11.07.2015

[Be Kind, Rewind™] The Anchor Bay Godzilla Movie Collection (Anchor Bay Ent., 1997)


Historically speaking, the Toho Master Collection DVD series (blogged about here) wasn't the first time that the Godzilla films of Japan's Toho Studios were given the serious home video treatment in America. A decade earlier, a shelf stomping collection of six Godzilla films was unleashed upon an unsuspecting marketplace by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 1997. 

It was in wide-reaching association with home video license holders StarMaker Video, R&G Video, Golden Books and New World Video that Anchor Bay released its very handsomely packaged Godzilla film collection on VHS cassette. The films included in the series were Son of Godzilla (1967), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster (1964), Godzilla 1985 (aka The Return of Godzilla, 1984), Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972), and Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973). 

At the tail end of the 1980s, several releases of the aforementioned films had already been made for the home video rental and retail markets by various distributors, including StarMaker. These regularly appeared on shelves at Blockbuster Video and in home entertainment specialty shops like Suncoast. But the presentment quality there often varied greatly. 

While some of the films came packaged in slipcases that were expertly designed using images lifted from the original Japanese promotional posters or production stills, others boasted amateurishly illustrated images that, while maybe having a kind of "shlock cinema" charm, only poured petrol on the pyre of associations made by people who equated Godzilla films with low quality Japanese movies made for children...and adults of dubious intellect.


The graphic treatment of Godzilla films in the Anchor Bay VHS releases, however, raised the bar to suggest that these imaginative and richly detailed sci-fi films made in Japan––yes, that featured actors in rubber suits, romping around on miniature landscapes––should be taken a bit more seriously. Perhaps to the point of simply seeing Godzilla films for what they were: an enduring global pop culture phenomenon and the longest running film franchise in history.

But there was a sizable profit incentive for Anchor Bay in making this series too. The release of this VHS tape collection hit the domestic marketplace the year before a new Godzilla film by New Line Cinema was scheduled for release in the summer of 1998. Anchor Bay's set was timed perfectly to coincide with the rekindled interest amongst old school Godzilla movie lovers, and the newly sparked interest in the next generation of "Big G" fans. 

In light of this timing, the Anchor Bay Godzilla film collection wasn't planned to be anything in the way of a definitive or chronologically sequenced set. But what the collection offered was a thoughtful, although somewhat random sampler, showcasing six of the fourteen Godzilla films made in Japan over a twenty-year span. The period in question streched from 1964––the middle of the Showa era of Godzilla films, which began in 1954––to 1984, the beginning of the Heisei era. And the effort put into this set by Anchor Bay made for an appealing collection that grabbed both the eyes and the retail dollars of home video shoppers. 


The fronts of the slipcases in Anchor Bay's Godzilla film collection boasted across the top portions of each "Gojira's" Americanized name, rendered in a style suggestive of the beautiful forms of Japanese brush writing. In the background appeared a recurring motif, comprised of a faded composite of Godzilla's head and torso and snippets of a Tokyo skyline culled from The Return of Godzilla production stills. Superimposed over the composite image on two of the six slipcases were two different images of Godzilla in the foreground, one of which also included Minilla (aka Son of Godzilla) for the film in which this character appeared. And superimposed over the composite on the covers of the other four releases were images of rival monsters Ghidorah, Megalon, Gigan, and Mechagodzilla.


Another motif worth focusing on in the slipcase design was the possibly overlooked phalanx of orange and red flames coming from the open mouth of the Godzilla figure on the cover of the Godzilla 1985 release. The flames were cleverly made to extend outwardly in east and west directions, along the bottoms of all six boxes, binding them together graphically with yet one more unifying design element. Appearing in a white typewriter font at the bottom of each slipcase was the title of each film. 

As is standard in slipcase design, the left side of the box prominently featured the title of each respective film. But the right side of the slipcase was reserved for something special. The right side of each box featured a de facto puzzle piece that, when lined up front to back with the other VHS tapes in the series, combined to form an impressive Godzilla 1985 poster-related display. 


With the advances in home entertainment since the late 1990s, when the Anchor Bay Godzilla movie collection was made, these films have since been released again in DVD format, all variously issued by different film license holders. But only one of the films included in the Anchor Bay collection, Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster, was also featured in Sony's 2008 Toho Master Collection DVD series. The overall absence of duplication by Sony benefited the owners the older Anchor Bay collection that may prefer still having at least some of their Godzilla flicks in analog format. Especially when, on the shelf to this day, they still make a rather smashing display.


