Bubo

Pity poor Bubo.  Always derided as an outright R2D2 ripoff (and there is something to that, we can admit that, right?) there were also plenty of robots present in Greek mythology, and since Talos had been in a movie already, Bubo isn't that bad.  He serves a purpose in the movie and is pretty darn cute.  He also adds some much needed humor to a movie that is far too serious for its own good for too much  of the running time.  This mechanical owl isn't really one of the problems of this movie.

The Three Stooges 011 Three Little Beers 1935 Curly, Larry, Moe

 

Sven- House on Haunted Hill (1959)

 

An eccentric millionaire (Vincent Price) and his estranged wife invite five people to their supposedly haunted house.  If they spend the night, they each will receive $10,000.  Greed does make people do odd things, for sure.  Of course, shenanigans occur, and two of the seven people end up murdered.  There are ghosts, skeletons, vats of acid and a lot of guns.  IN the end, just rewards are meted out, but we never do find out if the survivors get their money or not.

hey! two kids with comics!

I am about four years old in this picture, or maybe just turned five.  That is my younger brother looking rather surprised at having his picture taken.  I am pretty sure there is an Aquaman comic book in the picture, and I still have several of those Whitman Big Little Books in my collection.  I think most of the comics have disintegrated by now though.  It sure would be interesting to know what issues they were though.  I am sure every one of them featured superheroes of some sort, though.  Now, the coloring books were probably a good mix of things, but there were probably some superheroes in there as well.

House on Haunted Hill (1959) Trailer

                    

Athena Cat

 

Athena was my first cat.  She was a large fuzzball that had all of our dogs under her control.  I have old 8mm film of her making our lab, Juno, kneel down.  She was an excellent mouser.  When she passed on I did not have a cat for five years, which is unusual for me to think about.  I don't have many pictures of her, which makes me a little sad.  Kids are dumb that way.  I named her Athena because she was gray, and the Goddess Athena has gray eyes and gray hair.  I had already decided Athena was my favorite of the Greek deities, so it was a natural fit.

MOTW- Dada

 

Dada aliens can take the form of humans, and do so to try to invade the Earth.  They have powers similar to Ultraman, and they want human specimens.  The reasons for this are left unsaid, but it can't be good for any Earthlings.  The Dada can also turn invisible, which proves troublesome for Ultraman.  Add to that there are many of them that can replicate themselves, much like the Baltan.

gigantor press

This is some cool stuff.  I love seeing these sort of press kit items, since they are rather rare these days.  I would love to get some of them, for some reason,  I wouldn't even cut them up or use them.  I have a few reproductions and a couple real ones here and there, but I actually don't know where they are these days.  In a storage bin, I reckon.  They are from movies, rather than television shows.  I think these are just fun to look at, and wouldn't mind owning reproductions of them.  That will probably never happen now, though.

Batwoman/Panther Women

 

This Blu Ray was certainly a surprise to see released.  I received it yesterday  After years of a washed out picture for La Mujer Murcielago, seeing a restored version was incredible.  VCI has somehow found a great print and restored it.  Oddly, they commissioned an English dub for the movie, and don't have the original Spanish language with English subtitles.  I am happy to say the dub is presented as straight forward as possible, and while I haven't seen the dubbing cast, it sounds like they might all be of Latino descent.  At least, I hope they are, since the accents sound legit.  I have only watched about half of the Batwoman, and it is gorgeous.  I could live without the English voiceover every time a sign in Spanish shows up.  Heck, we even hear him say "Reptilicus".

Sven- Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)

 

This sequel finds Dr. Phibes, our now anti-hero looking for a way to revive his wife.  It was not embalming fluid that he injected into his veins in the last movie, but something that put him in hibernation.    It lasts for three years.  Naturally, he needs to go to Egypt for that.  He should have talked to Khonshu about being an avatar.  Or perhaps Tawaret.  Anyway, his plans are disrupted by Darius Biederbeck, who has been using the River of Life to extend his on existence for centuries.  As we all know, there can be only one person to do this.  

Dr. Phibes Rises Again trailer (1972)

        

La Mano Del Destino

 

 La Mano Del Destino (the Hand of Destiny, and shouldn't it be E: Mano?) returns to the squared circle to avenge his betrayal at the hands of his enemies and friends.  This group is led by El Jefe, who has some unknown power over most of the luchadores.  Mano is told he must defeat each wrestler individually before he can take on El Jefe.  All of this is set in Mexico in the 60s, when the wrestling was still real to many people in the country. 

new Spider-Man toy from Japan!

