MOTW- Lepirax

 

Lepirax is a giant mutated butterfly.  We know how that how that is going to end.  Butterflies never do well when fighting Godzilla, and this one is a lot smaller than Mothra.  So it can't even fight Godzilla properly, though it does do a number on a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicopter.  But that is about it.  Much like Centipor, Lepirax is not immune to atomic breath.  It is rare to find a creature that can take a blast, though.  Rodan is one of the few Earth monsters that.  To add insult to injury, Godzilla stomps the ashes of the bug after said blast burns it to a crisp.

A hulk sized mission

 

I had to send a package via FedEx today, and the closest one is inside the local Wally World.  I rarely go into that store, it just isn't my cuppa.  However, once I was there I did look around the movies section, and found this set.  I have never seen that first Hulk movie, but I did watch the second one.  Since She Hulk has now made at least that one canon, I figured I could try watching them both.  I am not sure how that is going to go, but I bet it has been over ten years now since I have seen the one featuring the Abomination.  I hope I like it more this time.  It can't get worse, and knowing what lies ahead is kind of fun.

She Hulk 02- Superhuman Law

 

In which Jen gets fired from her law firm for ruining the case she was winning by defending people as Shulkie.  She gets rejected by firm after firm, until she gets a job offer from a very prestigious firm.  The catch is she has to be She -Hulk at work.  While in court. This new firm is specializing in super humans.  The first client Jen is representing is Emil Blonsky, AKA the Abomination.  This is a slight conflict of interest, as the Abomination had tried to kill the Hulk about... 15 years ago, oh wait, blip, so 20 years ago?  Jen talks to Bruce, and Emil, and decides to take the case.  Then footage of the Abomination in a cage fight.  "Well, this sucks."

Sven- Killer Shrews (1959)

Once again, a well meaning scientist screws up.  He is trying to figure out a way to shrink humans to half size to help out with over population.  Thanks to some drunken shenanigans, a mutant batch of shrews escapes and begins breeding on the island our heroes are on.  They can't leave, since a hurricane is coming, of course.  Anything to keep them trapped on the island with deadly giant shrews.  They are also venomous, because they adapted to the poison set out to kill them.  The heroes escape, but just left the shrews living on the island, where they apparently ate everything on the island.

Xenorama #42 cover

 

This is the proposed cover for the 30th anniversary issue.  I did consciously use the first cover, and went for a sort of old school "what the heck was I doing" feel for the new cover.  Having that first issue be in color was out of the question, and I was flying by the seat of my pants, and learning as I made more issues.  They did get better and better as I went along, though.  Even a color cover was a long way in the distance.  Still, I had a lot of fun making these old issues and they really made me a better writer.  This issue has a lot of fun stuff in it, and I am happy with the whole thing.  It should be done soon.

The Killer Shrews (1959) - Trailer

                 

Voyage into Space (1970) poster

 

AIP might have sold Voyage into Space as a theatrical movie in other parts of the world.  It would have been fun to see on the big screen especially as a kid.  This may have just been a promotional piece of art for the press kit, though.  It is pretty evocative, though one could easily see how Giant Robot looks like Commando Cody (this is what I actually thought when when I saw the 8mm movie box in Kmart as a kid.  Whattya want, I was eight years old or so!).  I should have paid more attention.  

MOTW- Centipor

 

Pity the poor arthropods that attack Godzilla head on.  From Mothra to Megagiras to Kamakiras and Kumonga, it never ends well for them.  Centipor is a centipede based creation from Dr. Demonicus.  It doesn't even look that fearsome, so perhaps the dumb doctor used a millipede rather than a centipede.  It attacks Godzilla, but gets killed by one blast of atomic breath.  That is kind of a sad end for this creature. 

Star Fleet - Brian May Promo Music Video

                

Classix Nouveaux - Guilty (Long Version) [DJK VIDEO]

            

Sven- The Land Unknown (1957)

 

An expedition is sent to the Antarctic to investigate water that is warmer than it should be.  Suddenly, a storm happens and the helicopter with its crew of four runs into it.  They don't have enough fuel to return to the ship, and also run into a strange pterosauroid.  This creature damages the copter and they crash into this strange, savage land filled with large lizards and two other prehistoric animals.  There is also a survivor of a crash from 1947, and he has turned into a caveman of sorts. Hunter (how apt) knows where the spare parts to fix the helicopter are, but wants to keep Maggie there in the lost land.  After much ado, everyone gets rescued.  Including the yet unborn baby!