10.10.2015

[Personal Shoplifter™] Astro Boy: The Complete Series DVD Collection (Sony Pictures, 2003)

In July of this year, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released the 50-episode Astro Boy animated TV series (2003), amazingly priced at under $10 dollars! And although this blogger is an unabashed fan of the Japanese film and TV import releases of Mill Creek, he has decided against getting this particular Mill Creek release in favor of the now-super-duper-low-priced 2005 edition from Sony Pictures. Back when the Sony release first hit the marketplace, it carried an SRP (suggested retail price) of $39.99. But today, due to the atom smashing price on the Mill Creek set –– oh, and those pricing algorithms that internet vendors love to use –– the price has dropped big time! On Ebay, DVD-Closeouts has the Sony set for $10.75––with free shipping. In aggressive, algorithmic response, the price has dropped on it at Amazon, as of this writing, to $8.05!

Now, the main reason this blogger leans toward the Sony set is 'cuz he's a big, fat geek when it come to original releases. Not in all cases, but in some––like this one. And Mill Creek has been known to load all of the discs in a multi-disc set (4 in this one) on a single spindle inside one DVD keep case to keep costs down. And that's all fine and good when no comparable product exists. But the Sony set has 5 discs (ten episodes per) in separate slim cases with full-color cover inserts, and all housed together in a glossy black slipcase with embossed logo lettering on the face and spine.

With the holiday shopping season just around the corner (this is a great stocking stuffer for youngsters and the young-at-heart, by the way) whether you go with the Sony or the Mill Creek release, you're getting a steal of a deal™. But, for geekish collectors with other Sony releases like TekkonkinkreetSteamboy and Cowboy Bepop: The Movie on the anime shelf, the 2005 Astro Boy: The Complete Series has something of an edge. Well, at least while the price is still right.

10.05.2015

Betcha' didn't know who voiced Dr. Tenma on the Astro Boy animated TV series...


That's right, you super cool otaku, you––actor Dorian Harewood! You probably also knew that this longtime presence on the American stage and screen has used his velvety voice to breath life into a variety of characters in other animated film and TV productions over the decades. Included amongst this notable list are: Spectacular Spider-Man (2008), The Land Before Time (2007), Static Shock (2000), Godzilla: The Series (1998), Sonic the Hedgehog (1993), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) and many, many more.

10.03.2015

[Press-N-Play®] Ice Box Baby – HUTOCCHO MAMA


Judging the CD by its old school influenced cover, the last thing a listener might ever expect to hear mixed into this 10-track album of retro and internationally seasoned pop music from Ice Box Baby (a mid-1990s here-today-and-gone-the-day-after J-Pop group) is a head bobbin' hip-hop track. But the listener's ears are tossed a dizzying curve ball with "Hutoccho Mama," track five on the group's immensely enjoyable 二人の夏曜日(1995). Paying homage to uptempo rap jams like JJ Fad's "Supersonic" and Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It," "Hutoccho Mama" features Ice Box Baby kickin' the back and forth rhyme ballistics over a booming 808 bass line, and doing it like true school queens of rap. Yours truly has absolutely no idea how much play "Hutoccho Mama" got when it was released as a single back in the day, but he hopes that it somehow saw its fair share of pretend 'hootchie mamas' up in the club, moving their lil' rump shakers on the dance floor, and rapping right along with every well placed word.

10.01.2015

[Archives] Manga Mania #38, September 1996


Guys love dolled up hunnies with big'uns, right? And maybe even more so when they're fake––Whoa, whoa, wait-a-minute. I'm talkin' about big guns that are fake. What did you think this blameless blogger was taking about? Oh, no, no. For shame!!  Anywhoo, the September '96 issue of the dearly defunct magazine Manga Mania boasted an über cool, cover and an anime-inspired fashion spread inside that featured two sexily dressed hotties...with big'uns.


 The powerful looking peashooters featured in the photo shoot were courtesy of the Weird & Wonderful division of Elstree Film Studios. The clothes and styling of the spread's "video vixens" Ning and Nong was handed by Ad Hoc of London. Suzuki Quattro handled the photography, and the "Japanimation" screenshots inserted into the spread as backdrops were taken from Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira and Yoshiaki Kawajiri's Cyber City Oedo 808.


 That sultry expression says it all: size does matter. 


