Monster Fun School's Out Special 2022

Yesterday was the last day for students at the school I teach at. So it's only fitting that I read this Monster Fun special devoted to the end of class. Though really this was more about Summer fun than saying goodbye to teachers and textbooks. 

Take away the Steel Commando story and the Leopard From Lime Street which are serials, and thus forgivable to not be topical or even 'seasonal'. Still, only 1 or 2 segments take place at school and they don't involve leaving for Summer. Though that Hell's  Angel story where the diminutive hellion turns the tables on a trio of bullies was pretty funny.

The Hire A Horror story with all the beastly employees on holiday was hilarious. Kid Kong was slapsticky but entertaining. The clone adventure with Frankie Stein was predictable but worth a chuckle or two. I just wish that the artwork was a bit less hideous as a Basil Wolverton doppelganger as a PB and Brains sandwich is pretty nauseating to look at

There was another story that was a one-shot tale and not a regular segment of Monster Fun. 'The Sun' crafted by Juni Ba reveals the secret reason behind Dracula's ability to suddenly be able to exist pain free in the sunlight. It was my favorite story. Maybe if only because the punchline was eerily close to to a story proposal I wrote years ago for a now defunct Indy publisher.

Sadly, this will probably be my last read of a Monster Fun special of any type. This issue was from 2022 and being an import from the UK, it's been really difficult for my favorite comic shops to get a hold of them. Mostly, that's due to the bankruptcy of Diamond Comic Distributors. I'm suspecting our current tariff trade war isn't helping matters much lately.

Maybe I'll get lucky and find a lot of 10 issues for $20 bucks somewhere down the line. I'm always open to reading more of these. It's just nigh impossible to find these in the States anymore.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Monster Fun Easter Special 2022

This Easter special is from 2022. Direct from the UK, because of customs, it came about 3 months after Easter had occurred that year. Then it took me 3 years to remember in time for the holiday that I had this book to read.

Easter comics are pretty rare. I think I can only think of enough to fill one hand worth of fingers. And with exception of 1 book, a Marvel one-shot from the 90s, none of the rest of them involves the death and resurrection of Jesus. But being a fan of holiday comics, I was excited nonetheless for a Springtime treat.

I got halfway through this magazine sized read when I started wondering what was Easter about this book? There was a story about a robot commando, a girl who's special makeup turned her into a monster and Dr. Frankenstein's monster losing yet another brain. Other than the cover that cleverly placed the stars of this book having an egg hunt on Easter Island, there wasn't a single appearance by a bunny was to be had. Tons of cats in a caper involving the felines trying to take over the world. But not 1 fluffy rabbit.

Then at the exact mid point of this issue do we finally get an appearance of the Easter Bunny. It's a funny fable about how a young boy gets to eat all of his family's Easter candy because he defeated the Easter Bunny. (At least that's what he tells his younger sibling.)  Then a temp agency where you hire monsters run by Dracula, decorates for Easter. Lastly, a little demon girl tries to help the Easter Bunny escape from the pits of Hades- to disastrous effect! Throw in a couple more creature capers and you've got about 9 stories with only 3 being holiday themed. 

I don't fault the 'Leopard From Lime Street' story for not taking place during Easter. It's a serial and possibly changing things to fit into the spirit of the season could upset the story flow. One story sees a little vampire girl going on a Spring vacation with her adopted human family. So while not a holiday book, it at least was seasonal.

Look, I get it. Easter isn't an easy holiday to craft stories about. There's only so many ideas involving bunnies and egg hunts you can come up with without getting stale. And very rarely do even Christmas comic books delve into the Christian elements. But  if only a third of your book is even focused on secular Easter festivities, maybe call it a 'Spring Holiday Special' instead.

I like Monster Fun. I think the stories are funny and I enjoy the art. Their Halloween and Christmas books have become must haves for me. I just wish that I wasn't set up for an accidental 3 year wait to fall so flat in terms of the amount of holiday material that I felt I was promised.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 64

     A couple of weeks ago, I examined the first issue of the British Comic Magazine 2000 AD. Well, today it's time to check out the first appearance of 2000 AD's most popular character, Judge Dredd.

     The creation of writer John Wagner, Judge Dredd and the series that bears his name is set in a dystopian future. After a massive nuclear war, the remaining populations of earth are crammed into giant metropolises called Mega-Cities. Dredd is stationed in Mega City-1 which is centralized in the Detroit area.

    Because of the massive over-crowding, the justice systems of each Mega-City is overworked. So, the police are deputized as street judges who act as judge, jury, and executioner at the time of arrest. The toughest of them all is Judge Joe Dredd.

