#i will draw luchadores instead

[bluebutlikenotalways]

frens gimme ur ocs pls

I would like to practice art. Please may I draw art of your characters?

[deacblues]

In your opinion, what makes a good spider-variant design? I'm trying to avoid the pitfall of "bunch of normal ass clothes over the suit" I typically see, but also struggling to come up with anything that's clearly a spider-man when you look at it and doesn't confuse with peter parker's spider-man

That's a good question! So good that I'm going to bust out the proper capitalization and everything.

I'll give you a freebie right off the bat, because this is probably going to be a long post: one easy way to distinguish your character from Peter Parker is to draw them with a different body type. That way, even if their costume was similar to Peter's, it would obviously not be him.

Now, before getting into what I think makes a good Spider-Man design, I feel obligated to speak on what makes a good superhero design. Namely: Keep it simple, stupid! The best superhero costumes are pretty easy to draw, probably because they were designed to be drawn a million times by a million different artists. These costumes are simple enough that they can reduced to bands of colour and stay recognizable.

I promise that keeping your design simple will undoubtedly make it better-- or at least more superheroic, because this applies to Spider-Man, too!

Onto making a Spider-Man costume that is recognizably Spider-Man, but clearly not Peter Parker's. Obviously this costume is going to look different than Peter's classic costume, so we could start by figuring out what about that costume we can change. Thankfully, they already stripped Spider-Man down to the essentials in 1984.

Mike Zeck's black costume identifies these necessary elements of Spider-Man's costume:

Those luchador eyes

The front and back spider emblem

Form-fitting tights

The rest of the costume (the segmented colours, the web pattern, etc.) are basically fine for you to ignore or change at your leisure. Okay, maybe not... you could just draw Green Lantern and put a spider on his chest and back, and that probably wouldn't make for a great Spider-Man. But it's a place to start, at least. As long as you're putting serious thought into this costume, though, you should be able to ignore pitfalls like that.

Hey, speaking of thought, I thought I should cover some of those extraneous details Ditko included in his iconic Spider-Man design! Namely the way he chose to segment the reds and blues, he actually put loads of thought into it:

Namely, the high-rise gloves and boots help Peter's costume remain invisible beneath his civvies. I actually think these logistics are important to consider when designing a Spider-Man costume (or really any costume).

Anon mentions the "bunch of normal ass clothes over the suit" trend in spider-design in their ask, which I was happy to see because it means I can talk about something that really bugs me about recent Spider-Man stuff: How does Spider-Man stick to walls through regular shoes? No, seriously? Think about it for a second! When Miles wears Jordans over his Spider-Man costume and tries to stick his feet to a wall, wouldn't his feet just stick to his shoes instead?

Ditko rationalized this by deciding that Spider-Man can stick to walls through thin fabrics, but that rule has basically been forgotten. Despite how I sound, I'm mostly fine with this change (this is a textbook 'rule of cool' case), but these kinds of things are worth thinking about.

In that vein, keep in mind that Spider-Man's superpowers really lend themselves to acrobatics. Your spider-character probably shouldn't be wearing a suit of armour, or something that would greatly restrict their movement or sticking ability. That's why I labelled "Form-fitting tights" as a necessary characteristic of a Spider-Man costume earlier on in this post.

Before I wrap this up, one more thing you can try doing if you're stumped is looking at real life for inspiration. Whether that's going back to the old strongman outfits that gave way to the original superhero costumes, looking at modern day equivalent athletic wear, or even looking at actual fashion (as long as you're not just putting that fashion over the suit), there's bound to be something that could give you ideas.

[doctorlombax]

So I fell down the hyper-fixation hole with a new show- Villainous. I especially love the dynamic between Black Hat and Demencia, with her being a crazed fan-girl and him not reciprocating in the slightest. However I couldn’t help but notice there appears to be a little more going on beneath the surface with these two.

For one thing, Black Hat never directly turns her down. In fact, some fans have pointed out that he has acted flirtatious towards her, only to realize his mistake when she responds in kind. He calls her pet names, gets in her personal space, and treats her with less hostility than he does with Flug or 5.0.5. despite the fact that it’s clear he has no romantic interest. It’s strange because Black Hat is not a fool and Demencia is not subtle about how she feels. It’s not like he’s unaware of her infatuation. So why encourage it? I was pondering this while drawing and I think I might have a theory.

I believe that Black Hat uses charm as an intimidation tool. We get to see a pretty clear example of this in the beginning of episode 3 (The VVV) with the Luchador’s wife, Adilita. Despite the fact that she shows up in the middle of the night, Black Hat welcomes her into his office warmly even going so far as to take her hand in his (and for a second it looked like he was going to kiss it). For anyone who wasn’t familiar with Black Hat, he would appear for all the world like a well-mannered gentleman greeting a business client.

But of course, Adilita knows who he is. After all, she was the one who sought out his expertise. Side Note: I have to give props to the animators. I’m impressed with how they conveyed her expressions behind the mask solely through her eyes and by shivering. The audience could really see that she was terrified but resolute in her mission.

But to my point, I think that’s probably how things go for Black Hat most of the time. He doesn’t even have to try to be frightening, he can be the exact opposite and his reputation does all the work for him. My guess is he learned early on in his experiences with humanity that he can unsettle people just by getting into their personal space, using manners in a creepy way, and smiling. Thousands of years of positive reinforcement (his adversaries shaking, whimpering, crying, etc) have hard-wired him to act this way.

