Endangered

Endangered

Art by Juan Santacruz
Written by Josh Williamson

Chris and Mikey are the teenage sons of who they consider to be the most boring man in the universe. Their father is a safety specialist, and is constantly making sure his sons are always safe. But one day their father goes away on a business trip and never comes back. Both of the boys are worried, and then startled by the sudden appearance of cute teenage alien girl in their living room. It turns out that their father is basically a space cop. And she is the last of her race. Their father has been doing all he can to protect her. But he was captured by an evil alien race. This race is trying to kill off the alien girl. So now it is up to Chris and Mikey to not only help their father escape ,but to also protect the girl from the evil aliens.

Now I have always been a fan of science fiction, especially the sub genre of space opera. And this is a good example of the space opera genre. The story is a mix of Green Lantern, Star Wars and a little shot of the new Battlestar Galactica. One thing that puzzled me is the cover artwork is kinda lame. But the inside artwork is good. The cover and the interiors are both done by the same person. Endangered gets a B.

Motormouth #2 and 3

Motormouth was part of the 90s Marvel UK line of titles. Written by Graham Marks ,pencils by Gary Frank with Cam Smith doing the inks. This is the story of a UK street urchin named Harley Davidson. Who is known as Motormouth cause she talks so much. She ends up with a pair of high tech sneakers that allows her to teleport anywhere.

Now really the story in these two issues is kinda stupid. But the art work from Gary Frank makes up for the bad story. Gary has a nice clean art style that is very eyecatching. This series only lasted 12 issues. And if they ever put out a trade I would buy it just for the artwork. Really there isn't much to say cause besides the art nothing about this series is memorable. Motormouth gets a C+. And that is all for the art.

Heavy Water

Heavy Water

Art by Alberto Muriel
Written by Jonathan W.C. Mills

Set in an alternative future, Heavy Water  is a world in which the Nazis won World War II. And now they rule most of the world. But a small resistance group is doing all they can to change history. They have figured out a way to travel back in time. So they Ben Hauklid is equipped with an old diary and then sent back to Norway in the year 1943. He knows he is the only chance the world has to be free again.

I have always enjoyed alternative history fiction. And this is a great example of it. The artwork by Alberto Muriel is great. And looks different than his artwork on The Blacksmith OGN. The reason for this might be that both OGNs have different colorist. Both books have good art. But I prefer the art on Heavy Water. This is one of the few Kickstart OGNs that didn’t feel like part one of a longer story. Once this OGN is over you know you have been told all of the story. Heavy Water gets a A-.

Blog that you should check out

Recently I discovered  a fun little movie zine. Crimson Screens,I got in issue 7 and it was an all action movie issue. Had a great article on Reb Brown,who I have always enjoyed. Well I just discovered that the guy that runs Crimson Screens has a blog. Figured if you enjoy my blog you might like his.


                                     WWW.crimsonscreens.blogspot.com

Spider-man:Doctor Octopus digest

This is the other digest that I mentioned in my FF digest review. Now I am not sure if there was a Spidey digest before this one. But I get the feeling there was. Cause this one starts with issue 3. Again Marvel doesn't include the credits. But these 3 issues are written by Stan Lee and have stunning artwork from the living legend Steve Ditko.

We start off with issue 3 of Amazing Spider-man. Which is the first appearance of Doctor Octopus. Great story that has a cameo from the Human Torch. Doc Ock has always been one of my favorite Spidey villains. And Mr Ditko draws a great Doc Ock. Plus at the end of the issue you get a fun pin up of Spidey that I suspect is drawn by Steve Ditko.

Issue 4 is the first appearance of the Sandman. Who is another of my favorite Spidey villians. I love how Spidey ends up having to use his brains instead of his brawn to defeat the Sandman. And the issue ends with Spidey doubting himself and wondering if he is crackpot that J Jonah Jameson and the Daily Bugle say he is. There is some great scenes of Sandman using his powers that are rendered by Ditko. The artwork has this raw energy that few artist of this era had.

Issue 5 is interesting cause it is one of the earliest Marvel villain crossovers. Cause in this issue Spidey faces Doctor Doom. Now I might be wrong but I think up until this issue Dr Doom had only appeared in a few issues of Fantastic Four. I found that I like the way Steve Ditko draws Dr Doom more than the way Jack Kirby draws him. You get a fun subplot with Flash Thompson dressing up as Spidey. I always liked how Flash was a huge Spidey fan,but he hated Peter Parker. The ending is kinda lame with Dr Doom running away cause he sees the Fantasti-car heading his way. But still it is nice to see Spidey clash against someone who is also a scientist. Spider-man:Doctor Octopus digest gets a A-.