Dredd as he first appeared in 2000 AD Prog #2.

     For 40 years, Dredd has fought criminals, aliens, zombies, cannibal hillbillies, even the man himself, Batman. 

One of several team-ups of
Judge Dredd and the Caped Crusader.

     There's even been 2 live-action films based on the popular character. Sadly, neither Sylvester Stallone or Karl Urban could accurately bring the futuristic Dirty Harry to life on the silver screen. As a result the 1995 Judge Dredd and 2015 Dredd were colossal duds. 

Theatrical poster to the 1995 live-action film
starring Sylvester Stallone.

     Neither film was enough to kill Judge Dredd. He's still alive and kicking in both the pages of 2000 AD and his own American series currently published by IDW Publishing. 

2000 AD, Prog #2, the 1st appearance of
Judge Dredd.

    Well, that's my look at my favorite year. If you want to learn more about Judge Dredd, I recommend you check out your local comic book shop, where not only can you find the comics but an assortment of action figures, statues, apparel and more.

    Until tomorrow...
     

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 9

    Today is Kate Middleton's birthday. Now officially known as Duchess Catherine, the wife of Prince William and mother of a future ruler of the UK, turns 34 today. 
   
  The Royal family as always been a big deal across the pond. But for Americans, we didn't really become obsessed with their shenanigans until a young school teacher from Althrop married a big-eared prince from London. From that moment in the summer of 1981, it was all the tabloids, People Magazine, and the public defender on Night Court could focus on. Some even say it's the marriage of Chuck and Di that lead to the 24-hour need for celebrity sleaze that gave birth to outlets like Entertainment Tonight, E!, and TMZ. 

  So in honor of Kate's birthday today, lets take a look at the British royal family in 1977...

The Official Royal Family snapshot, taken in January '77.
Postcard.

     My favorite year was actually a pretty good one for Queen Elizabeth II. The year marked her 25th year on the throne and a gigantic Silver Jubilee was thrown in her honor. (Wow- that means this year with be her 65th year as the monarch of Great Britain!)

A trio of children decked out to celebrate
Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee.

      The past 40 years has seen quite a few changes to the United Kingdom. In 1977, it was a daily occurrence of some sort of terrorism and violence in relation to the occupation of Northern Ireland. Known as the troubles, the conflict in Northern Ireland was basically a Hold War between the native Catholics and the Protestants of England. The desire for self rule and religious freedom resulted in the death of thousands. Thankfully, the early 90s saw a ceasefire and eventual peace accord. 
  

British troops after an attack by the IRA, May 1977.

      England also possessed a very lucrative colony in Hong Kong. But in the Summer of 1997, the UK decided to not renew it's claim over the territory and it returned to Chinese rule. This act is considered by many to be the official end of the British Empire.

Hong Kong Harbor, Summer 1977.

     I think I'm at a good stopping point for today. While I'm not what you would say a devotee of the Royal family, I am a huge Anglophile. Besides, you can't explore things you love without a little background info. See, whether by direct impact or not, the British Monarchy influences everything in Great Britain. The British music (see my article from Day 6), the British comedy and sci-fi, and the British lit I love so are so impacted by the Kings and Queens of England. I'm sure there are some important anniversaries from my favorite year involving my love of England coming up this year. So don't worry, I'll will be returning to Merry Old England again in the future as A Madman Turns 40.
      

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 6

   It's Epiphany and to my wife, our Christmas lights have to stay up at least till this night is through. But you don't want to hear about that. We just got over the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Plus many of us are still recovering from holiday hangover- you know, that time after a long break and the difficulties of getting back into the daily grind of work and life in general. 

   So I thought I would talk about music today. Over the next year, I'll be talking about music quite a bit. I'm not musically inclined but I love to listen to various things. But above all, I'm quite a fan of new wave and it's father genre: punk. 

    No, I don't have safety pins sticking out of my face or spiked purple hair. The only holes in my clothes are mostly due to tiny claw marks from my cats. But I've always been considered a rather odd fellow with my own style of dress, actions, and likes. So, I guess that why punk music speaks to me...

   Doing research on this project, I noticed that 40 years ago today punk band, the Sex Pistols were dropped by production company EMI. So, I thought I would investigate why. I clearly know of the impact of this action: it sent the punk music world on fire. It was US vs Them (the rich, the establishment, and the powerful.) EMI's decision to cancel a 2-year contract (and demand thousands of dollars back which was already spent) with the band that was only a couple of months old was seen like a big rich bully picking on the weird poor kid at school. The punk community saw this as a challenge and in response, turned the Sex Pistols into rock gods.

    But why was the Pistols dropped?

