Friday, September 30, 2022
She-Hulk 07- The Retreat
IN which Jen goes to visit Emil (The Abomination) because his inhibitor is malfunctioning. Man-Bull and El Aguila wreck her car and she is stuck at the Blonksy Retreat. Emil tries to help her, but all Jen wants is a signal to see if "Josh" is going to text her back. Spoiler: He does not. However, the gang of wanna be villains, including the Wrecker, the Porcupine and Saracen (who may or may not be a vampire, he doesn't sparkle in the sun) are in the only place that gets a bar of signal. Jen gets drawn into their therapy session. There they help her come to terms with her neediness to hear from this man she had been on three dates with and also help her realize she is just a great a person as Shulkie is. It is a good thing, since once she finds out what this douche Josh was doing I have a feeling we may see the SAVAGE She-Hulk for the first time.
Thursday, September 29, 2022
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
MOTW- Rhiahn
Rhiahn is the coolest looking of the Mega Monsters, right out of the 70s Godzilla movies. It has a disc shaped head full of sharp teeth, clawed forearms and a helicopter tail. Said tail can also be used as a weapon, as Rob and Red Ronin found out. Rhiahn could be a master of a flying guillotine. It puts up a good fight with Godzilla, and can move fast enough to grab a SHIELD saucer right out of the air. Its jaws can clamp down on Godzilla and not let go. However, it is not the smartest monster and without the Megans guidance it meets a fitting end from Godzilla.
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Teen Titans go vs Teen Titans (2019)
The Teen Titans Go team gets brought to an intra-dimensional game board by the Gamesmaster Master of Games to battle some other universe's Teen Titans. The long game is that The Master, who is Trigon in disguise, wants Go Raven's demon soul. Go Trigon is helping original Trigon accomplish this. Both Ravens end up with both Trigons, and the two teams have to get along to find their friends before Trigon can become real again. This leads to crossing over to many universes and seeing meeting many other versions of the Titans (always the same members, no Wonder Girl, Aqua Lad, Speedy, etc). Finally Raven accepts her demon side (shades of The Wizard of Earthsea) and every one says goodbye.
Monday, September 26, 2022
Xenorama #44 cover
Sunday, September 25, 2022
Sven- Gargoyles (1972)
Every five hundred years a race of reptilian Gargoyles returns to life. Apparently they are not compatible with humans, though there seems to be something to the rumor of incubi and sucubi throughout the centuries. Just as a Dr. Mercer Boley and his daughter Diana show up in the New Mexico desert to see some kind of local kook about some bones, the gargoyles start coming back to life. They want their bones back. If only they had left the humans alone until all the eggs had hatched and matured, they would have had a better chance. Eventually, a bike "gang" is enlisted to help the local constabulary find and defeat the gargoyles. The head gargoyle and his queen are left alive, and they fly off into the desert night. The end... ?
Saturday, September 24, 2022
Friday, September 23, 2022
She-Hulk 06- Just Jen
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Enjoy Ken Films Inc
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
MOTW- Beta-Beast
The Betans transport Godzilla to the Moon and have him battle their deadliest monster, the Beta-Beast. This thing can shoot fire from the top of it's head, and has deadly missiles that it can shoot from its tentacles. It can also survive on an airless planet. Godzilla defeats it in short order, and then explains to Godzilla why they brought him to the moon. Their enemies, the Megans, are about to win the long war, and are sending their top three monsters, the Mega Monsters to Earth so they can take all the resources from our planet. It seems like it would have been a better idea to have their monster become an ally to Godzilla, but aliens gotta alien. Godzilla seems to understand all of this and returns to Earth just as the first Mega monster attacks Red Ronin.
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
Space:1999
Sci-fi series were slim pickings in the 70s. There hadn't been a major television show presented in this country since Star Trek left the airwaves. One could argue that UFO (1970, but syndicated into the early 70s in the US) was a serious show, but it did not have to the budget this semi sequel series did. When Space: 1999 (1975-1977) debuted in syndication all over the country, it was a big deal. The special effects were astounding. The stories were interesting, and the second season had interesting additions.