And then he meets Demencia. Oh man. I like to imagine how that first meeting went. How he would have smiled wide, showing his teeth while leaning closer, expecting to disarm her but instead she just goes full AWOOGA-mode. His brain then probably blue-screened, and he would have evaporated into shadows to get away, vowing to never do that around her again.

But here’s the problem- Black Hat is an ancient being. He’s stuck in his ways and as such has come to rely on instinct to guide his behavior. He can’t just change how he acts. Unfortunately for him, this means he is trapped in a cycle of flirting with Demencia and then being shocked and repulsed when she tries to jump him because you simply cannot teach this millennia-old dog any new tricks and I for one find that deeply hilarious.

[adobe-outdesign]

I'm not sure if you've gotten this yet, but could you review Hawlucha?

Hawlucha isn't talked about that much, but honestly, it's a really good Pokemon. The luchador theme is unique to it, and all of the aspects of it—from the wings forming a cape (I also really like the almost bat-like hands this creates) to the face resembling a mask—are obvious and easy to understand, and integrated into the design in a way that feels very natural. Plus the choice of a bird even makes sense, given the use of high-flying maneuvers in Lucha Libre.

In addition, the actual design elements look great. Bright colors can be extremely hard to pull off, but they really work here from both a thematic and visual standpoint. The green and red work as complimentary colors, and the white works to add contrast to the design and keep it from being too garish or overwhelming. (As an added bonus, the colors are also that of the Mexican flag!)

My only nitpick is that I wish the orange was integrated somewhere other than the face—maybe the claws, or make the legs orange and allow the yellow to draw attention to the eyes—but everything else looks great. The markings also work well to break up the design and reflect the patterns sometimes seen in luchador masks.

My only real issue with the design as a whole is that I'm not a big fan of the mouth being underneath the head instead of it actually having a beak. You could argue this is the point—that it looks like a mask, much like how the black around the eye adds to the effect—but the lack of any kind of lower jaw is just bothersome, and the whole thing is really distracting. Not a deal breaker, certainly, just something that could've been refined a bit more.

As a whole, the mouth is the minor problem here. Otherwise, this is a solid design with a good concept and nice use of color; a big thumbs-up from me.

[muchalucha-art]

Hello. I have another question about Los Campeones. Which character did you design first and what was your inspiration behind the designs for the main 5?

The first character I created was Dragon Rojo Jr, but I don't know where his look and persona came from...it just happened! To be honest, If I'd have known they were going to faithfully reproduce my mask design for the REAL Dragon, I would have defined some of the mask detail a lot better! For Dragon's persona, I do remember vaguely referencing a luchador called 'Oriental' who was from a long line of luchadores with Asian and Martial Arts themes. Why I did this, no idea! Keith J. Rainville who worked on the script discussed maybe Dragon having an Asian mother, but we nixed this, as we wanted him to be a Mexican luchador who just happened to have an eastern gimmick.

Rayo X was next and his origins are much clearer. Lili and I love muertos luchadores like La Parka. But because Rayo's name translates as 'X-Ray' we reversed his shading to reflect this (His bone pattern was dark, his outer color, light). Keith expanded on his goth personae and came up with the great mortician/chiropractor line. We made his outfit mainly yellow (instead of our original choice of white) because it was the only color that didn't clash with the other characters' color schemes.

Mr. Profesional was based on the US tradition of bad guys wearing masks. They were just plain, no frills hoods unlike Mexican luchadores. This is also reflected in Mr.P's no-nonsense approach. My first sighting of a US masked wrestler was 'The Spoiler'.

Sorpresa! like Dragon, came out of nowhere. I think I came up with the name and just started drawing from there. Thinking back, I think her hood was influenced by Cien Caras...I added some color so she didn't clash with Mr.P.

Tsetse Fly! We wanted a mini in the team. I remember those B-grade jungle movies from when I was a kid where the explorers had to be careful of the bite of the dreaded tsetse fly! Again, I just started drawing and naturally just worked on an insect theme. Getting Candi to do the voice was a very obvious intention on our part to reference The Flea.

[taranodongirl]

Ideas for my own Pokemon x Twisted Wonderland fanfic Part 2

Alexia's Pokemon Part 1

Alexia’s Pokemon

Ben the Swinub : Alexia’s first pokemon. They met when she was 6 and they both got lost in a mountain. They are both the same age and have a bond similar to Ash and Pikachu. Ben is very upbeat, cheerful and can read his trainer very well. He is a lot more social than Alexia and is a major help in Alexia meeting new people (for good or bad). His name is based on the song “Ben” by Michael Jackson and I feel that it fits their friendship bond.

A group of 14  Unknown that spell Kokoro ?! Kiseki (a reference to my favorite Vocaloid song and to how Alexia’s kind heart and open mind are her greatest power): as a child, Alexia would often explore the ruins and play with the Unknowns that lived there. Since Unknown can read the minds and hearts of sentient beings they found Alexia’s autistic mind fascinating and used their reality altering abilities to teach her how to use her Aura abilities. Alexia’s mother however is afraid of Unknown and made her family move (this is one of the events that led to Alexia temporarily living with Professor Kakui and starting her Pokemon journey early), but 14 of the Unknown followed her and unofficially became part of her team. They do not battle or have their own pokeballs, but they gave her a special charm and occasionally teleport visit her.

