Cartoon and Horror

New Horror Posters!

2012-02-19T21:13:00.000-08:00

I really lucked out these past two weekends and came across some posters I've had on my wish list for years now! And I scored them at the incredibly low price of $5 each from a local bookstore in Kitchener.

Jay The Horror Section Clarke and I spent last Sunday driving from video store to book store to video store looking for bargains, VHS tapes, and other horror/cartoon paraphernalia. Never did I ever imagine picking up some of these gems!

And lastly, this weekend I managed to find a MEET THE FEEBLES poster for a VERY reasonable price in Toronto.

Meet the Feebles Theatrical One-Sheet

NY Toy Fair 2012

2012-02-16T20:00:00.000-08:00

Another New York Toy Fair has come and gone and quite a few new surprises were unveiled this year.

Eighties cartoons are still going strong. Here's some of the toys that were featured...

Masters of the Universe Classics

For all the information you could ever imagine on the new figures, check out this great video by Pixel Dan from He-man.org.

Ghostbusters - Kind of horror related, kind of cartoon related. Figured I'd stick this in between

Zuul!!!!!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Turtles are back with a vengeance. It's amazing how this series spans generation after generation and never tires. Looking forward to seeing what Nickelodeon does with the upcoming series. Here's the toys...

In the horror world, NECA unveiled some more figures from their upcoming lines...

Evil Dead II

Gremlins

Life-Size Gremlin Replica

Friday the 13th - Very excited to see what NECA does with this line!

Robocop - Battle Damage - this is pretty lame, but I'm sure someone will buy it.

That's all that really sparked my interest. For more pictures and other new toy lines, be sure to visit any of the following websites:

Figures.com

Toy News International

Action Figure Insider

Thursday Cartoon Intro - CARE BEARS

2012-02-16T04:34:00.000-08:00

Well, it was bound to happen...today's featured cartoon intro is the beloved Care Bears! The Care Bears were originally created by American Greetings (the card company) in 1981. One hundred episodes were produced by Nelvana and DIC Entertainment and the show aired from 1985 to 1988. Care Bears went on to spawn a number of different shows, feature films, and toys lines. Any kid from the 80s should remember the intro... Care Bear Count Down! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

Care Bears Cartoon Intro

Thursday Cartoon Intro - TMNT (2003)

2012-02-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

Eighties cartoon fans have been pretty lucky. We've seen some great cartoon remakes in the last 10 years from He-Man to GI Joe and now Thundercats. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series from 2003 is no exception. The re-imagined series is definitely one of the best cartoons of the last decade. Produced by 4Kids Entertainment and Mirage Studios (Peter Laird's company), the show takes the Turtles back to their comic roots for a new generation of fans. The show aired on Fox from 2003 until 2009 and saw the Turtles go through a number of different designs and storylines. I only managed to catch the first season and a couple of episodes from season 2, but what I saw was extremely entertaining. DVDs of the series are hard to come by now as they seem to be out-of-print. Season 2 (part 2) DVDs go for a pretty hefty price on Amazon. Nickelodeon recently acquired the rights to make a new animated series, which would be the third animated re-imagining of TMNT, and is slated to air sometime in 2012.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003 Cartoon Intro

Cartoon News - Jan 8, 2012

2012-01-08T14:03:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've posted anything on Cartoon and Horror - especially cartoon and horror news. Luckily, I've made a bit of time in my schedule to start updating again. Since I've missed out on a TON of new cartoon and horror releases, I've decided to split up the news. I'll begin with the cartoons as there are so many DVDs that have recently been released or are coming out soon that are must-buys.

NOW AVAILABLE

Conan: The Adventurer - Season 2, Part 1

Captain Power - The Complete Series

I got this for Christmas and it is by far one of the best gifts I got this year. It's amazing how adult the story-lines are whiling still retaining some fun elements for kids. I highly recommend anyone pick this up just for the 90 minute documentary. I know this isn't technically an animated series, however, it does have a lot of cg animation.

Skeleton Warriors - The Complete Series

This show was also created by Gary Goddard (Captain Power, MOTU The Movie) and I highly recommend this DVD set. It comes with commentary tracks, picture galleries, a 45-minute documentary.

Silverhawks - Voume 2 (completes the series) - Warner Archive MOD

Warner finally released the second volume of Silverhawks. Now fans can finally have every episode on DVD. Too bad this volume didn't get the same love the first volume got.

Dragon's Lair - The Complete Series - Warner Archive MOD

Jonny Quest vs. The Cyber-Insects - Telefilm - Warner Archive MOD

Thundercats (2011)

COMING SOON!

Archie's Weird Mysteries

This just barely classifies as a 90s cartoon series as it was broadcast from 1999-2000.

Centurions - The Original Miniseries - Warner Archive MOD

Bobby's World - Season 1 (Date: TBD) - Amazon MOD

C.O.P.S. - The Best of C.O.P.S. - Volume 2 (February 21, 2012)

G.I. Joe - SERIES 2 - Season 1 (January 10, 2012)

Heathcliff - 10 Episodes (February 21, 2012)

Heathcliff - Season 1, Volume 1 (February 21, 2012)

The Best of Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors (February 12, 2012)

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors - Voume 1 (February 12, 2012)

Jem and the Holograms - Season 2 (February 14, 2012)

Rocko's Modern Life - Season 2 (February 7, 2012)

Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century - The Complete Series (February 21, 2012)

Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? - Best Of (February 12, 2012)

Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? - The Complete Series (February 12, 2012)

Thursday Cartoon Intro - THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS

2012-01-05T15:25:00.000-08:00

Produced by Columbia Pictures Television and DiC Entertainment, The Real Ghostbusters was based on the live-action Bill Murray/Ivan Reitman movie. They had to attach "The Real" to the title due to a legal dispute with Filmation and their Ghost Busters series. The Real Ghostbusters ran from 1986 to 1991 and 147 episodes were produced. Not bad for a cartoon. In addition to this series, it also spawned two other series' - Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters (1988) and Extreme Ghostbusters (1997). Fortunately, TimeLife recently released the entire series on DVD in an amazing collectible box set. The set includes every episode of The Real Ghostbusters as well as the 13 episodes of Slimer. Extreme Ghostbusters has yet to see the light of day on DVD. Although, I don't think too many people are dying for it.

The Real Ghostbusters Cartoon Intro

It's Been a While

2011-10-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry once again for my lack of updates. I've been very busy working on a feature film and it may be a while before updates become consistent again.

I completely flaked out on the cartoon-a-day posts and didn't even make it to the end of the month. I'll probably continue with cartoon episode reviews at a later date, but it won't be a daily thing. Also, expect some new Thursday Cartoon Intros and Fan Art Fridays I've been wanting to post for weeks now.

See you soon.

C-A-D: Avengers: EMH - 107

2011-09-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Episode 107

Breakout - Part 2

This episode picks up right where we left off with the Avengers in 106. A villain named Graviton is destroying New York and wanting to exact revenge on Nick Fury - the person who made him the way he now is. And as you guessed it, all of the heroes band together to defeat him, even the Hulk.

This episode was just straight up action. Only this time, I found myself more into it than the previous episodes. Maybe I finally conditioned my brain to just shut off and enjoy the mayhem animated on screen. The only thing that perplexed me a little in this episode was Ant-Man's transformation into Giant Man. How did that happen and why does his costume change when he does that? Maybe I should watch eps 3, 4 and 5. However, now I feel like the series can finally start.