The Blacksmith

The Blacksmith

Art by Alberto Muriel
Written by Malik Evans and Richard Sparkman

The Blacksmith are a secret group that creates weapons for the USA military. But very few people know who they are ,and almost no-one knows their real names. This group has been around since the Revolutionary War. This OGN focuses on Alex Malloy. And then a gun created by him is used to kill a Senator. This causes Alex to become a hunted man. He has both the CIA and another group after him. But thanks to all the various weapons and equipment he has created he might just have a chance to clear his name.

This OGN kinda reminded me of a good spy novel mixed with some sci fi. The various weapons Alex has created are all pretty neat. Near the beginning of the OGN he is shown creating “ice” bullets. Which are made of super dense ice. Best thing about them is them melt and leave no trace. The artwork from Muriel has a distinct look, and I like it. The story from Evans and Sparkman ,while not completely original is entertaining and a fun fast paced read. One thing about this OGN that people should know is if you buy it online or at a comic shop the cover price is around $8. But Kickstart Comics has a distribution deal with Walmart. So if you find it at Walmart the cover price is $3.45,and is usually discounted down to $3. This is so worth the $3 and really is worth paying $8 if you can’t find it at your local Walmart. The Blacksmith earns a B+.

NWA presents Fiesta Lucha !

NWA presents Fiesta Lucha!

Bought this dvd at random. Mainly cause I was wanting to see some non-WWE wrestling. This show was held in Los Vegas on Feb 25th 2007 by the NWA Pro promotion. NWA Pro is one of the higher profile NWA affiliates. They are known for holding shows in areas with big Latino populations and packing their cards with luchadores.

We start off with the USA National Anthem. The crowd is decent sized. Lots of kids in Rey Jr  masks. One guy who is singing along with the anthem looks like a 40 year old Uncle Bill of Deadpit fame. The ring announcer says to honor Mexico they will now play the Mexican National Anthem. But instead they start playing "La Chuca raca" aka the Mexican Hat dance song. And Joey Ryan and Karl Anderson are making their way to the ring. Joey Ryan is great on the mic and keeps running down the various Mexicans in the audience. Funny thing is Karl Anderson is half Mexican If I recall correctly. Now they  are doing the Mexican hat dance. And Karl keeps saying he wants to get the Border Patrol in to get rid of all the illegal aliens. But the Los Luchas hit the ring and chase Anderson and Ryan out.

Now we goto an interview with Mark Thompson and Bobby Marshall. Nice angry interview with Marshall talking about how he came all the way from down under to win the King of the Summit battle royale.

Match 1

4 way tag team match

Young Bucks vs Midnight Dynamite vs Tommy Kim & JJ Perez vs EGO.

The match starts off with all four teams in the ring. But quickly the faces get the heels outside the ring. And the Young Bucks do a nice double dive to the outside. JJ Perez is in the ring against one of the guys from Midnight Dynamite. JJ is fast and reminds me of a young Ricky Steamboat. He does a nice diving headbutt off the top rope. JJ makes it to the ropes and tags in his partner Tommy Kim. Kim goes for a pin but doesn't get it. Both guys tag out and now it is Nick Jackson and one of the guys from Ego. We get a great double dropkick from the Young Bucks. Matt gets tagged in and so does Nathan Rules. But Matt quickly tags in Tommy Kim. It seems the Young Bucks are working with Tommy and JJ. While Midnight Dynamite is working with EGO. The Bucks and Tommy and JJ are keeping Nathan from tagging out. But Nathan catches one of the Young Bucks with a stiff clothesline. Nathan tags in Johnny Paradise. And Paradise goes for the pin. But we only get a 2 count. Nice double top rope move from Midnight Dynamite. Matt makes a comeback. But Johnny Paradise rakes the eyes and takes Matt to the mat. We get a great double team from the Young Bucks and Nick hits a great springboard moonsault. Both guys tag out and we now have Nathan and JJ in the ring. Nathan does a series of power moves on JJ. Oh shit Nathan does a airplane spin. I haven't seen that move in years. JJ starts to make his comeback,But Nathan floors him with a brutal clothesline. Nathan goes for some kind of top rope move. But JJ turns it into a top rope neck breaker. Both guys are flat on the mat. JJ manages to tag in Matt Jackson. Ok it is going so fast I have lost track on who the legal men are. Both Young Bucks are going to the top rope and hit double 450 splashes for the pin. Fun match,and a great way to start the show.

We goto the back and David Marquez is interviewing Human Tornado. Tornado is talking about how he is gonna be teaming with Matt Classic to take on Los Pochos Guapos.