9.30.2015

[Personal Shoplifter™] Speaking of Cyber City Oedo 808 (US Manga Corps, 2005)


Just so'z you know, Amazon has the classic 3-episode OVA (original video anime) Cyber City: The Final Collection listed at the low, low price of $4.99––but sometimes even lower! For instance, it was listed at $3.81 when this blogger unhesitatingly snagged a copy of this DVD on Black Friday back in 2012. At that time, he hadn't even heard of Cyber City: Oedo 808. But there wasn't much to lose, getting the title for that price. And the reviews on it were enticing. What's more, the buy seemed like a super safe bet when considering that the folks behind Cyber City were director Yohiaku Kawajiri and Madhouse, the makers of the cult-classic anime Ninja Scroll. If you're also a fan of cyberpunk-themed anime productions of the late '80s and early '90s like Bubblegum Crisis and Ghost in the Shell, then this "exciting and well-crafted" (DestroyAllMonsters) OVA is a highly recommended steal of a deal™.

9.18.2015

Acknowledgement is the first step: Confessions of Prince Planet cartoon junkie


The black and white kid's show Prince Planet (aka Planet Boy Papi), for countless numbers of snot-nosed kids living in and around "Chicagoland" in the mid-1970s, was an innocent-looking cartoon gateway drug that lead an untold many into lifelong spiral patterns of addiction for the animated films and TV shows of Japan. 

This blogger/failed addict in recovery was an impressionable 4 year-old when Prince Planet was aired at 3:00 in the afternoon on WSNS Channel 44, a station situated on the ultrahigh frequency or UHF dial of antique analog TVs. 

On weekday afternoons, after being awakened from my midday nap, I would scramble like a little lunatic to the television in the living room, 'jonesing' like a junkie for my quick fix, my daily dose of that half-hour high called Prince Planet.   

It's nearly indescribable, the hold that this cartoon had on myself and also many others who, I would learn later as an adult, were similarly effected by its habit-forming charms. It was an appeal that grabbed at us all from multiple levels; from the catchy, kid-voiced theme song and the show's brave kid hero, to the crazy cast of equally brave supporting characters, wicked villains, and planet-spanning adventures. 

Prince Planet was like no other cartoon show on TV. Unless, of course, you'd been a kid in during in the 1960s –– which I hadn't –– and had the pleasure of seeing episodes of the exciting Astro Boy or Gigantor (which I didn't), two other black and white imports from Japan that also featured pint-sized heroes.   

And then, quite unexpectedly, I turned on the TV one day to find that Prince Planet was gone, replaced in the 3:00 time slot by another show called Speed Racer

Unlike the monochromatic cartoon that I had come to adore, Speed Racer had been produced in color––apparently the kind of thing that was more attractive to advertisers, whose dollars paid for the commercial airtime that sustained TV stations like WSNS. 

I, of course, being a lil' kid, had no idea about the very shady business side of the TV racket. It took a while to get over the sense of loss that was felt, but soon enough I warmed up to Speed Racer

Despite my age, I was still astute enough then to realize that, like Prince Planet, Speed Racer characters had similarly large eyes. And though I was still too young to understand the connection, I was satisfied just thinking that there was one, and that the large-eyed look suggested something in the way of uniqueness. 


9.17.2015

[Press-N-Play®] Finger 5 – I Want You Back (Jackson 5 cover)


Yes, The download link on the old Finger 5 post on YKFS has been broken for a while, so... "I Want You Back" is being made available again here for a limited time. (Meaning for as long as the free downloads last.) You're welcome.

8.15.2015

Martial Arts Movie Stars Bruce Lee And Jim Kelly Wore Onitsuka Tiger Sneakers


Hey there.

Thanks for visiting.

The pulse-pounding post you're probably here looking for has been remixed and remastered with updated history and new pix. You can find it by clicking here.




8.09.2015

[Press-N-Play®] Fu-Shnickens – Movie Scene


"My chopstick will drop kick, my chow mein's plain,  I do the tiger, the snake, the Big Daddy Crane!!"– Poc Fu, 'Movie Scene'

7.25.2015

Hey, kids... Come 'n' get your Kung Fu Spex!™

 
Have you ever wondered what it might have felt like if Bruce Lee had roundhouse kicked you in the head? Well, wonder no more! That super-dizzying sensation can be yours every time you put on a pair of Kung Fu Spex™! A blinding blast from the not-so-distant past, Kung Fu Spex™ were made using the same once-top secret technology developed by scientists in the 1970s to assist CIA agents in nefarious interrogations conducted by the spy agency during the Vietnam War. Who needs LSD, acid, heroin, ecstasy, or any other drug for that matter? Just put on a pair of Kung Fu Spex™ and you'll be down on the floor, drooling like an infant and soaking in your own excrement in no time! Talk about an altered state! To order a pair of your own psychedelic sensation-inducing Kung Fu Spex™ send $9.99 (cash only) to Kung Fu Spex c/o Your Kung Fu Sucks, 4321 Sesame Street, Chicago, IL 60666. (Recommended for adults age 18 years old and up!) 
 
