Introducing: Judy Drood, Girl Detective

One of the signature characters of Richard Sala was Judy Drood, a character who was part tribute to, and part spoof of, the ever-popular teenaged detective Nancy Drew. He created her in 1993 in what was intended as a one-shot short story for "Black Cat Crossing", but, when a friend several years later asked to read more about Judy Drood, Sala was more than happy to oblige.

Today, we present Judy's origin tale, the precursor to not one but two of Sala's major works--"Mad Night" (originally serialized in issues 1-12 of "The Evil Eye" as "Reflections in a  Glass Scorpion") and "The Graverobber's Daughter" (a graphic novel published in 2005).

Meanwhile, in the Shadows...

(Look for reviews of Judy Drood's adventures in future posts on this blog. Meanwhile, join us next Saturday for more Richard Sala art and A Very Peculia Halloween!) 

Bessie Love and the Gourdians

In 1928, during her time fighting supernatural evil as The Love Bug, actress and secret warrior in the battle of good vs. evil, Bessie Love liberated a Gourdian from enslavement by an evil necromancer. She posed with him for a portrait, and he visited her and her family every Halloween for the rest of her life.



THE GOURDIANS
Tens of thousands of years ago, during the height of the Atlantean civilization on Earth, a misfired experiment in pushing the boundaries the Aeromancy and Biomancy magical disciplines flooded a pumpkin patch with magic and brought into existence a whole new species of beings. The Atlanteans named them "Gourdians" and the beings didn't really care what others referred to them as, so the name stuck.
   Most of the Gourdians exist in a non-corporeal state, drifting through the boundaries between this universe and parallel realties, as well as this plane of existence, the spiritual realms, and the dimension that the Witchkind call home (generally considered part of the Realm of Fairies). They appear like floating, ghostly pumpkin with feet and occasional hats. They also manifest spindly arms with three-fingered hands when they need to wave or give someone the middle finger. Their faces appear as if they were carved out of their surface and it appears like there is a bright light glowing within them.
   Once a year, when the dimensional veils are weakened during the time some mortals describe as October 30th through November 2nd, the Gourdians cross over onto the Earth plane. While here, they are semi-corporeal, and they can interact with our world to a limited extent.


GOURDIAN STATS AND ABILITIES
  * Gourdians appear in groups of 3d4-2.
  * Gourdians have a base Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores of 8, but each increases by 1 for each Gourdian that is assembled together (to a maximum of 18).
  * Gourdians have 1 rank in all existing skills (attribute bonuses apply when appropriate).
  * Gourdians are treated like 12th-level Fast Heroes (Rogues) for puroses of saving throws and attack rolls.
  * Gouridans have 12 hit points. When reduced to 0 or less, they do not die, but instead become non-corporeal and are banished back to the spaces between dimensions.
  * They can lift objects using the telekinesis spell, as a spell-like ability, at will. The can also use telekinesis offensively twice per day, four times on October 30th through November 2nd.
  * When non-corporeal, Gourdians cannot be harmed nor can they do anything but observe their surroundings. They are invisible except to true seeing spells and spell-like abilities. They cannot be harmed in this state, except with a wish spell... and the only thing that can be done is that they must be wished out of existence.
  * Gourdians can use fear as a spell-like ability twice per day, four times on October 30th through November 2nd.
  * Gourdians can use planeshift as a spell-like ability twice per day, four times on October 30th through November 2nd.
  * Gourdians have a permanent true seeing ability, and they can look into any dimension adjecent to the one they are currently in.
  * Gourdians can cast bless or curse as spell-like abilities twice per day, four times on October 30th through November 2nd.
  * Gourdians may grant a worthy person up to three wishes on October 31. (They usually do this for those who have sacrificed a great deal to to good deeds, or who combat evil against all odds.)
  * Gourdians may initiate mental contact with any intelligent being that is within their lines of sight. The target hears a distant whisper, and the GM is to ask if the target chooses to listen. They can carrying on a mental conversation with a willing target for as long as 13 minutes, making themselves automatically understood in the target's native language. Only one Gourdian can be in contact with a target at a time, and they can only contact a single individual at a time. Unwilling targets may roll a Will save; if the save is successful, the Gourdian still makes contact but can only communicate for three minutes.
   Gourdians usually contact people they want to help, warn, or, in the case of evil beings who have incurred their wrath, terrorize... but sometimes they just want to chat or tell jokes. (They love telling bad jokes.)