Match 2

Peter Goodman vs The Mighty Kafu

It seems Kafu is from Brazil. And he is huge. I think that for a short while Kafu was in FCW. Kafu kinda reminds me of a young super tall Meng. Kafu is great at interacting with the crowd. Peter keeps stalling and complaining to the ref. But it doesn't work. Kafu hits a strong clothesline and follows it up with a forearm to the back. Goodman keeps going outside the ring,and jaw jacking with the fans. Looks like Goodman is leaving the ringside area. But Kafu follows him . And then grabs Goodman by the ear and drags him around the arena. Finally Kafu throws Peter back in the ring. And nails Goodman with a stiff chop and then a elbow. This match kinda reminds me of the old WWE Challenge jobber matches. Where you got a superstar versus some jobber. Goodman gets in some offense. And starts to work on Kafu's leg. Goodman goes for a pin but barely gets a 1 count. The crowd is solidly behind Kafu. Goodman goes for a spinkick but Kafu blocks it and catches Goodman with a clawhold. Both guys end up on the mat. Kafu hulks up and nails Kafu with two brutal clotheslines and a sidewalk slam. Kafu goes to the top rope for a kneedrop. But Peter rolls outta the way. Goodman locks on a figure four in the middle of the ring. Kafu manages to roll over,and for some reason Goodman breaks the hold and puts on a half crab. Kafu breaks this and gets up. He catches Goodman with a clawhold slam that he  turns into a backbreaker for the pin. Another fun match,would love to see more of Kafu. He seems like the kind of guy that WWE would be interested in.

We go backstage again and some balding guy is talking to local favorite Big Q. Big Q is also in the upcoming battle royale. He looks like a  chubby New Jack.

Match 3

Ricky Reyes & Bobby Marshall vs Colt Cabana & Sonny Sampson

Should be a good match. I have seen all of these guys besides Marshall before. Kinda wondering who the faces and heels are. We start off with Bobby and Sonny in the ring. Sampson is working a gimmick that reminds me of the late Rick Rude. Sonny does some comedy spots that the crowd eats up. Kinda funny Bobby is wrestling in an old pair of Chuck Taylor high tops. Marshall  tags in Ricky. I think Ricky use to be in ROH. Sampson tags in Colt. And Colt comes in and brings the comedy. Fuck I love Colt. He is great in the ring and on the mic. Plus he has the best current wrestling podcast. OK this match seems to be a total comedy match. Which is good. Ricky and Bobby regroup on the outside. Looks like Colt and Sonny are the faces. Colt and Sonny are using quick tags to keep Ricky from getting back to his corner. But finally Ricky tags in Bobby. Sonny takes him down with a armdrag followed by an elbow. Bobby takes control and throws Sonny into the corner post. Ricky and Bobby start to double team Sonny. Just noticed that Bobby has red laces in his shoes,plus the commentary team keeps talking about how Bobby is racist. The skinheads I have seen always have red or yellow laces in their shoes. Neat little touch that most people wouldn't notice. Ricky starts to work on Sonny's arm. But Sonny starts to hulk up. And again Bobby and Ricky double team Sonny. Colt is in the corner doing his best to cheer his teammate on. The commentary team talks about how Colt wants the match to end so he can go hit the casinos. But from what I keep hearing Colt is one of the most frugal wrestlers on the indy circuit.  Sonny finally makes the hot tag to Colt. And Colt comes in and cleans up the ring. Colt hits a great Asai moonsault on both Ricky and Bobby. Now all four men are in the ring. And Colt hits the flying asshole on Ricky. Sonny and Colt pin their opponents for the 3 count. Fun match. I always like to see at least one comedy match on each card.

We goto the back and the bald guy is now talking to Nelson Creed about his upcoming match with Adam Pearce for the NWA Heritage  title. Never seen Nelson before. But I have seen Pearce. Pearce is  kinda a throwback to the 70's style of heel. Creed makes fun of how chubby Adam is.