She-Hulk 01- A Normal Amount of Rage

 

Jen Walters, Attorney At Law, is out driving somewhere with her cousin Bruce.  They run into a spaceship and their car gets thrown off a cliff.  They are both injured, and Jen gets an accidental transfusion from Bruce.  Since this cousin is Robert Bruce Banner, AKA the Hulk, this causes Jen to turn green on occasion herself.  However, she is able to control her changes, unlike Bruce.  He was trying to teach her now not to be a giant rage monster, but turns out, she's good.  She also says she will not be a superhero.  Good luck with that in the Marvel Universe.  Bruce doesn't like this idea, but supports her.  He does warn her what could happen, though.  This was all a recap that she told to the viewers.  Then she goes to her case and suddenly Titania bursts in.  Jen turns into Shulkie (thanks, Ben) and defeats her with one punch.

"The Land Unknown" Super 8 Cinemascope Trailer

                       

does whatever a spider can...

 

Or does he?  I have been reading the fine book The Science of Superheroes (2002).  This book generally proves that radiation is bad for people.  However, there are arthropods that have been found to be radioactive, so that is not as impossible as say, the Hulk is.  So they go over the ways Spider-man is like and not like a spider.  When they discuss his famous webshooters and how they couldn't work at all in real life.  They eventually say he could have organic webs, and talk about how it would be made and where it would be, er, released from.  This book was written before Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, but published right around the same time the movie was released.

MOTW- Batragon

 

As a Godzilla fan in the 70s, I was really excited that Marvel got the license to produce a comic book starring the King of the Monsters.  The first issue came out in 1977, and it took three more issues for Godzilla to face off with another monster.  There were a few flashback panels of Godzilla fighting other creatures, but not a full story.  Batragon shows up and steals an oil tanker.  This brings Godzilla into the story, and then we meet Dr. Demonicus.  He is responsible for mutating Batragon in the bat dragon we see now.  He also has a small menagerie of other critters to help him out in his plan to... something.

Space Stars (1981)

 

I remember when this cartoon debuted.  I was excited to see some old friends and hopeful for at least one other team.  The comedy dogs segment I did not care about in the least. I had lowered expectations since by then I knew about parents ruining action cartoons in the 60s, but I had hoped it might be a bit better than the 70s cartoons were.  It was, but the animation wasn't as good, and it sounded different.  Some of the original  voice actors were there, but they talked more like 1980s Earthlings would, rather than people of the future from other planets.  In the original Herculoids series Dorno would call his parents by their names, and now he is calling them mother and father.  Some of the sounds were changed as well, including all the power beams and rays that our heroes used.  They now sounded like they might sting a bit, rather than hurt.

Spidey vs Doc Ock

 

I have tried to watch the Spider-Man '67 Collection set from start to finish several times.  I get through the first disc, but then life happens and I forget where I left off, then start all over again.  Well, this time I started with disc 2, but mostly because I needed some screen captures for an upcoming issue (spoiler alert- it is about Spider-Man).  I had forgotten how fun this show was, especially with the classic villains.  The voice cast is excellent and the studio wisely eschewed origin stories for the villains.  Heck, Spidey's origin didn't even get done until season two!

Sven- Horror of Dracula (1958)

 

This is the first Hammer Dracula movie and possibly the first one in color.  It is pretty great, I must say.  It follows the basic Dracula story, leaving out Renfield completely.  Cuts had to be made, since the movie is only a perfect 82 minutes long.  What it changes is we see fangs, red eyes and a lot of blood.  Oh, and the lowest cuts on dresses ever.  So a lot of sex, either outright or implied.  There is also a lot more action, as Dracula is threatening and you believe it.

Facts and Figures of Japanese Monster

Constantine Furman has done it again.  This book contains so much information about these movies and monsters.  It is over 300 pages of greatness.  This information covers various titles of movies, along with translations of the titles.  There are also so many lyrics from the various song in these movies.  The reader gets them in Japanese (with English words) and then the English translations.  Now you can sing along in either language to Miyarabi's Prayer.  It is also peppered with Furman's sense of fun.  His commentary is witty and very on point.  He knows when to add a little fun at exactly the right time.

The Pop - Go! - 1979

                            

Xenorama #41 in color!

 

This issue is now live on Amazon!  It is a full color edition, featuring Space Ghost, The Herculoids, and Shazzan.   I have used some earlier articles about these shows, but have added a lot more information and pictures about the said shows.  The color really does make the pictures stand out.  These are the big three Saturday morning shows from Hanna-Barbera, though perhaps Shazzan is colored by my memories.  I do plan on doing a full color Jonny Quest issue in the near future.  That will be a lot of fun, since I love the show.  This issue just features the original series, so don't expect much talk about anything past the 60s (except for comic books).