One of the Witchkind, who is not amused by this Gourdian's jokes

GOURDIANS IN PLAY
Gourdians like spending time on Earth, especially on Halloween. Although they usually just hang around the Witchkind, they will sometimes roam far and wide, helping heroes and making life difficult for villains.
   Gourdians can be trapped using a special variant of the lesser planar binding spell and a specially prepared lamp (oil-burning or one that takes a candle). A single Gourdian can be trapped in a lamp, and the person who trapped it can force it to use its spell-like abilities on targets he or she specificies until the Gourdian has been forced to use three wishes. If the Gourdian is commanded to harm an Atlantean, one of the Witchkind, or other Gouridans, it is freed and will attack the person who trapped it. The Gourdian can also be liberated if the lamp holding it is smashed or targeted with dispel magic. A freed Gourdian will offer to grant wishes to the person who freed it.

Halloween is coming...

 ... and Vampirella wants everyone to remember what she does to those who are stingy with candy or mean to Trick-or-Treaters.

Wonder Woman Wednesday

Monsters and deadly viruses are abroad in the world this Halloween season, but Wonder Woman stands ready to protect the innocent as ever--even if the Powers That Be are afraid to release her latest movie! She's joined today by sidekicks Batman and Superman, so we'll all be able to rest easy as the shadows deepen...

'Monochrome': Perfect for review at this blog!

Monochrome: The Chromism (2019)
Starring: Joshua Bangle, Ryan Barnes, Cat Merritt, Devin Leigh, Sean Conley, and Sashanna Pearson 
Director: Kodi Zene
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

In a world where everything is literally in black and white, Issac (Bangle) becomes the first victim of a strange infection that is causing people to turn colored.

When I was first told about "Monochrome", I thought it was a perfect subject for review at this blog--a place where everything is in black and white (as declared on the header), but occasionally splashes of color creep in. I was also certain I'd have a good time poking a little good-natured fun at the ridiculous premise--as a lover of things "Star Wars" and publisher of comics anthologies like "Stardust the Super Wizard", I am clearly not picky about fantasy getting into my science fiction--because the way in which we perceive colors comes from such a complex mixture of physics and physical conditions that the notion of a mystery contagion causing people to become "colorized" couldn't possibly be successfully played straight.

And yet, writer/director Cody Zene pulls it off. He opens the film on a mysterious hooded figure walking through a blasted wasteland. The scene is in black and white. When this figure comes upon other people, they unmask him, and we discover that this wanderer is a hunted outcast for no reason other than he colored in a world where everything else is in shades of gray. The story then flashes back to a year earlier, and we are shown the series of escalating events that brought our hero, Isaac, and his world to the state it's presently in. 

Zene pulls us so effectively into the world of "Monochrome" that my expectations of thinking it was all very silly never entered my mind. He first engages the viewer with a stark opening, then draws us further in by triggering our sympathy for the instantly likeable Everyman character of Isaac (Joshua Bangle) as his life is torn apart, and then inspires our curiosity by showing us that his "condition" may or may not be an unexpected side effect of a bio-engineered gas released by a shadowy group that may be terrorists, government agents, or something entirely different. It doesn't become clear who they are, or what their intentions are, during the course of the film, but it's a question that may inspire you to seek out future films in what is a projected series.