Rocky: a male Buneary that hates his evolution’s feminine appearance and wants to be the strongest, toughest, and manliest Buneary in the world. He wears a luchador mask to hide his cute appearance and keep a masculine appearance and a belt with an Everstone on it. Rocky has a pretty good relationship with Epel due to them having similar struggles and even used Sucker Punch on Vil and Rook for their treatment of his friends.

Tonka: a Turtwig that served as Alexia’s starter pokemon in Sinnoh and is now a Grottle. He likes chewing on her head and sometimes forgets how big he is, because of this he decided to not evolve into Torterra. He has a little brother Turtwig named Tucker who came from an egg that Alexia brought on her journey and hatched in Twisted Wonderland.

Prince Nettles: a Mareanie that came in handy in the Octovinelle Arc. Nettles would eat the anemones off the contract victims' heads which  would temporarily release them (and poison them) until Azul noticed what happened. He evolves durning the overblot fight and his poison becomes strong enough to incompassitate Azul long enough to defeat him. Nettles became good friends with Vil’s Gloom and helped him gain self confidence.

Poseidon the Magikarp: A friendly Magikarp that Alexia often carries around in a water filled hamster ball like container with a leash. He evolves into Gariados and becomes upset that he can no longer travel that way and Alexia considers letting Posidon go because she is worried that she is holding him back from his love of travel, but after defeating Jamil’s overblot, Poseidon lets her know that he wants to stay with her. He becomes the pokemon Alexia uses for surf.

Belladonna the Croagunk: an adult, female, crogunk with freckles on her cheeks and usually wears a maroon scarf with purple flowers embroidered on it. She has a strict and maternal personality, especially towards Alexia and the baby Pokemon, and is extremely strong and will go above and beyond for her team, even if she has to break through walls to do it. When Belladonna was a wild pokemon, she was considered an outcast among the other crogunk for her freckles so she wasn’t able to find a mate and have her own babies, so she wondered off to greenbelt near a town and tried to make friends with the children, but the kids found her rigid and unreadable face uneasy and were too scared to approach her. One day, she met Alexia who had a rough day at school and was covered in ink (she decided to play connect the dots with her freckles in an attempt to make friends but instead she got in trouble for drawing on herself) and Alexia said to her “You have freckles just like me!” and connected the pokemon's freckles too which formed flowers that are the same shape as the flowers embroidered on her scarf that she would get later. With that their bond began and Alexia and Ben would visit the Crogunk and explore the greenbelt together, not always talking but still enjoying their company. One day they found some flowers and when Alexia wanted to pick them, but Belladonna stopped her and signaled with her poison jab that they were poisonous and this inspired Alexia give her the name Belladonna. In Twisted Wonderland, Belladonna can often be seen with Alexia and the baby pokemon, but she also tends to show up in random places and surprising people. She doesn’t like Crowly’s incompetence and will often use poison jab or brick break on him for any offense she can find. She later finds two pollywag eggs and becomes a surrogate mother to them.

Sparkplug the Magnezone: Alexia had this pokemon ever since it was a Magnamite. It is a good friend and a trained orthodontist, which is handy since Alexia wears special braces that Sparkplug can remove when she needs to eat and put back on perfectly. Sparkplug later gives birth to a Magnamite which befriends Tinker, Ortho’s Meltan and moves into Igniahide's dorm.

[darksilvania]

A couple of years ago I went through a "transformers phase", and by that I mean I made a couple of transformers fanarts which is not something I usually do.

I have always been a big fan of Beast Wars and when I was looking at some beast wars era toys I found curious there were so many bat maximals, so I wanted to try and make my version of them.

First is the original Optimus Primal toy that turned into a bat, the original color scheme was gray instead of black, but I wanted him to have the same palette as the gorilla primal, also I gave him some batman features because I like batman

Then its Nightscream from Beast Machines, when I was reading about the character I found that while in the original series he was portrayed as a bit of an emo character, in the japanese dub he was turned into a very flamboyant gay character, and when the character was adapted into the legends comic he was portraid as a crossdresser that many characters mistook as female despite being male, so I went ahead and made it a "femboi" because I felt it suited his design

Next is Sonar, a transmetal 2 bat that never showed in the cartoon but did in the comics, in her toy bio she was never given any pronouns, so when she was added to the comics they made her female to have more fembots, so I made her a cute fembot, because why not

The last one is Noctorro, a Bat/Bull fuzor that also never showed in the cartoon, but did in the comics, when I read the characters bio it said noctorro is a fighter that uses no guns, thats why his toy didnt include any, and while his whole body had the same dark blue and golden color scheme, his face was particulary red, so I decided to make it look like a it is wearing a luchador mask, this paired well with its "no guns" fighting style. I also made his beast mode because the original toy was a bit of underwhelming and I knew it could look better

Also I know there is a new Maximal bat that in the comics called Nyx, maybe I will draw her later

[outhouse-cartoons]

I normally fly by the seat of my pants when I'm doing my fanart stuff on twitch.  I'll have a nugget of an idea maybe and some reference material but I don't do any kind of preliminary sketches or real planning.  I was pretty excited about doing this tribute to Tim Burton's would-be extended Batman franchise though.  Those two movies were a huge part of my growing up and it always bugged me not knowing what his version of the other bat-villains and characters might look like.  So I wanted to do at least one sketch pass of each character, drawing refence from not only the source, but from Tim Burton tropes and ideas.  I also 'cast' actors in the roles based on rumors from before he left the series and based on some of his regulars that I thought he might have turned to.