Monday, September 19, 2022
Wonder Woman has an ale- it's a type of beers
It is hard for me to believe there was a time when bars or taverns would not serve women alcohol. This is nice to see, since back in the 40s heroes were never shown as having such "vices". It is funny, since apparently this poor bartender didn't have any idea what Diana's Golden Lasso would do to him. I wonder if she brought in Etta Candy and the Holiday Girls as well to have a pint. Why would the bartender care, since he would have made a lot of money that day. He would have gotten tipped as well.
Sunday, September 18, 2022
An Executive decision
By order of the most evil Emperor Guillotine, Xenorama #43 will be published before Xenorama #42. There are a few more articles I am waiting on for the official 30th anniversary issue, so there may be a few more issues done. I could renumber the issues, but dang it, I want issue #42 to be the special issue. It is the answer to life, the universe and everything. That makes it seem special to me and I hope all the readers will think so as well.
Saturday, September 17, 2022
Friday, September 16, 2022
She-Hulk 05- Mean, Green and Straight Poured into these Jeans
Thursday, September 15, 2022
Voyage Into Space Blu Ray review
How on Earth is this movie available on Blu Ray? And how did I not know about it? It was released by Scorpion Releasing and is available from Roninflix.com, amongst other places. The back says it is from a brand-new 2019 master, and it does indeed look amazing. I had often wondered why some enterprising fan didn't stitch together a version of the movie from the nice DVD set. This disc looks it came from a new transfer, and it is better looking than the DVD set.
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
MOTW- Yetrigar
Deep in the past in the American Northwest, a sasquatch (or Mangani, if you will) gets frozen. This places him in suspended animation. Then in the 1950s, atomic tests in the US awaken the creature. And as always, exposure to the radiation makes the creature grown to an approximate height of 50 meters (well, whatever size the Marvel-zilla is). Due to this, Yetrigar comes into conflict with Godzilla, and shortly thereafter, the giant robot Red Ronin. This leads to the poor beast getting buried under an avalanche, courtesy of a guilt stricken Rob Takaguchi. He thinks he killed Yetrigar. Later on, though, Mockingbird revives the creature.
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
Monday, September 12, 2022
Samurai Jack (again)
I started watching this show in 2013. I think I got through two seasons before I left whatever service had the show. I didn't even realize the series hadn't finished until 2017. I got the full series on Blu Ray a while back, and finally started over. I don't remember any of this first episode, though, so it really will be like watching a new series again. I remember the gist of the plot, at least, and the two main characters. I also remember a few of the plots, but not much overall.
Sunday, September 11, 2022
Sven-It Came From Outer Space (1953)
Aliens crash land in the desert near Sand Rock, Arizona. They are decidedly non-human in appearance, but they have the capability to assume different forms. Author John Putnam and his fiance go and investigate next day. Soon after that, townspeople start acting weird. Putnam figures things out, and the aliens are generally friendly. He gives them enough time to fix their ship and leave the Earth, and all the humans are unharmed. When asked if they are gone for good, he replies "No, just for now. It wasn't the right time for us to meet. But there will be other nights, other stars for us to watch. They'll be back".
Saturday, September 10, 2022
Taschen - Wonder Woman (2007)
I love these little Taschen books. The books are a history of whatever character or team and are pretty thorough. Despite being in existence for over 80 years, Wonder Woman has a lot less history in other media than the rest of the Trinity. This book was done in 2015, so it doesn't contain Diana's newest movie or cartoon incarnations. So there is a lot of talk about the comic books and how Diana and her cast of characters have changed of those 80 years. Which is fun, since I have not read that many Wonder Woman stories over the years. I tried in the 70s when the television show was on, but DC set her back in the 40s, then the show went to the 70s. I really didn't pay much attention to her until Perez took over her book after the Crisis.
Friday, September 9, 2022
She-Hulk 05- Is This Not Real Magic?
In which a second rate "magician" uses a sling ring to send unwitting audience members to other dimensions, leading Wong to retain Jen's services to give the faker a C&D (cease and desist). She does so, but Judge Hanna allows "Donny Blaze" to continue making a living while she thinks about her ruling. Donny then continues his act, but when his latest victim beautiful assistant declines to step through a portal, all hell breaks loose. This causes Wong to retain Shulkie's services, right in the middle of a first date. Our heroes take care of the demon things (some resemble Zool after a time) and ol Donny Blaze agrees to the C&D. Jen returns to her date, but in the morning he doesn't seem to like Jen in her regular human form. She then gets sued by Titania who has the copyright or trademark on the name She-Hulk. At least there is a cute tag.