MOTW- Z-Ton

 

Aliens infiltrate the Science Patrol and attack with their flying saucers.  The Science Patrol battles back valiantly but the largest ship lands and out pops the Space Dinosaur, Z-Ton.  This powerful alien monster begins a rampage which destroys a large chunk of Science Patrol HQ.  Naturally, Hayata uses the Beta Capsule and becomes Ultraman to fight the creature.  Then the unthinkable happens- Ultraman is defeated and it is up to the Science Patrol to finish the job.  They do this in spectacular fashion.  Then another ball of light shows up and it is Zoffy, Ultraman's superior.  We later learn that he is the Captain of the Ultra Guard.  He chastises Ultraman for letting Z-Ton defeat him.  He then separates Ultraman from Hayata.  This allows the Ultra beings to return to M78 so Ultraman can heal.

League of Super Pets (2022)

 

Just got back from seeing this SUPER fun movie.  Krypto has an existential crisis about Clark dating Lois and has to come to grips with having no other friends to hang out with.  While doing that, he also has to contend with Lu Lu, a psychotic super powered Guinea pig.  She gets her powers from orange Kryptonite.  It also gives odd powers to a pig, a squirrel, another dog and a turtle.  Lu Lu captures some of the Justice League in order to return to being Lex Luthor's pet.  The now Super Pets have to get it together to rescue the human heroes and stop Lu Lu.  Which means Krypto has to figure out how to make friends and influence people.

RIP Olivia Newton-John

 

Olivia Newton-John passed away today at the age of 73.  Her breast cancer had returned and spread to her lower back.  She made some great music and starred in one great musical, Grease (1978).  She was an advocate about breast cancer since her first bout in 1992.  Please get yourself checked!  Thank you for the music and the movies (even Xanadu!) Olivia, you will be missed.

Sven- The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

 

Baron von Frankenstein is awaiting execution for various crimes.  He relates his story to the priest to show just how he ended up in this predicament.  His story is very familiar, but this time is in color and has lot more blood than we are used to.  He creates a new creature, and this time actually uses a brain from an elderly scientist.  He is not named Dr. Abner Mal.  Too bad the brain gets damaged in a fight before newly created body.  This will not end up well.  In the end, the monster is destroyed and Victor goes off to the guillotine.

Space Ghost Blu Ray set

 

I got this set a while ago, and it is quite nice.  It is the same set up as the DVD set was, but with such good picture quality that the animation elements are sometimes apparent.  Still, the sound is great, and it has the same great documentary on Alex Toth.  They are slowing releasing all the HB cartoons on Blu Ray, at least the popular ones.  I would double dip on the rest, but if the other cartoons stay on DVD I won't mind either.  It is nice to have a nearly complete set of the superheroes they did when I was growing up. I wish I had known this would happen 30 years ago!

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) Official Trailer - Peter Cushing, Chris...

                           

Fantastic Four (2006) cartoon

 

I had seen a few clips of this cartoon on YoutTube recently  It was from the episode where the She Hulk joins and it looked pretty fun.  I had resisted watching the show due to the rather ugly character designs.  After watching the first episode I don't think I will be viewing the rest of the show.  The story was OK, but the Thing was the only character I recognized.  Johnny is a complete tool, Reed is a wimp, and Sue is portrayed as a scary ball buster.  Yuck.  Granted, the group needed some updating, as hearing Sue say "if only Reed were here" would get old quickly, much like it did in the comic book.  They all got better though.  I suppose this could work the same way, but it will be a long time until I watch more of it.  I may try the 90s version in the near future.

MOTW- Saigo

 

Back on Planet Q, Saigo, the Sand Abyss monster did not have a good time when the Science Patrol went there to get a circuit to save Space Station V2.  It got blinded by Keylla and then attacked the Science Patrol.  This caused it to get flash frozen by dry ice and that caused it to explode.  It should have just stayed underground after that first fight with Keylla.  Then it would have just been that beast that got disintegrated.  Saigo would have ruled the planet.  I wonder what it ate?

The Rezillos - Destination Venus

                       

RIP Nichelle Nichols

 

Nichelle Nichols passed on this past July 30th,  She was 89 years old.  She is of course best known for her roles as Lt. Uhura on Star Trek (1966-1969, the cartoon series and six movies).  She was great in the role and a role model to many children from all over the world.  She was a positive force on this planet, and so many people were fans of Nichelle as well as Uhura.  She will be missed.