimates a body who must kill in order to not rot away and tries to blend into a neighborhood but soon gets the attention of his neighbor who tries to solve the killings. Next was “Plank Face,” a horror film about a man who is taken captive by backwoods women who turn him into a wood faced breeding and attacking machine. Slasher film “Fender Bender” was next about a killer who picks his victims by causing small auto accidents to get their information and then coming to their homes and killing them. The next film was suppose to be “Knucklebones” put out by Brain Damage Films, but the movie on the disc was the wrong film so we watched the 1931 “Dracula” starring Bela Lugosi! The next chiller was “Bloody Bloody Bible Camp,” a dark horror comedy about a masked killer nun who kills teens at a camp for worship. “The Barn” was next a film about three demons who are unleashed on Halloween when a group of friends awaken them! And the final fright of the night was “Krampus Unleashed” about a family who are targeted by Krampus an Christmas Eve.

This was another amazing Horror Movie Marathon that was filled with great food like Oh My Garlic Wings and breakfast casserole and lots of great and amazing films! I must say that all the films were so different and all entertaining in their own ways! But of course, Juliet and I had to pick our Golden Turkey of the day.  Mine was Night Of The Clown, while it was entertaining it seemed more like a inside joke about pickles and like a film that was made on a bored weekend with only two people in the whole cast. While I say that it was the Golden Turkey, I must stress that I really did enjoy the film for its backyard effects and great cheesy killer. Juliet picked Insane as she felt it was just not fully developed, and the story and characters seemed to lack motivation. Now my top three films of the day were hard to pick as I really enjoyed many of them, but here they go: my # 1 was The Barn as I found it really enjoyable and a nice throwback film to the 80’s, plus the movie monsters of the film Candycorn Scarecrow, Hollowed Jack and Boogeyman are all really great and work really well. The film has great acting and an amazing score as well…a must see. The # 2 film of the day for me was Fiend as the simple and effective film had a great story and a cool villain as the calm and cocky Longfellow stole the show as he choked his victims with glowing red hands! The cheesy effects of the rotting Longfellow were really cool and reminded me of Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things. My # 3 film of the day was hard to pick, but I decided that it was City In Panic as I found this low budget American Giallo feeling film to be a cool way to tackle the Aids scare of the 80’s and also had a fun plot of a radio DJ and his nightly talk show helping crack the case. Runners up for me had to be Plank Face and Return Of Dracula, both films I also really enjoyed. Juliet selected the following as her top films of the day # 1 The Barn, # 2 City In Panic and her # 3 was Plank Face! With this Marathon in the history books, I am looking forward to the next and the next as these events are truly special and a way for me and friends and loved ones to relax to the horrors of the TV screen.

The Horror Movie Marathon has had its ups and downs over the years in attendance and even with just staying around, but one thing is for sure, it has always entertained me and my friends who all love a good scare and who enjoy the spooky horrors of our TV screens thanks to home media. And while media has changed, I am hoping that The Horror Movie Marathon will stay around a very long time to entertain my friends and me with Horror films from the past and present. But for our next update, we are going to get up from the comfy couch and snack foods and head into the world of Atlas Comics as we take a look at one of their amazing superheroes Tiger Man! So until next time, read a comic or two, watch a Horror Film or three and enjoy some free time with your friends and family! See you next update as we go on the crime fighting hunt with the fearsome Tiger Man.

The Platinum Chainsaw Massacre Of Texas!

Welcome to this haunted and spooky Halloween update here on Rotten Ink.  This year we are going back to Texas and revisiting Leatherface, or should I say visiting another Leatherface named Thomas Hewitt who took up the chainsaw back in 2003! Along this back road Texas ride, we will be making many stops before we get to the Hewitt farmhouse at a Creepypasta, 5 Questions with a Horror Host and a few other spooky and fun things. It’s hard to believe that it’s Halloween 2016 and that the ghouls and ghosts are wandering the streets looking for candy or a trick to pull. This year has proved to be very cool for fans of horror films as new entries in the Blair Witch, Ouija, Phantasm and The Purge are hitting theaters.  Video Games will be delivering some frights this year with Resident Evil 4 coming to disc on the PS4 and even a NES Homebrew game called Batman vs. The Predator attacking its way to a retro home console. Not to mention the amazing amounts of horror comics that landed in readers hands like Puppet Master, Gingerdead Man, Night Trap, Psycho Path, Lord Of Gore, We Kill The Dead, Zombie and many more! This time of the year really should spark the want to be scared, whether that is from going to a haunted house, going on a spooky real life ghost hunt, reading a horror comic, playing a survival horror video game or just watching some horror films at home, I hope you have had a fun and spooky Halloween time, and I hope this blog update at least added to your holiday. So pack some chainsaw repellent and gear up for coming face to face with Leatherface one more time!

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Let’s make our first stop on a strange sinister story of the Internet’s version of campfire tales. This year’s Creepypasta is based around a video game character that was super popular with not just me but many of the kids around the world.  That character is Sonic The Hedgehog, and the story is called “Sonic.exe.” Now I am sure many of you are wondering just how could Sonic be creepy as he is beloved by the youth of today, but once you hear this story, it will make you truly wonder if it’s real or not and if Sonic really is a hero character. Our tale starts with a Tom, a young gamer who loves playing Sonic game and one day in his mail is a CD-R with a game called Sonic.exe that was sent to him by his close friend Kyle. Along with the CD-R was a note written by Kyle in bad shaky hand writing that begged him to destroy the CD-R as he explains that something fast is after him and that the game on the disc is pure evil and must be destroyed. Kyle ends it begging his friend to not play the game. Thinking his friend had lost touch with reality, Tom, who was a Sonic fan, decided to play the game and when putting it into his PC and opening the game, he noticed something was wrong once he hit start.  The title screen turned twisted with blood instead of water and 666 appearing around a black sky and Sonic himself had turned sinister looking with red eyes in jet black sockets with bloody tears coming down his twisted face. The game once started was a mash-up of many of the sonic games and the music was not cheerful, being played backwards, and the player could only select from Tails, Knuckles and Dr. Robotnik! Thinking this was some odd hacked version of the game, Tom selected Tails and was greeted by a creepy laugh before the level started.  All seemed a little odd but turned gruesome when Tails came across many massacred small animals and the music once more became more and more dark till finally Tails runs into Sonic who looks like he did on the evil title screen and plays a game he is calling “Hide And Seek” that leaves in the end Tails crying and being killed by Sonic! Tom was disturbed but continued to play, this time playing as Knuckles and once more Sonic leaves the character crying and later dead.  This whole time Sonic is leaving messages for Tom and his character saying things like “Found you” and “So many sould to play with, so little time…would you agree?” making Tom more and more uneasy. After the death of Knuckles, the PC Game was stopped and Tom decided to take a nap and get the images out of his mind.  But he has a nightmare of the evil Sonic laugh and the cries of help from Tails and Knuckles echoed in his ears making him feel bad that he played this game and allowed two of his favorite characters to meet such a sad and sick end, and when evil Sonic confronted him he woke up and like in a trance had to play the game one last time as Robotnik! But sadly, while Robotnik might be Sonic’s worst enemy he as well meet a terrible end by the hands of this evil video game character who know was looking right at Tom from the computer screen….blood, sharp teeth and blood red glowing eyes being shown and creeping Tom out more and more as the seconds passed and finally the message “I am God” appeared and Tom knew he was played by something very evil. Tom in the end is tormented even more by Sonic who makes him see the sadness of the three characters he had lead to their deaths and even shut off his computer. Finally in the end Tom hears a whisper in his room that says “Try to keep this interesting for me, Tom” and when he looks to see who said it, on his bed is a Sonic plush doll who looks like the Evil Sonic from the game! First, I want to say that this is one Creepypasta that I for sure can say is not real as I don’t believe that a Sonic plush doll was about to torment Tom.  It just seems to much like Chucky from Child’s Play to me. But I will say I enjoy the creepy nature of the hacked Sonic game that chills the player’s blood as a character kids love is killing and tormenting not only fellow characters but also the player. While this game was a hoax, many fan made versions of this game have been made to go along with the story and to me that’s pretty cool and creepy stuff. A good Creepypasta that is sure to creep out young gamers.

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In strange news that took place in Ohio, on June 2016, a rodeo bull named Dumpster Diver from Clearcreek Township escaped from its pasture and roamed the land of Warren County’s woods and roadways. The bull was loose for over a week, and people lived in fear that the large animal would charge them.  On many occasions it even ran out in front of cars almost causing auto accidents during its rampage or freedom! The bull was large and hiding out in the area and sparked many sightings that kept the local cops on their toes as he could have been a major threat if he decided to charge and become aggressive. But sadly, this story does not have a happy ending as on July 8th the police shot and killed Dumpster Diver as they were unable to tranquilize him and many cars almost hit him. So I am waiting for people to start the rumor of the ghost of Dumpster Diver roaming the roads to appear online soon. But like I said not scary, just a strange thing that happened here in this wild and unknown state we all call Ohio.

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So now that we talked about a Creepypasta featuring the Sega video game character Sonic as well as a bull on the loose named Dumpster Diver, I think we should chat a little about an independent horror comic called The Killer Pumpkins that I got off of Ebay sometime back. I really enjoy picking up small press horror comics as sometimes you can find some really spooky and creative stuff and at the very least be entertained. The Killer Pumpkins is released by Middle Atlantic Comics, and I was able to pick it up for a very good price.  I saved reading it for a while as I wanted to share it here with you all on this special update, so let’s grab our carving knives and see just how killer these pumpkins really are!

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The Killer Pumpkins # 1  **
Released in 2014     Cover Price $0.00    Middle Atlantic    # 1 of 1

The Wilson family is hiding out in the woods near the pumpkin patch on Halloween night in order to steal some of them. As the workers leave, they lock the gates behind them, but the father is not worried as he has a skeleton key that he believes will unlock the gate. As the father, mother and son all grab pumpkins, the teenage daughter questions why they are stealing pumpkins and not just buying them and is quickly told to shut up by her father. With stolen pumpkins in hand, they attempt to leave but learn they can’t get out as the gate has no keyhole! As the clock strikes midnight, the pumpkins come to life and kill the family one by one with beheading the mother, crushing the son with a falling tree and stabbing the father and carving him up like a jack o lantern! They let the daughter go as she never wanted to be in the pumpkin patch, and she runs through town screaming about her parents being killed by pumpkins and everyone just thinks she’s crazy.

This is a silly short comic that was a fun read on this Halloween day as it takes place on this very holiday. The plot is simple: a family is locked in a pumpkin patch on Halloween night and are attacked at midnight by the pumpkins that come alive and want revenge on humans who carve and smash them on this spooky holiday. The Wilson family seem like they are a bunch of cheapskates who want to steal instead of buy, and the parents are teaching their kids that it’s okay to steal. The father seems like the worse of them as he is clearly the shot caller who enjoys stealing as well as bossing his family around. The daughter is the only one who has half a brain and thinks what they are doing is wrong and does not steal, and this is why she is spared when the pumpkins start their rampage of murder. The pumpkins are mean spirited and make short work of the Wilson family and commit the murders with cold vegetable hearts. The comic has lots of death.  It’s not done with over the top gore and blood but does not shy away from character deaths. The comic’s art is done by Robert Bennett, who has a very independent style to his work, which is very fitting for this style and budget level of a comic book. While not super scary or what horror comic readers would expect to read about killer pumpkins, it’s a standard average read that I am sure would be entertaining for fans of independent comics. Below is some art from this comic.  Check it out and see Bennett’s style.

The Killer Pumpkins art 1

My Birthday is in early September, and to celebrate, I decided that I would have a epic Horror Movie Marathon that would have Juliet and I having a pre-show as well as an after party in addition to the main day of frights on our TV screen! The Pre-Show was on September 5th 2016, and after a typical day at work on Labor Day and leaving early at 5pm, I came home and we started our pre-show at around 7:00pm with the film “Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival” that was about a brother and sister visiting a strange small town where their brother died in a crash and has left them strange clues to uncover about the town’s sinister past.  As they search, a killer called Black Peter who is supposed to be Santa’s evil brother is killing people in the streets. The second film was a supernatural slasher film called “Holy Terror” directed by Massimiliano Cerchi that has a landlord at the mercy of a demon nun renting a house to a young couple who find themselves and their friends, who are over for a home welcoming party, the target of her rage and murderous ways. The final film of the night was from Full Moon Entertainment that was at one time a lost film called “The Evil Clergyman” about a priest who has a sinister pact with a rat with a human face that set up women to kill themselves so they can take their souls as well as their flesh. After this fun pre-show, where we ate loaded baked potatoes and a flat buffalo sauce chicken while watching these terrors of the screen, we sat and talked about each film breaking them down and we both agreed that Silent Night, Bloody Night 2 was the worst film of the night as it had many strikes against it from the poor acting, the over use of flashbacks from the original film and even having the killer be a returning character from the first film and was so misused, it was mind numbing! While the first film was a fun slasher with twists and turns, this sequel was just boring, bland and predictable. Juliet and I also agreed on the best film of the night as we both loved The Evil Clergyman as it was a well directed film by Charles Band who captured the raw mood and atmosphere of the H.P. Lovecraft story it was based on. The score by Richard Band was well done and fitting for the mood, and actors Jeffrey Combs, David Gale and Barbara Crampton turn in amazing performances. Over all this was a really fun night of watching horror flicks, and going to bed, I was hyped for what horrors the next day was going to bring.