Thursday, September 8, 2022
Devilman (1973)
Yet another spoiler for a future issue of Xenorama- an issue featuring some of the creations of Go Nagai. I have enjoyed all of the cartoons he has created, though some more than others. Devilman was one I always wanted to see when I was growing up, though it might have been a bit too intense for me back then. When I finally got the Hong Kong set I did enjoy it a lot. And this was with the rather unusual subtitles it had. They were kind of in English. But the picture look great and the sound was good, so I was happy. I had seen some of the newer Devilman adaptions, and they were bloody and gross, so I don't remember much about them.
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
MOTW- Ghilaron
Ghilaron is the final creation of Dr. Demonicus to attack Godzilla. This battle lasts the longest, but still ends the same way with Godzilla snapping the poor beast's neck. Godzilla then does away with Demonicus Island. Godzilla never saw the bad doctor again, but he resurfaced later on in various other Marvel mags to vex other heroes. I guess the Marvel Godzilla showed up again, in a sad, mutated form, but then again returned to his normal self.
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Xenorama #43 cover
While Xenorama #42, the 30th anniversary issue is nearing completion, we are hard at work for the next five or so issues. Spider-Man, an issue about musicals, an issue about really cool toys and more are all lined up. When Xenorama relaunched in July of 2013 I did not know how things would go, but that was issue 15. In less than 10 years we have published over twenty more issues. I still find it amazing and I love writing more all the time. I also love that I get to watch movies and shows and call it "research" as well.
Monday, September 5, 2022
Sunday, September 4, 2022
Sven- Frogs (1972)
On a local island run by polluting idiots nature takes revenge. Lizards, snakes, tarantulas, turtles and frogs decide to strike back at these morons. Four people do escape, at least we are led to believe that. The rest of the cast ends up as animal food, even the three people that don't deserve it (these three people may have escaped, the movie doesn't actually show them being killed). Finally, leaving the stubborn patriarch is left alone on the island and the frogs overwhelm his mansion. They must have scared him to death. I hope the amphibians didn't kill the innocent and cute dog, Colonel.
Saturday, September 3, 2022
Wonder Woman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told (2007)
While doing some research for a future issue of Xenorama I realized that I did not own a single Wonder Woman comic book. I had only read her main title sporadically growing up, even after the television show was airing. I did by and read all of George Perez' wonderful run on the title. I did a proper culling of my collection and all of those did go away. I saw this for sale and thought it would be a good read. The eleven stories presented here are pretty good, though I am not sure I would call most of them the greatest ones ever told. It does have a wonderful introduction by Lynda Carter (you should see her other plane) and all the stories arequite good, though many are definitely a product of their times.
Friday, September 2, 2022
She-Hulk 03- The People vs Emil Blonksky
In which Jen actually gets Emil out on parole. Is this actually wise? The world may never know. She talks to Wong, the Master of the Mystic Arts. Sorcerer Supreme is here as the guest star, explaining the cage fight in Shang Chi to our satisfaction. Seems he chose to fight the Abomination as part of his becoming the Sorcerer Supreme. He testifies as such, but the lawyers are upset Wong confessed to liberating Emil, which is rather illegal. Wong then teleports out of the prison. The second story about a shape shifting elf from New Asgard ends properly. Finally, the Wrecking Crew shows up, which gives us a small fight. Seems like they want a sample of Jen's blood and they have a mysterious "boss". This is intriguing, to say the least, since in the old school days, Loki created the Wrecker and his crew.
Thursday, September 1, 2022
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1945)
A young widow buys a haunted house to raise her children. She rents the cottage at first, but she soon meets and befriends the ghost of Captain Daniel Gregg. He wants the cottage to be made a haven for retired ship captains after Lucy leaves and provides her with the gold to buy it. After that, we get many adventures. Lucy writes the story of Captain Gregg in order to make money to help out with providing for her kids and such. This is as far as I have gotten. The book is a short 174 pages, so I am nearly done.