RATING: 6.5

YOU DECIDE

C-A-D: Avengers: EMH - 106

2011-09-20T04:20:00.000-07:00

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Episode 106

Breakout - Part 1

I got a little out of order and skipped ahead to the sixth episode of the Avengers series. I'll probably go back to the other four a little later.

Thank god I didn't watch this episode first. I think I mentioned this in one of my other reviews, but I hate super villain jail breaks. They spent all that time cleaning the scum off the streets, only to have them break out again. Lame.

A mass outbreak occurs at all of the super villain prisons and only Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man and Wasp can capture them. In order to do that though, they have to band together and become The Avengers... can they do it? Of course they can, Silly! But that doesn't happen until Breakout - Part 2.

In this episode you get the introduction of a crap load of super villains and also a few other super heroes. Doc Sampson gets his official origin of the series, which is kind of cool. Overall, this episode was a big let down. You get action, action, action and a very thin story. If action is your thing, you will eat this episode up. Even I was pretty captivated by some of the action set-pieces. On a visceral level, this episode kicks ass. But I like my cartoons with more story. Maybe I should just continue watching X-Men TAS.

RATING: 6

YOU DECIDE

C-A-D: Thundercats (2011) - 105

2011-09-19T04:33:00.000-07:00

Thundercats (2011)

Episode 105

Old Friends

The producers of this new Thundercats series are really hitting a few of these episodes out of the park. I am shocked by how much I'm loving it. And I don't think it's a nostalgic thing either. I think the episodes are genuinely really well made with engaging stories.

Episode 5 picks up where we left off... The Cats have now met up with Panthro and if they are going to continue on their journey they're going to need some thundrillium for the Thundertank. Unfortunately, the closest thundrillium source is being mined by Grune's henchmen - the Lizards. This sets Lion-O and Panthro off on a power-struggle. Panthro thinks Lion-O's plans suck and Lion-O thinks Panthro should listen to his orders now that he is king. If only Claudus was there!

Grune is using a villain from the classic series to mine for the thundrillium - Driller. His re-design is so badass, I'm totally in love with it. After a series of flashbacks of how Grune became evil and a number of battles, the Thundercats succeed in getting some thundrillium.

While the last episode was all heartwarming and touching, this episode succeeds in establishing some great back-story for Grune, Panthro and Claudus's army. It also has some kick-ass fights to boot. I highly recommend this one.

RATING: 9

WATCH IT

C-A-D: Silverhawks - 101

2011-09-16T05:24:00.000-07:00

Silverhawks

Episode 101

The Origin Story

Silverhawks is one of those cartoons on DVD I've been putting off watching for a while now. My memory of the cartoon isn't as fresh as my memory of the action figures - some of the coolest action figures from the '80s. Love the metallic finish on them! Unfortunately, my expectations for the pilot episode were a little high on this one. This origin story is exactly how not to do a first episode. The story just sucks balls.

Set in the year 2839, the pilot begins with Mon-Star escaping from prison and a bionic cop named Stargazer has to assemble a team of Silverhawks to stop Mon-Star from destroying the universe. In all honesty, I kind of fell asleep watching this episode. It bored me to tears. It's unfortunate too because it has one of the coolest intro theme songs around. Anyways, the episode is pretty useless. After Mon-Star escapes and re-domesticates his pet squid, we are introduced to the team: Quicksilver, Steelheart, Steelwill, Col. Bluegrass, and the Copper Kid (a bionic kid from the planet of the mimes).

I really don't remember many of the episodes so I'm curious to see if the show gets any better after episode one. I hope so considering I paid a lot of money for the DVD set. Although many of the other '80s cartoons were 20-minute commercials, this episode was blatantly obvious as being one too. If you're a fan of the Thundercats, you can't go wrong with Silverhawks. I'm just not sure if I can recommend the first episode. I'll let you decide since this introduces the characters, but is lacking any sort of story.

RATING: 4.5

YOU DECIDE

C-A-D: Iron Man TAS - 102

2011-09-16T05:21:00.000-07:00

Iron Man The Animated Series

Episode 102

Rejoice! I am Ultimo, Thy Deliverer!

Just when you thought Iron Man TAS couldn't get any worse, the producers give us this crap as the second episode of the series. Not quite as bad as the first one, but that's not saying much.

The Mandarin and Modok find and bring to life a gigantic alien Robot named Ultimo. The Madarin uses it to try and destroy one of Stark's factories, but is stopped by Iron Man and the rest of the Force Works.

Now, I don't know if it's a case of really bad writing here, or just terrible source material. I did some reading up on Ultimo on good ole wikipedia and I discovered that this origin episode for Ultimo is pretty faithful to his original origin in the comics. Unfortunately, It's just like the first episode of Iron Man. The Mandarin has a scheme, he executes it and is thwarted by Iron Man. This ones another dud and I don't think it's going to get any better, at least not for 11 more episodes.

RATING: 2

SKIP IT

C-A-D: X-Men TAS - 102

2011-09-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

X-Men The Animated Series

Episode 102

Night of the Sentinels - Part 2

Just as you might have suspected, part 2 of Night of the Sentinels picks up literally where we last left off in episode 1 - the X-Men in danger. But thank god they're the X-Men and can get out of any sticky situation. After getting into the compound and destroying the files, the X-Men flee to the Blackbird, but are confronted by an onslaught of Sentinels. The X-Men fight the good fight but lose two of their team members in the process. Beast is captured and another (who I will refrain from naming for those who have yet to see it) is killed in battle. They just don't make cartoons like this any more! The writers of the show really set up the series letting the audience know that anyone could die or be captured at any moment. Being a mutant is not fun and is potentially dangerous and this episode clearly shows that.

Like episode 1, I think this episode has some great one-liners. It's been a number of years since I last watched this episode and I still remember a lot of the dialogue by heart. For instance, when Wolverine yells at one of the Sentinels, "Hey Tin Woodsman! I'm sending you back to Oz... in pieces!" Absolutely brilliant dialogue. With introductions out the way, X-Men the Animated Series was finally ready to begin - hence the reason I give it a slightly higher score. You really feel like the series takes off at the end of this episode. It's hard to compare Part 1 and 2 as they are essentially the same story, but since I'm forced to I'd have to say Part 2 is the better episode. One last thing I'd like to mention... it's very fascinating that the president in this episode is portrayed as a woman. Another very liberal decision on the part of the writers and I commend them for writing it that way.

RATING: 8

MUST WATCH

C-A-D: Thundercats (2011) - 104

2011-09-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

Thundercats (2011)

Episode 104

Song of the Petalars

Episode 4 of the new Thundercats series really had the potential of being even worse than episode 3, but came out as one of the best cartoon episodes I have ever seen.

Still on their journey to destroy Mumm-Ra, but with Slythe's army in hot-pursuit, the Thundercats come across a group of strange little plant creatures called the Petalars living inside a large briar-patch forest. The Petalars want nothing more but to return to their original home. After being swept away by a tornado, the Petalars ended up in the briar-patch and now only the Thundercats can help them find their way home.