Marlon Wayans was actually cast as Robin for Batman Returns but then they ultimately decided to cut him from the film.  So I assume if Robin were to still show up in the following film, had Tim stayed on it likely would have still been Marlon.  I found a concept drawing of Robin that was labelled as being from when Tim was still involved but I kinda have my doubts.  I also don't particularly like that look, so I somewhat shaped the mask after it, but still kept it a bit smaller, closer to the traditional Robin look.  For his suit, I copied the Batman Returns batsuit but with some added Robin detailing and some different colours.  I also gave his cape a popped collar like the headless horseman in Sleepy Hollow.

For Batgirl, I cast Winona Ryder.  She would've been the perfect age in the 90s and she's a Tim Burton regular.  For her outfit I didn't stray too far from the classic look but I included some detailing based on the batsuit from Batman Returns and I added some elements based on circus performers from Big Fish.  Batgirl doesn't have a circus background like Robin does but she is acrobatic and Tim loves his circus imagery.

Billy Dee Williams of course played Harvey Dent in the 1989 film so he's the one actor we can be sure would've played Two-Face if Tim had stayed on.  I modelled his scarred half on the exorcised versions of the Matlands from Beetlejuice.  And made sure to keep that half pale based on something Tim said in a Batman commentary once.  His suit obviously inspired not just by Beetlejuice but many of Tim's striped characters over the years.

Rumor has it that Robin William's was Tim's pick to play Riddler in what would have been his third Batman movie as director if things hadn't change, so that casting was a no brainer.  My big idea there was to give him the heavy dark circles around the eyes like Beetlejuice instead of an actual domino mask.  Noticing a version of Riddler from the comics that had squares marked out for each question mark gave me the idea to invert some of them like a checkerboard.  Don't know if that screams Tim Burton specifically but I liked the look.

Originally I had Helena Bonham Carter for Ivy but then when I decided she was too perfect for Harley I went with Lisa Marie, another 90s staple of Tim Burton movies.  Her costume is essentially a green leafier version of the White Queen's dress from Alice and Wonderland, just without the actual dress part itself.  For her leggings I took the curls from Lisa's Martian Girl dress in Mars Attacks.  I also toyed with the idea of putting a venus flytrap in her hair that would resemble the Sandworms from Beetlejuice.

I moved Arnold Schwarzenegger over from his Mr Freeze role to Bane because while I don't think he would be out of place in a 90s Tim Burton Batfilm, he definitely shouldn't be Freeze.  His arm is covered in straps similar to Edward Scissorhands and his mask was inspired by a couple Tim Burton drawings of Luchadors.  Or at least the internet claims their Tim Burton drawings...hopefully they are.

I briefly considered Johnny Depp for Freeze just cuz Tim works with him so much but I think in the 90s he would've been too young.  Christopher Lee was much older at the time than Arnold was but Arnold isn't exactly the perfect Freeze and I think Lee would've been chilling in the role.  Sorry.  His suit is inspired by a Brainiac concept sketch that Tim made for his unproduced Superman Lives movie and I took the glasses from the scientist from Nightmare Before Christmas.

Apparently at some point Tim expressed interest in Brad Dourif as playing the Joker before it went to Jack.  And then rumor has it he brought Brad up again as a possible Scarecrow if he was going to continue with the franchise.  So I cast him here, though you'd never know it with the mask.  His outfit is based on an early Burton concept sketch of Joker that I thought could be easily adapted for Scarecrow.  His mask is inspired by Jack Skellington...but you can barely see it in the finished poster.

Originally I wasn't going to include Harley at all, even though I love the character.  Her origins are tied to the Joker and he gets killed off pretty definitively in the first movie.  But when I realized Helena Bonham Carter would make a perfect Harley, and is exactly who Tim would have cast in the 90s I had to do it.  I didn't change her look too much.  I made the frills more classic circus clown and while colouring I decided to add in some hair kinda like Catwoman's when her mask gets messed up.  But that classic Harley look I think would fit well at home in a Tim Burton movie.

Juggling so many character was going to be tough.  It would have been easier to do the classic movie poster trope of floating heads everywhere but I went to the effort of designing costumes for all these characters and I wanted to show them off, so I had to play with a few layouts.

[littleeyesofpallas]

BLEACH - Sternritter Schrift

The Roar (ザ・ロア → Za Roa)

咆哮 = “Roar”/”Yell”/”Howl”

exactly what you’d expect.  No surprises here.

The SuperStar (ザ・スーパースター → Za Su~pa~Suta~)

英雄 = “Hero”

although there’s some fun stupid wordplay at work here.  The component kanji here are  英 → “Excellent”/”Brave”/”Heroic”/“English” and 雄 → “Man”/”Masculine”/”Powerful.”  I’m sure that seems weird.

Reason being that when the British inserted themselves into the affairs of the Far East in the British Imperial expansion of the 1800s they more or less dictated their own terms of Anglo-Chinese relations, including the actual Chinese word for “England”  英国 → “Excellent/Brave/Heroic Country” and so by proxy the word for “English” became synonymous with “Heroic.”  A pretty gross appropriation all things considered.  And naturally this terminology spread to Japan through their shared script.