Match 4

25 man King of the Summit Battle Royale

It is super hard to write a review of a battle royale. So I will only mention the stuff that stands out. It seems every 45 seconds a new man will enter the ring. We start off with Steve Pain and Big Q. Big Q is wearing some orange and black camo that really makes him look like a fat ass New Jack. Pain seems to be a high flyer. Nathan Rules is the third man in. He takes Pain into a corner and hits multiple shoulder blocks. I like that they have waht seems to be at least 5 refs around the outside of the ring. Number 4 is the So Cal kid Ryan Taylor. Who is super skinny. Number 5 is Diablo. Who is a tall pale long haired white guy. He looks like he use to be a roadie for Cinderella. Pain hits a sloppy head scissors take down. Number 6 is Bobby Marshall. Big Q is already winded and is staying in the corner. But he hits a stiff clothesline that takes Diablo outta the ring. Number 7 is Johnny Paradise.  Steve Pain gets knocked outta the ring by a clothesline. Number 8 is Charles Mercury. Mercury is the other member of Midnight Dynamite. Midnight Dynamite throw out Ryan Taylor. Number 9 is Sexy Chino. And while Sexy is entering the ring Midnight Dynamite is eliminated. Number 10 is Webster Dalfiny.Webster use to tag up with Big Q in XPW. Big Q gets eliminated by Lester.Number 11 is Tommy Kim. Tommy Kim cleans house. Tommy Kim hits a airplane spin. Man I wish that move would come back. Number 12 is JJ Perez. Number 13 is Jay Ryan. And Ryan has chewing tobacco stains all over his chest and trunks. Number 14 is Scott Lost. Lost is one of the guys that started PWG. Number 15 is Matt Jackson. The ring is getting crowded so I bet someone gets eliminated soon. And Tommy Kim is the one to get eliminated. Number 16 is AJ Curse. He looks a lot like the AJ guy that was on the last season of Tough Enough. Number 17 is Nick Jackson. The Young Bucks eliminate themselves and EGO. And they keep fighting at ringside. Number 18 is Damien Slater. People keep trying to throw Chino out of the ring but he always manages to get back in. Number 19 is Sexy Sonny Sampson. The crowd seems to be majorly behind Sexy Chino. Number 20 is Cameron Wallace. He is working a prissy heel gimmick. And the crowd is still chanting for Chino. Number 21 is Boom Boom Marino. He looks like he has been hitting all the cheap Vegas buffets. Number 22 is Kafu. Fuck yes. Kafu hits the ring and throws Bobby Marshall out. Scott Lost also gets eliminated. Kafu throws out Damien Slater. Number 23 is Peter Goodman. Kafu throws out Sampson and Webster. Cameron Wallace gets eliminated. OK guys are getting eliminated so fast I can't keep up. Number 24 is Ultra X. We are down to 5 men in the ring. Kafu throws Ultra X outta the ring. Now Goodman and Ryan are double teaming Kafu. While Chino lays on the mat. Number 25 is LTP. And Kafu quickly throws LTP outta the ring. Ryan and Goodman finally manageuper hard to write a review of a battle royale. So I will only mention the stuff that stands out. It seems every 45 seconds a new man will enter the ring. We start off with Steve Pain and Big Q. Big Q is wearing some orange and black camo that really makes him look like a fat ass New Jack. Pain seems to be a high flyer. Nathan Rules is the third man in. He takes Pain into a corner and hits multiple shoulder blocks. I like that they have waht seems to be at least 5 refs around the outside of the ring. Number 4 is the So Cal kid Ryan Taylor. Who is super skinny. Number 5 is Diablo. Who is a tall pale long haired white guy. He looks like he use to be a roadie for Cinderella. Pain hits a sloppy head scissors take down. Number 6 is Bobby Marshall. Big Q is already winded and is staying in the corner. But he hits a stiff clothesline that takes Diablo outta the ring. Number 7 is Johnny Paradise.  Steve Pain gets knocked outta the ring by a clothesline. Number 8 is Charles Mercury. Mercury is the other member of Midnight Dynamite. Midnight Dynamite throw out Ryan Taylor. Number 9 is Sexy Chino. And while Sexy is entering the ring Midnight Dynamite is eliminated. Number 10 is Webster Dalfiny.Webster use to tag up with Big Q in XPW. Big Q gets eliminated by Lester.Number 11 is Tommy Kim. Tommy Kim cleans house. Tommy Kim hits a airplane spin. Man I wish that move would come back. Number 12 is JJ Perez. Number 13 is Jay Ryan. And Ryan has chewing tobacco stains all over his chest and trunks. Number 14 is Scott Lost. Lost is one of the guys that started PWG. Number 15 is Matt Jackson. The ring is getting crowded so I bet someone gets eliminated soon. And Tommy Kim is the one to get eliminated. Number 16 is AJ Curse. He looks a lot like the AJ guy that was on the last season of Tough Enough. Number 17 is Nick Jackson. The Young Bucks eliminate themselves and EGO. And they keep fighting at ringside. Number 18 is Damien Slater. People keep trying to throw Chino out of the ring but he always manages to get back in. Number 19 is Sexy Sonny Sampson. The crowd seems to be majorly behind Sexy Chino. Number 20 is Cameron Wallace. He is working a prissy heel gimmick. And the crowd is still chanting for Chino. Number 21 is Boom Boom Marino. He looks like he has been hitting all the cheap Vegas buffets. Number 22 is Kafu. Fuck yes. Kafu hits the ring and throws Bobby Marshall out. Scott Lost also gets eliminated. Kafu throws out Damien Slater. Number 23 is Peter Goodman. Kafu throws out Sampson and Webster. Cameron Wallace gets eliminated. Ok guys are getting eliminated so fast I can't keep up. Number 24 is Ultra X. We are down to 5 men in the ring. Kafu throws Ultra X outta the ring. Now Goodman and Ryan are double teaming Kafu. While Chino lays on the mat. Number 25 is LTP. And Kafu quickly throws LTP outta the ring. Ryan and Goodman finally manage to eliminate Kafu. Ryan then throws Goodman outta the ring. And while he is celebrating Chino eliminates Ryan. So Chino is the King of the Summit  winner. For a battle royale this was decently paced and fun to watch. The crowd seems mega happy.

