Return of the Space Girls: Meet Tara, Marauder of the Spacelanes!

She may not typically wear a rocket pack nor a fishbowl helmet, but Tara rates top marks among Space Girls anyhow... because she's an original whose adventures were first published in issues of Wonder Comics during the late 1940s!

Art by Alex Schomburg

Tara is the star of NUELOW Games' latest release Tara: Marauder of the Spacelanes. The book contains four great retro sci-fi comics stories by Tara's creator Gene Fawcette, with a cover by Alex Schomburg, and a never-before-seen origin story by yours truly. I also contributed game stats for Tara's favorite weapon, the Atom Sword, for the OpenD6 and OGL d20 game systems, as well as designed a complete ROLF! supplement included in the book.

Click here to see previews of Tara: Marauder of the Spacelanes or to download your own copy. For further previews, here are some splash pages from the book.

Mohammed Monday: Better Late Than Not At All Edition

Don't go to pieces... we're just toying around with pictures of the Prophet Mohammed! (Drawing by B. West.)

Happy Valentine's Day from the Hart

Dorothy Hart hopes you have someone close to your heart this Valentine's Day.

The Milla Jovovich Quarterly

It's the Milla o' Winter...

Picture Perfect Wednesday:Donyale Luna

Donyale Luna is hailed as the first African-American supermodel. In 1966, she was the first black model to appear on the cover of "Vogue." She is also known for appearing in several films by Andy Worhol, and "Satyricon" by Federico Fellini.

Mohammad Monday: Mo Says Howdy!

You might think it's a portrait of some lumberjack or homeless guy waving a friendly welcome to another work week. You and everyone else would say "how nice."

But the moment I tell you it's a portrait of the Prophet Mohammed waving a friendly welcome to another work week, some of you out there will fly into a psychotic, murderous rage.

Mohammed says 'Howdy', By Anonymous

If that drawing of the Prophet Mohammed sends you into a murderous rage, do the world a favor: Expend that murderous rage on yourself. The rest of us will be better off once you're dead.

Fantomah finds her destiny!

In the final book in NUELOW Games' "The Three Lives of Fantomah" series, the Mystery Woman of the Jungle is restored to her rightful place as ruler of the hidden land of Khefra. No longer a magical powerhouse herself, she comes under the watchful eye of the Egyptian gods that bless her lineage. This doesn't mean she's safe... and over the course of seven classic stories illustrated by George Appel, she must fend off challenges from the Evil Spotted Men, corrupt priestesses, darkhearted adventurers, and more!

"The Three Lives of Fantomah: Daughter of the Pharoahs" is now available at all the usual websites that carry NUELOW Games books, but you can click here to get your own copy or see previews of it at DriveThruComics. Here are a few sample splash pages to give you some further previews of the book. (Click on the images to see larger versions.)

 

 

 

In addition to the rarely republished comics, the book contains rules for incorporating the gods of Khefra into just about any variant of the popular d20 System for roleplaying games.

Just another Mohammed Monday!

Trigger Warning! The Face of the Prophet Mohammed (may peas be upon him) Ahead!

Mohammed Monday: The REAL Reason Mo Hates Pigs

Many journalists and bloggers and news outlets have been wearing the "Je Suis Charlie" badge while at the same time bowing to the demands of psychopathic freaks who murder because they want to force their belief system on others.

Not here. My attitude toward that sort of nonsense has been the same since I first learned of the lunatics in Iran putting a death sentence and bounty on Salman Rushdie for writing a novel straight through to the latest, horrific acting out of death cultists wearing the clothes of Muslims in Paris, France.

Are they real Muslims or not? I really don't give a fuck. All I know is that I don't respect their idolatrous beliefs in the Prophet Mohammed, and I don't respect their demands that images of him should not be shown.

I don't believe people who threaten violence against those who engage in artistic expression should be shown any respect or consideration. In fact, the only propery response to people like that is to do MORE of what they are against, not less.

If you are a offended by an image of the Prophet Mohammed, I feel sorry for you. But that won't stop me. If you think they shouldn't be displayed because they may cause offense, I have no time for you. If you want to hurt those who draw or publish images of the Prophet Mohammed, then fuck you.

From http://r3v.com/

Mohammed Mondays will continue as long as I can find Mohammed cartoons that I find amusing to post here. You're welcome to submit your own at the email at the bottom of this blog. I can post them attributed or anonymously. No payment will be offered.

Picture Perfect Special: Anita Ekberg

Swedish model and actress Anita Ekberg passed away at the age of 83 on Jan 11, 2015, Here are some pictures in her memory that also demonstrate the unifying theme of this blog.