So SuperStar and “The Hero” as in the character type, or a Face wrestler, are all vaguely equitable.  But the etymology also reads “Manly English” which is why, despite his luchador aesthetic, Mask is specifically a large blonde/red-headed(strawberry blonde?) man, instead of the lean hispanic image better associated with lucha libre’s high flying aerial maneuvers.

I also can’t help but feel like this design came as a hold over of Kubo’s Spanish kick with the Arrancar.

The Thunderbolt (ザ・サンダーボルト → Za San’da~Boruto)

雷霆 = “Thunder”

Another super straight forward one.  Really nothing to it.

The Underbelly ( ザ・アンダーベリー → Za An’da~beri~)

無防備 = “Defenseless”/”Unprotected”/”Vulnerable”

a pretty clear association, but I do wonder how long it took Kubo to figure out an English word starting with U that he felt like he could spin a power out of.  It definitely feels like quite a few of these Kubo went letter first, and power second.

The Vanishingpoint (バニシング・ポイン�� → Banishin'gu Poin'to)

消尽点 = 消 → “Vanish” 尽 → “End” 点 → “Point”/”Spot”

a pretty clear approximation of the term he was going for, and I don’t really see any word play.  It sounds a little silly but it might actually be a typo on Kubo’s part because the actual Japanese term for a “Vanishing Point” like in perspective drawing is 消失点.

 The Visionary (ザ・ヴィジョナリィ → Za Vishanery)

夢想家 = “Dreamer”

Specifically the term is made up of 夢 → “Dream”/“Vision”/“Illusion,” 想 → “Concept”/“Idea”/“Thought,” and 家 → “Performer”/“Expert”/“Professional.”  Which makes it a lot more literal of a description of Gremmy than just the kind of whimsical way the English word “Dreamer” sounds: an “Envisioning Concepts Expert.”

Other Schrit posts: [A-E] [F-K] [L-Q] [R-V] [V-Z]

[watching-pictures-move]

Viddying The Nasties #30 | Night of the Bloody Apes (Cardona, 1969)

The movie opens with a shot of a red luchador mask on a coat rack. A female wrestler in a red catsuit goes to put it on. Pretty soon she’s in the ring and we get treated to a wrestling match. Pretty soon she’s rendered her opponent unconscious, leaving her hospitalized with a serious head injury. Naturally, she feels kind of bad about this. But that’s not all. Also in the hospital is a respected doctor whose son is terminally ill with leukemia. He proposes a radical treatment. Instead of normal, safe medical techniques that would be used in real life or in a regular movie, why not transfuse him with the blood of a superior mammal, the gorilla? Or better yet, give him a transplant of a gorilla’s heart? What could possibly go wrong? Well, nothing in fact. No complications arise from giving a man a gorilla’s heart. The wrestler magically recovers with her head fully intact. And the gorilla? Well, with the human heart, he can finally learn to love again. All’s well that ends well, as the late great William Shakespeare once wrote. End of movie.

Okay, that may not have been entirely accurate. What does happen is that the gorilla heart turns the doctor’s son into a half-man, half-gorilla monster who goes on a killing and raping spree. And the female wrestler we met at the beginning figures into the plot by virtue of her boyfriend being a cop who has to investigate these killings. If I can get one thing out of the way, and this is my biggest beef in the film, it’s that for a Mexican wrestler monster movie, the Mexican wrestler never actually wrestles with the monster. My knowledge of Mexican cinema is extremely limited, and perhaps I don’t appreciate the tradition of lucha libre on film, but it seems like a colossal missed opportunity to not deliver the goods in that respect. Even worse, that character spends most of the movie worrying about her injured opponent or about her boyfriend and their relationship (because he’s so busy catching monsters and ruining dinner plans). All other women in the movie seem to either be nurses with a handful of lines altogether or victims of the monster. This is not a great film in terms of roles for women, wrestlers or otherwise.

The other beef I have with the movie, which may not be a dealbreaker for most others, is the monster design. Simply put, the monster doesn’t look a whole lot like an ape. He looks like an ugly, Neanderthal-esque dude with a shitty mop haircut. (Perhaps it’s because I binged on kung fu movies last month, but I am growing weary of shitty mop haircuts.) A more overly gorilla-like monster would frankly be much cooler, and could allow the movie to draw visual parallels with the luchador mask, setting the stage for the wrestler vs monster showdown that would have happened in a better movie. Also, I must take issue with the fact that a movie called Night of the Bloody Apes technically has only one whole ape in it (the gorilla), one and a half if we split the difference on the monster. Unbelievable.

All that being said, this is a good enough time in delivering certain cheesy pleasures. The gore, for 1969, is surprisingly gnarly if not always convincing, featuring severed heads, gouged eyeballs and stock footage of open heart surgery. When combined with the flat, TV-movie visual style, this created a dissonance that genuinely caught me off guard. The effect is similar to a Herschell Gordon Lewis movie, if generally better paced but without the almost alien, trancelike effect Lewis would occasionally achieve. I learn from IMDb that is actually a remake of the director’s earlier film, Doctor of Doom, which has a plot synopsis that leads me to believe that it delivers on the wrestler-monster showdown this film fails to produce. That one doesn’t seem all the easy to get a hold of (based on my five seconds of googling), so for those looking to get their fix of Mexican wrestler monster movies and are willing to tolerate a lack of wrestler vs. monster combat, this one should do the trick.

[ghostofviperwrites]

Suzuki Gunz Crime Family - Chapter 6

Warnings: Mentions of violence, this is a Mafia AU fic so there is violence and language and mentions of sex.