As the Thundercats try to find the Cliff of Winds (the place where the Petalars will float back home), Lion-O befriends Emerick, a small and courageous young Petalar who wants to be just like Lion-O when he grows up. However, as Lion-O gets closer to the boy he soon discovers that the life-span of a Petalar is only as long as a single day. With very little time left and Slythe doing everything and anything to kill the Thundercats, even lighting the briar patch forest on fire, Lion-O only has few hours left with his friend before he dies.

As you would have probably guessed, Lion-O and the rest of the Thundercats manage to find their passage home, however, it may be too late as Lion-O's friend has come to the end of his life and dies. Although Emerick's life may have been very short, Lion-O realizes that Emerick had a good life and lived life to the fullest. Taking what he has learned, Lion-O decides to fight Slythe's army. Going face to face with Slythe's army of robots, the Thundercats are able to destroy them, but only with the help of someone else - and that someone I will leave up to you to discover because I highly recommend this episode.

This was probably one of the most touching episodes of a cartoon I have ever seen. The Petalar designs weren't that great, but their story was so heartwarming. I don't think I've ever been that moved by a cartoon before. This cartoon is turning out to be a very mature cartoon that children and adults can both enjoy.

RATING: 9

WATCH IT

C-A-D: Avengers: EMH - 102

2011-09-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Episode 102

Thor the Mighty

Similar to the series opener, this episode is composed of four 5-minute episodes strewn together. This time, however, I think it works a little better.

The episode begins with the Wrecking Crew attempting to steal something from Stark Industries. The Mighty Thor steps in and puts a halt to their plan. I was a little confused as to what Thor's deal was in this episode. Has he been on Earth for a few years now? Has he made any friends? Is his origin the same as Kenneth Branagh's movie origin? Anyways, Thor is then beckoned back to Asgard to find it under seige by Frost Giants. With Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, at his side he is able to stop the Frost Giants from destroying the realm eternal. However, we soon discover that his step-brother Loki was behind the assault and his father, Odin, is none-too-pleased. After giving the boy a scolding, Odin banishes him to the Isle of Silence. There, he reminisces of his scheming ways and we learn why the Wrecking Crew were up to no good in the beginning of the episode. And Thor decides he'd rather go live with the people of Earth than be with his own people... which pisses his Dad off quite a bit!

Although I liked this episode more than the last, I still feel like the show is 85% fighting and 15% story. Again we are introduced to a ridiculous amount of characters and expected to know everything about each of them. Another thing I was confused about was the writers' decision to introduce Thor as if he had been on Earth for a while, but at the same time, not set up any of his backstory. I really know very little about Thor. My knowledge pretty much only extends to Branagh's movie and they approach this episode as if nothing that happened in the movie ever took place. Instead, they kind of do the whole Frost Giant story in a matter of 2-3 minutes - aka one big ass fight. So why did I like it more than the first episode? Well, for one thing, I felt like the episode flowed a lot better. Also, the voice acting in this episode is top notch. Something I forgot to mention in my last review was Iron Man's voice. Why does he sound like a teenager?

RATING: 6

YOU DECIDE

C-A-D: Thundercats (2011) - 103

2011-09-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

Thundercats (2011)

Episode 103

Ramlak Rising

I'll start this mini-review by stating that this was a huge let down from the first two episodes of the new series. Although I liked some of the themes it presented, it just felt like such a filler episode.

This episode picks up right where episode 2 left off. With Thundera destroyed and King Claudus dead, Lion-O, Cheetara and Tigra set out for the Sea of Sands to exact revenge on Mumm-Ra. As they depart, they meet up with Wily Kit and Wily Kat, and Lion-O reluctantly lets them join in on their travels. Once they reach the ocean, they encounter a group of fish-like pirates, who are straight out of an H.P. Lovecraft novella and are looking to kill a creature called the Ramlak - who drank all the water in their ocean (don't ask if you haven't seen it... it's stupid). The Thundercats agree to help them find and kill the creature, while simultaneously the crew wants to eat the Thunderkittens (again, don't ask). As you would have guessed, Lion-O saves the day and kills the Ramlak, releasing all of the water back into the sea (I have no idea how the creature was large enough to hold that much water... I shouldn't have asked).

The best part of the episode is the very end, so I won't ruin it for those of you who still haven't seen it and are curious about it. Although it was cool to see Lion-O cut shit up with his sword, I don't think I can recommend this episode.

RATING: 4

SKIP IT

C-A-D: Thundercats (2011) - 101 and 102

2011-09-08T04:21:00.000-07:00

Thundercats (2011)

Episode 101 and 102

The Sword of Omens and Ancient Spirits of Evil

Now this is how you make (or in this case, remake) a cartoon! Since I watched this on it's initial broadcast, I'm not going to split up both episodes into separate review days.

I've always been a huge Thundercats fan. Ever since I first saw the pilot episode of the original series, "Exodus", I was a die-hard fanatic. As a kid I had the Cat's Lair and half of the entire action figure collection. I also had a number of episodes taped on VHS. So when I first heard that they were remaking Thundercats, I had very high expectations. The initial series had such great designs and story, I felt like there was no way to screw it up. Thankfully, they blew my expectations out of the water. The first two episodes of the series are some of the best animated stories I have ever seen.

The series begins with your standard intros... We meet Lion-O, son of Claudus and brother to Tygra(!). Lion-O gets himself into a little scuffle on the street looking for mysterious ancient Thundera Technology, but thank goodness Cheetara is there to save him. Soon after this event, we are introduced to his father and brother as Grune, a general in Claudus's army, arrives with news that Panthro has died in battle, but he has returned with riches. Claudus holds a ceremony for the fallen Thundercat, but once again Lion-O can't stay out of trouble when he finds a bunch of cats picking on some Reptilian prisoners. After making a pretty good argument, Lion-O convinces his father to release the lizards and thus ends episode 1.

Episode 2 picks up the next day with an army of Lizards storming Thundera with massive robotic machines - the same ancient tech Lion-O was so curious about in the beginning of the episode. A battle ensues, but not without unveiling a whole slew of possible story threads...

I don't want to reveal too much for those of you who haven't had the chance to see the first episode yet. All I can say is that the show is amazing. I was a big supporter of the 2002 He-Man series, but I have to admit this series is vastly superior in animation and in story.

Here's some of the things I loved about it...

- Snarf is no longer annoying... just cute.

- The voice acting is great - Tygra's voice is very reminiscent of the original Tygra's voice. Mumm-ra, Lion-O, Cheetara, Wily Kit and Kat, Jaga and Slythe are all spot-on.

- The set up of Grune's character is ingenious.

- The history of the eye of Thundera relating to Mumm-ra should be interesting.

- Wily Kit and Kat being orphan-like thieves is intriguing.

- The death of a main character is actually shocking.

- Hearing Larry Kenney speak the famous Thundercat oath made me feel like a kid again.

- Lynx-O cameo!

I can't speak any higher about the series. Can't wait to see where it goes from here!

RATING: 10

WATCH IT

C-A-D: Iron Man TAS - 101

2011-09-07T04:15:00.000-07:00

Iron Man The Animated Series

Episode 101

And The Sea Shall Give Up It's Dead

I wanted to review Iron Man - the Complete 1994 Animated Series DVD set back when it was first released, but I just couldn't bring myself to watch it over a weekend...more or less even watch it. The first season is just terrible. So I thought, why not do it now and spread it over a few weeks or maybe even months. It's really just season one that is nearly unwatchable. Alright, so now that I've pumped all of you up for what's in store, let's dig in.