MAY inspire you... because for all the strong elements of both setting and story in the film, there are technical aspects of the execution that drag it down. I viewed the "extended cut" of the film (which is currently available via streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime), so maybe some of this is unique to this particular edit; let me know if the comments if any of the following reflects what you saw if you check out this film.

First, "Monochrome" could have benefitted from tighter editing. Several shots and scenes could have been improved by being trimmed by just a few seconds while others needed to lose as much as a minute. There are several scenes, most noticeable involving Isaac's brother Jerry (Ryan Barnes) and either the film's nameless villain (Devin Leigh) or Isaac's girlfriend Victoria (Cat Merritt). The scenes are internally repetitive, as if multiple takes were done while the cameras kept rolling, but instead of picking one, the editors and director left them all in. The overall effect is that the film starts feeling padded as it progresses, which is a shame, because there's a really interesting story unfolding.

Second, we see entirely too much of the villain just strolling about or sitting around, failing at being menacing. If the presence of the mysterious bad guy had been limited to the two scenes were he is established  as existing and being in command of a mysterious organization; and where he orders the doctor working with him (Sean Conley) to figure out why their bio weapon (which appears to have been intended to make those who are exposed to it paranoid and highly suggestible, since it turns Jerry into a loving and supporting brother into a color-hating, murderous madman. Every other scene he has does little to advance the story and does everything to undermine the idea that he is a menace or a force to be reckoned with--I don't think it's because Devin Leigh is necessarily a bad actor; he's just miscast. (You need a special kind of character actor for a part like that, and Leigh just doesn't have the right sort of screen presence.

Finally, the film is ultimately too much set-up and not enough resolution. With some trimming, this would be a spectacular first episode for a cool television series (although one that I think would fail because the general public doesn't have the refined tastes to appreciate black-and-white media--unlike you find folks reading this). As a stand-alone film, it falls short, no matter how much I admit to liking the story and wanting to see it continue. I realize that this is SUPPOSED to be the first part in a series, but, since it is NOT part of an existing series, there really should have been some resolution aside from "the life Isaac knew is dead and gone!"

In the final analysis, I feel that watching "Monochrome: The Chromism" was time well spent, and I hope it does well enough to spawn the sequels that the films writer/director and producers have in mind. Although it has some issues, the story is engaging and the characters are interesting. What's more, like all good sci-fi, it carries with it some social commentary that feels like it was "ripped from the headlines", even if the film was completed quite some time ago, before the current pandemic and political messes had come to dominate our lives.  

"Monochrome: The Chromism" is currently available on Amazon Prime and other streaming services. You can also learn more about the film and the plans its creators have for their "franchise" by clicking here. I encourage you to check out both-although the website does contain mild spoilers in regards to a particular dangling thread from the movie--because it will improve my chances to seeing what's next for the world of Monochrome.

 

Musical Monday with Gin Wigmore

Gin Wigmore has come all the way from New Zealand to help get us ready for Halloween... with a great song and a music video that has clips from, and generally feels like, the sorts of movies that've been reviewed here for the past decade! We hope you enjoy "The Devil in Me" (from her Gravel and Wine album as much as we do!

Halloween Warm-up: The Mad Doctor

The Mad Doctor (1933)
Starring: Walt Disney (voice of Mickey Mouse)
Director: David Hand
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

After his dog is kidnapped, Mickey Mouse must brave the dangers of a mad doctor's haunted castle to save him.

"The Mad Doctor" is another one of those early 1930s cartoons that's equal parts comedy, surreal weirdness, and horror--and it ranks among the greatest of them. It moves at a lightning pace, is full great music and even greater animation, and the Mad Doctor may well be one of the greatest Disney villains ever! This six-minute film is a prime example of what made 1930s Disney so spectacular.

Sadly, the film falters at the end. While the ending may be sweet, it's also weak and something of a cop-out. It knocked this otherwise fun film from a high Nine to a low (and perhaps too generous) Eight on my ten-star rating scale.