August 1, 1996

Drip.  Drip. Drip.  5,760 drips he’d been hanging in this god forsaken cellar room.  17 year old Zack Sabre, Jr. had counted every single one of them over the course of the past four days.  To take his mind off the fear at first.  Now as a distraction from the gnawing hunger and thirst that threatened to drive him insane.  There was barely any light, only that seeping through the bottom of the door.  He could hear screams through the walls, so he knew he was not alone.  His arms ached from being suspended above his body, the ropes holding him rubbing his wrists raw.   

Zack could barely remember how he had gotten here.  Fresh off the airplane that had just landed in Tokyo from England for a senior trip with his upper school classmates, Zack had snuck off from the group for a quick snack.  When he had returned not five minutes later the group and all of his luggage was gone.  Panicking Zack had run to the area he thought the bus was supposed to be to find nothing.  He had been chewing himself out for not paying more attention when a nicely dressed Japanese man had approached and offered his assistance.  That was the last thing he remembered before he woke up hanging from the ceiling.  He had yelled and screamed like the others, but soon realized it was useless.  No one came and no one cared.   So he hung and counted drips and waited to learn his fate. 

 His fate did come calling.  But it wasn’t the one he expected.   Zack had either fallen asleep or passed out, he wasn’t quite sure which when he was jolted awake by yelling.  Not from his fellow captives, but sounding like it was coming from right outside the door.  The sounds of fighting quieted down and Zack could hear muffled conversation.  He strained to hear, picking up a few words here and there.   From what he could gather a man named Minoru was rather unhappy with his captors for operating on his turf without permission or payment.   There were additional sounds of struggles and then silence reigned.  

When the door to his room was opened harsh light filtered in, making Zack squint as his eyes burned.  He could barely make out the form in the doorway, and was relatively certain his mind was playing tricks on him as he thought it was a man wearing a black and white luchador style mask.  As the man approached Zack’s fear ratcheted up and he lashed out, kicking out with his long legs and nailing the man across the face.   Unfortunately it didn’t seem to face him, the man taking a step back and looking at him with something akin to amusement lighting his cold blue eyes.

“Kick me again and I’ll break every bone in that damn foot.  I’m trying to help your dumbass.”  The man said.  “Now if I get you down from there, you gonna keep that bony ass foot to yourself?”  Zack nodded slowly hoping he wasn’t making a huge mistake in trusting this man going around in a fucking mask.   Course he supposed if you were of the criminal element, protecting your identify was probably a good idea.   The blood covered knife the man pulled out had Zack questioning his instincts, wondering if he was about to have his throat slit.  

Instead, unable to reach high enough to reach the rope the man flung his blade slicing cleanly through the rope and making Zack fall in a heap to the ground as he marveled how sharp that blade must have been to slice through the rope like butter.  

“Nice kick by the way.”  The man called as he left the room, leaving Zack lying on the ground.  He didn’t have the energy to even rise to his feet, so he laid his cheek on the cold ground and closed his eyes.  The last thing he thought before he passed out was that he had lost count of the drips.

In the main room Minoru and his crew gathered having freed the captives and killed the captors.   A couple of the captives had to be killed.  Injuries to severe to justify continued living.   He’s tired.  It’s late and Minoru just wants to go home.  He dealt with what needed to be done and he was looking forward to his soft bed and maybe some company from a lady friend.  He signaled to leave thinking about who he could call to come fuck him into a coma when Despy stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“The kid in the first room.”  Desperado said hesitantly looking in the direction of Zack’s room, his form visible on the floor.  “We can’t leave him.” 

Minoru turned to meet Despy’s eyes, peering deep into their blue depths before glancing at the still form on the ground. 

“Is he even alive?”  Minoru asked with a sigh.  He recognized that look.  Looked like he was going to wind up with another stray.   Lance walked into the room and checked the kid’s pulse giving Minoru a nod as he tapped on the kid’s cheek to wake him up. 

Startling awake Zack jerked away from the oversized man leaning over him, his heart beating wildly as the room filled with men. 

“Relax.  We’re not here to hurt you.” Minoru said his calming tones drawing Zack’s eyes to him. 

“Careful boss.  He’s got a hell of a kick.”  Desperado said leaning against the doorway and watching the kid.  He hoped Minoru saw what he did. That kid was meant to be his brother.   Despy had no doubt in his mind.  

“Is that true son?”  Minoru asked, the word flowing easily though Zack probably wasn’t more than a year or two younger than him.   “Did you kick Despy?”  Zack slowly nodded, fearing retaliation for hitting one of his men.  Minoru chuckled.  “Impressive.  I’m surprised he didn’t break your foot.”

“He threatened too.”  Zack said the words coming out raspy and he coughed around his dry throat.

“Only a threat?” Minoru said with a smile, laughter spilling from the rest of the men.  “He must like you.”  Then Minoru turned serious.  “What is your name?” 

“Zack.  Zack Sabre Jr.”  Zack replied nervously his eyes darting around the room at the rough looking group surrounding him. 

“Where are you from Zack?”  Minoru asked.

Zack explained he had travelled to Japan with a group from his high school on a senior trip and how he got separated from them at the airport and somehow had winded up here.  He blanched as Minoru told him that he had been drugged and kidnapped with the intentions of being sold into sex slavery.