The pilot episode of Iron Man is so undeniably lame. Similar to a lot of the cartoons of the '80s, the basic premise of each Iron Man episode is as follows: Mandarin comes up with some crazy-ass scheme and Iron Man stops it. That's about it. And just like that, this episode begins with the Mandarin turning a group of Russian Sailors into an army of radioactive zombies. We are introduced to the man in red and yellow and his team of super heroes - Force Works (War Machine, Spider Woman, Century and Scarlet Witch). From there we are also introduced to the Mandarin's super villains; Dreadknight, Modok, Whirlwind, Blizzard, Backlash (aka Whiplash), and Hypnotia. Once all the main characters are introduced they get on with the episode and defeat the evil horde of zombie sailors.

It's a real shame the production company didn't use the same template as X-Men the Animated Series and just go full force with a kick ass story. The first episode and really the whole first season is such a wasted opportunity. I think the recent Iron Man movie clearly shows that Iron Man can be a really cool and interesting character. Unfortunately, he is not in this cartoon adaptation. The only cool thing about this first episode is seeing all of those Force Works characters animated and come to life. Unfortunately, we don't find out a blasted thing about any of them. They are really just there as eye candy. This is definitely an episode I highly recommend you skip.

RATING: 1.5

SKIP IT

C-A-D: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes 101

2011-09-06T04:25:00.000-07:00

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Episode 101
Iron Man is Born!

Since I've been wanting to watch the new Avengers cartoon for some time now, I thought one of the first remakes I would jump into would be this show. I use remake lightly because the show isn't technically a remake. It's more of a new interpretation on characters from '90s Marvel cartoons. Now to begin with, I was a little confused as to which episode would be considered the first episode of the series. It may or may not have had an impact on the way I have rated this episode and may rate upcoming episodes. My understanding is that Disney XD aired mini-episodes prior to the series officially launching on October 20th. But then once the series began, each of those 5-minute mini-episodes were spun into self contained episodes. Confused yet? I am. Anyways, the point I'm trying to make is that I've decided to begin watching the series with the 5-minute episode arcs.

Iron Man is Born! starts off with a pretty cool action sequence of Iron Man taking on some Hydra robots in what appears to be New York City. As Iron Man fights the good fight, S.H.I.E.L.D. steps in to help, but are they on Iron Man's side? The episode ends with the Grim Reaper infiltrating one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s prisons (the Vault). After breaking out Baron Strucker and hitting the road, Nick Fury's men just barely capture them... of course in the process Nick Fury gets a bit of a makeover in the hair department.

I really felt this episode was just a mishmash of action scenes. Now, like I mentioned, this could just be a problem of being four 5-minute episodes strewn together. I think my biggest problem with this episode is that it just lacks any interesting story. Sure there is the mystery as to why Stark's technology was used in Hydra robots, but that's about it. In addition to that, we meet a whole smattering of characters and never really get to know who they are. Sure, I know who they are... I've seen the movies, read some of the comics and even have the Marvel Encyclopedia, but what about all those kids out there? I'm guessing they are approaching this series expecting that the viewers would have seen the Iron Man movie and should know his back-story and supporting cast. However, Modok makes a quick appearance, but for no reason at all. I guess it was kind of a cool cameo, but let's hope by the time he makes it into the series as a full-fledged villain he has an actually story.

If you're a fan of action, and only action, you will probably get a kick of this episode. None of the other Avengers make an appearance, but I really think that is a good thing. As it is there are too many characters in this episode. I'm hoping the series picks up after this one.

RATING: 5

YOU DECIDE

C-A-D: X-Men TAS - 101

2011-09-05T13:26:00.000-07:00

X-Men The Animated Series

Episode 101

Night of the Sentinels - Part 1

To kick off the latest feature on cartoonandhorror.com I've decided to pick one of my favourite '90s cartoons - X-Men The Animated Series. I've seen the entire series at least two times in my life, so this series will be the most memorable. I just hope the nostalgia of the show doesn't influence my adult opinions of each episode.

The episode begins with a relatively unknown (for me at least) mutant named Jubilee being hunted by a pack of Sentinels (still to this day I don't see Jubilee gracing too many comic covers). Luckily she is saved by a group of mutants known as the X-Men. Storm, Rogue and Gambit save Jubilee from the Sentinels and take her to the X-Mansion for safety. After meeting part of the team, we are introduced to the rest - Wolverine, Beast, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Professor X and an extremely obscure character named Morph. We discover, along with the X-Men, that the group running the Mutant Registration Program is using Sentinels to hunt down mutants to terminate them. Pretty heavy shit for a young kid watching the show back in the early '90s. The X-Men discover the secret base of the organization and decide to go infiltrate them to destroy their mutant files. The episode ends with a cliff-hanger just as the X-Men are about to get attacked by a group of soldiers.

Overall, this couldn't be a more perfect pilot episode. It introduces the characters effortlessly and develops their ticks and character traits in such little time - only 24 minutes. The episode has a few silly lines of dialogue, but makes up for it with some of the most memorable one-liners I've ever seen in a show to date. The voice actors are perfect in their roles and really capture the characters personality. Another thing that makes this episode and show so brilliant is that each episode sets up so many stories that are explored in later episodes. Although the animation design of the show may be a little dated, I still think it has more life than 95% of the cartoons you see on TV today. That includes all of the new Marvel and DC cartoons currently on the air.

Even for just being part 1 of an entire story, I have to give this pilot big props as it still holds up to this day and begins an interesting a adult themed story-line that continues for the rest of the series.

RATING: 7

WATCH

CARTOON-A-DAY

2011-09-04T06:23:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be starting up a new feature to guarantee that there will be more consistent content on cartoonandhorror.com. Since there is an over-abundance of horror movie websites dedicated to reviews, I've decided to focus the new feature on cartoons.

I've been collecting 80s and 90s cartoons on DVD for years now and I have a bunch that haven't even been opened yet. I thought the perfect way to get through the DVDs would be to watch a cartoon every day (during the week) and post a short review, rating and determine whether you should spend the time watching that particular episode.

Every episode I review will be rated out of 10. If an episode gets a score of 1 - 4, I will recommend you SKIP the episode. If an episode gets a score of 4.5 - 6.5, I'll let YOU DECIDE whether you want to watch it or not, based on the episode synopsis. If an episode gets a score of 7 - 10, it's a WATCH or MUST WATCH. Since some shows have over 100 episodes, this will let the casual cartoon fan weed through the shit episodes. Shows like Masters of the Universe and Thundercats have a plethora of crappy episodes. Every time I go to watch one of my cartoon DVDs I never know which episode to put on. I sometimes don't want to start at the beginning, but I have no idea what episode to watch.

When I first started this website, I really wanted to review every single cartoon show on DVD. However, as I started to really get into this whole blogging thing, I realized I just didn't have the time to sit down and watch an entire season of a cartoon show in one sitting. Doing one episode of a cartoon show a day will allow me to jump back and forth between different shows (while going in episode order) and also get through my collection of cartoon DVDs.

