A VERY GUILTY PLEASURE! by Dave Goode

A VERY GUILTY PLEASURE! by Dave Goode

One of my favorite Grade Z "guilty pleasures" is SHE DEMONS (1958). Starring Irish Mc Calla, Todd Griffin, Victor Sen Yung, Rudolph Anders, Gene Roth, and the Diane Nellis Dancers this is a fun little time killer that I first caught on television during a rain-out theater.

Produced by Arthur A. Jacobs and Marc Frederic ,the flick was directed by Richard Cunha who co-wrote the story with H. E. Barrie. The 77 minute movie made for an estimated 65,000 dollars was the stuff of men's sweat magazines. Or with the story's sci-fi/horror slant it could have come from a 40s pulp magazine.

During a hurricane a pleasure yacht is shipwrecked on an uncharted tropical island populated by beautiful women (the Diane Nellis Dancers) who periodically change into deformed monsters.

The results of experiments conducted by mad scientist and Nazi war criminal Col. Karl Osler (Rudolph Anders). The stock survivors of the shipwreck beautiful spoiled rich girl  Jerrie Turner (Irish Mc Calla), wooden hero Fred Maklin (Tod Griffin), and ethnic comic relief sidekick Sammy Ching (Victor Sen Yung) struggle against Col. Osler, his Nazi minions and the "She Demons".

The movie is a lot of fun. especially for a preteen who was a reader of comics and Famous Monsters of Filmland. Over the years this flick has gained a cult status. But over the years I've also started to think how this low-budget movie production would have made a great vehicle for Steve Holland and Eva Lynd who posed as the hero and heroine on numerous men's sweat mag covers.

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

NOW...DIM THE LIGHTS.....IT'S SHOWTIME!!

 1950s TV sci-fi hero returns in a brand new 92 page graphic novel by Vance Capley...read more here: https://captainzro.blogspot.com/

THROUGH NO FAULT OF HIS OWN by Dave Goode

THROUGH NO FAULT OF HIS OWN by Dave Goode

Let's give a shout out to the late, great Dick Beyers (1930-2019). The former Syracuse University football and wrestling standout who under the mask of the Destroyer out wrestled the best. And out brawled the rest. But not only that he was a top wrestler grappling as Dr. X as well.

Beyers, a black belt judoka, Eagle scout and former gym teacher would also serve as a partial inspiration for the comic book character Dr. Judo.

I always imagine some American movie producer making masked wrestler flicks. Usually starring a Gordon Scott or Dan Vadis. In America a masked wrestler is usually a "heel". So maybe that's why we never had any of them playing superheroes on screen. But imagine if you will a team of name-taking, butt-kicking masked grapplers whupping mummies, vampires, and werewolves. Or just imagine the Destroyer by himself doing the same.

That cover was fun to do... but we do make comics and more: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/VanceCapley

Pop Culture's No.1 Villains by Dave Goode

POP CULTURE'S NO.1 VILLAINS by Dave Goode

I remember discovering "men's sweat magazines" at thirteen. The perfect age. The attraction to these mags ,with their covers that looked like posters for B-Movie action flicks was immediate. Illustrated by artists like Norman Eastman, Norman Saunders, Al Rossi, Mort Kunstler, and James Bama they were like Sgt. Rock and Sgt. Fury comics on steroids. But with the added ingredient of sex. These covers and the illustrations inside showed vivid examples of Nazi brutality. To be sure there were plenty of examples of villainous Japanese. But it turns out the ones with Nazis are the most collectable. Nazis have been pop culture's No.1 villains for over 80 years. They've appeared in movies, television series, and comic books. For years they were "heels" in wrestling arenas across America.

The covers for these mags were the inspiration for grind house flicks like ILSA, SHE-WOLF OF THE SS (1975) starring Dyanne Thorne. Captured American GIs were stripped to the waist and tortured by sadistic Nazi she-wolves. Other covers featured damsels in distress at the mercy of brutal Nazi torturers and deranged doctors. Steve Holland and Eva Lynd are the two best known models for the characters on the cover of these mags. Both were equally adept at playing the hero/heroine or villain/villainess. Sometimes they would appear in the same illustration as both. But of course there were other actors and models who appeared in these illustrations. In her auto-biogaphy Sleeping With Bad Boys (2007) Alice Denham mentions posing for such illustrations.