“Do you wanna go home to your family in England?  I can make that happen.”   Minoru said kindly.  He was rather surprised by the immediate shake of Zack’s head.   Minoru’s eyes narrowed as he felt his protective instincts rising.  Apparently he was taking in another stray. 

Zack looked down at the ground.  He should’ve just said yes.  Then he could have left this place like the others and stayed here.   That was Zack’s secret.  He had planned to ditch the group at some point and stay here in Japan.  He would never return to his family.   Not when they refuse to accept him. 

“I wasn’t planning on returning home.”  Zack said when he looked up and saw Minoru waiting for an explanation.  “I was going to leave my group and stay here.  Try to find a job and someplace to live.”

“Why were you leaving your home?”  Iizuka asked.

Zack hesitated.  He had found allies, and he was scared they were going to leave him to die when he told them the truth. 

“My parents don’t want me anymore.  Not the way I am.  They’ve made it perfectly clear I’m not welcome in their house.”  Zack once again trained his eyes on the ground.  “See…I’m not exactly straight.”  He waited for the explosion cringing back expecting to be hit by these gangsters. If his own parents had done so, why wouldn’t these men he meant nothing to them.  The explosion never came to Zack’s surprise, but the silence still felt stifling. 

“Okay.” Minoru said after a few moments of contemplation.  “You like boys.  Nothing wrong with that.” 

“And girls.  I like girls too.” Zack said relief making him ramble.  “Boys, girls, I like them all.  I’m not picky.” 

Kanemaru chuckled his head shaking as he listened to Zack.   He didn’t care one way or another what Zack liked to fuck.  He liked this kid.  

“So I guess you’re coming home with us.” Minoru said rising from the crouch he had adopted and reaching out a hand for Zack to grasp. 

[hazyheel]

AEW All Out Predictions

The sequel to All In is happening on Saturday, and it is a stacked show. I cannot describe how excited I am to watch, and as bummed as I am about the Moxley injury, his replacement still lends itself to an interesting match. The card has a lot of interesting stories from top to bottom, and those that don’t have much of a story should be pretty good matches anyway. I’m really excited, but who will get the wins? Here are my predictions for All Out.

21 Woman Casino Battle Royal for #1 contendership to the AEW Women’s Championship: This is the first of two pre-show matches. The rules are the same as last time. Five Women will start in the ring, and then every few minutes, five more will enter. The twenty first competitor will enter the match last and alone, giving them a distinct advantage. Lots of names have been announced already, such as: Nyla Rose, Britt Baker, Allie, Brandi Rhodes, Teal Piper, Ivelisse, Jazz, Big Swole, Sadie Gibbs, Awesome Kong, and Shazza McKenzie. This is pretty exciting, lots of new names and big names on this show. I’m thinking that Britt Baker will get the win, considering how much she has been pushed recently, and how much the Bucks and Cody seem to like her. She won the first official women’s match in AEW, while also participating in the Women’s match at All In, and Fight for the Fallen. While it may seem pretty obvious to pick her, I don’t think AEW will shy away from an obvious choice if it is the right one. Personally though, I will be rooting for Ivelisse. Should be fun, but I’m always skeptical of Battle Royals. 

Angelico & Jack Evans vs. Private Party: The next pre show match pits two up and coming tag teams in AEW. Both teams have impressed me in the past, but I think Private Party will get the win here. The Bucks seem really big on them, and they will need to impress in a big way to get over on the event. Angelico and Jack Evans are also without wins, but I don’t know how prominent their roles in AEW will be early on. Private Party will be big, because the Bucks love them. So they will probably win here, but I expect a good match. 

SoCal Uncensored vs. Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus and Marko Stunt: This is just sorta a thrown together match, but I’m still looking forward to it. I think that Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus and Marko Stunt will win, really just to establish them as a strong team. They need to make some names, and for how popular they were at fight for the fallen, none of them have won a match. So they need to look strong. I’m actually looking forward to this match, because SoCal uncensored is great, Jungle Boy is goddamned awesome, Luchasaurus is great, and Marko Stunt is... probably good? I haven’t watched him much. But I’m excited for this. I think it will be really good to great. 

Darby Allin vs. Joey Janela vs. Jimmy Havoc in a Cracker Barrel Clash: I genuinely had no idea that this match had a stipulation on it until I read the wikipedia. it’s a funny way to incorporate product placement. Anyway, this match stems from Fight for the Fallen. These three teamed together in a six man tag against Shawn Spears, MJF and Sammy Guevara. They didn’t work together very well at all, and when they lost, they each blamed each other for the loss and brawled a bunch. So the three way was booked for All Out, and they added the stipulation randomly some other time. I assume it’s a hardcore stipulation considering the people in it. I am thinking that Darby Allin will get the win here, because they have been pushing him in a subtle way. He went to a time limit draw with Cody at Fyter Fest, and then ate the pin in the 6-man tag from Shawn Spears. Considering that he was a catalyst for the feud, I imagine that he will be important in the company. Although I can see any of these guys winning, because none of them have a win under their belt. Should be a fun hardcore match, but I cringe to think about what they will do to each other. 

Kenny Omega vs. Pac: this is simultaneously the most disappointing and possibly most exciting match on the card. It was supposed to by Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley, but Moxley went out with a staph infection last week. So that is disappointing. But then AEW resolved their issues with Pac, so he is coming in instead, which is so exciting. And although there is no story to this, it could easily be the best match of the night. I think Omega is going to win, because even though this is Pac’s debut, Omega has been building up to this match for three months. But this is an exciting match and I think it will be great. 