 

I came across this article talking about new action figures dolls the other day.  I rarely buy these toys, but I kind of want one of Takuya Yamashiro/Spider-Man, even though I have this one already.  I also need to take a better picture of this current one.  It came from the Japanese DVD release of the series several years ago.  I purchased it from eBay, as the owner of the set must not have wanted it.  It really looks exactly like the character.  I am sure Hasbro is releasing this new one due to the fact that Takuya (and most likely Leopardon) are going to show up in the next GC animated movie about 1243 Spiders.  Which is tops in my book!  This is the next movie- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. which will be followed by a part 2 the following year.  

MOTW- Gomora

 

This ancient monster should be Ultraman's premiere foe, rather than Red King.  Ihave talked about Gomora more than once, but not just as an individual beast.  It is the only monster to be in a two part story.  That is how tough the creature is.  Ultraman took Red King out pretty easily both times he fought that monster.  Not so with Gomora.  It is also supposed to be a dinosaur, and bones of the species had been discovered on Johnson Island.  For some reason, it is decided to bring Gomora (named Gohora in the US dub) to Japan.  We all know how that is going to end.  I can imagine the surprise viewers had when Ultraman was actually defeated in the first episode.  This had never been done before!  I feel bad on how much Gomora is tortured in this story, since it had to be crippled before it could be stopped.  Modern eyes, and all, as I am sure it was only seen as a rampaging beast at the time.

the Marvel Superheroes have Arrived!

I never saw these as a kid, and didn't know any of the production history about them.  I saw them advertised in Famous Monsters and finally purchased one when they showed up at the local K-Mart.  I twas not ready for just how limited the animation was.  I had expected it to be like the Spider-Man cartoon or Hanna-Barbera.  It was disappointing to the younger me to say the least.  I never got any more of them on 8mm because of that, and kind of looked down on them for a long time.  Dang, that pickle was not pleasant, I'll tell you what.

The Spirit (1986)

 

I remember recording this TV movie way back in 1986 when it was originally broadcast.  I liked it a lot then, and rewatched it again last night.  It is still enjoyable.  It isn't even 70 minutes long.  Obviously this was a pilot for a proposed series, but nothing came of it.  At the time, I only recognized Sam "Flash Gordon" Jones as the star.  Now I see a pre Deep Space Nine Nana Visitor and a very young Bumper Robinson as Euby.  The whole cast looks like they are having a good time.  The plot even features P'Gell, the Spirit's femme fatale, and anyone remotely familiar with the comic book knew that.  Spoilers- she gets away at the end of the movie, with the promise of meeting her again.  Alas, that never happened.  

Sven- The Abombinable Dr. Phibes (1971)

 

This one I have seen a few times over the years.  It is a pretty good movie, though nothing one hasn't seen from any Phantom of the Opera movie.  A concert organist is disfigured and his wife dies, so he takes revenge on the entire surgical team.  He uses a few of the mythical plagues of Egypt to accomplish this.  Inspector Harry Trout is hot on his trail, but mostly fails in his attempts to stop Phibes, until the very end of the movie.  Phibes embalms himself next to his dead wife and closes his sarcophagus.  The end.

Dr. Strange in the Mulitverse of Madness (2022)

 

I liked it.  Much like the first Dr Strange movie way back in 2016 (six years for a sequel?  that is strange to say the least), I liked it.  Perhaps I will like it more in the future, but this is lower tier for me.  It is hard to compete against the masterpiece that No Way Home was, and I tried not to compare it to that.  This film also featured Wanda, my Scarlet Witch.  I tried to avoid spoilers, but kind of knew what was going to happen simply by the name of the movie, all homage to Lovecraft included.  When one has read most of the appearances of the Scarlet Witch, one knows her history.  I had high hopes for The West Coast Avengers when John Byrne took over, and then he did what he did to both Wanda and the Vision.  He also messed with Tigra as well, so there are three strikes right there.  Spoilers ahead:

The Abominable Dr Phibes Trailer (1971)

                   

Spider-Man 1994

 

Just finished watching all five seasons, 65 episodes of this series.  I did not remember it being so great.  The more I read about it and the trials it went through just to get on the air, the more I am impressed by the show.  I would rank it almost as great as Batman: The Animates Series.  It is different in tone enough that it is hard to choose.  I watched most of it when it aired originally, but had forgotten a lot of the details.  Especially the less than great CG backgrounds.  It didn't bother me then and I really didn't care much about it at all now.