Note: Kung Fu Spex™ should not be worn while operating heavy machinery, driving, cooking, walking, or during sexual intercourse. Extreme dizziness, vertigo, vomiting, loss of muscle control and temporary memory loss will occur. Guaranteed or your money back! 

Kung Fu Spex™ © 2015 South Side Superflat

7.23.2015

[Flashback] Marvel Comics X Bathing Ape Limited Edition Sneakers!*


*Originally published on the KFG Myspace blog, circa 2005  

No matter how old you get, there will always be something that can bring out the kid in you. For example, right now the Japan-based clothing brand Bathing Ape has got me feeling like a Spider-Man Underoos-wearing 10 year old. Winter of 2005 will bring the staggered release of "Bape's" new limited-edition sneakers line Bape X Marvel, inspired by the characters that we all know-n-love from the pulse-pounding pages of Marvel comic books.

The shoes in the Bape X Marvel line are coordinated in the bright, primary color palate of our favorite characters: the patriotic red, white and blue of Captain America, the red and gold of Iron Man, and the green and purple of the Hulk, to name a few, with the Bape shooting star logo variously integrated on the side. On the right heel of each sneaker appears one of the old Marvel logos, and featured on the left heel is the classic "floating head" motif––a design staple found on the covers and inside the pages of Marvel books in the late 1960s and early '70s.

As if producing such a cool shoe line wasn't already a big enough coup, for an added measure of design genius, the sneakers from the Bape X Marvel line will come packaged on carded blister packs––the packaging type used on action figures since the days of Mego toys. The card itself is also gorgeously embellished with vintage images drawn by artists from the old school Marvel Comics bullpen like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Byrne, and many other legends.

In line with the adage that sez' that the difference between men and boys is the price of their toys, the prices on the Bape X Marvel sneakers will run in the usual $100-$300 range that Bape's limited-edition sneakers usually inhabit. But if you've been really good at being bad, then go ahead and spoil yourself with a pair of these super cool kicks. Just like the comic books that inspired them, the shoes in the Bape X Marvel line are destined to go up in value, sentimental and otherwise.

6.22.2015

Leaked? SDCC 2015 Ultimate Spider-Man 'Shanzhai' Teaser Poster & EW Magazine Cover!

[Click to enlarge] 


Are these leaked images of SDCC Ultimate Spider-Man teasers the reason that Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures have so abruptly and mysteriously pulled out of pitching their tents at San Diego Comic-Con next month? St. Paco (aka Professor XXL) ain't really one to spread rumors, boys and girls, but...he's gonna offer a co-sign by spreadin' this one. [Innocent smile]

6.21.2015

[Press-N-Play®] Dezine – My Lover



All songs posted to the Your Kung Fu Sucks! blog are the property of their respective copyright holders.Their use here is strictly intended for promotional and informational purposes only. NOT FOR SALE. Please support the artists featured on the YKFS blog by buying their original CDs and mp3s where and whenever applicable. Any artist who would like to have their music removed from this promotional project may do so by contacting the administrator at stpaco@gmail.com.

6.20.2015

Making the "Leaked" SDCC Ultimate Spider-Man 'Shanzhai' Teaser Poster & EW Magazine Cover


Between you and me...and a bunch of other people who'll read this, I'd also planned to do a Spider-Man-related mini movie poster back at the time that the Marvel Blaxploitation mini movie poster series was produced (blogged about here). I toyed around with a few different designs, but I just couldn't make it happen. Maybe I had completely run out of creative juice after making the other four pieces in the series. 

Actor/rapper Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) has been thought by many to be a promising prospect for the Spider-Man role in film ever since he sprang out of bed rocking Spidey costume pajamas in the opening credits of the Community TV show. The audacious notion of a black Spider-Man even prompted Marvel writer Brian Bendis to actually create "Miles Morales", an all-new web-slinging hero for the 21st century inspired by Glover.

Despite a few years of DG buzz, Marvel Studios recently made known the plans that are being hatched to do another Spider-Man movie relaunch, including the character's introduction into the Avengers movie universe. But right off the bat they made it clear that they intend to use some other as yet unnamed actor, instead of Mr. Glover as Spider-Man. I'd bet my comic book money that I was far from alone in feeling annoyed with that news.