When I created the character Miss Ginger Snaps with Vance Capley, I had the idea that "America's Foremost Burlesque Queen" would have posed for a few of these illustrations too.

You can order your printed edition (92 pages $7.99) here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/vance-capley/captain-z-ro-no1/paperback/product-24266934.html
You can order a digital edition ($3.99) here: https://www.drivethrucomics.com/product/290721/Captain-Zro

TARZAN UNCHAINED!!! by Dave Goode

 TARZAN UNCHAINED!!! by Dave Goode

It's a funny thing. I know Mike Henry only made three Tarzan movies. TARZAN AND THE VALLEY OF GOLD ( 1966 ) , TARZAN AND THE GREAT RIVER (1967 ) and TARZAN AND THE JUNGLE BOY ( 1968 ). But in my mind it seems like he made four. It doesn't matter how many times I look it up and see he made only these three. I still think he made four. If there had been fourth Tarzan movie starring Henry I would have liked to have seen it feature one or two characters from the Edgar Rice Burroughs' books. Specifically Jane and La of Opar. I'd  also liked to have seen the untamed ape - man of Burroughs.

Henry, the former NFL linebacker, comes close to matching the primal ferocity of Tarzan in his fights with Rafer Johnson in TARZAN AND THE GREAT RIVER and TARZAN AND THE JUNGLE BOY. And the climatic battle between his Tarzan and the cyclopean martial arts master played by Don Megowan in TARZAN AND THE VALLEY OF GOLD is another standout. In that one he break's his opponent's neck with a full-nelson. Tarzan's signature wrestling hold. But if you really want to see Henry cut loose check him out in THE GREEN BERETS (1968).

Okay we have Mike Henry cast as Tarzan again. But who to cast as Tarzan's mate Jane and La? Well for Jane I'd go with either Barbara Bouchet or Celeste Yarnall. And for La , the high priestess of the lost city of Opar, Hammer scream queen Martine Beswick.

THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD? REALLY? by Dave Goode

  THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD? REALLY? by Dave Goode

My 2nd favorite giant ape movie , after the original King Kong of course, is MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1948). A fun flick to be sure. But my favorite scene is when the giant gorilla, as part of a nightclub act, has a tug-of-war with ten professional strongmen/wrestlers. The strongmen, all dressed in leopard skins and Roman sandals,  perform feats of strength before they compete with the gorilla, who appears to be twice the size of an average gorilla. But there is no mention of Joe's abnormal size. Still a normal 5' 8", 450 lb. gorilla is about as strong as 12 men.

  In order the strongmen were Sammy Stein who breaks a chain. "Killer" Karl Davis bends a crowbar. Rasputin, the Mad Russian breaks a pair of manacles. "Bomber" Kulky lifts a heavy barbell with one hand. Sam Menacker tears a telephone book in half. Mac Batchelor bends a railroad spike. "Wee" Willie Davis bends a steel rod. Man Mountain Dean bends a horseshoe. The Swedish Angel breaks a 4x4 over his head. And the former heavyweight boxing champion of the world Primo Carnera snaps metal bands on his arms by flexing his biceps. Sadly no one breaks a chain through chest expansion.

All of these feats of strength had been performed in carnivals and circuses by professional strongmen who billed themselves as the "Strongest Man In The World". When Sam Menacker tears the phone book in half it reminds me of an episode of  The Adventures of Superman. In The Girl Who Hired Superman (Season 4 Episode 7) Superman is performing at a dinner party for charity. At one point he tears a phone book in half. One of the guests is unimpressed remarking that he has seen other strongmen perform the same trick. Superman then takes the two halves , puts them together and tears them in half. The guest then says he has never seen anyone do this before because it's impossible. Another guest tells him the Man of Steel just did it. But he says he doesn't care. It's still impossible. Which brings up something I've pondered for years. How do professional strongmen in a comic book universe bill themselves as the Strongest Man In The World? Especially when the world they live in might have someone who can literally "change the course of mighty rivers" among the populace. Or even someone who just has the proportionate strength of a spider?

SUPPORT:

BOOKS/MAGAZINES/COMICS: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/VanceCapley 

COMICS/MAGAZINES:  https://indyplanet.com/?s=vance+capley

T-SHIRTS AND OTHER MERCHANDISE:  https://www.teepublic.com/user/vancecapleyart1972

VIDEOS:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU1NMSBpws__S2VKuqp9fuA