Another thing I should mention, while most of the cartoons I review will be from the 80s and 90s, you will also see a few remakes from the 2000s scattered throughout the reviews. In order for a show to be qualified as a remake, it has to have had an original show produced in the 80s or 90s. For example, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (200x), TMNT (200x), Thundercats (2011) cartoon, and if I'm up for it, one of the new Transformers or GI Joe cartoons. In addition to these cartoons, Marvel and DC cartoons with the same characters qualify as well. Shows like The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (The characters appeared in both Iron Man: The Animated Series and Avengers: United They Stand) and X-Men Evolution both qualify. I'm only making this part of the rule because I'm dying to watch some of the new Marvel and DC TV shows, so you're just going to have to put up with it.

September will act kind of as a test to see if I can actually squeeze the time in to review an episode every week day. The month of October will be dedicated to reviewing a horror movie every day (per week).

If this works out alright, I'll pick this feature back up in November.

Let the cartoon watching begin!

FAN EXPO/FESTIVAL OF FEAR 2011 - Part 3: The Loot

2011-09-02T21:04:00.000-07:00

At this year's Fan Expo I went a little more crazy than I normally do and spent a tiny bit over $100 on posters. Which is actually pretty good considering some of the gems I got. Usually I come away with 1 or 2 posters, but this year, I really hit the jackpot. I was able to cross off a few from my wishlist. Anyways, besides the posters, I also got 4 trade paperbacks. Here are the pics...

The Changeling (US Theatrical Poster)

From Beyond (US Theatrical Poster)

House (Thai Poster)

House II (Thai Poster)

House 3 - aka. Horror House & The Horror Show (German Poster)

Scrooged (UK Poster)

Society (US VHS Poster - I think)

All of the posters have been added to my poster collection, which you can check out here.

This was a free poster. I don't really get why the transformers look like LEGO characters, but at least it makes me smile.

FAN EXPO 2011 - Part 2: More Photos

2011-09-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

Today's post concludes the pictures portion of my Fan Expo/Festival of Fear 2011 write-up.

DAY 3

Danielle Harris Q&A (Video to follow)

Doug Bradley Q&A (Video to follow)

Ghostbusters helping Ghostbusters

Lance Vs. Lance (Video to follow)

Twisted T's!

Best. Line-up. Ever. (Click on image to enlarge)

More great T's

DAY 4

My camera battery mysteriously ran out of power on the last day so I am seriously lacking in the pictures department.

Guillermo del Toro getting swarmed

Robert Englund Q&A (Video to follow)

FAN EXPO/FESTIVAL OF FEAR 2011 - Part 1: The Photos

2011-08-31T20:44:00.000-07:00

I've held off on posting anything about Fan Expo because I've just been too busy. Hence the reason why there hasn't been any new Thursday Cartoon Intros or Fan Art Fridays. Also, this year's convention just wasn't as exciting as previous years'. Although the expo took place over more days, the guests just didn't excite me as they normally do.

This year saw the expo run from Thursday to Sunday, as opposed to Friday to Sunday. Although this must have been great for people who can get time off, it's pretty shitty for everyone else that has to work. Two of the Q&A's I was most looking forward to were scheduled right smack dab in the middle of Friday, preventing me from attending.

Aside from some Q&A scheduling conflicts, this year's Fan Expo ran much better than last year. Firstly, they booked the correct convention space. Secondly, the whole wristband thing works like a charm now. Lastly, I'm happy that you need a wristband just to get into the South Building. Now there aren't crazy people just walking around who are not attending the con. However, I have noticed that it has gotten a bit more stinkier and the costumes a lot more wilder.

Anyways, onto more important things. Since I have so much content from the Fan Expo and Festival of Fear to post, I thought I would break it up a little. To begin with, I'll just be posting some of the pictures I took while walking around and attending the con. Then I'll post some Q&A videos and some pictures of the loot I came away with.

DAY ONE

George Kosana - The Sheriff, NOTLD

Russ Streiner - Johnny, NOTLD

John A. Russo - Producer/Co-Writer, NOTLD

Jason Cosplay

Real Steel Robots

ATST and some Troopers

DAY TWO

80s and 90s cartoon characters starting to make a presence.

I don't know why Bumblebee looks like this.

Marvel Booth

Daryl Shaw - Writer/Director, Android Re-Enactment

John Stocker - Voice Actor/Director - Click on the image above to see more detail of some of the characters he played in cartoons from the 80s and 90s.

Skeletor Cosplay

Tony Moore - Artist, The Walking Dead (#1-6)

Thursday Cartoon Intro - X-MEN TAS

2011-08-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I've tried everything and I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to rip the intro from Disney's recent DVD release of X-Men the Animated Series. X-Men the Animated Series is one my all-time favourite cartoons. From the stories to the characters, this cartoon is amazing. I still watch it to this day. 76 episodes were produced and all of them are currently available on DVD from Disney. If you have never seen the show before, I highly recommend you run to the store and buy it. You won't regret it.

X-Men the Animated Series Cartoon Intro

FAN ART FRIDAY - Trevor Henderson

2011-08-12T04:11:00.000-07:00

Trevor Henderson is a Toronto artist who runs a blog called Feature Creature where he posts a new monster illustration every Friday. His blog has only been running for a few months now, but so far he has some amazing fan art. Click here to check out his Feature Creature blog and click here to check out his other art blog.

Technical Problems

2011-08-12T04:09:00.000-07:00

Due to technical problems, I was unable to upload a new intro yesterday. I'm hoping to sort out the problem and have something up for next week.

MIA on DVD - NIGHTBREED DIRECTOR'S CUT

2011-08-07T06:36:00.000-07:00

I'm changing it up a little and picking another movie (Meet the Feebles being the last one) that is already available on DVD... well at least 108 minutes of it are. As many horror fans already know, two versions of Nightbreed exist. One being 108 minutes and readily available on a bare-bones DVD release. The other is a 159 minute directors extended cut of the film.

Clive Barker has stated numerous times that he is quite disappointed with the theatrical cut of the film. For years he has wanted to release his intended extended version of the film. Over a year ago, it seemed like it would only be a few months before a Nightbreed Director's Cut would hit store shelves. Unfortunately, all of that came to halt shortly after.

Back in March 2010, HorrorHound magazine tracked down a 159 minute VHS work-print and screened it at their HorrorHound Weekend. Many thought that would lead right into a remastered DVD release. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

I'm going to just copy exactly what Clive Barker's website has to say about everything. This was the last statement from his official website regarding the Nightbreed extended version....

It’s been a little over a year since our good friend Mark Miller was told by someone at Morgan Creek that Nightbreed’s “missing” footage was in fact safely stored in their vaults, simply needing a reason to dig it out – but that no-one at the company could see a reason to do so.

As soon as we heard that the near-mythical footage had survived, we asked for your help to show how much support exists for a director’s cut of the movie.

Over that period – during which Clive located two VHS workprints containing an hour of cut footage, one of which Morgan Creek authorised for a screening at HorrorHound last March – more than 2,000 people have added their names to the ‘Release Nightbreed’ petition on this page, as well as spreading the word in magazines, on news sites and blogs and at conventions.

A huge, huge thank you to each and every one of you from Clive and ourselves: your support has been instrumental in moving Morgan Creek from an initial “there’s no interest” position on releasing an extended DVD or Bluray to one where they have actually been into the vaults to pull out the footage…

…and that’s where the good news turns bad...

