Goodbye, Lou Reed

March 2, 1942 – October 27, 2013

Universal Monsters "Frankenstein" 9 Inch Action Figure - Mezco (2013)

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN 2013

THE HAUNTED TOYBOX

MEZCO'S 9 INCH FRANKENSTEIN

The Face of Frankenstein

Mezco's 9 inch Frankenstein figure is the first in a new series of Universal Monsters action figures.  Their Creature From The Black Lagoon figure is also out in the stores right now, and their figure of Boris Karloff as The Mummy is coming soon.

Mezco's Universal Monsters 9 Inch Frankenstein Action Figure

When I first saw pictures of this figure, I wasn't sold on it's cartoonish proportions.  Seeing it in real life, though, I really like it.  The exaggerated features combine with all of the fine details to make a very striking figure.  It reminds me quite a bit of Dick Briefer's design from his Frankenstein comics.  After holding this guy in my hands, I definitely plan on buying the rest of the figures in the series.

Dick Briefer Frankenstein Comics from the 1950s

Frankenstein is made of hard plastic, except for his shirt and jacket, which are made of tattered cloth.   There is not a lot of paint details, but what there is looks clean and well executed.   The figure feels very solid and stands well on his own.  Of course, that's mostly due to his legs being a solid piece with no articulation.  His feet do move side to side at the ankles, so there is small amount of articulation there.  he fares a little bit better above the legs, with articulation at the waist, shoulders, elbows, and wrists, as well as the neck.  He can't raise his arms above his head, and I'm not sure if that is a limitation of the joints at his shoulders, or if they are restricted by his cloth jacket.

Shambling Horror

This figure is better suited to be posed and displayed on a shelf than it is to be played with like an actual toy.  But for what it is, I think Mezco did a great job.  I can't wait to get some more figures from this series and display them all together.

Packaging: Front, Side, and Back

Close-Up Details of Hand and Wrist

Close-Up Details of Face and Neck

Posing with the Backdrop from the Box

He Lurks in the Shadows

Jimmy Olsen and Lucy Lane Cheat on Each Other WITH Each Other

Jimmy Olsen's Greatest Costumes and Disguises #3
"MAGI THE MAGNIFICENT"

Jimmy disguised himself as a magician named "Magi the Magnificent" in not one, but three stories, beginning with "Jimmy Olsen's Secret Love" in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #74.

The story begins with the sort of farfetched coincidence that tends to happen every other day in the Jimmy Olsen universe.  Jimmy's stewardess girlfriend, Lucy Lane, is given an assignment by her airline's boss.   She is to go on a flight in disguise, and secretly take photographs of the airline employees, to see who is doing their jobs, and who is goofing off.  Naturally, in order to ride the plane without drawing attention to herself, she disguises herself as Sandra Rogers, a glamorous British movie starlet that no one has ever heard of.  Because that makes perfect sense.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Olsen has received a tip that a wanted jewel thief may be flying on the same plane, and so he books a flight on the plane for himself, in order to try and catch him.  Naturally, in order to ride the plane without drawing attention to himself, he dresses as Magi the Magnificent, a top hat and tuxedo-clad stage magician (that no one has ever heard of), and performs magic tricks during the flight.  Because that makes perfect sense.

Lucy thinks Magi is "fascinating" because he has an inflatable rubber chicken.

The fun begins when Lucy and Jimmy are seated next to each other during the flight.  Neither one recognizes the other, but they both quickly start to fall in love, not realizing that they are cheating on each other with each other.

Jimmy and Lucy are both grinning ear-to-ear at the thought of breaking each other's hearts.

Then their plane crashes.  And they are shipwrecked on an iceberg.  Superman rescues them, and catches the jewel thief while he's at it.  But in the confusion, neither "Magi" nor "Sandra" thinks to give the other their phone number before they part.  Lucy and Jimmy then go back to dating each other, but both secretly wish they were with their alter-egos, not realizing that they actually are.