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The day’s food was set as once more breakfast casserole was for brunch and a slow cooked crockpot roast was on tap for dinner. We woke up before 7am on September 5th and started our marathon off with a 1946 film “Valley Of The Zombies” that was about a crazed man who was believed to be dead that must get blood transfusions in order to stay alive. The second film of the day is “Frankenstein: Day Of The Beast” that has Frankenstein’s Monster traveling to an island to kill Elizabeth, the bride of his maker, on their wedding day and must also fight off his hired guns that are paid to protect her. The third film of the day was a 2015 shot on video soon to be classic film from David “The Rock” Nelson called “Fishman” that follows the creature on a warpath to kill those who mocked him for wanting to become a fishman and also goes toe to toe with Detective Rock. The fourth film was “Evil Bong: High 5” and has that sinister Evil Bong once more setting her sights on conquering the world by trying to have her slaves raise a million dollars for her in just 30 days, also throw in the Gingerdead Man. The fifth film was released by Massacre Home Video and is the 1986 direct to video classic “Mutilations” about a college professor and his students fighting for their lives against aliens in a small town during a field trip. Unlucky number six is “Platoon Of The Dead” about some soldiers who find three women and an abandoned house and must hide from an army of the dead and their demon leader.  The film stars Ariauna Albright, who is one of my favorite b-movie queens. Troma Entertainment release “Plutonium Baby” was the seventh film of the day and is about an evil corporation trying to hush a family who has a lawsuit against them for radiation poisoning, and they soon find out radiation causes more than death as it also spawns mutated monsters! 1976 Greek Giallo film “The Wife Killer” was the eighth film and is about a man who wants his wife dead to get her money and hires a serial rapist and killer to do the deed, but things do not go as planed as backstabbing and greed stand in the way of the perfect murder. The ninth film of this spooky day of horror was “Blood Night: The Legend Of Mary Hatchet” about a urban legend of a woman who went mad when she would have her period and would kill all who stood in her way.  Not 20 years after her death she is back and wanting to spill more blood or is she? The tenth film was shot in Middletown Ohio at Land of Illusions and starred Robert Englund. It’s about serial killers getting free from an asylum and taking over a haunted house called “Funhouse Massacre”. Number eleven was “Last Shift” about a rookie cop having to work the old now empty police station that is haunted by the spirits of a satanic cult leader and his followers. And the final film of the night was a shot on video film called “City Of The Dream Demons” that followed a punk kid and his friends who have to do battle with nightmare demons coming into our world. The main event was lots of fun and filled with lots of different styles of horror from shot on video all the way to black and white chillers, and at one point Juliet even praised me for the depth of the day’s films.

As always after the films we sat and discussed each film and what we liked and disliked about them and picked our best and worst film of the day. Juliet picked Evil Bong: High 5 as her worst film of the day as she found its silly over the top pot humor and merchandise placement for the Full Moon product Badass Dolls to be annoying…and sad to say she is right on both accounts. My worst film of the day would be City Of Dream Demons and while it is by no means a terrible shot on video film, it did seem to spin its wheels a lot with the plot.  While the cover to the DVD looks badass, the demons in the movie just have grease paint smeared on their faces and just could have been so much more than what it was even with the no budget they were working with. My best films of the day are in this order: # 1 is Last Shift – the mood and atmosphere of this film was great.  The sprits of the cult members were creepy in spots as were the ghosts of their past victims.  Add in great acting and twists, and this was a great late night watch! My # 2 was Blood Night: Curse Of Mary Hatchet as it was a cool super natural slasher film that was filled with likeable characters, hot women, cool gore effects and a killer who can not be stopped as well as a twist baddie character, not to mention this film starred Danielle Harris! My # 3 was a little harder to pick as three other films almost closed in on this spot but in the end The Wife Killer won out as I found the plot to be very enjoyable and the twists kept me drawn into the plot not to mention plenty of hot Greek women and a killer who was a perv and a total scumbag! My runners up were Funhouse Massacre, Plutonium Baby and Mutilations all who had their charms and made the day of Horror all the more enjoyable. As for Juliet’s picks: # 1 was The Wife Killer…# 2 was Funhouse Massacre and her # 3 was Valley Of The Zombies with her runner up being Last Shift. After the main Horror Movie Marathon we went to bed and prepared for the first ever After Party!

Valley Of The Zombies DVDFrankenstein Day Of The Beast DVDThe Fishman DVDEvil Bong High 5 DvdMutilations dvdPlatoon Of The Dead dvdPlutonium Baby dvdThe Wife Killer dvdBlood Night The Legend Of Mary Hatchet dvdThe Funhouse Massacre dvdThe Last Shift dvdCity Of Dream Demons dvd

We woke up around 8am on September 7th and started the first ever Horror Movie Marathon After Party at a little after 9am.  Sadly we had to cut two films from the line up as Juliet had to go to work and in the evening do her radio show on WYSO. The first film of the after party was the found footage film directed by Ohio’s own Danny Draven called “Specters” about a behind the scenes movie crew getting lost on the set that is an old abandon haunted mental asylum and being stalked by evil ghosts! The second film of the day was a no budget slasher film directed by Joel D. Wynkoop called “Slasher Weekend” about a killer on the loose in the woods that is hacking and slashing any one who dares to enter, but is there more to the killer than meets the eye? And the third and final film was another found footage film that was directed by my good pal Henrique Couto called “Alone In The Ghost House” about a ghost hunting couple picking the wrong site for their next episode as something sinister seems to be waiting for them. The after party was really a cheesy slasher film sandwiched between two found footage horror flicks and each had their own weird charm to them. But like always we had to pick our worst film as well as our best, and this one was easy for the worst as Juliet and I both picked Slasher Weekend as it was a horror comedy that was not all that funny as well as the killer seemed to be lumbering around like a 80 year old man with bad knees and jokes went on way to long and were driven into the ground.  The only plus this film had going for it was that some of the actresses were very good looking and the gore was good backyard style effects. For me the best film of this day was Alone In The Ghost House and that’s not just cause my friend directed it, and to be honest I co-produced it, but because the acting was well done with once more Erin R. Ryan stealing the show (really she is one of my favorite independent horror actresses who I am proud to say is also a friend) and the atmosphere was really creepy and the main characters all very likeable! Juliet’s top pick for the day was Specters as she felt that it packed a creepy mood and great characters! But she did want me to stay that Alone In The Ghost House was very close to taking her top pick of the day! So over all a very fun way to celebrate my birthday as well as add to the Fall and Halloween season! Do yourself a favor and get a group of your friends together and have yourself a Horror Movie Marathon soon as you will as well find yourself having a great horrific time.

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Well it’s time for our Halloween update standard and that’s 5 Questions with a Horror Host.  This year I choose to talk to Cleveland Ohio’s very own Janet Decay.  I first meet Janet at a Cinema Wasteland some many years back as I was working with Andy Copp at his table and later would speak to her from time to time on Facebook where her past show “The Daughter Of Ghoul” would send me copies to play on DATV as part of the Horror Host Underground Block. So with pleasure I bring you this fun and amazing part of our Halloween Update that I call “5 Questions with Janet Decay”!

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Matt: So tell us about your show “The Mummy And The Monkey”, and how long have you been an undead Mummy Horror Hostess?

Janet: Well I host The Show The Mummy And The Monkey with my ape-man co-host Grimm Gorri. Together we bring our brand of offbeat weirdness all while giving you a slightly nostalgic fuzzy feeling. We play old monster movies and perform comedy bits in between. Think Elvira meets Pee Wee’s Playhouse meets Big Chuck and Lil’ John.
Janet Decay, my alter ego is Cleveland’s FIRST horror hostess and the city’s “Yummy Mummy”. The character herself is a mystery. She was a silent film actress that was supposed to be in a Cleopatra picture, little did she know that the Egyptian set props were actually ancient Egyptian cursed relics and they mystically transformed her into a real life undead mummy woman. I originally made the Decay character in 2010 for a charity zombie walk. The rags and makeup she wears I designed and put together. The tiara is made by a talented artist named Kathleen Kelley-Ottobre and some of my props were made by a little help from some other friends.
Grimm Gorri used to be on public access in Rhode Island but was really Cleveland born and raised. He came back to his hometown and ran into Ms. Decay and the rest is history.

Matt: So what horror hosts of the past inspired you to become a host yourself?

Janet: Well, all of them I suppose. Of Corpse here on the North coast we had The Ghoul, Big Chuck and Lil’ John, Superhost, Son Of Ghoul, and the older folks with more wisdom remember being glued to the TV as Ghoulardi filled the boob tube in the 1960’s. So there must be something in the Lake eerie water that does this to people.

Originally I auditioned for the hostess role for a now cancelled show on Time Warner public access called “The Daughter of The Ghoul Show”. I never really agreed with the name and received a huge backlash from it, but for a little while (2013-2014) it was a lot of fun! Decay still hosted it and I’ve always kept the rights to my own character. After the show was cancelled this little ghoul branched out and started a show with a sweet simian named Grimm Gorri and we’ve been accumulating a following.

Matt: What has been your favorite movie to host thus far?

Janet: The Screaming Skull so far, but I’m sure they’ll be new ones I enjoy just as much.

Matt: Who has been the one movie star you have been most hyped to meet at your many convention appearances and what Horror Host as well?

Janet: This is very hard to answer because there’s so many I’ve been hyped up to meet. I really can’t pick one, but I can choose a recent one. In March of 2016 I finally met in person a famous Cleveland movie host from WBNX 55, The Ghoul, Ron Sweed. I used to watch him in the 90’s on Friday nights. This guy was always wacky and goofy on TV, yet in person very polite and sweet to the fans when Grimm and I were there.

Matt: Who plays the best Mummy: Boris Korloff or Christopher Lee?

Janet: Eeek! Another tough one! They are each lovable in their own way.

I want to thank Janet Decay for taking a few moments to answer these questions for me on this update.  She has always been a very sweet and amazing person, and if you readers get a chance to meet her at say Horror Hound Weekend or Cinema Wasteland, make sure to do so! Also check out her official website here: http://www.themummyandthemonkey.com/ and get your own Mummy and Monkey DVD’s, T-Shirts and other cool merchandise. She’s very talented and one of the best modern horror hosts going, and I recommend viewing her show. Once more thanks Janet for giving us this interview as well as being who you are and keeping horror hosting alive in Ohio!

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As always around this time of the year, my cousin Stephen Alexander and my good pal Josh Weinberg decided that we needed to go to a haunted Ohio location and see if the legends and stories were true or if it was just a tall tale told to scare kids around camp fires or the glow of their flashlights during a sleepover. It took me a few months of looking over websites, books and maps to choose the location for this year’s haunted excursion and finally I selected a haunted road called Lick Road in Cincinnati that is supposed to be haunted by a young murder victim named Amy. The story, like most legends, has multiple origins but the core is the same and has Amy as a young woman who was murdered and raped on the road by her boyfriend on prom night.  Her body was left at the street’s dead end, and it’s said her spirit wanders the area in search for help and to torment those who taunt her. It’s said if you park on the bridge and wander away from your car that by the time you come back the windows will be fogged up and a message written on the window from the inside will read “Help Me”.  Also if you stop on the bridge on the street and say that you have Amy’s baby, she will appear and chase you as she is upset that her life came to an end before she could have a child and finds you saying this is a way to insult her. Other versions of the story have Amy being killed by her evil stepfather and another is that she was killed by a serial killer who dumped her body on Lick Road….so is this legend true? Is a ghost of a female named Amy really waiting for us on Lick Road? Check out below for my pal and Sparkle Comics artist Jason Gilmore’s take on what Amy of Lick Road looks like!

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On September 3, 2016 after a day of work at Game Swap, a quick meal at Applebee’s and some quick planning, Stephen and I loaded into Josh’s SUV and set out for this year’s ghost hunting adventure. The drive up their we all chatted about the legend of Amy a little and about life in general.  Finding Lick Road was super easy.  The road sits off a little from the main roads, but turning onto this haunted road things started to go south real quick as we noticed lots of houses and even a very large horse training and breeding farm….and this was just the beginning of the downfall. We drove slowly trying our best to get a spooky vide from the road and hoping to get a glimpse of Amy but all we found was no bridge and no chills. By the time we hit the dead end that lead to the park, the mood of the road was gone and we so wanted something to happen. So we got out of the SUV and snapped a few pictures, once we turned off the SUV and waited to see if the windows got fogged and Help Me to be written on the windows we walked around a little bit and nothing happened once we checked the windows, a total bust! Stephen and I were walking around as he tried to snap some more pictures when we heard a male voice from the woods mumble something at us very sternly.  We waited for a few moments and listened to see if he said something again and decided to leave. Over all while the story and legend of Amy on Lick Road is well done and a cool story to tell, the reality for us was that the road just was not spooky and besides some male voice from the park woods, nothing creeped us out and all of us would give the location thumbs down.