    Dateline: December 1976
    Newly signed Sex Pistols agree to appear on the BBC as a replacement for my favorite band of all-time Queen! They got drunk but instead of being wild, the Sex Pistols started 
out the interview kinda drool. Though they did apparently mutter some sweats, studio heads were expecting a crazy punk band. What they got was a group of uncommitted thugs. Seeking to get things rolling, producers begged host Bill Grundy to get everyone involved, including fellow punk artist, Siouxsie Sioux revved up. 
     Grundy supposedly was drunk too and at one point starts flirting with Siouxsie. at which point this exchange occurred. (Warning: NSFW)

Jones: You dirty sod. You dirty old man.

Grundy: Well keep going, chief, keep going. Go on. You've got another five seconds. Say something outrageous.

Jones: You dirty bastard.

Grundy: Go on, again.

Jones: You dirty fucker.

Grundy: What a clever boy.

Jones: What a fucking rotter.

The event caused a media $#it-storm. You think scandals are bad in the States, they're

 even worse in the UK. For the next 3-4, the episode was all the papers and tabloids

could talk about. 

The Daily Mirrors response to the events of December 76.

   Jump to January 4, 1977. The Sex Pistols take a commercial flight at Heathrow. They're

 set to perform in the Netherlands. While waiting for the flight, the band spat at passengers, 

got into fights, and while in the air, reportedly had several vomiting spells. Well, it was all 

enough for EMI and on January 6, they dropped the Sex Pistols. 

The Sex Pistols, signing with A&M,
after being dropped by EMI.
Note Sid Vicious (center) the band's newest member.

   After this happened, the rest they say is history. Another label signed the band and quickly

terminated their contract, but Virgin picked up the Pistols by the Summer. The band added a 

new band member by the name of Sid Vicious, and by year's end, they would sell over

150,000 records in less than 24-hours with a little record called 'God Save the Queen.' 

Pretty soon, the world of punk music would become a commercial darling to labels worldwide,

all because a group of young British musicians got drunk on BBC television.

In 2001, Q Magazine named this the
greatest album cover of all-time.

Punk had been around for a while; mostly underground and in garages. But it was on this day

40 years ago that lead to punk rock becoming a household name and giving birth to a genre

that would dominate the early 80s, British New Wave. 

Happy Birthday, Punk... and God Save the Queen!

    

   

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 22

  Yesterday, I went down memory lane of how toys and stuff was like in American with some links to old Sears Wish Books. Well, for today's Advent present to you, I'm going overseas and back in time to show you what Doctor Who toys were like...

So to see an array of vintage Dalek toys, click here... Be sure to scroll down just a bit.

Then head over to Britain's ToyBox Treasures to check out some other cool vintage Doctor Who items including trading cards, pins, decorations, and much, much more. You can even buy some of the items here too!

   I bet many of these items were on many a child in the U.K.'s wish list!

Enjoy...

The Best of Judge Dredd

The cool thing about this book is that it can still be found in the bargain section of your local Barnes and Noble right now! For only $12 you get almost 2 dozen stories and nearly 300 pages of “I Am the Law.” You’ll notice on the cover that this book is titled ‘The Best of Judge Dredd’ and yet the cover doesn’t have the face of Stallone on it.

In this collection you get the very first appearance of Judge Dredd, you’ll learn his first name along with meet his brother ‘Rico.’ You’ll see Dredd take on the Angel gang, make his way through the Badlands of the American mid-west, and learn about how Dredd is an allegory for the evils of too much safety for the public means an actual loss of personal freedom.

What you will not get in this book are complete stories. On no less than 3 occasions, the action end with a ‘to be continued’ and a tiny blurb that the rest of the story can be found in the Complete Case files of Judge Dredd (various volumes.) Ugh- I hate that! Thankfully, there are still some very good tales that do come to a close in this book.

One tale that I thought I would hate was ‘America’ and in the end I was a fan of it! In that story, Judge Dredd is a minor character and you learn about how the lives of two kids ends up very different when one becomes an anti-Judge activist and the other a successful member of society’s elite. The tale is powerful, very well written, has a dynamic art palette and tone that is very reminiscent of Bladerunner and should be required reading for any graphic novel fan.

One last thing about this book that I did not like. Though there was a 2 page history of Dredd and the stories were titled, there was very little information about these stories. Yes, I know that just about every story in this collection came from the British import 2000AD. However, I don’t know which issue or what year the yarns came from. Also, there’s only a handful of stories that boast any sort of credits to the writing and art staff. I would’ve liked to have seen more of that.

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and snatch up this book before it sells out. Just make sure you don’t break any laws trying to get it! You catch my drift, Citizen?

Worth Consuming

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.