Saturday Serial: My Father's Brain

"My Father's Brain" by Richard Sala originally appeared in Blab #8 (1994) and today, it reaches its surprising conclusion. Click on the strips for larger versions. Please come back next Saturday when we'll present a complete Sala story!

MY FATHER'S BRAIN: PART THREE, THE CONCLUSION

By Richard Sala

Meanwhile, in the Shadows!

By Richard Sala

Firearms Friday with Pamela Sue Martin

Born in 1953, Pamela Sue Martin is an actress and model who is best known for portraying Nancy Drew in 14 episodes of "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" television series (1977-1978) and as Fallon Carrington during the first few seasons of the night-time soap opera "Dynasty (1981-1984). She also had numerous guest-starring parts on a variety of series, as well as roles in features and made-for-TV movies, all through the 1970s and into the 1990s. 

In 1994, Martin took a break from screen acting to focus on raising her son, as well as building a career in the theatre. Since 2002, she has sporadically appeared in television series or films, but most her time has been devoted to the theatre company she owns and manages (the Interplanetary Theatre Group) and to work with a variety of charities.

'House of Horror' contains both good and bad

House of Horrors (1946)

Starring: Martin Kosleck, Rondo Hatton, Virginia Grey, Robert Lowery, Bill, Goodwin, Alan Napier, and Joan Fulton

Director: Jean Yarbrough

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Marcel (Kosleck), a sculptor of meager talent, manipulates a psychopathic killer known as The Creeper (Hatton) into murdering critics he feel ruined his career as an artist.

"House of Horrors" is a well-acted, fairly well-written film that is elevated by stylish camera-work  stylishly shot with sets and camera angles and lighting that takes full advantage of the black-and-white medium. Like most the Universal horror films from the 1940s and 1950s, it's a film that's worth watching for the quality cinematography alone. It makes this already briskly paced film go by even faster. The chilling scenes where Rondo Hatton's character is preparing to kill Virginia Grey and Joan Fulton respectively are also definite highlights of not only this movie, but horror films of the 1940s in general.

Among other highlights are Alan Napier (perhaps best remembered as Bruce Wayne's butler in the 1960s "Batman" television series) as an art critic you'll want to see murdered; fine performances by Martin Kosleck and Rondo Hatton as a pair of very different maniacs; and Robert Lowery and Virginia Grey who have a sort-of lowkey on-screen chemistry that make them very believable as a couple in a steady relationship.

So why did I only give "House of Horrors" a Six of Ten rating? 

Well, for one, the script moves a little too briskly. While I got that the psychopath was so grateful to the artist for saving his life that OF COURSE he's willing to kill those who have done harm to his new (and only) friend. What I want to know is how did Marcel know that the psychotic killer he fished from the harbor would be willing to kill for him?

Second, while I like the fact the film has a sort of in media res feeling vis-a-vis Rondo Hatton's serial killer character, I still think the film would have stronger if they'd filled in a little more of his backstory. It might have given an opportunity to explain why Marcel knew he would "weaponize" him successfully. (On the other hand, it allowed me to fill in the blanks with something  far more interesting than what the writers probably would have provided. Still, there is such a think as leaving too much to the imagination, and I think this is an example of that.)

Finally, although generally well-written, I found some of the actions taken by the film's heroine, played by Virginia Grey, to be so annoyingly stupid they almost ruined the character entirely. I can't get specific, but they fall squarely in the Stupid Character Syndrome (SCS) that's caused by writers who are either too sloppy or lazy to make their plot flow , so one or more characters has to do monumentally stupid things to make sure the story keeps movie toward the resolution. When Grey's character does the first stupid thing, you may think she's just hungry for a scoop to fill her weekly arts column, but when she does the next stupid thing, you'll see the full-blown case of SCS for what it is. It's a shame more care wasn't spent on those parts of the plot, because it drags the whole movie down. 

Although not perfect, "House of Horrors" is still well worth our time, especially if you're looking for some light viewing to get ready for Halloween.