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After we left Lick Road feeling cheated on getting a spooky good time, Stephen looked up other nearby haunts, and we choose to visit a road that was about five minutes away from Lick called Buell Road that had its own creepy legend. Buell Road is filled with lots of twists and turns, and the story goes that in the part of the road that is straight if you park you car and flash your lights three times and than sit in complete darkness a ghost boy riding a bike will appear from behind you.  If your don’t turn your lights back on before he touches your car you will die in seven days. The urban legend reminded us a lot of the film “The Ring,” and I am sure that the story sprang up after that movie, but we decided that why not got for two haunted locations for this Rotten Ink Halloween update and wash the disappointment of Lick Road out of our minds. So did the boy on the bike ghost show up? Read on and find out. Also below is Jason Gilmore’s take on the Ghost Bike Boy.

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After stopping and getting some gas we headed to Buell Road and we soon learned that the road was filled with lots of twists and turns and that if traveled at night you could easily loose control and wreck, as we approached the straight away in the road Stephen spotted some crosses at the side of the road and started to snap some pictures before thinking he seen approaching lights behind us causing Josh to drive on as we had seen a park ranger near by. As we drove the topic of the crosses filled the car as we wondered at first if they were placed their to mess with thrill seekers but when returning and seeing names and a date we realized that sadly this was also the location of an accident were people lost their lives as well as the spot of a local urban legend. While the mood was a little down at that point we moved up a little and did as the legend demanded and flashed our lights three times, turned off the car and waited for the Ghost Boy on the bike to show up…the air was still and the road was pitch black and the three of use focused on the road waiting to see this bringer of death approaching, looking over at Josh I seen he had his hand on his lights and the other on the ignition ready to speed off if the ghost appeared. We waited and waited and nothing happened and after about 5-6 minutes we decided to just call it a bust and head out. On the way out I Googled the accident that took place in that spot in 2007 and we learned a little about the two young ladies who passed away, and we all said our respects to them as it was a sad tragic event. The atmosphere of the road was pretty good as it was super dark and the woods around the road added a creepy factor that was way better than Lick Roads! After this we drove around a little longer looking for any other creepy roads or bridges from the area and found nothing of interest, and this ended our 2016 Ghost Adventure! While Lick Road was a major bust and letdown at least Buell had a creepy feel to it. Who knows what spooky adventure awaits us next year! Below are some pictures from Buell Road as well as one of the memorial crosses in honor of those young ladies.

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On October 15, 2016 Horrorama turned 20 years old and this marked about the 15 or 16th year of me helping on this iconic charity event that I have long time now been one of the programing organizers of and this year once again we were at Danberry Cinema in Huber Heights. This year alongside Juliet, Matt Joseph and Rick Martin we decided to spice up the event and give power to the people and allow them to vote on what films they wanted to watch at this iconic event. The first and last film were voted on via Facebook months ahead of the event with “Creature From The Black Lagoon” winning the opening spot and the cheesy classic “Death Spa” getting the honors of closing the night. The event was a huge hit and we dang near packed the house and brought in lots of money for the charity that helped homeless and needy pets in and around the Dayton area. After the Creature ended the first live vote was for a 80’s Monster flick and had such films as C.H.U.D., Pumpkinhead and Hobgoblins battling it out but The Blob remake won out and entertained the crowd with its gross effects and science fiction fun nature. Next up was a Hammer Horror film that had up for vote films like Twins Of Evil and Legend Of The 7 Golden Vampires but we really shocked the crowd as “PhantasmV: Ravager” was added and won hands down! After that surprise I had many people coming up to me and thanking us for showing it on the big screen! The final voting of the night before Death Spa was for an Italian Horror flick and films like Nightmare City and Torso lost out to Fulci’s masterpiece “The Gates Of Hell”! This monumental event I helped not only in the projection room but also hosted along side Rick and my pal Henrique Couto who I felt really should be up their with us. Plus in the crowd was many of my nearest and dearest friends like Josh Weinberg, Stephen Alexander, Theresa Daniels, Nick Williams, Mike Ritchie, Alia Eckhardt with the biggest surprise being my School Days main crush Tina Manning who brought her niece, very cool to see Tina as she is a wonderful person. Thanks to everyone who came to this years Horrorama as this one was for Andy Copp and Barry “Dr. Creep” Hobart as they I am 100% sure were with us all in spirit. Below is some pictures from the night from Phantasm on the big screen, the outside marque and Tina and I all taken at the event.

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I am sure many of you are wondering what Baron Von Porkchop did this Halloween season, am I right? Well sadly this year is the first year that we did not get to do a new Halloween Special as a stream of events caused it not to happen but we did put together a marathon for DATV of classic Halloween Specials of Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre as well as episodes of Moraine Playhouse Theater hosted by The Creeper! Baron Von Porkchop also hosted a four-course dinner for local Dayton restaurant Lily’s Bistro that featured such dishes as Bone Marrow, Squid Ink and even a dish called The Evil Eye! So while new episodes of Baron Von Porkchop has been short coming this past year, he still has been out and about and meeting with his fans and that’s one cool thing for this blogger to see. And Baron and I promise that we are working on new episodes and that 2017 season three will be finished and aired for you all to see. Also keep your eyes and ears open as we are working on a new “Black Friday Special” that will air on DATV for the Horror Host Underground Marathon on November 25th. Below is some pictures of Baron at Lily’s for the meal that he hosted so give them a look and enjoy!

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So now we are at the Hewitt farmhouse and it’s clear that Leatherface is home as I can hear the screaming coming from the basement and the faint noise of chainsaw is also filling the air. So before we go any further this far on this Halloween update lets take a quick look back at what we have taken a look at this far that was meant to chill your blood and send shivers down your spine as we chatted about a loose bull named Dumpster Diver, explored the Sonic.exe Creepypasta legend, reviewed a independent comic, visited some haunted Ohio roads, shared a Horror Movie Marathon I had and chatted with Horror Host Janet Decay! So it’s clear that it’s time for us to take a look at who Thomas “Leatherface” Hewitt is and what this remake of a classic is all about so while the screams from the basement echo in the night air lets take this moment to chat about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 2003.

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Driving through the backwoods of Texas, five youths pick up a traumatized hitchhiker, who shoots herself in their van. Shaken by the suicide, the group seeks help from the locals, but their situation becomes even more surreal when they knock on the door of a remote homestead. It’s quickly apparent the residents are a family of inbred psychopaths, and the unlucky youths suddenly find themselves running for their lives. In hot pursuit is a disfigured, chainsaw-wielding cannibal known as Leatherface.”

Texas Chainsaw Massacres was released on October 17, 2003 and was released by New Line Cinema with it being directed by Marcus Nispel and starring Jessica Beil, Erica Leerhsen, Johathan Tucker, R. Lee Ermey and Andrew Bryniarski as Leatherface. The film grossed $80,571,655.00 at the US Box Office on a $9.5 million dollar budget. While Foreign Box Office brought in an additional $26,500,00.00 bring the worldwide total of this film to $107,071,655.00 making it a hit for New Line Cinema. The film ranked as 37 of the year and beat out such cult films as Kill Bill Vol. 1, Bad Santa, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Underworld, Final Destination 2, Lost In Translation, 28 Days Later, Jeepers Creepers 2, Monster, Wrong Turn, Cabin Fever and Darkness Falls to name a few. This 2003 remake was met with mixed reviews as many enjoyed it while others ranted about it like it used a chainsaw on their mothers! And this was also the treatment it got from Critics and Reviewer’s as it was a clear showdown of the pro supporters for this new direction for the iconic horror series. The same split was happing as well with my friends and I, but we will get to that a little later. Love it or hate it Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2003 was a film that sparked the Horror Remake Boom and allowed Platinum Dunes to sink their blood sucking fangs into making many other remakes of other classic Horror films like “The Amityville Horror” in 2005, “The Hitcher” in 2007, “Friday The 13th” in 2009 and “A Nightmare On Elm Street” in 2010 and they all as well have a very split ratings with Horror fans. The film also sparked a pre-equal in 2006 with the film “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning”.

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I can remember that in 2003 when it was announced that New Line Cinema was teaming up with Platinum Dunes a company created by director Michael Bay and producer Brad Fuller to make a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre film my friends and me were really hyped for it. But soon when news started coming out that it was a remake and being directed by Marcus Nispel who only directed music videos and documentaries for such artists as Janet Jackson, Spice Girls and Billy Joel I started to worry as did my friends. Then when the casting was being talked about things again started to take a turn even more toward the worried zone when the lead actress was Jessica Biel a great actress but known for the time as Mary Camden on the cheesy show “7th Heaven” and during interviews to hype the film the producers and crew clearly didn’t know the source material but were claiming they were all huge fans. On opening night Andy Copp, Josh Weinberg and my brother Bryan and his girlfriend (wife now) Bel and me and my girlfriend at the time Misty all went and seen it in the theater that Andy was helping out at. I can remember sitting in my seat with popcorn and a Mountain Dew to drink waiting for the film to start in the packed theater sitting next to Misty and Josh talking about Horror Films in general and what we were hoping from this film. The crowd was buzzing with talk and chatter of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and discussions of how this had to be better than Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation and how it will compare to the original. As the theater lights went down and the trailers played we all sat and watched Leatherface and his family The Hewitt’s do what they do deep in the heart of Texas. After the film was over and the crowd was mixed as I heard many people talk about how it was the best Horror Movie they have ever seen with others complaining about how dumb and silly the film was and seemed like a CW show mixed with horror. After the theater was cleared we all stood in the lobby and we were all split in our reactions to the movie, “the haters” were Andy and Bryan, the “it was ok” was Josh and Me, “the loved it” group was Misty and Bel. Bryan and Andy hated it as they felt it was generic and that scenes were over the top and poorly set up. The talk lasted for around 30 minutes before we all went our own ways, and when home Misty talked about why she loved it some much as she found the characters likeable and Leatherface spooky and brutal and this made for a good watching experience for her. Over the years I have went from thinking it was ok to hating it to liking it and repeat that cycle over and over, but now I can officially say that I find the film ok while not my favorite in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre it does have some great moments and Leatherface is very menacing, the part that still to this day bothers me is the over use of R. Lee Ermey as Sheriff Hoyt, his constant screaming just is over blown and super cheesy in my opinion. I know that that’s not a popular opinion as many Horror Fans credit him for why they like the film for me he is one of the reasons its just ok, if the character was used less and not as a main focus as at times the movie seems to have him as it’s top villain and Leatherface is more of a background killer. But say what you will about the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for this Horror fan it was a fun watch in the theater with friends and has been fun to re-watch on DVD and has sparked many cool comic book series based around it and it’s characters.

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Lets now take a brief look at the Leatherface of the Platinum Dunes set of films. Thomas Brown Hewitt was born on August 25, 1939 to Slone a worker at the Blair Meat Company in Texas on her shift and when born his mother died and Thomas had a skin disease and her boss tossed him into the dumpster still alive! Thomas is found in the dumpster by Luda May Hewitt and taken home and were she raises him as her own. Growing up his facial skin disease got worst and his attitude turned violent as he is mute and has retardation and worked for the Blair Meat Slaughter House until it’s closing. Thomas to cover his face would wear a cow leather mask and would listen to what ever his adapted family would tell him to do and that included killing, cooking and eating people as the town was dying and food was hard to come by so they turned cannibal. Thomas also has a tendency to harm and mutilate himself and is easily persuaded to do bad things by his Uncle Charlie aka Sheriff Hoyt. Thomas during his killing and grilling human ways discovers that he can make masks out of human faces and cover of his disfigured face getting the nickname Leatherface. In 1973 while killing a group of young adults Thomas chases a woman into the long closed Blair Meat slaughterhouse and has the table turned on him when she uses a meat cleaver to remove his arm! Thomas was last seen sometime later when he kills a Cop and his cameraman who where sent to investigate the Hewitt farmhouse. While missing and not captured Thomas “Leatherface” Hewitt is still one the loose and eating and stealing peoples faces. Below is the three faces of Leatherface from the 2003 film to show you how his appearance changed throughout the film.

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Texas Chainsaw Massacre is not just a series based on the lead killer Leatherface but also the fellow demented family members who make up his twisted household! The original film had Grandpa, The Hitchhiker and The Cook! The second film had ChopTop, The Cook and Grandpa! The third had Tex, Tink, Little Girl, Alfredo, Grandpa and Anne! Even the fourth film had solid family members like W.E, Vilmer, Grandpa and Darla helping Leatherface on his task of killing. The first three films that last name of the family was Sawyers with the fourth film Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation changing the last time to Slaughter and with the Platinum Dunes series their last name is Hewitt and the newer films its back to Sawyer…so as you can see this series is as jacked up as the characters that make it up but the main thing is the family was always around no matter what they name each was a crazy as the others. The 2003 family is lead by Charlie Hewitt Jr. who after killing the towns only police officer starts going by Sheriff Hoyt and is the master mind of the family killing and eating people so they will not go hungry, in the past he was a solider in war and what he seen during the war has twisted him into a terrible human being who enjoys torturing and messing with the minds of his victims. Luda May Hewitt is an older woman who is the adoptive mother of Leatherface and runs the gas station of the dying town. Monty Hewitt use to drive the towns tow truck but after an accident his legs are removed and now he is wheelchair bound. Jedidiah Hewitt is a weird bucktoothed kid who is treated like a dog by the family, while a Hewitt he seems to hate all the killing. The Tea Lady and her daughter Henrietta Hewitt live in a trailer and live a normal life of watching TV and drinking tea….and oh yeah they steal babies! All sick and all twisted in their own way and each help add to the crazy blood soaked world of Thomas “Leatherface” Hewitt.

