Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles VOL1 from IDW

 

Yea I have read the issues in this thick TPB a few times before. First time was back not long after the series started. I had it on  my pull list at Gulf Coast Comics. Then about a decade ago I tracked down scans of the entire Mirage run and over many months read that entire run. On this reading I saw so many things I never noticed before. 

Collecting issues 1-7 of Mirages first volume of TMNT and the  Raphael Micro Series this is a wild adventure that takes from from the rooftops of 80s era NYC,down into the sewers then off in space and a wild intergalactic war before androids and Triceratops looks humanoid beings.

Those things I noticed this time? So SO SO many pages that had that Jack Kirby feel. Not a swipe or even homage just more Kevin Eastmand and Peter Laird doing their version of Kirby.

And now that I know more about Duotone and it's uses in comics I spent so much time looking at it on every page.

If you have watched that 2000's TMNT series that aired on FoxKids then you know the basics of what happens in these issues. A bit toned down but that series did a decent job of recreating so many classic scenes from Vol 1 of the Mirage run.

I know there are a few color versions of these issues,and for me I prefer them in the original b/w look. Overall a great collection of a run of comics more people  need to read.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 1 from IDW gets a A.

The 'Nam Volume 1 TPB

 

TITLE-The 'Nam Volume 1
SOURCE-Marvel Comics TPB

By the mid 80s almost no War comix were coming out from the big companies. Then Marvel got Doug Murrey an Larry Hama,both Nam vets,to write a series.  And the first 12 issues got gorgeous Michael Golden art.

Now back when this was coming out I skipped it. Figured it coming out from Marvel and hitting the newstands it would be toned down crap. Boy was I wrong.

This TPB reprints the first 4 issues. Where we get introduced to our first lead. Seeing how he goes from BCT to learning how to stay alive over in Vietnam. And slowly over the next few issues we see Mark,our lead,adapt to his new life.

Out of the 4 issues the one that stood out the most was issue 4. The greedy Sgt has a reporter that is gonna film a troop clearing some Charlie out of a village. Shit hits the fan and we learn a pile about this Sgt's past.

This TPB is an odd size. It is slightly taller and wider than your normal comic. But the art on the inside just has white borders on all four sides,instead of making the art bigger. Which I would have loved. 

The 'Nam Volume 1 gets a A-

Love the glossary at the front,to explain the various lingo in the book. 

Curse of Dracula comic from Dark Horse

 

TITLE-The Curse of Dracula

SOURCE-3 issue mini series from Dark Horse Comics

Yea  I read the classic Marv Wolfman/Gene Colan run on the Tomb of Dracula comic. Loved what I read and  wanted more. Then maybe 2 years ago was in a local pawn shop and saw a longbox behind the counter. Knowing the shop owner is a collector I assumed it was his personal collection. Asked if I could look through it. Got told sure and every comic was priced. Found all 3 issues of Dark Horse's late 90s Curse of Dracula mini and saw it was Wolfman/Colan working on it so grabbed them. And like what happens with piles of comics in my collection ,these got put in a short box and I forgot about them.

The other night wanted something to read after dinner,been trying to each night after dinner is ate and kitchen is clean sitting at the bar and reading for an hour. Plan was read the first issue and head out to the pier to relax. Got so into issue 1 and went ahead and finish the other two.

Now going into this mini I figured it was Wolfman/Colan taking ideas from their Tomb of Dracula run they didn't get to use and changing stuff enough where Marvel couldnt sue. Nah this is very different. This Dracula is based on the Bram Stoker original. And while we got a team of vampire hunters like TOD had this team is so different.

Modern day a new member is added to the team and we learn Dracula is working on getting political power in the USA. Having a connection to a Senator that is about to run for President. Then we get a twist,that I didn't see coming. And issue 3 ends with a new person possibly becoming President while Dracula has control of them. Guessing Wolfman/Colan figured this would sell great and get another mini series. It sadly didn't.

The writing is great,sure for the late 90s it feels a bit wordy. But unlike a Silver Age X-men comic I read recently this isn't wordy without needing to be. This wordy works on setting the mood and tone.

And the art OMG! Appears they just used Gene Colan's pencils,have read before he prefered to not have his pencils inked. Which makes this art stand out.

Like this gorgeous 2 page spread from the first issue. Sorry for the crap picture. Look at how smooth the coloring looks. And you can see the linework in the art.

And this cover from issue 3. Would love a poster of it.  Always loved Gene Colan's art and that is a major reason I bought this series.

Do not think there is a tpb of this mini. Appears you can get the three issues for close to cover price. And it is worth that. 

The Curse of Dracula gets a read if you love horror and a buy if you are a Gene Colan fan.