Magi the Magnificent and Sandra Rogers returned in issue 78, for a story titled "The Return of Jimmy's Lost Love."  In this issue, Lucy Lane is once again sent undercover by her airline, this time to catch a mail thief.  Once again she dresses up as "Sandra Rogers."  Jimmy, meanwhile, is just hanging out in the airport parking lot, and he spots her walking by.  Jimmy apparently keeps costumes and disguises in the trunk of his car, so he dresses up as Magi once again, and reunites with Sandra.  The two quickly rekindle their romance.  But this time, both of them become overwhelmed with the guilt of cheating on their real partners (not knowing they are their real partners), as well as lying about their identities.  But both think the other would be horrified to learn who they really are, so they don't dare stop lying.  Jimmy even imagines Sandra screaming ,"Oh, no!  No!  No!!" upon learning the truth.  So Jimmy decides to end it by claiming he is going "to Tibet to study ancient forbidden magic," and doesn't know if he will ever see her again.  Smooth, Jimmy.  Smooth.

Finally Magi and Sandra reunite once more in issue 82's "The Wedding of Magi and Sandra."  The story begins with Lucy Lane so distraught about losing Magi that she starts dressing up in her Sandra costume, and just wandering aimlessly around town, heartbroken.  She wanders in to a seedy section of Metropolis and almost gets mugged, but suddenly Magi appears and rescues her.

It seems Jimmy spotted "Sandra" wandering around, and switched in to his Magi costume and returned to her side in the nick of time.  The two then spend the night on the town together, and fall deeper in love then ever.  "Magi" then hints that he will propose marriage to Sandra the next night.

However, the next day, Jimmy starts to imagine how upset Sandra would be if she found out he was really Jimmy Olsen, and gets cold feet.  So he does the only sensible thing he could do in that situation.

He fakes "Magi's" death.

Not "Marvelous," Lucy.  He's Magi the "Magnificent." Jeez, kid, get with the program.

Smooth, Jimmy.  Smooth.

Now both Jimmy and Lucy are heartbroken, longing after their nonexistent lovers.  So they decide to "settle" for each other.  You know, like that old classic rock song, "if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with?"  So Jimmy and Lucy elope.  But even as they say their "I Do's" they are choking back tears, because all they can think about is Magi and Sandra.  Also, I should point out that "this is not a hoax, or a dream, or an imaginary story."  Lucy and Jimmy really get married in this comic.

"I now pronounce you Mickey and Mallory Knox!"

After the ceremony, Jimmy and Lucy finally discover each other's secrets.  They are briefly angry with each other, but they quickly become overjoyed, as they realize they married the right people after all.  Then, just as the happy couple are about to leave on their honeymoon, the justice of the peace who performed their ceremony comes running up, screaming, "Thank goodness I caught you in time!  You aren't married!"

Question: "Are they crazy?"  Answer: "If you have to ask..."

It seems the justice of the peace hadn't checked his mail in a couple of weeks, and didn't realize that his "justice of the peace license" had expired.  So legally, Jimmy and Lucy's marriage was not valid.  And... despite the fact they were overjoyed to be married seconds earlier, both Jimmy and Lucy are totally cool with that.  The justice of the peace says his license will be renewed in a couple of days, and he can perform the ceremony for reals then, but Jimmy and Lucy blow him off and decide not to get married after all.  Then they drive back to Metropolis laughing.

Not shown in the final panel:  The Justice of the Peace's naked and bound body in Jimmy and Lucy's trunk.

In the past, I have said that Lucy is a terrible boyfriend for Jimmy, because she is fickle, goes out with other guys, and never treats Jimmy with any respect.  But now I see that they are actually perfect for each other.  Because they are both fucking insane.

BONUS! It may not be MAGI the Magnificent, but it's still pretty cool...