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Andrew Bryniarski in 2003 dawned the human skin mask and picked up the chainsaw to portray Leatherface for the remake film as well as it’s follow up film, making him the only actor to play the role twice up to this point. Andrew started his career in the spotlight as a body builder and started his acting when visiting a friend in Los Angeles a talent agent spotted him and got him a role as Butterfinger in the 1991 film “Hudson Hawk”. That same year he landed a role in “Necessary Roughness” and before that in 1990 he had a tiny role in the film “Dragonfight”. Many great roles followed in such films as “Batman Returns”, “Cyborg 3” and “The Program”. In 1994 he played the live action version of video game character Zangief in “Street Fighter” and would go on to be in other films like “Scooby-Doo”, “Pearl Harbor”, “Rollerball” and “Any Given Sunday” until landing the role of Leatherface in 2003’s “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” remake. Many other horror film roles followed including the 2004 film “The Curse Of El Charro”, “Seven Mummies” from 2005 and the 2006 pre-equel film “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” and his last major horror role he played Count Dracula in the 2008 film “Bram Stoker’s Dracula’s Guest”. Over the years and during my many convention bookings and ones I attend I have meet and seen Andrew many time over the years and oddly enough many fans love his big over the top nature and on the other hand I have heard very negative things about him from fans who found him to be a jerk! I have never had an issue with him and any time I have seen him he has always treated me with respect and in a friendly manner. But Andrew has had his share of controversy as in 2012 he ran into some issues as he was arrested for hording dogs, or so the charges against him tried to say. But in 2015 when actor and original Leatherface actor Gunnar Hansen passed away Andrew took to twitter to mock fans who were upset over Hansen’s passing as the two actors did not have any love for each other and had taken shots at each other before and this caused a feud between fans as some showed support for Gunnar and others took up for Andrew and his lack of sadness for the horror icons death. For me Andrew’s commits of “Boo Hoo” and telling a fan of Gunnar’s this in response to him defending the deceased actor this “Zero F*cks Given, s*ck his dead n*ts” shows that he has no common sense, but to be fair we all have said dumb things in our lives. Was Andrew Bryniarski the best Leatherface…for me no that will always belong to Gunnar Hansen as he was the original and set the bar that all actors had to follow who wore the skin mask and wielding a chainsaw, but Andrew was a new generation’s Leatherface and did his job well and helped make his films what they are. While now mostly doing B-Movies Andrew is still somewhat active in the acting game.

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So we are still outside at the Hewitt farmhouse and I can hear the chainsaw starting up again in the basement so my guess is we are now at the comic review part of our big Halloween update that brought us back here to Texas to re-visit Leatherface or at least some one called Leatherface! I want to thank Mavericks Cards and Comics, Bell Book and Comic and Lone Star Comics for having these comics in stock and making this update possible. So while Lionsgate is playing games with the release of their upcoming Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel, me on my blog Rotten Ink decided that we should have a TCM and Avatar Comics kind of Halloween! If you listen coming from the Hewitt living room window you can here good old Sheriff Hoyt telling Uncle Monty this “Matt grades these on a f#&$!ing star scale of 1 to 4 and is looking for how damn well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story.” And I hate to say it he is right on how I grade these comics. So stay low and don’t make a sound as we once more take a peek into the sick and twisted life of Leatherface.

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TCM: Special # 1  **1/2
Released in 2005     Cover Price $3.99       Avatar Comics     # 1 of 1

It’s 1972 in Fuller, Texas, and a group of convicts have escaped prison and are driving toward Mexico to avoid being re-captured and along for the ride are two female friends, one of whom helped with the escape. Hardy Miller is a convicted drug dealer, Ellery Watts a convicted rapist and Rufus Kimoni, a member of the Black Panthers, make up the criminals while Darlene is Hardy’s girl and Charity is a sweet young woman caught in a bad car filled with nuts! They stop at the small store run by Luda Mae Hewitt and before the criminals come in to rob her, she is able to call her home for help.  When they find she has no money, they go to leave and soon find that their car is now destroyed in a matter of minutes! Miller and Darlene go one way and leave Charity using the restroom and Ellery missing. Rufus goes back in to question Luda Mae but is chopped to death with meat cleavers by Luda Mae and Tea Lady! Meanwhile Ellery tries to rape Charity and is killed by Leatherface who chops him up with his trusty chainsaw. Charity runs to a small trailer home and meets Henrietta Hewitt who tries to calm the girl as she knows that the young woman is pregnant. Darlene and Miller make the mistake of entering the Hewitt house hoping to find a car to steal and are both knocked out by the wheelchair bound Monty Hewitt who swings a mean brick. Leatherface and Henrietta force Charity to the farmhouse as Sheriff Hoyt forces Miller to snort kitchen cleaner, and they give Darlene to Leatherface who kills her in the basement.  Lastly, after the terror makes Charity lose the baby, she becomes the final victim to taste the saw blade of Leatherface.

The crazy Hewitt family is at it again, this time setting their twisted sights on a carload of criminals who escaped from prison and are dumb enough to stop in Fuller, Texas! The plot is really that simple and has the Hewitt’s killing off a carload of terrible people who are killers in their own way with only one of them being a good person in a terrible situation. Hardy Miller and Darlene are bad people who get a joy of selling drugs and robbing people to get what they need and want.  While not the worst of the group, they get it pretty brutally with Miller getting the worst torture of it all as he has to snort dangerous chemicals that eat away his sinuses and then is chopped up like a hog! Rufus Kimoni is a killer who was part of the Black Panthers and seems to be very trigger happy to end someone’s life as he even wanted to kill Luda Mae when they attempted to rob her as she didn’t have enough money for them. Ellery Watts is a sleazy creep who gets what’s coming to him for trying to rape Charity, but to be fair I wish he got it worse as he took pleasure in his victim’s fear and screams and is a true scumbag.  Charity is the only likable character and is pregnant and just wants to get to Mexico and hitches a ride with her friend Darlene and her criminal friends.  She is truly the one you find yourself cheering for to make it out of this massacre alive. But as we all know, none of these characters make it out alive and are all turned into meals for the Hewitt family. Leatherface is a pure slasher killer in this issue and stalks and kills whoever is not a part of his family.  The rest of the Hewitt family are also very blood thirsty, and each one shows they take joy in killing as even the overweight Tea Lady uses a meat cleaver to murder a man. While the plot is simple and for most accounts very cheesy, the gore and blood level is turned up and it’s pretty brutal with the issue’s best death being the murder of a unknown female at the start of the issue that is cut in half by Leatherface in the family’s basement! Like all Avatar comics, there are like a million covers, and the one I have is called The Bloodbath Cover and is pretty dang eye catching.  I am sure it drew in many horror comic readers in 2005. The art is done by Jacen Burrows and is pretty great stuff with the film’s story being written by Brian Pulido who is known for being the creator of Lady Death and the owner of Chaos Comics. Over all a nice single issue story that is sure to please fans of the TCM series as well as gore hounds who enjoy bloody and brutal comics.

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TCM: Fearbook # 1  **
Released in 2006     Cover Price $3.99       Avatar Comics     # 1 of 1

A car is zooming down a road in Texas with Charlie behind the wheel and his passengers Sahara, Lucy and Jeb are having a good time.  Jeb is having the best time as he is dropping acid! They all stop at the little gas station, and Lucy and Jeb go inside to get snacks but soon are harassed by Luda May and Sheriff Hoyt who also punches out Charlie and arrests him after he finds the young man disrespectful in tone once he enters the store looking for his friends. Sheriff Hoyt takes Charlie to the old farm house where he and Monty talk down to their prisoner.  Meanwhile Sahara follows Hoyt to the farm, and this is a big mistake as it just leads them to be trapped in the house and for Leatherface to have his fun! Leatherface guts Charlie with his trusty chainsaw, cuts off Jeb’s legs and causes Sahara to go into a panic and fall from the top of the steps and break her neck! Leatherface takes Lucy to the basement and wears the face of Charlie and nails the face of Sahara to Lucy, and the issue ends with him dancing is the basement with the corpse of Lucy.

This Fearbook is nothing special and to be honest is a very middle of the road read, as the story is just a watered down version of the Specials with way less character development and less gore. The story is a group that makes the mistake of stopping at the gas station run by Luda May and gets lured into a trap at the Hewitt farm house that leaves them almost all dead by the blades of Leatherface’s chainsaw. Charlie and Sahara are mouthy unlikable people who are disrespectful and have attitudes toward law enforcement and anyone with authority. Jeb is a hippie drug addict who spends most of his time in the comic tripping and talking about his hands…yeah, your typical druggie in a horror comic/film. Lucy is the most likable as she doesn’t like the drug use and tries her best to smooth over the drama and tension between the Hewitt’s and her friends. Luda May and Monty are barely in the comic, and as always, Sheriff Hoyt takes the main focus and cusses and belittles our characters until his nephew Leatherface can dispatch them. Leatherface makes quick work of these victims and seems to want to relax and “cosplay” as members of this group and dance the night away. The comic does have blood, guts and gore with the best kill being Leatherface using a hammer and nails to attach her friends face to Lucy’s…sick and twisted and a good kill. The cover I have for this issue is okay and features Leatherface in front of the house with the moon in the background.  The inside art is done by Daniel Hdr and is good with a story by Antony Johnston that is generic. Over all this is just a so-so issue that feels as if Avatar was just quickly cashing in on the popularity of Texas Chainsaw Massacre…let’s see what The Grind has in store for us as I hope it’s better than this issue!

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TCM: The Grind # 1  **1/2
Released in 2006     Cover Price $3.99       Avatar Comics     # 1 of 3

The Milsap’s are driving a bus full of choir girls, and Julie Ann is the outcast, the dark haired girl whom the other girls make fun of and spread rumors of, even her own adopted sister Sadie joins in. When the bus gets a flat tire Mr. Milsap goes for help and makes the mistake of entering the Blair Meat slaughterhouse and is killed by the chainsaw of Leatherface. Night comes as the girls and Miss Milsap and her young daughter Ellie wait for Mr. Milsap’s return with help that never comes.  This causes Mrs. Milsap to go walk for help, and she as well meets a bloody end at the slaughterhouse thanks to Leatherface. At the bus, Sheriff Hoyt appears and plants drugs on the bus and takes all five choir girls and Ellie to the slaughterhouse and locks the older girls in a walk in freezer and then gives Ellie to Henrietta Hewitt who runs off with her. Poor choir girl Louise is set free by Hoyt, and he gives her to Leatherface who of course chases the young woman around the slaughterhouse and finally meets her end by his chainsaw! Sheriff Hoyt opens the freezer door and lets them know that Leatherface needs another playmate…

A choir team on their way to a concert has a flat tire that leaves them broken down and in the hands of the Hewitt family who have targeted them for death and food. The plot is that simple but somehow is pretty fitting for this kind of comic based on a series of movies that have very similar plots. The Milsap family seems to be good-hearted people who enjoy singing and spending time with each other as well as with their students who make up the choir group that has almost won many competitions. Sadly Mr. and Mrs. Milsap are killed off before we can get too attached to their characters as well as really know them. Ellie Milsap is a little girl who loves her parents and enjoys hanging out with the older choir singers.  Once she is taken away by Henrietta Hewitt, we are not sure what her fate is yet. The Choir Girls, while snooty and always picking of Julie Ann, still stick together when the odds are against them and danger is clearly present. Julie Ann oddly enough keeps writing to her foster dad that is making her adopted sister mad as something bad must have happened. Henrietta Hewitt is as creepy as ever and wants to collect young kids, and Sheriff Hoyt as always sets up the victims and treats them terribly with insults and abuse. Leatherface in this issue just wants to kill and kill and by the end of the issue has a body count of three already! The gore and blood is toned down and not nearly as brutal as the Special and Fearbook.  Pretty disappointing as the gore could have added to the brutal nature of the characters and story. The cover I have is called the Wrap Around and is just okat and nothing too special.  The art inside is done by Daniel Hdr and looks pretty dang good, and the story was written by Brian Pulido who thus far is making the plot pretty entertaining. The Grind so far has a pretty good start, and this first issue left me wanting to see what is going to happen next! So let’s see what brutal deaths and body count issue two has in store for us.

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TCM: The Grind # 2  **1/2
Released in 2006     Cover Price $3.99       Avatar Comics     # 2 of 3

As Sheriff Hoyt tries to bully one of the girls to leave the freezer and get chopped up by Leatherface, it’s a hidden pencil by Julie Ann that frees the girls as she stabs Hoyt in the hand and they all escape and split up into groups of two in order to try and survive. Julie Ann and Rosa go one way as Sadie and Marsha go another while Sheriff Hoyt and Leatherface split up to catch them. Julie Ann and Rosa make it out of the slaughterhouse and end up seeing Ellie in the grip of Henrietta but have to run away before they can save her as Leatherface is on their tail.  When Rosa gets her leg stuck in a bear trap, she becomes another victim to Leatherface’s chainsaw, and her body is taken to the Hewitt house and her face is cut off. Meanwhile Sadie and Marsha are not as lucky and are caught in the slaughterhouse by Hoyt who takes them to the farmhouse leaving only Julie Ann safe and their only hope to live through this cannibalistic crisis. Sheriff Hoyt is going to kill the girls, but upon getting into an argument with Leatherface who is wearing the face of Rosa now Luda May, calls them both inside to yell at them.  This allows Julie Ann to save Sadie and Marsha, and the girls hide in the barn to come up with a plan to escape but are soon found by a very pissed off Leatherface!