Howdy Neighbor The Stan Frazier Biography

 

TITLE-Howdy Neighbor

SOURCE-Print on Demand book

Growing up near Pascagoula MS I of course hear of the Pascagoula Plowboy aka Stan Tiny Frazier, Met him at least once at a local lumberyard when I was under the age of 10. Then around the time I was 12 Tiny was out of WWF and now running a indie fed in Pascagoula. Went to their first two shows at the Kings Inn Motor Lodge,the fed was Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling. Then a few of the shows they had at the shopping center not far from Denny Ave.

Once I got online I started hearing various stories about Tiny. How he had more gimmicks than anyone else in Wrestling. How he sold fake Rolex watches to wrestlers. His various meals he would cook. 

Got in the book and in about a week had it read. Had all the stories I heard for years confirmed and a few  more added to them. Stuff like how Andre the Giant didn't like Tiny. Or how Stan loved to have a few drinks and sing.

While nothing really new is revealed in the book,there is plenty of pictures that I had never seen before. Then  the last 20 or so pages are various recipies Tiny came up with. All of them mostly Southern dishes I have either had or heard of.

Worth reading if you are a Tiny fan and if you want to learn about one of the more unusual characters in  southern wrestling.

Howdy Neighbor gets a C+

Turtles of Greyskull Comic Trade Paperback

 

TITLE-Turtles of Greyskull

SOURCE-Dark Horse Comics Trade paperback

I'm a sucker for these comic mini series that crossover TMNT with some other property. Saw this tpb and of course I was a Masters of the Universe fan as a kid. Figured I would get it read over a month or so.

Tim Seeley handles the writing chores,with Freddie Williams II on  the  art. Seeley I think  I have read stuff from before. Freddie Williams II I am sure I have comics with his  art. And that art fits this crossover so well. It is this mixture of slightly cartoonish art then some almost Liefeldian overt muscles.

Seeley takes a loophole Laird & Eastman left in the original TMNT comic and that is how we get this crossover. Yep Renet is how we get Eternia and NYC meeting up.

Shredder is teamed up with Skeletor,and using something called Purple Mutagen,to increase the powersets of all of the Foot CLan and Skeletor's goons like Beastman.

Then early on we start seeing  scenes from the first 12 issues of volume 1 of TMNT,but this time He Man is added. Like when the Turtles were out in Space fighting for the Tricertons,now they also got He Man with them.

Seems someone is missing with the time stream and causing "KNOTS". With Renet trying to figure out who. And who on the Masters of the Universe evil side would be perfect to fight the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Ninjor! I had forgotten about the EVIL Ninja villian from MOTU,or more than likely had given up on the toyline  before he appeared.

Thin thin trade,that is 4 issues and a pile of variant covers and sketches. The price of 19 bucks is a bit high and this is the kind of TPB that back in the day would have been 8 buck tops. What surprised me is this was from Dark Horse. I had no clue who currently had the Masters of the Universe comic license,and was thinking the TPB was from IDW,who have  the TMNT rights in comics.

Worth reading if you like both franchises. But don't pay cover price. 10 bucks or so.

Turtles of Greyskull gets a C+

The Cannonball Run DVD

 

TITLE-The Cannonball Run

SOURCE-DVD

Been  slowly rewatching piles of 70s/80s comedies that I saw once  as a kid when we rented them from Video Showboat and never seen  since. Not that long ago at what I have dubbed the Good Junkstore I got the DVD of The Cannonball Run for 50 cents. Remembering enjoying it when I saw it decades ago I added it to my pile.

And like most of my junkstore media purchases it sat in the to be watched pile for months. Getting dug out the day we got snow in late January. Wanting something to watch that none of us has seen in years plus needing a way to kill time before dinner this was perfect.

Got a pile of folks racing from the east coast to California. Fastest time wins. And this is loaded with stars of the era.

Dom Deluise and Burt Reynolds in a suped up ambulance,with Farrah Fawcett added as the "patient" and this one old dude I have seen in piles of stuff as the Doctor.

Adriane Barbeau and Tara Buckman,yes Silent Night Deadly Night/Night Killer star ,in a Lamborgini,who use their looks to get out of tickets.

Sammi Davis Jr and Dean Martin dressed as Priest and in a Ferrari,and also always Shitfaced drunk.

Plus so many others.  Including what I bet is one of Jackie Chan's first big roles in a US movie.Nothing but a long  chase film,and it works perfectly as that.

Having paid 50 cents for the DVD I was of the mind that worst case I consider it a rental and then pass it onto someone. Loved it so much I'm gonna see if there is a Blu ray of it. Then  pass this DVD onto someone.