The Three Ghouls - Morgus the Magnificent

The Invisible Man Returns (1940)

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN 2013
The legendary Vincent Price in his first horror film!
THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS

The Invisible Man Returns

The Invisible Man Returns is the 1940 sequel to 1933's The Invisible Man.  It stars Vincent Price as Geoffrey Radcliffe, a man who has been falsely convicted of the murder of his own brother.  Hours before his execution, he receives a visit from his best friend Dr. Frank Griffin, the brother of John Griffin, the Invisible Man from the first film.  Frank injects  Geoffrey with John Griffin's invisibility serum to help him escape from jail.  What follows is a race against time, as Radcliffe must uncover the real murderer in order to clear his name, and Frank must find a cure for the serum.  The reason for the ticking clock:  like in the original film, the invisibility serum quickly drives anyone who uses it insane!

Vincent Price as The Invisible Man

This film has a lot going for it over the first film   In the first film, John Griffin was insane and cruel from the beginning of the film, so you could never see him all that sympathetically.   In the sequel, Geoffrey Radcliffe is an innocent man, fighting for his life and his freedom.  You want to see him succeed in his plans.   This also makes it much more fascinating to watch as he does begin to go insane, and the line from when the audience should start to root against him is not clear.

Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe Escapes!

The special effects in this film are also superior to the first film, and you see things like the Invisible Man's silhouette in smoke or rain.

The Visible Man

The film is longer than the original, though, and doesn't have the original's humor and energy.  Vincent Price's performance is much more down to earth and human than the over-the-top performance in the first film by Claude Rains, but in this case, I don't think that's a good thing.  Overall, this is still a good film, and a worthy addition to the Universal Monsters series, even if it's not as fun as the first.

More screencaps after the jump...

Jimmy Olsen Befriends Adolf Hitler

Jimmy Olsen's Greatest Costumes and Disguises #4
"NAZI WAR HERO DISGUISE"

"Jimmy's D-Day Adventure," a story from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #86, begins with Jimmy watching some old World War 2 newsreel footage when he is shocked to see film of someone who looks just like himself receiving an award from none other than Adolf Hitler!

Naturally, this piques Jimmy's curiosity.  So he grabs his time travel crystal ball (he keeps it on a shelf in his apartment, next to his globe), and travels back in time to D-Day, to find out who his Nazi look-a-like is.

"What a thrill!  Bullets are whizzing by me in every direction, and I'm surrounded by tens of thousands of dead and wounded soldiers!  Whee!"

Jimmy arrives in the past and puts together a fake Nazi uniform out of junk he finds discarded on the battlefield.  Then, using his cobbled together costume and the limited amount of German he learned in high school, Jimmy infiltrates the Nazis!  Now he'll be able to figure out who his look-a-like is and solve the mystery.

In the weeks that follow, Jimmy uses his knowledge of WW2 history to pretend to be able to predict the future, and quickly rises through the ranks of the Nazis.  Eventually he becomes Hitler's chief military adviser.  While getting photographed receiving a medal from Hitler, Jimmy realizes that he does not have a look-a-like... HE'S the Nazi War Hero!  It's an "ironic" twist!  Congratulations, Jimmy!

The Invisible Man (1933)

 COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN 2013

You won't believe your eyes, in 1933's Universal Monsters classic

THE INVISIBLE MAN

Adapted from the classic H. G. Wells story of the same name, The Invisible Man is one of the best of the Universal Monsters movies.  It stars Claude Rains, in his first American film, as the Invisible Man, and was directed by James Whale of Frankenstein fame.  Like Whale's Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein, the film mixes humor in with the horror and madness.

A Strange Face Appears in the Doorway

In the film, Rains plays a scientist who invents an invisibility formula, but makes the mistake of testing it on himself.  What he doesn't know is that the formula induces madness as well as invisibility, and he soon finds himself, tormenting innocent people, plotting murders, and fantasizing about ruling the world, instead of completing his research.

"This is unacceptable!  I distinctly asked for a tiny umbrella in my cocktail!"

