Celebrating “ROM Spaceknight: The Original MARVEL Years” Omnibus!

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Back in 2010, I talked about my favorite comic book back when I was a kid, ROM: Spaceknight. MARVEL’s Love Letter to ‘50s Science Fiction movies was solidly in my wheelhouse with nods to Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), and even I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958). If you’re unfamiliar with ROM you can go back and read my aforementioned blog or the article I wrote for the September 2016 issue of Scary Monsters Magazine. The seventy-five issue (plus four Annuals) series ran from 1979 to 1986 before falling into obscurity a.k.a. Licensing issues. Although IDW had their own ROM series for a while, it bore little resemblance to the one I’d grown up with and didn’t resonate with me as MARVEL’s had. At the same time, MARVEL couldn’t legally mention his name and while most of their titles got collected in trade paperback or hardcover Omnibus editions, ROM was never given the honor. That is, until now. 

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Mike Bogue’s “Watching the World Die: Nuclear Threat Films of 1980s!”

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The book is set up by year. After a brief introduction, each year from 1980 through 1990 gets a full chapter; with the qualifying films from each year listed. Every film gets a detailed synopsis along with some insightful background information. Bogue’s witty banter and astonishing facts act like the Bonus Features from a Criterion Collection Blu-ray. I can honestly say, I’ve never learned such interesting things about movies I’d never even heard of. I was also shocked to read that The Day After garnered ABC-TV 100 million viewers during its single airing. If ABC earned those kinds of numbers today, they’d quickly get to work on its sequel The Day After the Day After while planning the trilogy’s wrap-up – A Few Days After That. 

I hope you’ll pick up a copy of this book and see how cool it is for yourself. While the subject matter may seem dated, it has become oddly relevant again in today’s world. It’s an engaging book that brings awareness to movies in desperate need of a spotlight. And on that note, I’m gonna go and try hunting down some of those right now…

“Godzilla Minus One” is a Big Plus for 2023 Cinema!

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Last night I attended an early screening of Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One. Despite Godzilla’s recent American films and Monarch series on Apple Plus, TOHO Studios has returned to its signature IP for the first time since the acclaimed Shin Godzilla in 2016. Although I’d heard positive feedback from its Japanese debut nearly a month ago, I was ill-prepared for just how good it actually was.

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Svengoolie Fans Gear Towards the Volo Auto Museum!

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Unlike last year, I was physically and mentally prepared for Svengoolie’s annual October appearance at the Volo Auto Museum. This involved getting plenty of exercise during the week leading up to it, adequate sleep the night before, and a big bowl of Wheaties the morning of. For those unfamiliar, this is the only Svengoolie appearance that consistently puts him into overtime and I knew I’d be on my feet selling Svengoolie t-shirts, hats, and buttons for the better part of four hours. When I met up with MeTV’s national horror host and his executive producer, Jim Roche, they were as well-rested and ready to go as I was. Svengoolie even danced a sort of jig for Volo’s Marketing Director, Jim Wojdyla, for a video he was working on. It was soon time for him to take on the crowd…

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Elgin’s Nightmare on Chicago Street 2023 with Svengoolie!

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It was a brisk, windy Fall day in Elgin, Illinois when I arrived for their annual Nightmare on Chicago Street. Alice Moring from Acme Design graciously invited me to cover their spectacular Halloween spectacle while Jim Roche – Executive Producer of MeTV’s Svengoolie show – asked if I could assist them as well. The zombie “Safe Zone” opened at 6 p.m. with the streets completely cleared for a K-9 bomb sweep from 3:30 – 5. I arrived at 3:15 to get a decent parking space before quickly sequestering myself inside Svengoolie headquarters.

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The Svengoolie Comic Book and the “Innocence of Seduction!”

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Last weekend, my daughter and I saw the new play, “Innocence of Seduction” courtesy of the talented folks at City Lit Theater. The story revolves around the rise and fall of Horror and Science Fiction Comics back in the ‘50s and the birth of the Comic Book Code. I’m an enormous fan of EC Comics, having a small shrine of masks and reprinted hardcover editions in my apartment. Since  I’ve already discussed EC Comics in this blog (albeit nine years ago), I won’t delve too deeply into their history but, suffice it to say, when I learned of this play courtesy of John Siuntres’ Word Balloon podcast, I knew I had to see it. The timing couldn’t have been better.

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