The Cannonball Run gets a B.

Den by Richard Corben Dark Horse Hardcover

 

Den Neverwhere by Richard Corben

Dark Horse Hardcover

Over the years I had read pieces of what is collected here. I discovered Den and Corben at the same time.  Over at Aunt's place. Older cousin  is told to watch  me. I'm 5 or 6. He knows I love comics so to keep me distracted while him and some buddies went to smoke behind the garage he tossed me his stack Heavy Metal magazine. A magazine sized comic that was aimed at adults. Years later I see Heavy Metal the movie and the Den section and I knew I had to see more of Den and more work from his creator Richard Corben.

Corben has a look to his art that makes it stand out. The realistic but also slightly cartoony ways he draws humans. The almost always airbrushed look to the colors. The hyper violence and of course the rampart nudity.

Normally with a comic review I want to post some pics of the interior art. Not easy to do that with Den. Our lead spends the entire collection fully nude with his wang swinging around.

So what is the story? A combination of John Carter of Mars+Conan the Barbarian. Den ends up on this wild world where he is now almost the perfect example of a Charles Atlas man. Well besides his bald head. He finds out that he has been here before,suspected to Den to have been his Uncle that also disappeared. And is tasked with getting the locnar from an evil Queen. By doing this Den will be given  back the woman  he saved from the Queen. 

Den and a group of troops go to steal the locnar from the Queen. Den distracts the Queen with his swinging wang. Gets caught when she learns the locnar is missing,escapes. Only to learn who he thought brought the locnar back didn't. 

Now he must find this double crosser to save his woman. Finding the double crosser Den learns that the man that can't die that hired him to find the locnar might be lying.

Yep that man and the Queen both want to use the locnar to raise Uluhtc. And Ancient God that they hope to control,which is also Cthulu spelled backwards.

The God Uluhtc gets raised. Den barely saves the day. And the first Den adventure finishes.

Besides some forwards and afterword this hardcover includes a pile of art from the various publications Den appeared in.

I have loved Richard Corben's art since I first discovered it. And love Den. So this Hardcover was perfect for me.

Den by Richard Corben Dark Horse Hardcover gets an A+

Top 10 wrestling matches I saw live in 2025

 Use to be after every indie wrestling event I went to I would sit down  write up a show report and post it here on my blog.

Then over the years I started hitting more events and not writing them up.

Over the past 10 years I have made a list of the best matches I saw in person each year.  A few years back I figured hey a list of matches is a bit boring,lets make it into a video. Then starting last year I added clips from each match into the video.

And same day I got my "cousin" to film  this video. For those that don't watch wrestling a gimmick match is any match that doesn't follow the standard rules. My "cousin" loves gimmick matches and gave me  his top 5 gimmick matches.

hey folks

 Yea been what 3 weeks since a new post?

Haven't had the time to write. When I attempt to write something for the blog I ended up not happy with it and deleting it. 

Thinking I might take the month of December off.

Jury Duty Blu Ray

 

TITLE-Jury Duty

SOURCE-Mill Creek Blu Ray

While by this film the wheels are falling off the Pauly The Weasel Shore train. And it was one I was gonna skip,got talked into going to see it at a now long gone theater and enjoyed it and never thought about it again until 2 years ago.

Was talking to  a buddy about possible films to cover on upcoming episodes of his podcast and the various Pauly Shore films came up. I learned that Jury Duty got a blu ray release,part of Mill Creek's VHS Retro style slipcases.

Pauly is a out of work male stripper,we start off seeing his routine as the Milk Man. His mom and step dad are heading to Vegas so instead of staying with some neighbors Pauly and his dog Peanut end up doing Jury Duty.

Take 12 Angry Men and add in Shore's comedy and that is the film. Pauly gets sequestered on jury duty. Weasels his way into a suite by agreeing to advertise the hotel since the trial is being filmed.

Amazing cast in what was a throw-away comedy,one that bombed too. Stanley Tucci in a pivotal role as one of the jurors. Also got Tia Carrerre as another juror. Shelly Winters as Pauly's mom. Abe Vigoda as the judge in the trial

And how can I hate on a film where a sub plot is Peanut's desire to become a contestant on Jeopardy. I watch Jeopardy most days with my dog ,Maggot Ass the Wonder Mutt,and I doubt she would be a good contestant on  Jeopardy.

Seeing this film now I think it is one of the better of Paul's Weasel films. The cast helps it rise above the average comedy from the mid 90s.

The Blu Ray looks and sounds good. Only has subtitles as an extra. It is a budget release from Mill Creek. So not surprised it is bare bones.

Jury Duty gets a B-