The girls must keep their wits and do what they can to survive as the Hewitt’s are now in killing mode and want to teach these choirgirls a lesson in southern respect. Plus this time around we get a little more background on Julie Ann who had been arrested before being one of the choirgirls, and we find out that Sadie’s dad was a molester and that Julie Ann put a stop to his ways and that’s why she went to jail, protecting her adopted sister! Julie Ann is a character you find yourself liking as she is to the point and understands that they must fight to stay alive as well as knows when to run, as she sadly had to do when Rosa was caught in the trap and killed. Sadie, Rosa and Marsha do not have the killer instinct and that’s why they are in constant danger of being killed. Sheriff Hoyt is as sleazy and power hungry as ever and loves to talk down and torment these young ladies as you can tell it makes him feel in charge. When he takes a pencil to the hand that causes so much pain his fake teeth fall out, I found myself cheering even more for Julie Ann to make it out of this alive. Luda May and Henrietta are around but play more of background characters, but it does show that Luda May is the true family member with power as both Hoyt and Leatherface listen to her. Leatherface is still blood-thirsty and wants nothing more than to chop up these young ladies and maybe even wear their faces! I do like that in this issue Thomas does wear the face of a young woman, and this angers us Uncle Hoyt who doesn’t want his nephew to look girly. The blood in this issue is toned down even more and only one kill takes place as Rosa is chainsawed and face cut off but none of this is shown on panel and if it is, only shadows are seen. Wonder why the blood and gore is so lacking in this mini series? The cover is cool and has Leatherface coming after Julie Ann, and the team of Daniel and Pulido made it come to life. Over all another good issue with only one more issue to go with four more girls left to be killed! So let’s see if any of them get out alive or if they all will fall to the chainsaw.

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TCM: The Grind # 3  **1/2
Released in 2006     Cover Price $3.99       Avatar Comics     # 3 of 3

The three girls manage to get away from Leatherface and hide, that is until the fear gets a grip on Marsha and she makes a run for it and pays the price with her life as Leatherface chops her up. Julie Ann and Sadie make a run for it as well but are captured. Tea Lady and Henrietta use garden tools to knock them out. When they awaken, they find that they are tied up in the farmhouse, and Sheriff Hoyt has read the letter Julie Ann was sending to her adoptive father.  Sadie is being hit on and tortured by Uncle Monty who who ends up killing her leaving only Julie Ann left who is forced to eat dinner with the Hewitt family! During dinner Julie Ann is given away to Monty who ties her to a bed and tries to assault her but she is able to break free steal a chainsaw, rescue Ellie and run away from a very mad Leatherface.  While Ellie keeps running Julie Ann is able to get a ride into the next town where she is blamed for the murders of her fellow choirgirls and the Milsaps thanks to her letter that was to be sent to her father that tells of her murderous thoughts! In the end Luda May and Sheriff Hoyt are happy that the Hewitt family is not exposed and some one else is to blame for the murders.

This final issue’s plot has our remaining girls being captured, some killed and one promised to be the bride of the wheelchair bound Uncle Monty, and when escaping and saving a young child’s life she in turn is blamed for the murders of her friends and sister! The story is good, and Brian Pulido does a decent job of making the girls likable and the Hewitt’s unlikable making this tale work. Julie Ann once more shows that she has what it takes to survive and does all she can to help her sister and fellow choir members to make it out alive, but only succeeds with saving the youngest Ellie. The fact that her homicidal thoughts are used against her and in turn makes her out to be the killer to the police is the nice twist this story needed…but I must say I would have loved to seen a follow up that had her escape jail and try and get her revenge on the Hewitt family. Sadie, who loves her adopted sister, is the last of the choirgirls to get murdered, and sadly she gets it slow and sleazy as Monty jokes her with a string all the while licking her face and sticking his gross tongue in her mouth. Marsha is just brain dead as she makes a run for it screaming and causing her own death as it alerts Leatherface to her whereabouts. Hoyt, Monty, Luna May, Tea Lady and Henrietta are all sick and demented and while they murder people, they have a strange family pride and traditions that include praying at dinner! Luna May and Sheriff Hoyt are the masterminds of setting up the framing of Julie Ann and shows that while their minds are dark they have a sinister way of thinking that protects their kin. Leatherface is what he always is, a simple minded killing machine who uses his chainsaw to chop and dice his victims who sadly stumbled in his family’s way. The gore is stepped back up in this issue and has two deaths with the bloodies being the chainsaw death of Marsha, but the best kill is Sadie by the hands of Monty as it’s just creepy and sleazy and feels so wrong. Daniel Hdr does the art again and looks great.  His Leatherface 2003 is not as good as Jacen Burrows who did it for the special, but still holds a gritty feel to it. The cover on this issue is called “Terror” and has the girls scared of Leatherface who is coming in for the kill. These comics based on the 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre have the same appeal with me as the movie where they are nothing special but are okay when just looking to kill some time. Below is some artwork from this series so you can see the look and feel of this comic version of Leatherface.

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So while Thomas Hewitt in my opinion might not be as iconic nor creepy as Leatherface Sawyer, he made for one heck of a good comic book character for Avatar and even WildStorm some time later. Thanks for spending a small part of your Halloween with me here at Rotten Ink as it’s always a fun time to write these updates and share spooky comics with you as well as a hand full of other amazing terror tales from my ghost hunting adventures to Creepypastas and everything in between! But while the chainsaw noise is fading off into a distance, the ghosts and goblins are still roaming the streets so I think it’s time for me to find a safe house and eat left over candy from last year and tell you that our next update is about a failed superhero for Marvel called Solarman! So stay safe on this Halloween Night, and I will see you back here for the next update. So read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two, play a Survival Horror Game and as always support your local Horror Host! Happy Halloween!!!

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Batman vs. The Abominable Snowman: Dawn Of Winter

Forget “Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” this update is the real battle for Batman that you comic book readers have been chatting about at your local comic shops for years and wondering when a rematch will happen, or better yet when the movie based on this epic fight will ever make it to the big screen! I am not talking about Batman’s epic fights with such characters as The Predator, Count Dracula, Xenomorphs or even with his regular baddies like The Joker, Bane, Two Face or Catwoman.  No, this battle puts them all to shame as I am talking about his fight with the king of the mountain, the monster of Tibet, the one and only Snowman aka The Abominable Snowman! Wait what? Some of you readers seem not to remember The Snowman, a character who was a thorn in Batman’s side for two issues of his ongoing DC titles in the 70’s. For this update we will not only learn a little about The Snowman but also about the legend of the Yeti and maybe I will try to play and beat a cool custom Batman NES Batman game put out to PacnsacDave! I know it’s the middle of summer and late July, but get your warmest jacket on as we are climbing Mount Everest to become one with The Snowman as we take a look at his two Batman appearances.  So grab some hot cocoa, and let’s start our fun and dangerous hike.

Mount Everest The Home Of The Yeti

The men and woman of Tibet and the surrounding area have had stories for centuries about a half man and half primate creature that roams the mountains around them that they call Yeti, Meh-Teh and other names like The Abominable Snowman. It’s been recorded that the Lepcha People of the Sikkim region worshipped a being from the Himalayan Mountains they called the Glacier Being and was the god of the hunt. In the 19th century, stories of a wild man who was ape-like carrying a stone as a weapon were told by people of the Bon religion. Throughout the 19th Century, many strange footprints were found in the snow on the Himalayan Mountains, and tracker B.H. Hodgson claimed that his guides had seen a giant hairy creature while climbing that scared them half to death.  He would later say he thought it was just an orangutan. The mystery of this unknown snow creature grew in the 20th Century when more and more sightings and footprints turned up in the mountains and of course more rich explorers and scientists rushed to be the first to capture, kill or get proof of the creature’s existence. Many more sightings and popped up through the decades, and the term Cryptozoology became a mainstay in believers’ vocabulary. In the 21st Century the Yeti has lost some steam and most of the time when it pops up in the news it is done by pranksters and hoaxers who are looking for attention and their 15 minutes of fame. Many TV shows, scientists and hunters have given their thoughts on what the Yeti truly is: an unknown ape species, all the way to just a plain old bear. So what do you readers think, is The Abominable Snowman real or is it a hoax? Check out the picture below that is said to be a true photo of the Yeti in the mountains and make up your own mind if he is really out there.

The Yeti caught on photo

Back in 1954, a scalp that was said to belong to the Yeti was found at a Pangboche Monastery along with a hand that was also claimed to have belonged to the creature. The monks were very protective of these items and kept them safe from outsiders and thrill-seekers who were on the hunt for The Abominable Snowman, wanting to make a name for themselves in the press. These items were just the kind of thing the Daily Mail, the newspaper who fronted the expedition, was looking for, and after pleading and ultimately tricking the monks, they were allowed to examine and extract some hair and skin tissue from the items. The media buzz around this was huge, and people thought that these samples held the truth of the Yeti’s existence, making the famed footprints look like thrift store leftover evidence. The first test on the hairs proved that they were not human nor ape, but scientists could not truly identify their species of origin, which of course sparked even more of a fever for those who wanted to find out if the Yeti was fact or fiction. The hand was also tested, and at first they claimed that it had Neanderthal qualities sending more people into the Yeti loving frenzy. Years later the hand and scalp were talked about on the hit TV show Unsolved Mysteries.  They tested a sample of the hand and found it to only have “near human” properties, but this episode sparked the hand to be stolen from the Pangboche Monks.  It would turn up in a private collection via the illegal black antiquities market and would pop back up in 2011 when new tests on it found that it had the DNA of a human. So are the scalp and the hand the real deal, or are they some from some poor human and animal? I should also note that besides these two items and the footprints, many other evidence has been found to prove the Yeti real from blurry photos to poop that is said to have belonged to the famed creature of the mountains. I am not sure what to think but would not rule out the existence of The Abominable Snowman as many unknowns lurk in this world we all share.

Yeti scalp and hand

Anyone who owned a computer in the early 90’s played a free game called SkiFree that was created by Chris Pirih and released as part of the Microsoft Entertainment Pack. The game was originally made by Pirih for his own use, but when his boss at Microsoft saw him playing it, an agreement was made for it to be released as part of their software pack in 1991. The gameplay has you take control of a skier who’s on the side of a mountain and must avoid obstacles like stumps, trees and worst of all, the a man eating creature called The Abominable Snow Monster who will chase you.  If he catches you, he’ll eat you like a chicken wing! I can remember playing this game on my brother’s old PC that he bought with his own money and finding it a cheesy way to waste time. I can remember screaming as the Yeti would give chase to my skier and how annoyed I would get when I could not out run him and had to watch as he gobbled my player up. But as you can see, even with this silly cheap game the Yeti has wormed his way into pulp culture. Check out below for some cool images of SkiFree.

SkiFree YetiSkiFree Title ScreenSkiFree Running Yeti

I should also note that the Yeti aka The Abominable Snowman has starred in his fair share of horror and science fiction films over the years with many of them being cheesy classics and some of them being very entertaining! Some are the 1957 Hammer Horror film “The Abominable Snowman” starring Peter Cushing and “Werewolf vs. The Yeti” starring the one and only Paul Naschy. Some of the cheesy ones include “Yeti: Giant Of The 20th Century” that was released in 1977 and the 1954 goofy classic “The Snow Creature.” Some of the not so good include “Yeti: A Love Story” that was released in 2006 and “Shriek Of The Mutilated” from 1974, a film so bad that I for some reason find myself loving it. Some video game appearances include “Plants vs. Zombies”, “Far Cry 4” and “Tomb Raider II” to name a few. And let’s not get started on all the comic books and novels that he has appeared in, let alone cartoons and toys! So one thing is for sure, The Abominable Snowman is in our culture, and he’s here to stay.

The Abominable Snowman DVDWerewolf Vs The Yeti DVD BootYeti Giant Of The 20th Centery DVDYeti A Love Story DVD

Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world, and many hikers, explores, researchers and thrill seekers have tempted their fate and tried to make the climb to the top of the mountain that is super dangerous and is not recommended for armatures or even for that fact almost anyone! The first people to successfully climb Everest were Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953.  The climb was dangerous but also inspired many people to want to tempt fate and become the second, third, fourth and so on to make it to the top.  Many craved the notoriety of being one of the select few to make it to the top and back down alive. But a sad truth about Everest is that the beautiful mountain is a graveyard for the remains of many hikers who never made it down the mountain.  It’s too dangerous to bring down the dead or injured so many bodies are left frozen in time. You see, many people are not prepared for the climb to the top, and fellow climbers are told that if you find someone in a danger zone, hurt or dying, to leave them behind as those who end up trying to help a injured person end up in danger themselves and 9 ½ out of 10 times more likely end up dead themselves from the elements and brisk cold unforgiving weather. So I would like to take a moment to mourn all those who have lost their lives climbing Everest –  may their souls find peace.  I also would like to show support for all those poor climbers who have had to leave a fellow person behind as I am sure that is a terrible feeling.