MOTW- Guigass

 

Guigass was awakened by the comet Tsiphone the same time Red King was.  It looks like a bumble snow monster of the north, but Woo is still a few episodes away.  There is no other explanation of the beast.  Much like Red King, it has no powers other than brute strength.  It is a pretty good looking monster.  Ultraman did not fight many mammalian creatures over the course of the first couple series, so it is always fun to see one now and then.

WKRP - The Contest Nobody Could Win

                      

RIP George Perez

 

He passed away on May 6th, 2022, at the age of 67.  Even though he had told everyone it would be happening, it still hurts.  I take solace in the fact that he is no longer in pain and his legacy will live on for quite a long time.  He was a great artist and a great writer.  Many of the artists I had been reading in comic books had been around long before I was an active reader.  George started at Marvel in 1973, which has always given me (in my mind) a sort of kinship with George's career.  He was my favorite artist.

Sven- House of Wax (1953)

 

Wax museums seem to be a popular haven for villains.  You can ask Santo, Batman, KISS (sort of, but I am running low on examples) and even James West about this.  The story is generally the same as well- a scientist or other artistic type has his work denigrated or is underappreciated.  He then starts killing those people who have mocked him or making duplicates to kill said people.  This is what happens here, as Professor Henry Jarrod suffers burns and injuries, which spurs him to become obsessive about his House of Wax and... revenge!  He does have an understandable grudge, but goes about it in a terrible way.

overly ornate costumes

Ever notice how so many current superheroes in movies these days have so many complicated costumes?  I look at Captain America and have to wonder how long it takes him to get dressed- and his movie gear almost practical!  I know no one wants to see zippers or VPLs (look it up if you must), but come on.  Half of the heroes on television or in movies have far more armor than they need.  The rest have all kinds of designs or pockets or more details than they possibly need.  This includes both Superman and Batman.  I know that printing is now so much better and makes it far easier to do stuff like this, but really?

House of Wax (1953) - Trailer

                                

Moon Knight 06- Gods and Monsters

 

This was easily the best episode of the series.  We get all kinds of answers and a new superhero to boot.  Marc and Steven make their peace, and seem to be getting along.  Khonshu does get a "new" avatar, but anyone who has read any early Moon Knight comic books saw this one coming.  Ammit and Harrow are stopped, but lots of Egyptians die before that happens.   Tawaret also gets an avatar, May, who becomes the new Scarlet Scarab (not named, of course).  She looks great, though comparisons to Wonder Woman are going to happen.  I would be on board for a series with her. 

MOTW- Dorako

 

Dorako landed on Earth following the odd comet that was passing near the Earth.  It ended up in a three way battle between it, Red King and Guigass (see next week's MOTW).  This poor alien got its wings removed and beat down by both of the Earthling monsters.  It really didn't have a chance.  Dorako would return as a sort of zombie monster in the thrall of Geronimon, this time with hands instead of claws.

Two Gun Kid 89 (Sept, 1967)

 

As a rule, I was never into westerns too much.  Not movies, books or even comic books.  I would read the comic books, especially the Marvel ones, since Stan tried to interject some of his soap opera writing in there, but there was always a rotating cast for most of the stories.  Except the Two-Gun Kid.  He was not a misidentified outlaw, like the other two rannies pictured on the cover.  He also had the obligatory secret identity.  This is the story of how Two-Gun met Rawhide and Colt for the firs time.  Naturally, it involves a misunderstanding, but none of our heroes fight each other.  It is a good little story and the badguy confesses to Two-Gun.  All this in only 17 pages!

Bananas #4- 1974

 

Dynamite was a Scholastic magazine that was published from 1974 until 1992.  I had several of the issues, mostly because they had the origins of various superheroes in them.  I got less interested after Marvel decided to do their ripoff own magazine, Pizzazz which I never read.  They took their heroes out of Dynamite.  Dynamite then replaced the origins with their own heroes, The Dynamite Duo.  They were bland and rather boring.  But they weren't the heroes I wanted to read about.  This magazine would cover all kinds of topics, from current popular movies to sports and life topics important to kids aged 7-12 or so.

Sven- Invaders from Mars (1986)

 

First off, what is the deal with this boring poster?  I know, I know, it is based on both Poltergeist and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Still, it sure don't give you any idea what the movie is really about, unless you were familiar with the original movie.  I had never seen this version before, or at least not all of it.  I like the original, but it is not in my top twenty films of that time period.  After watching the remake, it seems to me that aside from improved effects and Martians, it is exactly the same movie.  Right down to the ending.  There isn't any real gore, even.  Which I admire, since director Tobe Hooper was sort of known for that kind of thing.