Mohammed Mondays to Return

With the butchering of Charb and nine other staffers by fanatic idol worshipers of the Prophet Mohammed, I've decided to reinstitute Mohammad Mondays, so long as I can find good cartoons to post.

Feel free to submit any you may create yourself. If I like them, I will post them. The email address is at the bottom of this blog.

The only response that those who have respect for the freedom of expression can possibly have when insane animals like these act out is to do MORE of the very thing they are trying to stop.

In 2015, it's the 75th Anniversary of 'New Adventures of Frankenstein'

In1940, the first episode of writer/artist Dick Briefer's 'New Adventures ofFrankenstein' appeared. Historians mark it as the first continuing horror series in comic books, and it became Briefer's signature creation. He wrote and drew roughly 100 tales featuring the monster over a 15-year period that roughly coincided with the Golden age of Comics (from 1940 to 1954).

NUELOW Games is going to be publishing several collections of the best of Briefer's Frankenstein comics. I will be co-editing some, and will most likely be contributing some writing to each volume. I hope you'll join our celebration by checking some of them out.

The first NUELOW Games release of the year kicks off this 75th anniversary observation with "New Adventures of Frankenstein: The-Monster vs. Bulldog Denny." It collects the first four encounters between the Monster  and a victim of its evil who grew up to be its greatest and most tireless foe. Click here here see previews or to get your own copy.

Here are the splash pages from the stories in the book, so you can have an immediate peek at the great comics right here.

In additions to the new release, NUELOW Games has collected the very first tales of Briefer's Frankenstein. Click here to see previews or to get your own copy of that book.


http://www.rpgnow.com/product/142279/New-Adventures-of-Frankenstein-The-Monster-vs-Bulldog-Denny?affiliate_id=336296

Piper Laurie Bids You Welcome to 2015

...

...

Those who are about to...

.... send 2014 out with a bang -- Ann Miller salutes you.

Reefer Madness! (What more needs to be said?)

Reefer Madness (aka "Tell Your Children", "The Burning Question," "Dope Addict", and "Love Madness") (1936)
Starring: Dave O'Brien, Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Carleton Young, Lilian Miles, and Thelma White
Director: Louis Gasnier
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

A societal scourge is exposed through this cautionary tale where Bill (Craig) is framed for murdering his sister (Short) and a hood (Craig) is driven mad... all because of the evils of marijuana!

"Reefer Madness" is one of those Bad Movie Night mainstays that I have been avoiding for many years. Everyone had written about it, it didn't sound all that interesting to me, and there were so many other unseen films out there. A friend gave me the "Taboo Tales" DVD collection for Christmas, and since "Reefer Madness" is the first film on the first disc, I figured the time had come to watch it.

I found that it was neither as bad nor as unintentionally funny as I had been led to believe. For the most part, it's a ham-fisted melodrama that alternatively exaggerates and misrepresents marijuana and its effect on those who use it. It moves along at a steady steady while beating viewers over the head with its anti-drug message, never being exactly boring but never being all that engaging because the characters are mostly unlikable. It gets truly interesting only in those few scenes were it goes way over the top with caricatures of marijuana smokers. Like so many drug movies, I think this is probably funnier if you're stoned while watching it.

For me, the most interesting part of the film was that I only really grew to care about the fate of Ralph, an utterly despicable thug and rapist played by Dave O'Brien. I think this was because the character was being played by one actors with honest-to-God careers in the field, and because Ralph holds a more important place in the story than even the character we're supposed to care about--the poor kid who's life is being ruined by drugs, drug pushers, and drug users. I suppose the film really is more about Ralph than Bill, since Ralph's even the subject of the movie's greatest scene, in which he beats a person to death in a fit of marijuana-driven paranoia.

I wouldn't say this film is worth going out of your way for, nor even that you should start with it if you find yourself with it included in a DVD multi-pack. The Four rating I gave it is as low as it can be without being a Three, and it barely earns that on the back of my being entertained by Dave O'Brien's performance. I suppose the nicest thing I can say about it is that it's far better than the other Dwain Esper-involved film I've watched. But, like I said above, maybe it's funnier if you're high. I understand EVERYTHING is funnier if you're high.

Merry Christmas!

May Santa bring you the gift you want the most!

Although... I suppose Santa may be taking Peggy Dow *with* him, rather than leaving her there. So... if he doesn't leave you the gift you really want, I hope he at least doesn't steal your wife or girl friend! (Because that could happen. What man can complete with Santa Clause?! Other than Chuck Norris.)