We’ve just had the following conversation with Morgan Creek:

Morgan Creek: “So I have a bit of sad news to relay. After MUCH digging, hunting and trying our best to unearth where (if at all) the missing Nightbreed footage might be, we’ve come up empty handed. Therefore, that VHS that was screened at the convention is the ONLY footage that exists of a director’s cut.”
Revelations: “Wow, that's tough news! A year ago we had no idea whether or not the footage still even existed and it was only when we heard the company knew exactly where it was that we and Clive even got up hopes to be able to construct an extended cut of the movie. Sounds like the initial comments to Mark were unduly optimistic?”

Morgan Creek: “Unfortunately yes – we were wrong about this one.”

There’s not much that can sweeten a blow like this when so many hopes have been so raised…
We’ve given the news to Clive and will be talking more with him about whether this might be a final death knell for a true extended Nightbreed. In the meantime, again prompted by your visible and vocal support, Morgan Creek have offered us access to all the Nightbreed material they have and have granted us permission to pull this together into a comprehensive illustrated anniversary book about the movie. We’ll draw on this as well as on unpublished material in Clive’s archive and we’ve started discussions on whether this package might gain permission to include a release of the workprint too…

At this point, we and Clive and Mark need to again thank everyone who has been moved to support Nightbreed so eloquently. That passion has not been wasted and has motivated a studio to spend time and effort looking to rescue the lost work of filmmakers who shared a heavenly vision of monsters… We’ve not given up all hope…

So there you have it folks, this may truly be one MIA on DVD we'll never see realized in a remastered Blu-ray/DVD release. Still, if Warner Bros. has the courage, I think they should release the theatrical version on Blu-ray and include the entire extended edition on a bonus DVD, even if it is only a VHS print.

The movie is also dying for a commentary with Clive Barker. I've also heard there is plenty of behind-the-scenes footage to create a making-of documentary.

Here's some possible artwork they could use on a new DVD release...

UK Quad

US One-Sheet

US One-Sheet - also used for the VHS release

Thai One-Sheet

UK DVD

Artwork by Ralph McQuarrie

Unknown Artwork

Italian Poster

Spanish Poster

If they ever decide to re-release the movie on Blu-ray or the extended version, I would be happy if they used the original one-sheet/VHS artwork or alternatively the artwork from the Thai release. Truly an amazing piece of artwork. If I ever hear of a DVD/Blu-ray release of Nightbreed, I will be sure to post it here in a heartbeat.

FAN ART FRIDAY - Jason Ludy

2011-07-29T06:17:00.000-07:00

Here's some fun artwork from Jason Ludy. I'm particularly fond of his Ghostbusters Action Figure fan art. Let's hope he continues to do more!

Cemetery Man

Edward Scissorhands

The Real Ghostbusters Action Figure Fan Art

Thursday Cartoon Intro - THE REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST

2011-07-28T18:40:00.000-07:00

The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest is a remake/revival of the 1960s Hanna-Barbara cartoon franchise. 52 half-hour episodes were produced from 1996 to 1999. You can currently find the first part of season one available on DVD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. For tons of more information about the series, check out it's wikipedia page.

The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest Cartoon Intro

SDCC 2011

2011-07-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

I can't decide if this is the best SDCC yet. Every year there just seems to be so many cool new action figure previews. For a while, there's been a bit of a slump in new horror action figures, but thanks to NECA, horror figures are back! And with some of my favourites!

Evil Dead 2 - NECA

NECA have really outdone themselves this time. Evil Dead 1 & 2 (not Army of Darkness) figures have been on my wish-list for years now. Thank god NECA finally delivered. I know that 3 of the figures are just Ash variants, but at least 2 of them are must-buys - Deadite Ash and Hero Ash. Getting Henrietta is a dream come true and she couldn't look better!

A Nightmare on Elm Street

NECA revealed these figures back at Toy Fair this year, but I thought their dioramas were just too cool not to post pictures.

GREMLINS - NECA

By far the best toys NECA has planned. These Gremlins figures are to die for. The "Phantom of the Opera" gremlin is probably the only one I'm not desperate for. I love the electricity gremlin - not sure what his official name is.

Robocop - NECA

Posted this before, but here it is again for those who missed out.

Terminator Series 1 and 2 - NECA

I've really cut back on my action figure purchases, but if I had a bigger house, I think I'd cave and pick up these bad boys. Definitely the best Terminator sculpts to date.

MOTU Tumbler Mini Figures

I have no idea where these will be sold and what the deal is with them. They just don't interest me that much. I guess they're kind of cute. Check out he-man.org for more info.

New MOTU Classics Figures

Check out He-man.org for all the details.

The Return of Mini-Comics!!!

MOTU 30th Anniversary Contest Details

Ghostbusters - Mattel / Mattycollector

I haven't purchased any of these Ghostbuster figures from Matty yet, but that Vigo figure seems to be influencing me to buy him. Something about those eyes...

Thundercats - MEZCO

Mumm-ra is the new staction from Icon Heroes. Also, check out their awesome Cat's Lair below.

Voltron - Mattel / MattyCollector

I don't remember the original show at all, but the new figures are so reminiscent of the old ones, I just may have to get them. Definitely piques my interest for the new show too.

Thanks to the following websites for taking such great pictures... and letting me steal them. Be sure to check each of them out for more pictures, info and news regarding each action figure line.

Check back on Monday in case there are any new pictures or reveals over the weekend.

HH#30, Fango#206, Horror and Cartoon News July 16

2011-07-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

It has a been a while since I last posted some Horror and Cartoon news. There were so many new announcements, I just had to post!

HorrorHound FINALLY released an image of their upcoming July/August issue. The cover is terrible, but if you purchase it from their website or from a comic shop you can get an exclusive Creepshow cover instead. And Fango's 306th issue streets early August.

HorrorHound #30

Fangoria #206

Someone is finally releasing Peter Jackson's best (okay, I guess that is arguable) and goriest movie onto Blu-ray this year and that someone is Lionsgate! The disc is scheduled to hit store shelves on October 4th. No special features or technical information has been announced as of yet.

Dead Alive Blu-ray (October 4, 2011)

I have been putting off buying Halloween 2 and 3 for far too long now. Part 3 has always been my favourite, with 1 and 2 tied for second. Thank god Universal isn't giving us a bare-bones Blu-ray release. The disc will include Terror in the Aisles, a documentary about horror films that was released in 1984, and an alternate ending.

Halloween II: 30th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray (September 13, 2011)

The Jurassic Park Trilogy is making its way to Blu-ray in October, also thanks to Universal. It should be a very interesting release, only to see how the special effects hold up on the high-def format. All the special features from the initial DVD trilogy pack will be included. In addition to that, Universal has produced over two hours of NEW material specifically for the Blu-ray release.

The new material takes the form of a six-part retrospective documentary titled Return to Jurassic Park. This documentary - made up of the Dawn of a New Era, Making Pre-history, The Next Step in Evolution, Finding The Lost World, Something Survived, and The Third Adventure behind-the-scenes segments - features never-before-seen interviews with the cast and crew of the three films, including Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg.

Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy Blu-ray (October 25, 2011)

This is a release I am very curious about. I saw the film when it was first released on VHS back in the '90s and wasn't too fond of it. I've since become a big fan of everything Guillermo Del Toro does, so it will be interesting to see what his director's cut is like. Also, it has some great bonus features to boot:

- Introduction and Audio Commentary from Director Guillermo del Toro

- Reclaiming Mimic- Featurette with Del Toro discussing his vision for the film and how he completed the new version.
- A Leap in Evolution: The Creatures of Mimic- Featurette looking at the creatures in Mimic
- Back into the Tunnels: Shooting Mimic- Behind the scenes featurette.
- Deleted/Alternate Scenes
- Outtakes
- Gag Reel
- Storyboard Animatics
- Theatrical Trailer

Mimic Director's Cut Blu-ray (September 27, 2011)

I've been meaning to pick up the Subspecies trilogy DVD set, now I'm not sure what to do. I don't remember the movie very well, but I know I liked it. So do I risk it and get the Blu-ray or just stick with the DVD release...thoughts?

Subspecies 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray (July 25, 2011)

Vamp Blu-ray (September 20, 2011 -Image Entertainment)

And finally, I have saved the best for last! At least in my books. I have been waiting for the day when Blue Underground would release one of my favourite zombie movies of all time. October 25th, can't come soon enough! Here's a list of the specs:

- New introduction to the film
- Audio commentary with star Ian McCulloch and Diabolik magazine Editor Jason J. Slater
- Interview with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro
- Zombie Wasteland featurette
- Flesh Eaters on Film featurette
- Deadtime Stories featurette
- World of the Dead featurette
- Zombi Italiano featurette
- Notes on a Headstone featurette
- All in the Family featurette
- Theatrical trailers
- TV and radio spots
- Poster and still gallery

Zombie Blu-ray (October 25, 2011)

In the cartoon world, there were a few bits of newsworthy items. Firstly, Mill Creek has revealed images of the complete second season DVD cover for He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. This cover is exclusively available at SDCC '11 - a whole 60 days prior to the official release.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

Shout! Factory also revealed cover images of Beast Wars Seasons 2&3, Jem: The Complete Series and Jem season one.

Beast Wars Seasons 2 & 3 (October 4)

Jem and The Holograms (October 11, 2011)

FAN ART FRIDAY - edsfox

2011-07-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

I don't know who the hell edsfox is. All I know is that he is from Mexico and he is an amazing illustrator. His Quicksilver from Silverhawks just blows me away.

Thursday Cartoon Intro - HEATHCLIFF

2011-07-14T04:50:00.000-07:00

This is the intro from the second series based on the Heathcliff comic strip. The series premiered in 1984 and a total of 86 episodes were produced by DIC Entertainment. Various episodes from the show have been released by both Shout! Factory and NCircle Entertainment. The entire series is still unavailable in a complete package or in volume sets. Unfortunately, Shout lost the rights to the series a few years ago, so I don't think we'll be seeing every episode get an official release any time soon.

Heathcliff Cartoon Intro

FAN ART FRIDAY - The Evil Dead

2011-07-01T06:33:00.000-07:00

This year marks the 30th Anniversary of one of my all-time favourite movies, The Evil Dead. Already this year there have been numerous screenings across North America, as well as a new iPhone/iPad game app. In addition to that, NECA toys even announced an Evil Dead 2 series of action figures.

To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of The Evil Dead on Cartoon and Horror, I thought it would be great to compile all of the Evil Dead artwork I could find online. The last decade or so has seen the Evil Dead explode into a huge franchise without even getting a remake or sequel. The movie has also seen numerous DVD releases thanks to Anchor Bay. It probably has more DVD releases than any other movie. Just check out the 30th issue of HorrorHound. Below are some of my favourite pieces of fan artwork I've found for the movie. I've tried to stick to just Evil Dead 1&2. I'll probably do an Army of Darkness post some other time. If you have other favourite pieces of Evil Dead fan art, include a link in the comments section and I will add it to the list. Also, if you are an artist, feel free to e-mail any Evil Dead artwork you want posted at cartoonandhorror@gmail.com.

Happy 30th Anniversary EVIL DEAD!

JPRArt

hokunin

cloxboy

wagnerf

Rahzzah

Grimbro

Thursday Cartoon Intro - TRANSFORMERS

2011-06-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the official release date of Michael Bay's Transformers 3. I couldn't have timed this cartoon intro any better. Not much else can be said about Transformers. It's an uber-popular show that has spawned numerous toys, comic books, cartoons and movies. Thanks to Shout! Factory, you can currently find the entire series available on DVD.

Transformers G1 Cartoon intro

NOTHING THIS WEEK

2011-06-23T16:40:00.000-07:00

Hello my loyal followers! I just wanted to give you the heads up that I will not be updating the blog this week. Check back next week for regular scheduled updates. Thanks again for visiting!

RM#113 and Horror News - June 18

2011-06-18T06:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a pretty slow few weeks for 80s and 90s cartoon news. However, a slew of new horror blu-rays have been announced. Below are some upcoming classic horror movies making their way to BRD this year.

Image Entertainment seem to have acquired a bunch of older Anchor Bay titles. So far they've officially announced the blu-ray release of Hellraiser, Hellraiser II: Hellbound, Children of the Corn, The Hills Have Eyes, Vamp (no artwork) and Dead Heat (no artwork). No word yet on whether or not these titles will be new HD transfers or if they will contain any new bonus material. Other titles getting a DVD re-release include: House, House II: The Second Story, Return of the Killer Tomatoes, Creepshow 2, Dead End Drive-In, Flowers in the Attic, The Initiation, Mountaintop Motel Massacre, Slugs, The Stuff and The Vineyard.

Children of the Corn - September 6, 2011 (2011)

Hellraiser - September 6, 2011 (Image Entertainment)

Hellbound: Hellraiser II - September 6, 2011 (Image Entertainment)

The Hills Have Eyes - September 6, 2011 (Image Entertainment)

The House By the Cemetery - September 27, 2011 (Blue Underground)

Torso - August 30, 2011 (Blue Underground)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 & 3 - September 27, 2011 (Warner Bros.) - It's not looking too good for a blu-ray Nightmare box set with the release of this blu-ray.

Nightmare Before Christmas 3D blu-ray - August 30, 2011 (Disney)

Two Henenlotter titles are FINALLY making their way to blu-ray this year. Basket Case is getting the HD treatment from Something Weird and Frankenhooker is getting a release from Synapse. Now if only I could get Brain Damage on blu-ray, I would be floating on a cloud.

Basket Case - September 27, 2011 (Something Weird Video/Image Entertainment)

Frankenhooker - No Street Date Yet (Synapse)

In addition to Frankenhooker, Synapse will be releasing a few other titles to blu-ray later this year:

The Exterminator - No Street Date Yet (Synapse)

Maniac Cop - No Street Date Yet (Synapse)

And lastly, Peter Jackson's The Frighteners is getting the blu-ray treatment from Universal in September. The blu-ray will feature both the director's cut and the theatrical cut. Special features from the DVD will more than likely be ported over from the DVD release.

The Frighteners - September 13, 2011 (Universal)

Rue Morgue is the only magazine, so far, to preview their upcoming issue. Here's a look at their July cover (#113).

Thursday Cartoon Intro - WACKY WORLD OF TEX AVERY

2011-06-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

Prior to a couple of weeks ago, The Wacky World of Tex Avery was completely unknown to me. Everything I know about the show I've gathered from its wikipedia page and the intro I found on another cartoon DVD. A total of 65 episodes were produced by DIC Entertainment from 1997 to 1998. Currently you can find a few random episodes available on DVD.

