Saturday 19 October 2013

Zeppelin vs. Pterodactyls

Zeppelin vs. Pterodactyls



One of the wacky ideas floated by Hammer Films in 1971 but never developed beyond a sweet poster was 'Zeppelin vs. Pterodactyls.' People have said it's tragic this movie was never made. Now tragically it has been made, a mashup of public domain cliffhanger serials and old movies. It has been touted as an original concept but apparently some of the cut scenes have been proven false without a doubt
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then there is this! supposedly a rare collaboration between Fleischer Studios and Ub Iwerks resulted in this cartoon, based on the above flick. The cartoon apparently was shelved for half a century due to a three way legal dispute between Republic, Fleischer and Iwerks. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rejected Oscar nominations for Ben Burtt's sound design in the cartoon because it had not been formally released and because of the legal status.
All bullshit of course.



Peter Montgomery an independent film maker has been developing a tribute using modernand affordable effects. This is quite interesting and a click on the link will take you to his youtube page for a bit more.

Thursday 3 October 2013

Home Brew Vampire Bullets

Home Brew Vampire Bullets
A quick review
Home Brew Vampire Bullets or HBVB is an anthology to prepare the unsuspecting public for the first real issue proper due to be published in many formats come November this year. It announced itself as the bastard child of such wonderful classics such as Metal Hurlant (no mention of the Nation Lampoon sponsored US version Heavy Metal) Tales from the Crypt, Oz Magazine and 2000AD (the earlier version , not the later I hope) and more current publications such as Alan Moore's Dodgem Logic.
 It promises a great collection - to quote: “uniquely Aussie myth spinning, prose, politics and pulp sound tracked by Rose Tattoo, soaked in Melbourne Bitter and dyed defiantly navy blue.”.
 It doesn’t disappoint, to a point.
HBVB has many talented people in its stable.
Those stories featured in this anthology which have made Issue one a promising "must get" are: The Many Harold Holts of Space and Time, Maralinga, Heavy Angel, Bolt and BABALON SHOKK. (see credits for artists in the contents screen grab below). All have the look of what I consider good adult entertainment. We have some classic faux ads, much in the tradition of 70s legend Tony Edwards Captain Goodvibes Collections and later days Chaser newspaper. The classic Martin Sharp style birth control advert is a killer. My only concern is that HBVB doesn’t try to be Ocker Aussie with a political correct and left wing leaning. The prose piece titled The Tachyon Tribulations of Dr. Radium read like a lefty Uni students whine because the election didn’t go the way he dreamed. As the Chaser Boys discovered it’s just as funny to see things from the other wing of politics as well. All up I’m looking forward to issue One and at AU$1.99 for a 4 different format (ePub, pdf, Mobi for Kindle and CBR for comics reader like Comic Zeal) from gumroad.com it’s a bargain to boot. A pdf only version is also available through scribe.com.