We goto a quick advertisement for the NWA wrestling showcase show on Colours TV. Man I miss that show.

Match 5

Human Tornado & Matt Classic vs Los Pochos Guapos

We start off with Kid Kaos and Tornado in the ring. Kaos was one of the few good non-death match workers from XPW. And Human Tornado was amazing. Kinda sad that he had to retire from injuries. Tornado is so fluid in the ring and has this style that no other wrestler has. Tornado tags in Matt Classic. The commentary team talks about how Matt was in a coma for over 60 years. Classic starts working on Kaos arm. Nice release suplex from Classic. Classic tags in Human Tornado. But Kaos gets Tornado into his corner and tags in Aaron Aguilera. Aaron is a good power wrestler. Human Tornado hits a Tornado DDT and Aaron ends up outside the ring.  I have no idea why neither TNA or WWE signed Human Tornado or Matt Classic. The crowd seems to be split between the Guapos and Tornado and Classic. Classic gets a face claw on Aaron. But Aaron powers out. Tornado tries to get the crowd to cheer for Classic but the crowd is solidly behind the Guapos now. Makes since ,looks like over 75% of the crowd is Latino. Guapos double team Classic. But only get a 2 count. Damn Aaron hits a nice back  elbow off the top rope. He managed to jump from the mat to the top rope. Kaos goes for a moonsault. But misses this allows Matt to go tag Tornado. Tornado cleans house. Tornado does a series of dance moves. Human Tornado hits a double sunset flip and gets  a 2 count. Matt Classic gets distracted by all the tech at ringside and this allows Aaron to hit a facebuster on Tornado. Now we cut to three skanks at ringside. Aaron goes over to them. This allows Human Tornado to hit a springboard senton bomb on Kaos for the 3 count.  This has been the best match on the DVD so far.

We goto a video package of Joey Ryan and Karl Anderson's antics from earlier on the card. This is to set up the next match.

Match 6

Flag Match

Los Luchas vs The Real American Heroes Joey Ryan and Karl Anderson

Thanks to the NWA wrestling showcase show,I have seen these two teams have many matches. Seems the first team to get their flag or a pinfall gets the win tonight. The commentary team is talking about how Karl is related to Arn and Ole  Anderson. Some fat hairy guy in the audience takes off his shirt and has to be held back by security. Seems he wants to fight Ryan and Anderson. We start off with Phoenix Star and Ryan. Ryan stalls. Which gets the crowd even more mad at him. While Star is busy playing to the crowd Ryan hits him with a cheap shot. Star comes back with a second rope head scissors takedown. Karl Anderson enters the ring and Star tags in Zokre. Anderson overpowers Zokre. He keeps hitting power moves. He goes for a running legdrop but Zokre gets outta the way and makes a comeback. Zokre hits a top rope leg scissors takedown. It seems Anderson and Ryan are fed up and they start to leave the arena. But when Los Luchas turn their backs the Real American Heroes come back into the ring.  Lots of fast paced double team moves from Los Luchas. And like in every Joey Ryan match his opponent pulls down his trunks so we can see Ryan's thong. Ryan and Karl double team Phoenix Star in the corner. Karl Anderson tries to take off Star's mask. WOW sweet dropkick from Joey Ryan. It is almost as good as Bob Holly's dropkick. The Real American Heroes cut off the ring and keep working on Star. Star hits a sunset flip outta the corner and gets a 1 count. Then Anderson and Star go outside the ring. Karl throws Star back into the ring and Joey Ryan gets taken down by a spinning arm breaker. Star manages to tag Zokre. And Zokre comes in and takes out both men. Couple of nice double team moves from the Los Luchas. Zokre hits a senton to both Ryan and Anderson. Ryan goes for a superkick but totally misses it. So he goes for it again. And Karl hits a brutal spinebuster on Zokre. The RAH go for their flag but the Los Luchas come up behind them and roll them up. Los Luchas go to the outside of the mat and hit a nice double senton on the Real American Heroes. Los Luchas get their flag,but the ref is distracted. And Adam Pearce hits the ring and places Ryan on top of Phoenix Star for the 3 count. Amazing tag match. If WWE really wants to rebuild their tag team division they should hire both of these teams.