The Wacky World of Tex Avery Cartoon Intro

FAN ART FRIDAY - Lord Mesa

2011-06-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

The last FAN ART FRIDAY saw some very dark interpretations of popular '80s cartoons. This week I'm featuring Lord Mesa's cartoony illustrations of some of my favourite cartoon characters. Click here to check out his blog.

Fans of MOTU should definitely check out his DeviantART page to see a number of different characters that he has illustrated.

Thursday Cartoon Intro - SONIC UNDERGROUND

2011-06-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

I was always a Nintendo kid when I was younger, so I didn't get to play too many SEGA games. However, one game I did get plenty of time to play at my friend's house was Sonic The Hedgehog. Sonic Underground is the 3rd animated series to utilize the Sonic The Hedgehog character. Broadcast at the end of August, 1999, the series was preceded by The Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog and followed by Sonic X in 2003. The little rodent sure did get a lot of cartoon action. Sonic Underground spawned 40 episodes and you can currently find all 40 on a DVD from Shout! Factory.

Sonic Underground Cartoon Intro

FAN ART FRIDAY - Dave Rapoza

2011-06-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

Today has been a really bad day. So, to make me feel better I thought I would post illustrations from my absolute favourite fan art artist. I hate to pick one artist out as my favourite, as all of the artists featured on Cartoon and Horror are amazing, but there is something very impressive about Dave Rapoza's artwork. His life-like renditions of TMNT characters are awe-inspiring. I would give anything to have his talent. Click on the links to check out his deviantART page and blog.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Samurai Pizza Cats

Thundercats

Thursday Cartoon Intro - THE LEGEND OF ZELDA

2011-06-02T07:20:00.000-07:00

What I really like about the old Nintendo cartoons (Mario Bros., etc.) is that each of them captures the essence of the original NES video games so well. Just watching this intro makes me feel all nostalgic. Produced by DIC Entertainment in 1989, The Legend of Zelda aired back-to-back with episodes of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! A Total of 13 episodes were produced. Currently you can find the entire series available on DVD from Shout! Factory.

The Legend of Zelda Cartoon Intro

Cartoon to Comix - G

2011-05-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

It's really been a while since I posted some comic book adaptations of popular '80s and '90s cartoon series. This proved to be a very tedious entry for me. With over a hundred different G.I. Joe comics, I nearly started to lose my mind as I compiled images of all of them. With this entry I've made a new rule for myself: I will not post any cartoon comics that were published after 1999. I could spend weeks compiling all of the new G.I. Joe comics that IDW have published over the last few years. However, there will be a few exceptions (ie. Dragon's Lair in the D post) for titles that have very few issues and/or none at all. And now I bring you all of the "G" titles I could find. If I've missed any titles, be sure to let me know.

Gargoyles (1995)

Gargoyles (2006)

Get Along Gang

Filmation's Ghostbusters

G.I. Joe (1982)

G.I. Joe: Order of Battle (1986)

G.I. Joe: Special Missions (1986)

G.I. Joe and the Transformers (1986)

Tales of G.I. Joe (1988)

G.I. Joe 3D (1987)

G.I. Joe Yearbook (1985)

G.I. Joe European Missions/Action Force (1988)

A monthly magazine-size comic was also released in the UK under the title, Action Force.

G.I. Joe Special (1995)

RM #112, Fango #305 and...

2011-05-31T06:19:00.000-07:00

Some weeks have a lot more '80s and '90s cartoon and horror news than other weeks. Last week was one of those weeks where there were very few news bits.

Rue Morgue and Fangoria released images of their upcoming issues. Fangoria keeps knocking the covers out of the park.

Rue Morgue #112

Fangoria #305

The early 1980s cartoon series, Drak Pack, is getting a US release. VEI originally released the series onto DVD in 2008 in Canada, but will now be expanding the release to include the US.

Lionsgate is finally releasing season 9 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This season consisted of only 8 episodes. This leaves only 4 episodes from season 10 to get a DVD release (the other 4 were found on the volume 1 DVD). Now the question is, will Lionsgate release the entire series in one complete package? And would you buy it? I would imagine it would be quite pricey.

And that's it for the news!

FAN ART FRIDAY - My Pet Monster

2011-05-27T05:26:00.000-07:00

I had the My Pet Monster theme stuck in my head all day yesterday. I thought now is more than a perfect time to take a look at what kind of Fan Art there is for the cartoon. Here are some of my favourites...

agevelez

laurcifer

Esau13

1314

Thursday Cartoon Intro - JAYCE AND THE WHEELED WARRIORS

2011-05-26T07:18:00.000-07:00

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors first aired in 1985. DIC produced 65 episodes of the series in an attempt to support Mattel's Wheeled Warrior toy line. Due to unsuccessful toy sales, there was never any closure to the Wheeled Warrior cartoon series. J. Michael Straczynski was commissioned to write a movie that would have tied up any loose ends in the cartoon, but it never saw the light of day. You can currently find the first 33 episodes of the series on DVD, thanks to Shout Factory. The second half of the series was scheduled for release in 2008, but still hasn't hit store shelves.

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors

ON LOCATION: ROTLD Warehouse and Cemetery

2011-05-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

Before I left LA, I managed to visit a few more movie locations. One that I was particularly interested in visiting was the warehouse from Return of the Living Dead. After meeting the cast and crew from the film, I thought this would round out my LA trip quite nicely.

All photos taken March, 2011

Screen captures from Return of the Living Dead DVD below each photo

As you can see from the pictures, the building has changed a little bit. With the overall area around the building having changed a significant amount. A large wall surrounds the building making it difficult to get good shots of the front of the building. Also, you can see that the top of the building, where the Uneeda sign stood, has changed quite drastically. It appears they were trying to make the building a little more post-modern.

One thing I did find particularly funny was that in the movie the right corner of the building seemed to have a small hole in it. Sure enough, that hole is still there. Only this time it is inhabited by a family of hornets or bees.

I did manage to get around the wall surrounding the building and get a shot of the front/top, but it is almost unrecognizable.

Moving along, next to the building is where they created the front of the cemetery set. The entire cemetery scene was definitely not shot in this location. There are train tracks literally right behind the building and make it impossible for them to have used it for shooting.

This is a good shot from the movie that clearly shows where the building is located. Just to the right of the building is the front of the cemetery (centre of image).

Cemetery is on the top right of the movie image above.

The area used for the front of the cemetery is right at the end of the street. If you continue along the street you come to a UPS building.

This is a shot from the movie looking the opposite way from the cemetery. I really wish I had taken a shot to show you how much the street has changed.

For those of you interested in visiting this location, the address is: 698 Moulton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA.

For an even more thorough look at this location, click here.

UP NEXT: Pee-Wee's Big Adventure House

FAN ART FIRDAY - David Hartman

2011-05-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

David "Sideshowmonkey" Hartman does some great comic-style renditions of popular horror icons from the '70s, '80s and '90s. Click here to check out all of his artwork on his website.

Thursday Cartoon Intro - MUMMIES ALIVE!

2011-05-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

One 40 episode season of Mummies Alive! was produced by DIC (Do It Cheap) Entertainment back in 1997. A second season was planned, but due to low ratings nothing ever came of it. In the beginning, the show was aimed at an older audience and then as the show went on it became more and more for a younger demo. I haven't seen an episode of the show since the '90s, but I remember being very entertained by it. A few episodes are currently available, if you can find them, in three different volume single disc sets.

Mummies Alive! Cartoon Intro