Mount Everest rip

We are halfway up to the top of this update so we should take a moment to sit by the fire, warm up, and sip a warm beverage and take a look at a comic that I ordered from Indy Planet some time back and have been itching to read and review.  I think that this update is the perfect time to unleash it on you the readers. The comic is called The Railroad Killer and is put out by a company called Jimmy Daze Comics.  It was one that caught my eye when I placed my last order of independent horror comics.  So let’s sit around and use this issue as our spooky story before we go back on the hunt for the Yeti.

The Railroad Killer 1

The Railroad Killer # 1  ***
Released in 2009     Cover Price $0.00   Jimmy Daze Comics   # 1 of 1

An old drunk near the train tracks is angered as the train speeds by, but his anger is short lived as someone brutally beats him to death. The next day the police show up and the urban legend talk of the Railroad Killer spreads among the youth who are near the crime scene. Miranda Jr. is one of the cops on the scene, and he has a flashback to when he was a kid in 1985 and he and his brother and friends watched as the local hot teenage girl was murdered by the train tracks by a strange unknown man with a sledge hammer! Miranda decides that tonight he is going to prove that the Railroad Killer is real and waits around the train tracks all night to capture this supernatural killer. Later that night he gets his wish and comes face to face with The Railroad Killer for the last time. After the fatal meeting, we flashback to the year 1881 when a young Chinese rail worker is accused of raping a white woman and vigilante justice is served as he is beaten and run over by a train…and so the revenge spirit of The Railroad Killer is born!

This is a fun quick horror comic read that was a nice mix of slasher and urban legend and was done with tasteful amounts of blood and violence. Our story is simple and effective as if follows a cop who wants to face the town’s local unknown killer and stop it once and for all. Miranda Jr. seems like a good cop who has guilt over watching a young woman get murdered in his youth and not doing anything to help her, but his need for redemption just leads him onto a path of his own destruction. The Railroad Killer is a supernatural killer who was wronged when he was alive and now takes his revenge on anyone near the tracks at night. He is brutal using a big sledgehammer as well as the moving trains themselves to kill and takes pleasure in the act of murder. The very cool part of this one shot comic is the fact they give backstories for both our hero and bad guy and brings the reader into the motives behind their good and evil actions. Besides the story, the art done by Arturo Delgado Molina is really good and brings these characters to life. The most brutal kill of the issue has to be the death of Miranda Jr. who is beaten and then placed under the trail and decapitated! If you’re a fan of horror comics like me, The Railroad Killer is one that you will want to check out as it’s a spooky urban legend about an effective and brutal killer. Below is some artwork from this issue to show you Molina’s style.

Railroad Killer Art 1

That was a fun break, but I can hear the howl of the Yeti in the distance. I am not ready to come face to face with him yet so let’s just sit around a little longer and play a video game! I am on a kick of getting NES carts of “homebrew” or unreleased games, and one of the guys I have been getting items from is named Pacnsacdave who just so happened to have a homebrew game called “Batman & Robin: Shadows Of Gotham” that acts as the third in the NES Batman series that already consisted of “Batman” and “Batman: Return Of The Joker” and hell I guess you can count “Batman Returns.” Each of those games were a challenge so I am sure this one will be no different. Batman: Shadows Of Gotham is a two-player game that lets you choose between Batman and Robin.  The back of the box reads, “Gotham city, a city plagued by crime, violence and villains. The citizens are crying out for help. To cleanse the streets of Gotham…two shadows appear. They are called Batman & Robin, Shadows of Gotham.” I played this game on a RES (Retro-Bit Retro Entertainment System) with an original NES controller and asked my cousin Stephen Alexander if he wanted to join me on this epic game adventure, and of course he said yes.  We did not do an NES Challenge for this game; we just wanted to give it a good play and let you know that this video game is out in the world ready to be played.

Batman Shadows Of Gotham NES CaseBatman Shadows Of Gotham NES CartBatman Shadows Of Gotham NES Game In RES

We played it on May 14 2016, and the weather outside was very chilly and perfect for playing a video game.  I should note that Stephen and I played one player and passed the controller back and fourth, and of course we picked Batman. The game is a side scrolling action game that has Batman fighting with his hands, batarangs and other gadgets from level to level.  At the end of each level, you of course face one of his major villains, in this order Scarecrow, Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and finally The Joker! The Scarecrow and his level offered no challenge as I mastered it in one try.  Steve took on The Penguin and after a couple of tries was able to smack around the umbrella-carrying madman who was hiding in a tank.  I made a quick fight out of The Riddler, and both of us tried and tried and screamed at Two-Face who was trying his best from keeping us from beating the game! It looked like Two-Face was going to be our stopping point, but once we figured out his patterning, Steve was able to smack that two sided coin out of his hand and we were at the last level. The last level is pretty tough and will take you a few tries, or at least it did for us to make it to The Joker who also took us a few tries.  But once again, when we had is pattern down, Steve hit the final blow, and a game that we were just testing became a game we beat! The nice part about this game is that it has unlimited continues and gives you no real reason to stop playing.  The challenge is there and can be frustrating but not enough to turn it off. Over all, it’s a nice addition to the NES Batman games and once more I want to thank Pacnsacdave for this amazing cart. So if you’re a classic NES fan and are looking for a new game to play, make sure to check this one out as well as many of Dave’s other games that include the likes of Gremlins, Big Trouble In Little China, The Lost Boys and Spider-Man 2! So I guess we should start our way back on the journey to find The Snowman, but while we climb maybe I should tell you a little about him.

Batman Shadows Of Gotham NES Screen Grab

Klaus Kristin is the son of a Yeti and a human mother named Katrina, and he has the ability to shift between being a human and a Yeti. As the beast, he is called The Snowman and has the power to survive in very cold elements, has super strength, a ice cold touch and can kind of control his surroundings in a winter environment. As a human, he is an albino and has the ability to charm ladies, is an Olympic skier and comes off as a normal rich jock playboy who loves to brag. The Snowman has appeared in three comics for DC that include Batman # 337, Detective Comics # 533 and Justice League Adventures # 12 as he was a part of a group called Cold Warriors alongside Mr. Freeze, Captain Cold and Killer Frost among other cold style baddies. While The Snowman has not been officially in a game, there are two that might be loosely be based on him: the unlockable Yeti character in “Lego Batman: The Videogame” and in “Batman: Arkham City,” inmates are talking about it being cold saying “It’s colder than the Snowman’s heart.”  Rumor is, that was a nod to The Snowman, while others say they are talking about Mr. Freeze. So while not a major villain, The Snowman has made his small mark on the Batman universe, and I just wanted to share a few fun facts about him before we make it to the top of the update and arrive at the review.

The Snowman DC

As I have stated before, music has been a major part of my life growing up, and I have spent countless hours listening to many different songs from many different artists with them all acting as the soundtrack to my life. Who doesn’t have memories of driving around with friends late at night blaring music or sitting with the love of your life listening to music in your car talking about the future? I have artists that I call my must-buy-day-one-of-release favorites: Motley Crue, Billy Idol, Alice Cooper, W.A.S.P., Jewel, Cinderella, Guns N Roses and Danzig.  The last one this list brings me to a CD that I would like to briefly chat about as I feel the music from the band was a huge part of my teen years. Danzig was one of those bands I discovered on a Public Access music show called Metalmania (and I should also give props to MTV for making the song “Mother” a Buzz video) and became a fan of, as I felt singer Glenn Danzig has an almost Elvis Presley sound and being a fan of The King made this a no brainer that I would dig a harder rock version of that sound. In 1996 when “Danzig 5: Blackacidevil” was released, I can remember leaving school midday and walking to NRM Music at the Town And Country shopping center to get my hands on the cassette and listening to it on my Walkman during classes. Danzig was also a band my pal Jason Gilmore and I would always listen to and chat about our favorite songs and videos. I can also remember being at my friend Jeremy Foster’s house and hanging out while listening to a mix of Danzig and Pantera. These great memories bring me to Danzig’s 2015 release, the 10th album for the band, an album of cover songs called “Skeletons” that I got for Christmas of 2015 as I had to wait to buy it because of the holiday season. I was pretty hyped to listen to this CD, but lots of things kept me away from being able to pop in the disc and listen to what Danzig had to offer on this release…and I must say that when I got around to it I was pretty underwhelmed! Now I want to stress that this is not a bad album.  In fact, I found myself enjoying many of the tracks on the release like the Black Sabbath cover “N.I.B” and “Lord Of The Thighs,” a cover of the Aerosmith cheesy classic song from the album “Get Your Wings”. While tracks like those were good, there were some that just sounded off and un-mastered, almost like a recorder was placed in a room with a band next to some beer and they said just jam and record and who cares if it doesn’t sound polished or hell even in tune…just do it.  The song “Satan” from the biker film Satan’s Sadists is a prime example of the odd sound that many of this tracks on this CD offer in terms of sound quality.  Again, I want to stress that it’s not a bad song and Glenn’s take on this song is solid…it just sounds very off, as if his vocals was recorded in a living room. Over all Skeletons is a interesting listen but lacks the true sound that Danzig fans have came to expect…if I had to give it a Rotten Ink 1-4 star rating, I would say for me it would be a solid 2, middle of the road.  If the sound issues were fixed, I could see myself giving it a 2 ½ or 3. Danzig still remains a must-buy artist for me, and I can’t wait to see what his next release brings to the table. Well I can see the top of the mountain, and as Butthead would say, “ And it is good”.

Danzig - Skeletons CD

We have reached the top of the update, and it’s time to take a look at Batman vs. The Snowman.  I have been on a kick of reading classic Batman comics as of late and can remember reading both these issues in my youth.  When re-buying them, I knew they had to be something I reviewed here on Rotten Ink. I want to think both Game Swap Kettering and Mavericks Cards And Comics for having these in stock, and while the wind is blowing and the snow is coming down I can hear the howl of the Yeti saying “ Remember he grades these issues on a star scale of 1 to 4 and is looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story.”  Now let’s snap this picture of the Yeti and get back down the mountain, and we should also get to the reviews of this classic and epic battle issues that pit Batman against The Snowman!

Batman 337

Batman # 337  ***
Released in 1981     Cover Price .50   DC Comics   # 337 of 713

It’s a cold night in Gotham City, and a sporting good store has a robber inside who is shooting at Commissioner Gordon and the cops.  Batman shows up, gets inside and finds that the robber is scared out of his mind and his partner has been frozen solid! When the robber is under arrest and his nerves calm down, he tells them a story of how he and his friend started to rob the place and were attacked by a snow creature he called The Snowman who stole the cash from the store and left the scene as well made him go mad with fear. Batman changes back to Bruce Wayne and heads home as he is holding a huge party.  His guest of honor is playboy Klaus Kristin who is winning the hearts of many of the woman with his tales of skiing, but Bruce notices that Klaus’s shoes have slush on them and the morning’s snow has been gone for hours. The next night The Snowman strikes again, robbing a jewelry store and killing the night watchman! While Batman is in Klaus’ room looking through his stuff, he finds a diary written by Klaus’s mom and his aunt, and it tells of how Klaus is the son of a normal woman and a Yeti, which explains why and who Klaus really is.  After his last crime, Klaus skips town and heads for Austria’s ski resort, and Batman follows and has a showdown with The Snowman on top of a mountain.  While Snowman is stronger, Batman is smarter and with the help of a flare in the eyes of his opponent, the Bat wins the fight when The Snowman falls from a high cliff and to his death.

What an epic battle, right? I mean Batman and The Snowman trade a total of one kick that Batman lands to the back of The Snowman….yep, that’s the fist to fist action you get in this issue! But even though it’s not super action packed and does not deliver an all out drag down Batman fight, it does have a fun entertaining superhero horror story with some entertaining characters. The plot is this: world class Olympic skier Klaus Kristin is a shape shifter who can change into a Yeti and is stealing money from stores around Gotham as he needs cold weather to live and must move around in order to stay cold weather.  His crime spree that leaves two people dead makes Batman spring into action and crack the case. Batman/Bruce Wayne is shocked when he finds the first body of a crook that was frozen stiff, and this makes Batman’s mind work over time as he wants to solve the crime and get this killer off the streets.  This just shows you that no matter how rich Bruce Wayne is and no matter what else is going on around him, solving crime is the most important thing in his life. Batman is truly a master detective as he pieces together who The Snowman is and where he has run to really fast.  Let alone, he make quick and easy work of this man creature in a fight that is in his opponent’s favor. Klaus Kristin is a snooty sort of bragger who thinks that because he won three medals in the Olympics and travels the world to high end ski resorts, he is better than most normal people.  He also has a weird charm that makes woman flock to him as he tells his stories of being a playboy. As The Snowman, he seems to not care about killing to get the money that he needs in order to stay where the cold weather goes, but it makes one wonder if his ego is so big that he would rather kill than to live say in Alaska or the North Pole where it stays cold year round. As always, Commissioner Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth (Bruce Waynes Butler) have cameos in this issue, and both are always great to see. Batman thinks that The Snowman might have thrown the fight as he wanted to be stopped and this was his way of ending his cursed life, but I am not so sure as it’s clear he has an ego.  I think he lost the fight because Batman out smarted him. The issue has two deaths of people who are frozen to death and has the possible death of The Snowman. The cover is super eye catching and has Batman on skis looking shocked as The Snowman, who looks like a giant, is popping out of snow ready for the attack. The story in this issue was written by Gerry Conway, and the art was done by Jose Garcia-Lopez with inks by Steve Mitchell.  All is well done, and that art has stuck with me since I was a kid as has the whole issue. I am sure many comic readers would look at this issue as just a fill in, but to me it has and will always be a key issue. I should also say this issue has a back up story about Robin! Check out some artwork from this issue to see just how massive and abominable The Snowman is, or is that was?