We go backstage and the bald guy is there again. I guess I should try to learn his name but it really doesn't matter. He is talking to Adam Pearce.This is to hype up the NWA Heritage title match this evening.

Match 7

NWA Heritage Championship title match

Scrap Iron Adam Pearce vs The Canadian Bomber Nelson Creed.

We start off with Nick Bockwinkle entering the ring. Bockwinkle goes and shakes hands with Nelson. He tries to shake Pearce's hand but Adam blows him off. Great way to get some heat. Never heard of the NWA Heritage title before. But it seems to be a higher level title. The crowd is behind Nelson. Which means Adam is doing his job. Pearce stalls and mugs for the camera. They lock up and Adam gets a hammerlock. But Nelson reverses it. Creed takes Pearce to the mat. But Adam gets up and makes it to the ropes. So Creed has to break the hold. It is kinda weird this seems to be from before the NWA Wrestling showcase show started. But by the time that show started Pearce was the NWA World Champion. So this must have been before the World title tournament. Creed works on Adam's arm ,but Pearce gets back to his feet and backs Creed into the corner. Pearce reminds me of an old school heel. Stalling and using whatever he can to get the upper hand. To bad that Pearce is kinda bland looking,cause he could be a big star. Creed hits some quick armdrags followed by a dropkick that causes Adam to retreat to the floor. Pearce calls for a timeout. You can tell Pearce has watched many tapes of older stuff. He totally has the feel of the old traveling NWA world champion. Adam wants a test of strength. They lock up. and Adam seems to be winning. But Creed comes back. And he takes Pearce to the mat. Creed goes back to working on Adam's arm. Pearce makes a comeback thanks to interference from his manager. Adam hits Creed with some brass knuckles and gets a 2 count. Creed makes a great comeback and hits a bridging suplex. But the ref gets hit. Pearce is looking for the chain that his manager threw to him. But Creed catches him with a belly to back suplex. Creed wraps the chain around his fist and hits Pearce with it. He pins Pearce and another ref comes in and counts to 3. It seems we have a new champion. I bet we are gonna get a Dusty finish. Yup the first ref saw Creed hit Pearce with the chain so Creed is DQed. So Adam Pearce is still the NWA Heritage Champion. OK match but I really hate the Dusty finish.

Match 8

El Hijo Del Santo & Billy Kidman vs Psicosis & Super Parka

Not expecting much from this match. Santo Jr has always sucked and really if it wasn't for his father I doubt he would be allowed to wrestle. Super Parka is shit. And Kidman hasn't been good since he left WWE. Psicosis is very hit or miss. We start off with Kidman vs Super Parka. Kidman is looking a little chubby. Ok they are refering to Nicho El Millonario. Nice they make a reference to Kidman taking Psicosis mask back in WCW. Seems that also Santo took Super Parka's mask. But Super Parka is still wearing it. I would figure the crowd would really be into this match,but they seem to be bored. So am I. Sure I understand why it is the main event. It has biggest names on the card. I assume that Kidman and Santo Jr are the faces. But it is hard to tell. Psicosis enters the ring and makes it known that he wants Kidman. Santo enters the ring and the crowd goes wild. Just proves that it is the name that gets over not the worker. Psicosis and Santo take turns posing on the top  rope. Damn this match sucks. Santo does some kinda of lucha style submission on Psicosis. But for some reason Santo breaks the hold. The commentary team is full of shit. They say that Santo Jr ,Psicosis ,and Super Parka are the top 3 luchadores in Mexico. Guess they have never seen Blue Panther,Dr Wagner Jr,Ultimo Guerrero or Rey Bucanero. Santo Jr falls for the old handshake gimmick. But quickly he takes Psicosis to the mat. Santo Jr tags in Kidman . If this match had happened 10 years ago it would be amazing ,but now it is barely passable. Oh great now Super Parka is in the ring. He goes for a low dropkick that completely misses ,but Kidman still sells it. The match goes back and forth. Santo Jr manages to take off Super Parka's mask. And the crowd eats it up. Kidman gets the 3 count on Psicosis while Santo Jr is busy outside the ring with Super Parka. Finally this shitstorm of a match is over. This is the worst match on the card. Barely worth watching.