Claude Rains is wonderful in a role that consists mostly of just his voice.  In his more rational moments, he sounds perfectly suited as an intellectual, scientific genius that created an invisibility formula.  But he also shines when his personality shifts to that of a giggling, homicidal madman.  In fact, it reminded me quite a bit of The Joker from the Batman TV shows, sort of halfway between the performances of Mark Hamill and Cesar Romero, making me wonder if Rains's performance had any influence on them.  My only criticism of the film is that I would have liked to see what his character was like before he took the formula, to better understand how it affected his mind.

"Blimey!  That bloke's got no blinkin' head!"

The special effects were groundbreaking when the film was released.  They still hold up, and are very entertaining to watch, today.  The Invisible Man spawned a number of sequels (the first starring Vincent Price, in his first horror role!) and remakes, but the original film is still probably the best.  I highly recommend it to any fan of classic horror.

Headline: "Invisible Man Slays Policeman."  Reader: "Says here, he was one day away from retirement."

More screencaps and a music video after the jump...

Jimmy Olsen Shaves His Head

Jimmy Olsen's Greatest Costumes and Disguises  #5

"WINKY, THE KING OF CRIME"

In "The King of Crime," from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #46, Jimmy is reading the newspaper when he learns of the escape of "Winky McCoy" a convicted felon known as "the King of Crime."  In an insane coincidence that only makes sense in the Jimmy Olsen universe, Winky looks almost exactly like Jimmy Olsen, except he is bald, has a scar, and has no freckles.  He also has a nervous twitch in one of his eyes when he gets excited, which is why people call him "Winky."  So Jimmy decides to go undercover as Winky, to learn where all of his secret hide-outs are, and who all the members of his gang are, so he can then tip off the police.

Jimmy shaves his head, covers up his freckles, and puts on a fake scar, then dresses up in a convicts uniform.  He then starts hanging around the alleys of Winky's old neighborhood in Metropolis, and is quickly picked up by Winky's gang.  Jimmy's plan worked. 

Jimmy thinks he will be bald by the time he is 40.

Winky's gang only consists of 5 or 6 guys, and it's not even remotely clear why Winky is considered to be the "King of Crime."  But they do have one thing... a gigantic, drum shaped chunk of kryptonite.  In the comics, even small pieces of kryptonite weaken Superman, so I'm pretty sure this giant one would straight up kill him.  The gang are planning on putting the kryptonite inside a marching band's drum, and then have the band play near Superman.  When Superman is killed, they are then going commit a "fur robbery."  A fur robbery.  Way to think big, guys.

But Jimmy, as "Winky," says he wants to put the kryptonite in the drum himself, since "I'm the best mechanic in the gang."  Because apparently, you have to be a good mechanic to unscrew a drum, put something inside it, and put it back together again.  When alone with the drum, he then coats the interior of the drum, including the drum skin, with lead, which blocks the kryptonite rays, and saves Superman's life.  No furs will be stolen today!

Because a drummer would never notice that his drum skin was coated with lead.

But Jimmy's victory was short-lived.  You see, Jimmy never bothered to tell Superman he was going undercover.  When the story began, Superman was on an "outer space mission."  Superman was constantly going away on outer space missions in these old Jimmy Olsen comics.  It makes me wonder if he really was in outer space, or if he just told Jimmy that so he could have some peace and quiet away from the shenanigans of his "pal."  Obviously Superman was back on Earth in time for the "kryptonite drum" incident, but Jimmy still never bothered to fill him in.  So as Jimmy and the gang members are sitting around the gang headquarters watching TV, a news report comes on, saying that Superman has just captured the real Winky trying to sneak back in to Metropolis!

The jig is up, and Jimmy is about to get shot dead by the angry criminals!  Luckily, the FBI bursts in and saves the day at the nick of time.  It turns out that earlier, Jimmy had used Winky's nervous eye twitch to wink at an FBI agent in Morse code.  Jimmy knew that someday his habit of winking at handsome men would pay off, but never like this!  Good job, Jimmy.

The comic ends with a handsome FBI agent massaging Jimmy's shoulders, as the two men wink at each other.