Batman # 337 art 1Batman # 337 art 2Batman # 337 art 3

So the first meeting is down, but there’s one more to go.  The first meeting lead Batman to believe that The Snowman was dead, as did all of us readers, so let’s see what happens in round two!

Detective Comics 522

Detective Comics  # 522  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     DC Comics   # 522 of 881

Batman and a guide named Chi are climbing the Himalayan Mountains looking for the famed creature Yeti as Batman thinks that it might just be his foe The Snowman returning from his supposed death. While climbing Batman and Chi are almost killed by an avalanche, Batman witnesses a tall and strong looking shadow above them, and after this near death experience they decide to spend the night in a near by cave for shelter. In the cave Batman, remembers back to being in Vicki Vale’s office and waiting for her to go on a date.  He flipped through a magazine and spotted Klaus Kristin in a photo, and this is what lead him to this hunt in the mountains. In a small village, Batman spots Klaus, and the two struggle falling into the cold water.  Batman strikes his head on a rock and Klaus pulls him from the water, but when they are back on land Klaus is shot by a villager and stumbles into the cold and disappears up the mountain.  Batman now needs to check on his one time foe who saved his life and follows the blood trail. Batman climbs the mountain and is attacked by the Yeti along the way and finds Klaus in a Buddhist temple as he is bleeding to death.  We soon find out that his dad, the Yeti, was the one who has been attacking Batman while in the mountains, and he takes his dying son into the cold as Batman watches as a father mourns his fallen son.

So the second epic battle between Batman and The Snowman is not really a fight between the two but instead has the Bat tangling with the Yeti, the father of The Snowman. This issue has Batman traveling to the Himalayan Mountains in order to look for his foe The Snowman, who is wanted for not just robbery but also murder, and soon finds that his old foe is not a threat and just wanted to find peace alongside his father! Batman has lots on his mind from drama with the ladies in his life Vicki Vale and Selena Kyle, as well as just being a crime fighter and focusing his sights on The Snowman, but he soon learns that people (or is that things?) can change. Batman also shows compassion as he could have taken down the Yeti, who has tormented villagers for years but instead lets him be with his son in his dying moments. Klaus Kristin never changes into The Snowman in this issue and after faking his own death really just wanted to be left alone.  He also shows that he has grown as a character as he saves Batman from drowning. Chi is a villager guide and acts as a good side character, loyal to Batman and trying all he could to guide him on his quest. The Yeti is in a fury and wants his son’s pursuers dealt with and tries to do all he can to stop them, but sadly he as well has a weakness and that’s bright lights from the likes of a flare. Once more, this issue is not wall-to-wall action.  It feels more like an adventure that pits our superhero not only against his foes but also nature and his surroundings. This issue as well held up all these years, and as I read it, moments came back to me in memories that proved for some reason that the Batman vs. Snowman issues had a impact on this young comic reader’s mind. The cover is fantastic and has Batman on the side of a mountain as The Snowman is lurking into battle. The story was written by Gerry Conway again with art duties this time around going to Iry Novick and Pablo Marcos, and they do a great job of making The Yeti look different from The Snowman. The back up story in this issue is a Green Arrow adventure and is worth checking out if you like that emerald archer. Check out the art below that will showcase the mighty Yeti as well as other art from this fun and entertaining issue.

Detective Comics 522 art 1Detective Comics 522 art 2

Was this a better fight than Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice? Depends on your opinion…but I will say these comics made more of a impression on me than the film. While The Snowman might not be a big name villain like The Joker, Killer Croc or The Riddler, he was one I always remembered as a kid, and for some reason I really did think he was a huge deal in my youth. I can remember talking to kids on the playground in Waynesville about how Batman took on The Abominable Snow, and many of them looking puzzled or claiming they remembered with blank unsure look in their eyes. But now that we are off the hunt for The Snowman and made it back down unharmed, I think it’s time that we take a break from comics and once more step into the world of Horror Hosting as our next update will be about an icon who like Commander USA and Dr. Creep helped shape me into the person I am today.  I am talking about Grampa who hosted Super Scary Saturday on TBS! So until next time, read a comic or three, enjoy your summer days and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update for a Super Scary good time.

Super Scary Saturday Preview Logo

Dawn Of The Monster Bash Vacation (2016)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink, friends and readers.  Once more it’s my time to travel to Pennsylvania for the Monster Bash Convention, something that Juliet and I look forward to every year as we both love classic monster movies as well as enjoy Cranberry Township and all the wonders around it, from Evans City Cemetery to New Dimension Comics and everything in-between. This year I was really looking forward to spending some time with my lady and enjoy my time away from work and the stresses of TV Show making and comic book creating.  The start of this year was not a pleasant one for me as not only did my cousin Norman pass away, but I also had some stress health issues that were a major pain and downer.This year’s convention guests include Audrey Dalton from films like “Mr. Sardonicus” and “The Monster The Challenged The World”, Jimmy Hunt from “Invaders From Mars” as well as Horror Hosts like Son Of Ghoul and Chilly Billy Cardille in what could be his final convention appearance. So you, my readers and friends, are welcome to jump into the backseat of our Mazda 3 and go on another fun filled trip to Pittsburgh for Monster Bash.  For this update I am very happy to say we will be covering the George A Romero film Dawn Of The Dead as well as the IDW adaptation of this cult classic and iconic zombie film. So jump on in, and let’s have some fun with classic monsters and a town that almost seems like a second home to Juliet and me as we travel to Monster Bash 20016!

Monsterbash 2016 logo

On July 7th 2016 we started our quest for Monster Bash and stopped first at Ghostlight Coffee to get some good drinks to start our over 4 hour quest. On the drive we listened to two more chapters of the audio book “Marvel Comics The Untold Story” and chatted about Stan Lee and the mismanagement of Marvel Comics in the mid to late 90’s. In-between Ohio and West Virginia we stopped to get some lunch at Ruby Tuesday where I munched down on a New York strip steak and a baked potato.  The meal was pretty good and nothing too special. But outside by the Ruby Tuesdays was a strange giant McDonalds billboard with a sinister looking Ronald McDonald that was hidden in the woods…very strange indeed. The drive was smooth for the most part; we did run into some very wicked traffic in one section, but during this time we just chatted about comics and what our plans were for the following days. Once we hit our official hotel, the Comfort Inn of Cranberry Township, we checked in and loaded in our bags and for dinner decided to order the classic Eat’n Park where I got my usual liver and onions with mashed potatoes and rice, while Juliet ate chicken with sweet potato fries and strawberries. That night we watched some TV, and while Juliet read her book and played on her iPhone, I read a comic with thoughts of Monster Bash running in my head as a quick rain storm came down outside. A good first day and a very low key evening.

Marvel The Untold Story BookCreepy Ronald McDonald in the WoodsLiver and Onions Mmmm

The second day, we woke up around 9:30am, and after getting ready, we had some breakfast from Einstin Bros. where I had a tasty sausage, egg and cheese bagel with orange juice to drink.  Due to some electric issues, they gave us our meal for free! Once done, we had to find something to do to kill time until 3pm when Monster Bash opened and decided to drive around and just see some of the sights that include weird blocked off roads and a place called “Fun Fore All,” an arcade, miniature golf and family fun center. After the drive we stopped back at the hotel and waited for The Bash. When the time ticked down, I wondered what kind of theme car would be out front and more importantly what the statues were going to be this year as my guess would be aliens from Invaders To Mars, but again only a guess. We ate lunch at Max & Erma’s and headed to Monster Bash, and man was I hyped to get this convention adventure started. Walking across the parking lot, we noticed that there was no monster car up front and once entering the Hilton were the convention is held at, we noticed that major remodeling was going on and this worried me as the place where the statues have always been was gone. But after buying our three day badges, we quickly found them and I must say I was WAY OFF on what they were this year. The statues this year were the old woman from House On Haunted Hill, Frankenstein’s Monster and the Christopher Lee version of The Mummy. Walking around we saw lots a great classic monster stuff like posters, DVDs, comics, magazines, shirts and so much more. We saw familiar faces like Ken and Pam who own and run Cinema Wasteland, Jill from Lix Online and Horror Host Son Of Ghoul. A highlight of the day was when Juliet got to see original screen used props used in her favorite science fiction film “Forbidden Planet” including a very cool UFO. We walked around a while and enjoyed the world that is Monster Bash, and after awhile walked back to our hotel and read some comics and books and planned for dinner and a movie on the laptop for the night.

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For dinner who chose Wing Kings as they seem to be our go-to when it comes to eating and watching a movie on our trusty old laptop, and the film of the night we selected was the 1975 film Inn of the Damned as it was one I had seen many years back on VHS and how can you go wrong with a western horror film..right? From Wing Kings I ordered 12 garlic wings to keep the vampires away as well as some onion rings. Juliet ordered 6 Garmesan wings (a mix of garlic and parmesan cheese) and some Jalapeno Poppers, and we sat in our chairs and ate our food and watch a horror motion picture. The wings and the onion rings were fantastic, and Wing Kings really hit the spot.  The movie Inn Of The Damed was as weird, long and dumb as I remember it being when I saw it as a teen. I would say this was a great meal with a cheesy horror film that was a good combination for the night and a great way to end the evening.

Monster Bash 2016 Day 1 Dinner and a Movie

So your wondering what my first day haul was right? Well let me share with you my treasures this time around. I got the documentary DVD “Creature Feature 60 Years Of The Gil-Man” for $20.00. I also picked up the DVD-R’s for “Inn Of The Damned” for $5.00 (it’s the Cheezy Flix release) and a classic black and white chiller called “Valley Of The Zombies” for $10.00. I ended up finding some comics this first day like Attack Of The Mutant Monsters # 1 for $3.00, Beneath The Planet Of The Apes Graphic Novel for only $6.00, Giant-Size Man-Thing # 2 for $3.00, Chamber Of Chills # 6 for $4.00, Worlds Unknown # 3 for $5.00, Hellraiser/Nightbreed Jihad # 1 for $5.00 and lastly The Tomb Of Dracula # 26 for only $4.00! Over all a pretty good haul but nothing to special but all worth buying in this monster kids head.

Monster Bash 2016 Haul Day 1

We started day three around 8:30am, and after getting ready and watching a little TV, we went to brunch at a place right next door to the hotel called Pig Iron (not to be confused with the Zoo Crew member from DC Comics) where I had Chorizo Hash that was mighty tasty. Before brunch we also hit New Dimension Comics, and I found lots of great reads like some issues of Captain America, Night Of The Living Dead, Marvel Tales and Werewolf By Night. Plus at the comic shop I found the only missing issue of Marvel’s The Frankenstein Monster which means I now I have the full run. After brunch we walked back over to Monster Bash and found that a replica of the Ecto-One from Ghostbusters was parked outside, and this sparked a convention between Juliet and I on how cosplay Ghostbusters are taking over conventions. Once inside we walked around and I kept my eyes open for David “The Rock” Nelson as I wanted to buy some of his films, but sadly the quest today came back empty-handed. I did finally get my picture taken with John Russo, the man who helped create the “Living Dead” universe and picked up a few items before we decided to wonder back to our hotel and plan the rest of the days adventure. Below are some pictures from the second day of Monster Bash including the picture of me and John Russo.

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The second day Monster Bash haul was pretty weak with me only picking up three items! First, I got another DVD-R copy of the Paul Naschy film Vengeance Of The Mummy aka Mummy’s Revenge for the overprice of $20.00.  This will mark my third attempt at watching this movie on a DVD-R! I got the Marvel Magazine size comic adaptation for the film Meteor for only $3.00.  And lastly, the best find of the day is a Golden Book graphic novel adaptation of the classic epic adventure film Clash of the Titans for $5.00! The second day’s haul, while light, still delivered some great things for me to read and watch…if this copy of Vengeance of the Mummy works.

Monster Bash 2016 Haul Day 2

After Monster Bash and us coming up with a game plan, we settled on the fact we had to visit the Snowman again as I really needed a Yeti Shake! As we started on the magical road to The Snowman for our tasty cold treats, the poor Mazda 3 started to have issues, and we had to turn back around and return to the hotel.  Once back, we looked for a Mazda dealer to take the car to on Monday morning and worked on some Sparkle Comics business while the weather outside looked like a storm was blowing in. Because of the car issues, we were stuck for the evening at the hotel, and I took this time to read some comic books and work on some Rotten Ink updates as Juliet spent time writing and reading.  Dinner was coming up, and we picked the ever popular Eat’N Park as they were just across the street and we knew the food would hit the spot for this disappointing day. My meal once more was liver and onions with mashed potatoes with gravy, a sticky roll and rice and for a treat a Smile Cookie that’s a pirate in honor of the MLB team The Pittsburgh Pirates. After dinner and reading, I decided to watch some TV before bed and wondered how the third and final day at Monster Bash would go and hoped I could get some David “ The Rock” Nelson DVD’s as they would be the perfect films to cheer this Monster Kid up.

