T.H.U.N.D.E.R. agents

One of the comics that rather shocked me as a kid was the story 'a matter of life and death' from T.H.U.N.D.E.R. agents issue 7. In Holland it was published in a softcover collection.

I was used to innocent batman stories and suddenly was confronted with a hero dying pretty horribly. It might well be one the stories that cemented my fascination with the comic medium.
I have read the original VS version just recently and it surprised me how good it is. Great storytelling. And what I never realized, it's drawn by one of the masters, Steve Ditko.

There's also Mike Sekowsky, George Tuska and Wood art in this issue. Not bad.

Vanessa Del Rio 2007, Taschen

50 years of slightly slutty behavior. I've just re-watched the DVD that comes with the book. I admire and like Vanessa Del Rio. She loves sex and made a career of it. A smart, kind and free person.

Watch Vanessa show off the book.

Vanessa at home being interviewed.

Enjoying herself in one of her last movies circa 1986. She tells the story of how she was so horny after the shoot that she paid her cab driver double to come into her house and have sex with her. The guy, an old hippie was a bit scared at first but obliged. 

As she states herself, she has the sex drive of a man. 

Giving background info by some scenes in a museum. 

Scene from an old 'roughie'. The type of movie that won't be made these days. More and more people seem to confuse fantasy and reality when it comes to sex these days.

 

 She was into body building for a while. This had an interesting side effect.

Lithograph by Robert Crumb for the deluxe version of the book. I have the version without this print. But with Vanessa's autograph. Wish I had the print as well. It's great.

9

A Bittersweet life 2005 Korea, Kim Jee-Woon

Yes, I have 3 editions of this movie. There's the one on the right which I originally bought. I loved the movie and when I saw a the Tartan version with lots of extras in a bargain bin I purchased it. Bad decision. There are some essential differences in the music score. Luckily I found a second hand copy of the original Korean special edition. One of the most tastefully packaged DVDs I have.

A gangster movie that has an image like this in it's first few minutes has to be good.

That's a beautiful ear. Reminds me of the tv-drama 'jewel in the palace' where the lead actress is constantly shot with her hair up and the sunlight shining from behind through her ears. It gives her an angelic quality. In the case of this picture from 'A Bittersweet Life' it provokes feelings of tenderness.

In this scene there are different musical scores for the Tartan edition and the director's cut. This melancholy waltz is my favourite.

What a great actor Lee Byung Hun is. And cool like a young Clint Eastwood.

A poetic gangster movie where a small spark in the hero's cold heart starts a chain-reaction of trouble.

9

Zero Woman 1995 Japan, Daisuke Gotô

There are more videos in this series. Always with a different woman in the lead as an undercover agent. It's pure old-fashioned pulp. Breasts, guns, blood, torture, fights. That sort of thing. Sounds exciting but in this case it was surprisingly boring. Not bad but not as good as it should have been. Too many scheming characters, not written or acted well enough to care about them.  

Which makes me think. To me even Hamlet is pulp. The drama, the bloodshed. It's very good pulp but pulp anyway.

The heroine has been shot by a traitorous bastard. Who is preparing to extract the bullet at this point. It's all very confusing. But at least we have a lot of the ingredients of my beloved pulp caught in one shot.

This scene was cool. Saved by a compact. Which was a gift from a psychic. Who had just been killed after terrible things had been done to her. By people who all got what was coming to them by way of Zero Woman. Come to think of it the movie I have in my mind right now is much better than what I just saw on the screen.

The cover has been recycled at least twice. Both times by pasting Michelle Yeoh's head on Zero Woman's body. What does Michelle think of this? Or Jean Todt? But I'm rambling now.

6.5

La Fiancée de Dracula 2002 France, Jean Rollin

Better than expected. It's a relatively late Rollin movie. A mixture of absurdity, fantasy and nudity. But as in all of Rollin's work it's above anything else darkly romantic.

The ogres, vampires and wolf-women are the real heroes here. Not the bland and boring guys who try to destroy them.

Mad nuns!

Baby eating.

Anything to drink? Yes, a nun would be nice.

That's her heart.

A beautiful female vampire meets her end as the sun rises.

Here's an interesting piece on Jean Rollin DVDs

8

Thor 2011 USA, Kenneth Branagh

I really enjoyed this movie. Enough of Jack Kirby to keep the fanboy in me happy, good acting, entertaining story and majestic sets.

Asgard

Scheming Loki

Antony Hopkins as Odin

Thor meets Kirby's Destroyer. The only difference being that the character is much taller and less bulky than Kirby's version. Jack Kirby's characters were often rather stocky. Probably because Kirby himself had this build. We often put something of ourselves into the physique of the characters we make up.

8.5

RIP Ernie Chan

Comic book artist Ernie Chan has died today. 

I might have bought some Dutch Batman issues before this one but Conan 75 was my first American Ernie Chan comic. Purchased at Lambiek in Amsterdam. I remember it was my first time there. They had this row of brand new June 1977 Marvel comics. It looked like heaven to nerdy little me. This striking cover was penciled and inked by Ernie Chan.

Ernie Chan inking John Buscema. What a powerful combination. EC really brought out the best in Buscema's work.

Some more covers by Ernie Chan. He was the regular artist on Batman in the mid-seventies.

Perfect Education 6: Red Murder 2004 Japan

Number 6 in a series about twisted men kidnapping innocent girls to keep prisoner and educate in love and obedience. Cheaply made but the acting is pretty good. A nice collection of bad people. Even the 'hero' is a weak gigolo who turns to robbery and murder to pay a debt.

The bra and panties worn by the girl on the cover aren't really there. They're photoshopped. Weird.

Spoilers ahead!

For some reason I find beautiful older Japanese women very sexy. Sadly she has a small part in the movie.

The kidnapper kills the wimpy gigolo.

And the girl finally takes care of her perverted keeper.

Freedom!

7

Fascination 1979 France, Jean Rollin

Such beauty. A movie that offers many wonderful snapshots. What struck me is that the way Rollin tells his story is quite close to how I tell my comic book stories. And of course we share the love of pulp.

The focus on hands. The story I'm working on right now has a lot of this type of imagery. 

She's good. 

Wow.... To me Rollin is a visual poet. He's at his best when it's purely the images telling the story.

9

Garage Girls 1980 USA, Gary Graver

Another Lisa DeLeeuw movie. There are quite a few out there. Garage Girls also stars Susan Nero and Georgina Spelvin.

I like that face. And it looks like someone invested a lot of time in that dinky sign.

To me this scene is sweet and romantic as well as erotic.

'I used to be a mechanic before I became a gorilla.....'

Man! It's a lot more fun writing about 'bad' movies than about mainstream stuff. The snapshots are cooler too. It's an interesting world. Often small moments that absolutely work can be found in pulp and smut. As long as it isn't made cynically. 

Work like this is raw and strangely innocent.

8