Fortunately for me, though, thanks to the Photoshop™ gods and perseverance on my part, I've had an opportunity to visualize a tiny bit of what has been pinging around inside my brain ever since the idea of Glover playing Spider-Man on screen began to waft through the ether. But first, how about a little bit more backstory

 A week ago, during the early part of a phone chat with my friend Gigi, I was gently scolded for my not yet having put together a zine & art show that I had talked about doing; a ten year retrospective on my underground publications and art. She finally cut me some slack, though, since I am still working on essays for the book that I'm writing and designing. 

After that call ended,  I felt inspired to go through old folders on the Mac, and to look over the pieces that I'd planned to showcase in the exhibit. In one of the folders were the previously failed attempts at a Spider-Man mini movie poster. The creative juices promptly began flowin', and somewhere around 2 hours later, it all came together. But I continued to tweek and twerk (no, I didn't really twerk) the design for several more hours.

It's funny how that works, kiddies. Something that didn't at all gel creatively before––no matter how hard you tried to make it happen––finally comes together. Admittedly, though, part of the problem is that you kept (or keep) approaching the subject from the same direction. Yet, by taking the idea back to the proverbial drawing board, and starting from scratch, you achieve the creative breakthrough that you'd hoped for when your project was started.

Beginning this blog entry, I had planned to share some of the disparate visual elements that went into to making the full mini poster image (there's 30 layers to this thing). But now I don't wanna ruin the illusion. I also thought that I'd detail the story ideas that I have for my "Ultimate Spider-Man" movie, which I've set in Chicago, Tokyo and Hong Kong (NYC settings have become a bit cliché in movies today), but I think that I'll hold onto 'em.

 If you liked last year's Marvel Blaxploitation mini movie poster series, then I hope that you'll dig this new addition––and bonus. It was a lot of fun bringing these new pieces to life. Especially when considering the major difficulty that I'd had with making a Spidey piece the first time around. As they say: perseverance pays off. Or is it persistence? [Shrug] Meh. Same thing.

Shoutouts to Donald Glover, Jamie Chung, Jamie Foxx, Brian Bendis, Marvel Comics, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures, Entertainment Weekly, Complex, San Diego Comic-Con––and anyone who temporarily fell for the illusion in this digital hatchet job and believed for a moment that an Ultimate Spider-Man movie was on the horizon. Uh, and shout out to Samuel L. Jackson, well...just because. 

6.19.2015

6.17.2015

[Bookshelf] The Collected Works of Vaughn Bode

In the early days of Ebay, I flipped this super vintage poster of a sexy centaur woman by the late comic book artist Vaughn Bode (1940-1975) that I'd found in a local bookstore. But I'll probably never part with the five trade paperbacks in my collection that feature Bode's collected comic book works. Published by Fantagraphics Books, these stellar trades contain classic strips by Bode culled from various self-published underground comix as well as comic strips that the cartoonist produced for several magazines, including National Lampoon's, Heavy Metal, and Witzend. Some of the trades from Fantagraphics' Bode Erotica series (4 volumes) are a little harder to find now for a reasonable price, but the Cheech Wizard, Deadbone and Junkwaffel trades can usually be found for around retail price. A must have for underground comix historians and students of old school graffiti art. Collect 'em all if you're cool like that, or just stick with the two Cheech Wizard volumes to get a sample of Bode's genius.  






6.16.2015

Work in Progress – Chico Roland Filmography


I'm not sure if I'm gonna use this in the essay collection that I'm working on, but I've been putting together a filmography on the prolofic African-American presence in old Japanese films and TV shows of the 60s, 70s and 80s known as Chico Roland. If you've seen Gamera vs. Monser X (1970), or Sonny Chiba's The Streetfighter (1974), then you've seen Roland in what are certain to have been his most widely viewed bit parts in the English speaking world. 

With regard to his filmography, it may actually end up being posted on YKFS when it's done, and I may run with something else on him for the book. In the meantime, shared above is the promo poster for the 1968 film, Great Insect War (aka Genocide), one of the thirty-something flicks in which Roland made appearances––but his face is also on the poster. If you're a fan of what is affectionately known in the states as 'Asian trash cinema', then Great Insect War is a must. Roland's amateurish but heartfelt brand of acting is over the top, but convincing.

There's even an action figure of Roland's character Charlie that was included with Shochiku Studios' DVD release of the film in Japan. You're really too cool for school when you can say that you have a toy in your image––in addition to having also filled out a wide variety of large and small roles in Japanese TV shows and films. 

Oh, and if you're indeed game to checking out Great Insect War (aka Genocide), I recommend that you juxtapose that watch against Seijun Suzuki’s Gate of Flesh (1964). Roland had a small part in the latter, but the film overall is a fairly stunning production.


Shochiku Science Fiction DVD – Great Insect War (1968)