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Day three of Monster Bash and day four of our vacation started with breakfast from Einstein Bros and good talks about Dawn of The Dead and Sparkle Comics while eating.  Once done, we walked across the street for the final day of the convention, and my quest to buy David “The Rock” Nelson DVDs continued. Once we walked into the convention my quest came to an end, and I found David Nelson and chatted for a moment and picked up two of his films! For awhile we walked around and just looked at all the tables and made our final pick ups as the convention closed a few hours later. With the car being down still, we walked to Max & Erma’s for lunch and headed back to the hotel to work on some Sparkle Comics business and to read, watch TV and just have fun being around each other. Below are some pics I took of the last day of Monster Bash including a very cool Dr. Phibes statue and a bad ass Wolf Man painting, plus the picture of me and Independent film maker icon David “The Rock” Nelson with one of his horror characters, The Devil Ant.

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The third and final day of Monster Bash haul was the following items: the VHS of the cheesy film The Bat People for $4.00, the CD soundtrack to Demons 2 for $10.00, Hulk Hogan hosting the 1985 CBS Saturday Morning Cartoon previews on DVD-R for $10.00.  I also got two Horror Host DVD-R’s for $10.00 each that were Zacherley hosting a teen dance show called Disc-O-Teen and clips from Ghoulardi show.  My favorite pick ups for the day had to be the two David “The Rock” Nelson DVDs as I got the movies The Demon Monster From Outer Space and The Fishman for $20.00 each.  I always feel good supporting true independent filmmakers and David is a great guy! Over all I got some great things this Monster Bash and many of them will be talked about again here at Rotten Ink.

Monster Bash 2016 Haul Day 3

That night we ordered dinner from Pig Iron where I had a chorizo grilled cheese and fries, and we watched the Hulk Hogan 1985 Saturday Morning Cartoons preview that was not so much Hulk Hogan as it was Rowdy Piper doing a talk show style show with guests like Pee Wee Herman, New Edition and Patti LaBelle and in between showed quick clips of cartoons that would be airing on CBS. It was a fun watch as seeing Pee Wee and Piper talk to each other using sock puppets are things the 80’s were made of. After dinner we worked on more Sparkle Comics website stuff, and later I read some comic books that I picked up from New Dimension Comics days before. Over all the day was good but we both looked forward to getting the car fixed the next day so that we could zoom around town and visit some of our favorite sites in and around Mars.

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On Monday July 11th after the Mazda 3 was taken into the shop for some TLC, we finally got to go out and do things on this Dawn Of The Dead themed vacation. We ended up having to rent a car, but this helped us at least be able to go out and do things for this vacation and not be stuck in the hotel.  We first went out to lunch and had a good meal at Moe’s where a steak burrito was calling my name. After lunch we headed back to New Dimension Comics, and I bought a ton more comics as I found their dollar room. After walking out of New Dimension Comics with many issues of Incredible Hulk, Marvel Super Heroes and Detective Comics in hand, we went to TCBY so Juliet could get her yogurt for dessert as she was craving white chocolate mousse.  As for me, I did a weird mix of chocolate and strawberry with sprinkles. After driving around in traffic, we headed back to the hotel, and later that night we had dinner at Eat’N Park and then watched WWE Monday Night Raw on USA Network. Over all a fun day filled with great weather, comic books, good food and the friendly staff of all the places we visited. Check out the pics below for some of the highlights of the day!

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On Tuesday July 12, 2016 we had to squeeze so much fun things in one day as it was our last full day in Mars and also the last full day that we had the rental car. So we decided to first go see a movie at the Cranberry Cinemas and saw The Purge: Election Year at its first showing. I really love the Cranberry Cinema as it has the look and feel of a independent owned theater and has a personality that many of the giant chain theaters are lacking and makes me miss Dayton local theaters like Page Manor and Englewood Cinema even more. After the film we went and got some lunch from Moe’s, and the meal was good as always.  Then we headed toward a place that is a shrine of Pittsburgh film making as well as what I would say is “Graceland” of horror, Evan City Cemetery. When driving to the cemetery I was telling Juliet that I wished that Dayton has a location like this that was used in a horror film that made an impact to the genre. Once at the cemetery and driving up the lane, I spotted in the woods next to the road a rooster and a turkey hanging out together.  Now that was random and amazing! The weather was nice and warm with a cool breeze and walking around the cemetery always recharges my batteries and makes me want to be even more creative and to drive my self more when it comes to making a Horror Host show and comic books. Plus walking around with Juliet in this place is something special and something I look forward to every year. After Evan City Cemetery, we drove to The Snowman where I drank a Yeti Shake made with vanilla ice cream and blue raspberry shaved ice and watched the horses in the field next to this landmark. Once done we returned to the hotel and chatted, read some comics and watched TV and ate some Wing King for dinner and ended the day watching TV.  This was a great day that was super fun filled with good times and memories of why I love this town!

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On Wednesday July 13, 2016 we had to spend the morning returning the rental car and getting our car back and then hit the road back to good old Dayton and listened to the last chapter in “Marvel The Untold Story” and ended our Monster Bash Vacation…but this update has just started as we’re now going talk about Dawn Of The Dead, the second film in the Romero Dead series, and I review the IDW adaptation of this film. So let’s take a trip with the undead and chat about this beloved zombie film!

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In 1978, George A. Romero teamed up with Italian filmmaker Dario Argento to bring the movie going public a sequel to Night Of The Living Dead, and one of the worlds most classic zombie films was born, simply called Dawn Of The Dead.  Theater goers poured into the cinemas to watch as the living and the dead clashed once more in a battle of the living keeping their human sides in line as the dead do what they do and that’s eat. The start of Dawn of the Dead was in 1974 when George Romero went to the Monroeville Mall with his friend Mark Mason, who worked for a company that managed the mall.  After seeing all the ins and outs of the building and just how happy shoppers were, the idea of people surviving in a mall during a crisis became a joke between them that sparked the desire to start writing the script. Romero, along with his producer Richard P. Rubinstein, started to get investors, and when news broke of a Night Of The Living Dead sequel, Dario Argento jumped on board and helped get international investors among many other helpful things in return for international distribution. Once ready, they secured the Monroeville Mall and shooting started on November 13, 1977. The filming would start at 11pm and would end at 7am as during the day the mall was packed with holiday shoppers and doing late night shoots was better for not only the crew but also the mall. Other locations for filming included Harold W. Brown Memorial Airfield, Firearms Unlimited and Romero’s own studio, the Latent Image; all things in and around the Pittsburgh area. Shooting ended in February, 1978 and so began the editing of Romero’s next epic zombie film. The man behind the effects for the film is the master of splatter Tom Savini who also played one of the bikers in the film. In the lead roles are some fantastic actors all who are the true backbone of what makes this film work so well.  You have Ken Foree as Peter Washigton, David Emge as Stephen “Flyboy” Andrews, Gaylen Ross as Francine Parker and Scott Reinger as Roger DeMarco, not to mention such actors as David Early, Howard Smith and Jese del Gre, to name a few. Doing the music for the film is the Italian band Goblin, who scored many of Argento’s films as well as De Wolfe Music Library stock music. Romero has a cut of the film as does Agrento.  Each are different in many ways from music to runtimes as the US print is 127 minutes long, but Italy’s is 118 minutes long.  On top of that a “Directors” cut of the film was released on home video in the 90’s that is 137 minutes long! One of the biggest changes between the American version of Dawn of the Dead and the Italian version is that Romero’s is packed with comedy elements with the zombies being treated like jokes by a invading biker gang while Argento toned that way down and tried to keep the undead scary. The film also brought some very memorable zombies to the screen like Machete Kill Zombie, Helicopter Chop Top Zombie, and my favorite, the red flannel zombie; all of them gave the world of horror iconic scenes. The budget for Dawn of the Dead was $1.5 million, and it made $55 million at the box office, making it a huge hit for United Film Distribution who released the film. It was released with other 1978 horror films: Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes, Damien: Omen II, Halloween, I Spit On Your Grave, Jaws 2, The Redeemer: Son Of Satan, Toolbox Murders and many others.  While Dawn Of The Dead might not have brought in as much money as say Jaws 2, it is way more respected by Horror Fans around the world. Now I am sure many of you who have not watched this classic film are saying, “but what’s the film about?” We will cover that with the IDW Comic Adaptation reviews.

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Growing up I was (and still am) obsessed with the Romero Dead films.  You long time readers know about my first time seeing Night Of The Living Dead on broadcast TV and seeing Day Of The Dead on the USA Network in my past reviews for the Monster Bash vacations that featured the Prelude and Aftermath of Night Of The Living Dead as well as the Fantaco Adaptaions of Night; not to mention my USA Saturday Nightmare update where I covered other films I have on DVD taped off the USA Network including Day Of The Dead that was given to me by my pal Jason Young. The first time I saw Dawn of The Dead was on a VHS copy of the film my brother had bought on a boring weekend.  We made a whole night of watching it that included snacks and making dinner that consisted of boxed spaghetti that I could swear he used to live on.  I took my place sitting on the floor with my bowl of spaghetti, bag of Andy Capp Hot Fries and my glass of Mountain Dew and was glued to the TV as I watched one of the most iconic and beloved Zombie films ever made.  I was drawn into the dark mood and grim nature of the events that were unfolding before my eyes. I can remember going from amazed to annoyed as the bikers entered the mall and began throwing pies into the faces of the undead.  I didn’t understand why the zombies were being treated like jokes taking away their scare appeal. After the film was over I can remember my brother and I chatting about it, breaking down scenes and talking about our favorite kills and zombies from the movie. My favorite character was Peter, and I can remember my brother and I laughing and joking about Flyboy and how he kept screwing up at major times during their flight to get to shelter and even in the mall. Dawn of the Dead will always have a special place in my heart as watching it with my brother was a fun memory, and I can still remember the the pure enjoyment as I watched the horrors of the living dead unfold before my very eyes. To this day I own the clam shell Thorn Video VHS release of this film and must say that the film is definitely in my top 10 zombie films of all time!

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The Goblin score for Dawn of The Dead (Zombi) is one of the best in the world of horror films as each track fits the scene it accompanies.  The main title is so iconic, it makes almost everyone’s top 10 list of best scores in horror history. There’s something about the way the score just makes the scenes pop, and the opening title sends shivers down the listeners’ spines. If you’re a fan of this score, you can find in on CD and vinyl, and it’s well worth the purchase. I also want to note that I play tracks off this soundtrack all the time on the WYSO show Alpha Rythems. Just wanted to touch up on this score as I truly think it’s one of the best in the horror film world. Plus the song called “The Gonk” that is played as one of the muzak songs in the mall is also the end credits theme done to the beat of chickens for the stop motion show Robot Chicken. I want to also note that the first time I ever owned this soundtrack was thanks to a old website called Rogers Basement that used to have custom made soundtracks.  He had one called The Dead Trilogy and had the music for Night, Dawn and Day as well as dialogue from all three films.

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Did you know that Dawn Of The Dead had it’s own strategy board game? I first learned about the game in the mid 1990’s thanks to my friend Geoff Burkman (who I’ve known since I was a kid.  I job shadowed him when I was 16, and we watched Dawn of The Dead to see if we could spot Gaylen Ross’s nipple in a scene!) who had the game and told me all about it.  You see, Geoff is a huge fan of the Romero dead films and even played a zombie in Day of The Dead…but that’s for a future update. When I started working at Game Swap in Kettering, a man named Martin started showing up and bringing in tubs and tubs of horror toys, movies, posters, comics, magazines and board games and in his collection that he was selling was the Dawn Of The Dead board game. This year I asked for a reunion of the Dayton Board Game Society so that we could play this game and the the group and I could share our thoughts on it.  The players were Josh Weinberg who was Fran, my Cousin Stephen Alexander playing as the Zombies, Jeremy Hoyt took the role of Roger, Thomas “Maurice” Smith was Peter and I played as Flyboy. The game was very strategy-based and Josh, Jeremy, Thomas and I had to think wisely as the goal for us as the human survivors was to lock all the mall entrances, get the rifles for Steve and Fran and lastly kill all the zombies left in that mall. The zombies goals are to kill at least three of the players, and if Fran dies the game is over.  They also try to infect the survivors, and once infected they can be turned into a “Super Zombie” and can amp up the other nearby zombies and add to the players’ panic meters. We decided to shorten the game and just go for the shutting of the doors as we bent the rules a little as really it was made only for four players with two playing as the zombies and two playing the survivors.  But we added one extra player and only had one man playing the zombies.  The reason for shortening of the game was that it was getting to be over two hours just to complete that task. Peter, Roger and Fran survived the game, and Flyboy was infected and later become a Super Zombie, but I must say I was proud that as Flyboy I was able to lock two of the doors before I was killed. Over all the game was lots of fun and was a good and spooky time to play with great friends. So if you and your friends are into table top games and are looking for something to play this Halloween season, I would suggest Dawn Of The Dead as we all had a good time playing it.  I am sure that if we played by the official rules it would have been equally as enjoyable.