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

... and Barbara Eden was trying to convince the Elf (and his drunk friends) to get back on the Shelf.

I hope Santa brings everyone reading this something cool this year! Merry Christmas to you!

Christmas is almost here!

Myrna Loy is helping Santa get ready by feeding the reindeers buns laced with Red Bull! Are you excited for Christmas yet?

All Santa's helper wants for Christmas is..

... a pair of pants.

Santa has told me that if NUELOW Games sells ten copies of A Christmas Box (a collection of roleplaying game material, fiction, and comics) that the royalties he's paid for the use of his name and likeness (as well as that of Mrs. Clause, their daughter Sugar Plum, and Rudolph the Reindeer) he will be able to afford to buy Penny a pair of pants.

So, there you have it. Get A Christmas Box--if not for yourself, then for Penny! Let the Christmas Spirit guide you to some off-beat Christmas fun (and some great comics).

(The collection contains 8 separate NUELOW Games releases, and you'll get them for half the price of what it would cost to get them individually. Click here for details.)

Are you excited yet?

There are only two days until Christmas Eve! (Santa's Helper Ann Miller would like everyone to know that she's happy getting sweaters and other articles of clothing for Christmas.)

Piper's Tree Trimming

Piper Laurie is trimming her tree. Have you gotten ready for Christmas yet?

Santa's helpers are busy...

... making notes and checking them twice. Are you on the one listing the naughty or the one listing the nice?

Mary Ann Mobley dead at 76

Mary Ann Mobley, one of the few Miss Americas to find lasting success as an actress and television personality, passed away on December 9, 2014. She starred opposite Elvis in a couple films and frequently appeared in guest-starring roles during 1960s television shows such as "The Man From UNCLE" and "Perry Mason." She was even originally cast as Batgirl in the "Batman" TV series, but was replaced by Yvonne Craig before filming began. Her acting output slowed as she raised her daughter during the 1970s, but she returned to television acting in the 1980s and became a regular on several 1980s game shows like "Hollywood Squares." She also appeared as a co-host on a talk show hosted by her husband, Gary Collins. She continued appearing in movies and in television through the 2000s.

She was preceded in death by her husband in 2012, and she is survived by her daughter, Clancy.

Here are a couple of pictures of Ms. Mobley, in honor of her memory. The second picture is, by all accounts, a lie, as she earned awards for her humanitarian work.

... in which I pretend to be an artist

Here's the cover image for the soon-to-be-released "ROLF!: Fugue for Johns in D Minur," a Houseboat on the River Styx scenario from NUELOW Games.

The battle scenario sees John Lennon, Johnny Cash, John Bohnam, and John Philip Sousa join forces with John Denver in the afterlife to stop another atrocity on the scale of Justin Bieber!

'Second Chorus' is an obscure gem

Second Chorus (1940)
Starring: Fred Astaire, Burgess Meredith, Paulette Goddard, Charles Buttersworth, and Artie Shaw
Director: H.C. Potter
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

When a pair of musicians, Danny and Hank (Astaire and Meredith), attempt to dodge Ellen (Goddard), a debt collector, by (literally) charming the pants off her, they end up on the fast track to fame with her as their booking agent. When she is later hired away by the famous band leader Artie Shaw (Shaw, playing himself), the two friends begin to sabotage each other in a bid to earn Ellen's romantic attention.

Fred Astaire described "Second Chorus" as his worst movie. He may not have liked it, but it's a lot of fast-paced fun, and chockful of great musical numbers and strong performances from the entire cast. Goddard is spectacular, as usual, and Meredith's comedic performance here really makes one wonder what sort of super-star he might have become if his career hadn't been detailed by McCarthyism during the 1950s.

The only complaint I have about the film is that the main protagonist, played by Astaire, is a king-sized jerk. I understand that the tricks he plays on his friend Hank to gain the upper-hand romantically and professionally are supposed to be viewed as comedic by the audience, but time and again, he resorts to an almost scorched earth sort of approach with an apparent desire to destroy his supposed best friend just so he can tell himself that we "won." In the process, he ends up sabotaging himself as well--and this karmic justice keeps the character from becoming completely unsympathetic--but his 11th-hour conversion to Nice Guy comes a little too late to win me over as a viewerm even if it does get him the girl. (That's not a spoiler... given that it's Fred Astaire vs. Burgess Meredith, it was a foregone conclusion who Paulette Goddard would end up with. Except, of course, in real life, where Meredith and Goddard ended up as a couple and eventually married.)