Overall this DVD is great. The last match blows. But all the other matches make up for it. If you can find it for 10 bucks or less pick it up. Since Big Vision went out of business this DVD is out of print. Nwa Fiesta Lucha is a solid B+.

Fantastic Four:First Family Digest

Back in 2005 Marvel comics put a series of black and white digest that usually reprinted 3 issues. I had heard nothing about this but on a trip to my local comic shop I saw them up by the register. They were only a buck so I picked up 2. Got home flipped through them and realized these would be something great to add to my treat bags I give out on Halloween. So I went back and bought about 20 of each of the digest the shop had.

This digest is titled Fantastic Four:First Family. And it is black and white reprints of the first 3 issues of the FF series from the 60's. The cover is a reprint of the now classic cover to FF#1. The first issue we get two stories. The first story is the now well known origin of the FF. Reed Richards,Ben Grim, Sue and Johnny Storm go up into space in a spaceship of Reed's design. Well turns out the shielding on the ship isn't good enough. And they all get a huge does of radiation. The ship crashes back on Earth and they each discover they had developed super powers. The second story in this issue is all about the Mole Man attacking New York city. And this is were the image on the cover comes from. For some reason this reprint doesn't give the credits. But I know the story is by Stan Lee and the art is by the great Jack Kirby. While the artwork is good it isn't as good as the later Kirby artwork on the Fantastic Four series. But this issue is a good overall introduction to the team.

The second issue has the FF facing off against the alien race the Skrulls. This is the first appearence of the Skrulls. They are a race of aliens that can shift their shape into anyone. So the Skrulls start off impersonating the FF and causing all kinds of trouble. At the end of the story Reed hypnotizes the Skrulls and they change into some cows and forget that they are Skrulls. This storyline is later used as the basis for the great Skrull Kill Krew mini from the mid 90s. Kirby's art on this issue is a huge improvement on the first issue.

The final issue in this digest is a reprint of the third issue of the Fantastic Four.In this issue we get the first appearence of the Fantasti-car and also it is the first time the FF get their now familiar costumes. Outta the three issues in this digest this is my favorite cause they fight the Miracle Man. Who has always been a villian I enjoy. The FF first meet the Miracle Man when he is doing a stage show. And it seems he is all powerfull and can do almost anything. But after he goes on a crime spree,Reed figures out Miracle Man's secret and the FF quickly disposes of him.

As far as I know this digest plus two others are the only ones Marvel did. I have no idea why cause these are a great cheap way to introduce new readers to some of the classic Marvel silver age stories. Fantastic Four:First Family gets a B+.

Book of Lilah

Book of Lilah

Art by Javi Fernandez
Written by Jack Monaco

    For centuries a secret organization called the Keepers has protected the world’s knowledge. The Keepers tracks all the information in the world. And if they deem some info to be too dangerous for mankind, they will destroy it. But in modern day someone is out to kill the Keepers and only a 20 year old woman named Lilah can save them.

This OGN has a great premise. The Keepers are like librarians with superpowers. One of the powers they have that really caught my eye is they can enter one library and use their powers to warp them to any other library in the world. The artwork by Javi is good, plus the coloring really helps. It makes the art have this unique look. Now I have always been fascinated by libraries and books, so this story really caught my attention. After I finished reading it I was hoping that Kickstart will do a sequel or turn this into a series of OGNs. Book of Lilah gets a A-.

Cinema Sewer book 1

I first heard about Cinema Sewer back in 2008. It is a zine created by the great artist Robin Bougie. This book is a collection of the now out of print early issues of the zine. Bougie writes mainly about horror,exploitation,cult and sleazy porn. You can tell that Bougie puts his heart into this book. He hand letters everything. Which gives it this great homemade feel. My favorite article from this book is titled "Fuck you for breeding". In which Bougie goes on a rant about people that have kids ,cause it is what is expected of them. Another thing about this book is after reading it you will end up with a huge list of films you will want to track down. The artwork is by various artists. But to me the Bougie artwork is the best in the book. He has a style that kinda reminds me of Peter Bagge. If this sounds like a book you might like then goto http://cinemasewer.ecrater.com/. That way he makes more money off it. Cinema Sewer book 1 gets a A.