Hardcore Fred Astaire fans may be disappointed in the film for the same reason I suspect Astaire rates it as the worst of his efforts: He does very little dancing in it. There's really on one remarkable routine where he takes to the floor with Goddard at roughly the halfway point. But of those who enjoy big band swing music and 1940s comedies, "Second Chorus" is going to be time well spent.

Christmas is coming...

... and it'll be Christmas sooner than you think! Have you got your Christmas gift list together? Am I on it?! Feel free to get me something off my Amazon Wish List!

Christmas is coming...

... and everyone is getting their homes ready for Santa's arrival!

Your guess is as good as mine...

... and I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

When asking a blonde to handle the turkey dressing...

... make sure she knows what you mean.

I hope all Americans have a safe and happy Thanksgiving this year!

'Outpost in Morocco' is a fast-moving war pic

Outpost in Morocco (1949)
Starring: George Raft, Akim Tamirof, Marie Windsor, and Eduard Franz
Director: Robert Florey
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A French Foreign Legion Officer reknowned for his way with the ladies, Capt. Paul Gerard (Raft) is assigned to escort and seduce Cara (Windsor) in order to discover if her father (Franz) is plotting with other Arab tribal leaders to stage an uprising against the French forces. His mission becomes complicated when he falls in love with her in earnest... and it becomes deadly when it turns out that her father is not only plotting an uprising but he is unleashing it.

"Outpost in Morocco" is a fast moving film that features a perfect blend of war, espionage, and romance elements. I often complain about how movies have "insta-romances" that make little or no sense in context of character and story just to keep the plot moving, but the love that develops between the Capt. Gerard and Cara feels realistic and firmly rooted in the characters.

The acting and dialog is also top-notch all around. Stars George Raft and Marie Windsor are evenly matched on screen, and Akim Tamirof (as a hard-bitten veteran Foreign Legion junior officer who becomes Gerard's go-to right-hand man) switches gears easily from dramatic to comedic depending on the scene.

From NUELOW -- 'Princess Pantha: the Footsteps of Fate'

NUELOW Games has recently released another of its comics/rpg hybrid books co-edited by yours truly. This one is a stand-alone sequel to Princess Pantha: The Hunt for M'Gana. It contains four classic comics with art by Gene Fawcette, Ralph Mayo, and Art Saaf. It also contains a complete supplement for ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game.

By way of a preview of Princess Pantha: The Footsteps of Fate, here are the splash pages for the four included comics stories. You can click here to see further previews and to get your very own copy. (And if you do, please let me know what you think of it.)

By Art Saaf

By Gene Fawcette

By Ralph Mayo

By Art Saaf

Now available from NUELOW Games -- The Three Lives of Fantomah: Book Two

Fantomah has been accurately described as the first female superhero in comics. Readers were first introduced to her in Jungle Comics #2 (cover date Feb. 1940), a full two years before the celebrated debut of Wonder Woman. Fantomah soon lost the superhero flavor.

Fantomah, as drawn by Richard Case

When series creator Fletcher Hanks was replaced with a mixed bag of artists and writers who worked under the house-name "W.B. Hovious." From Jungle Comics #16 through #26, Fantomah moved away from the fearsome incarnation of nature's vengeance that she had been under Hanks, and became increasingly a "jungle girl"-type character. She still had magic powers, but they were increasingly de-emphasized as she gained a faithful pet panther, rescued and took charge of a lost boy--and generally came to seem more like a female Tarzan.

Fantomah's "jungle girl" period is the subject of The Three Lives of Fantomah: Book Two from NUELOW Games. It presents the six best episodes from Jungle Comics #16 - #26, together will all new roleplaying game rules that will let you bring Fantomah-style magic to your OGL Modern d20 games. For a sample of the game content, click here to visit the NUELOW Games Blog.

The majority of the art in The Three Lives of Fantomah: Book Two is by Richard Case, although some stories were penciled and/or inked by "W.B Hovious." I designed the new game content, as well as wrote a small piece of fiction intended to shed light on why Fantomah is transfirming -- and to set up her final transformation that will occur in Book Three.

I hope you will download a copy of The Three Lives of Fantomah: Book Two. Click here to see previews of the book. If you do, be sure to tell me what you think of it.

And please keep en eye out for Book Three some time after Christmas.

Fantomah: When she kicks ass, she doesn't bother taking names.

Halloween is here!

Ann Miller wishes everyone a spooktacularly fun Halloween!

Halloween is almost here...

... and Paulette Goddard is already in costume! Do you have yours picked out yet?