Howard the duck

Howard the Duck was a mid 70's comic book hit. So it is kinda surprising when it was made into a film. Cause back in the mid 80's very few movies were based on comics. Well the film came out and was a huge bomb. Not really sure why. Sure the movie isn't like the comic. But that still doesn't explain to me why a film this good was such a huge bomb.

Howard comes from a planet where instead of man evolving from apes they evolved from ducks. One night while he is trying to relax after a hard day at work,he is snatched from his apartment and throw through space. He lands on Earth in the middle of Cleveland Ohio. After some misadventures he meets up with Beverly and becomes the manager for her band. When I first saw this film  I had heard of the comics but had never read them. I loved the movie so much that I went out and bought the novelization of it. And bought the VHS as soon as it came out. Well I hadn't seen the movie in many years. But around 2005 I got the Essential Howard the Duck trade paperback. Which reprints almost the complete run of the old Howard comic. Now I loved the comic,and saw that the film really had almost nothing in common with the film. So when this film was released on DVD I didn't buy it. Thinking that now that I had read the comics I would like the film anymore. But earlier this year I found the DVD for only $5 and took a chance on it. Well turns out the movie holds up pretty good. Sure it is way different from the comic ,but it is still a fun adventure/comedy film. Plus I had forgotten how cute Lea Thompson is. Howard the Duck the movie gets a B+.

Witch

Witch

Art by Tony Shasteen
Written by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett

Witch is the story of Kylie Woods. A young woman that has for her whole life heard voices in her head. But now that she is becoming an adult she finds out that she is not crazy. And the voices are coming from her familiar, which is a 8 foot tall evil looking half cat half man. Her familiar reveals to her that Kylie is a witch. And that witches have are almost extinct. So with the help of her familiar and a male friend she must find the other witches before the witch hunters find her.

This was the first OGN I read from Kickstart Comics. Tony Shasteen’s artwork is stunning. He has a simple art style that makes the book easy to read. The story in my opinion is a nice mixture of Highlander, Buffy and Charmed. This seems to me  to be a great book to give to a young girl that is interested in reading. The lead heroine is a strong female role model. And the book is at it’s worst a PG-13. Witch gets a A.

Wild Cards III jokers wild Edited by George RR martin

Wild Cards was a series of Mosaic novels that first started coming out in the 80s. They usually were a collection of interconnected short stories. And were edited by George RR Martin. The basic plot is back right after WWII. This alien ship comes to Earth and sets off a genetic bomb. The bomb releases a virus,and the people that catch it have 1 of 3 things happen to them. 75% of the people died also known as drawing the Black Queen. 20% of the people end up mutated into various non-human forms,AKA drawing a joker. And the remaining 5% gain some kind of super power AKA drawing an Ace. This volume is mostly about an evil ace known as the Astronomer. Who wants revenge against a group of Aces who defeated him a few years ago. The Astronomer recruits some other aces and goes around killing the people who opposed him. I have loved this series of novels for years. But sadly most of them are now out of print and kinda costly. A few years ago Mr Martin revived the line and has been publishing one or two new novels a year.If you like super hero comics,sci fi,or just well written short stories this is a series you should try. Wild Cards III jokers wild gets a perfect A+.

Kickstart Comics

Over the next few weeks I will be reviewing 6 original graphic novels from Kickstart Comics. Kickstart is doing something that I think should be huge. Every few months they are publishing 5 or more OGNs. Each of them is one and done stories. Plus  they got a distribution deal with Walmart. Now it seems that not every Walmart is carrying them. But the ones that do have them priced at $3. Which is great cause if you buy these at a comic shop or online they cost $8. These OGNs are around 80 pages and so far have good art and great stories. Plus they seem to be covering lots of genres. One thing I have noticed about the various Kickstart comic OGNs is that quite a few of them have female leads. Which is kinda rare in American comics. So far outta the ones I have read they are at worst a PG-13,so these make great things to give to kids that are interested in comics.

Shadow Kingdoms The weird works of Robert E. Howard

This is a collection of the various stories that Robert E. Howard had printed in the old pulp mag Weird Tales. It reprints the stories in the order that they appeared. I got lucky and found this at a local store for $2.

Shadow Kingdoms is kinda a strange book. Looking at the cover you would assume it has at least some of the Conan stories that Weird Tales published. But since this starts with the first stories that Howard sold to Weird tales it doesn't have any of the Conan stuff. Instead it has some Soloman Kane and King Kull stories. Before I read this book the only works I had read from Mr Howard were the various Conan stories. But I discovered that I really really like the Soloman Kane stuff. And the King Kull stuff isn't too bad. There is also some one shots and poems that Howard had published. They range from pretty good to kinda blah. Shadow Kingdoms gets a C+.