Cody vs. Shawn Spears: a personal feud that has developed superbly. These two have been friends for years, going back to OVW. However, at Fyter Fest, Spears walloped Cody in the head with a chair shot following his draw against Darby Allin. The story unfolded a bit after that match, with Spears saying that Cody referred to him as a “good hand” after his signing, which irked him. He wants to be remembered as a great wrestler, not just some guy who Cody hired to fill out the roster. At Fight for the Fallen, Shawn Spears pinned Darby Allin in a six man tag, which was a good booking decision. So that match was signed for All Out, with an interesting stipulation. It is a normal singles match, but each guy can only have one person in his corner. Tully Blanchard, Spears’ new manager, is in Spears’ corner, mainly because Blanchard had a lot of success against Dusty Rhodes. We still don’t know who will stay in Cody’s corner, so there is a bit of intrigue going into it. I love this story to death, but I’m a bit skeptical of the match. I think both these guys are really good, but I don’t know if they can pull out a great match. I think good is the best they can do, but I will happily be wrong about that. I think Cody will win this so that he can look strong, and be a trumphant babyface, but I would be perfectly happy to see Spears get the win and go on a tear as a heel. 

Best Friends vs. The Dark Order for a BYE in the AEW World Tag Team Championship tournament: simple booking got us here. At Double or Nothing, Best Friends, Trent Beretta and Chuck Taylor, beat Angelico and Jack Evans. After the match, the Dark Order, Evil Uno and Stu Grayson made their debut and attacked everyone. They made a particular show of beating down Best Friends, as they hate them for some reason. At Fyter Fest, Best Friends beat Private Party and SoCal Uncensored (Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian) in a triple threat tag match to qualify for a BYE match at All Out. The Dark Order beat A Boy and His Dinosaur and Angelico & Jack Evans at Fight for the Fallen to also qualify, and here we are. I think that the Dark Order will win here, because they are creepy, dominant heels. I think they win here and maybe even make it to the finals of the tournament, or win. If anyone is going to beat them, it’ll be the Young Bucks. But this should be a good match. Best Friends are great, and the Dark Order seem pretty good too.

Hikaru Shida vs. Riho for #1 contendership to the AEW Women’s Championship: This was a bit thrown together, but should be a good match. I have limitted experience with both of them, but I think Riho will win. Omega really likes her, and I think that she would be a great wrestler to have in the #1 contenders slot opposite Britt Baker, but I don’t think she will win. I wish I knew more about these gals, but I don’t, so I will just move on. 

The Lucha Bros vs. The Young Bucks in a ladder match for the AAA World Tag Team Championships: Ah yes, an eternal rivalry. I don’t think these two teams will ever stop feuding. This all started back in PWG where they constantly fought over those tag belts, but the current story started at the second AEW press conference. The Lucha Bros attacked the Young Bucks, and challenged them for Double or Nothing. The Bucks accepted, and later ambushed them at AAA’s Rey de Reyes, challenging and defeating the Lucha Bros in a match for the AAA World Tag Team Championships. Those belts were put on the line at Double or Nothing, and the Bucks retained. They fought again for the belts at AAA’s Verano de Escándalo, with the Lucha Bros winning the belts back. The teams then clashed in six man tags at both AEW’s Fyter Ffest and AAA’s Triplemania, with Kenny Omega on the Young Bucks’ team and Laredo Kid on the Lucha Bros team, with the Elite winning at the AEW event and the luchadores winning in AAA. After defeating Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky at Fight for the Fallen, the Lucha Bros challenged The Young Bucks to a ladder match at All Out. Later that night, after The Young Bucks defeated The Brotherhood (Cody and Dustin Rhodes), they accepted. The AAA World Tag Team Championships were put on the line once again later on. This has feud ender written all over it. I mean seriously, these teams have fought each other in some way, shape or form at five events this year. We don’t need this many rematches. The stipulation will keep things fresh, but this has to be the end, at least for a while. I think that the Lucha Bros will get the win here, because this is the kind of strong victory they need to cement themselves in AEW, whereas the Bucks have yet to lose. And the Bucks will be protected by the ladder stipulation, they don’t need to eat a pin. However, that doesn’t take away from how goddamn scary this will be. These two teams are gonna kill themselves in this ladder match. I am both worried out of my mind, and incredibly excited for this match. It is the one I’m most excited for, I think it will be great, but I hope no one gets hurt. 

Adam Page vs. Chris Jericho for the inaugural AEW World Championship: This is history in the making folks. The first crowning of a world champion in what is now considered the #2 wrestling company in the world. Big stuff. The story started out simple. Adam Page was the surprise last entrant in the first Casino Battle Royal, last eliminating MJF to win the match at Double or Nothing and qualify for this match. In the main event of the same show, Chris Jericho defeated Kenny Omega, debuting the Judas effect in the process, to qualify as well. From there, Page won two matches: a four way against MJF, Jimmy Havoc and Jungle Boy at Fyter Fest, and a singles match against Kip Sabian at Fight for the Fallen. In contrast, Jericho lost against Kazuchika Okada in New Japan in a match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Dominion, albeit unconvincingly. After Page’s win over Sabian, Jericho attacked Page. Later on, he said that he had to win this World Championship match, because if he lost it would mean the end of the wrestling god known as Chris Jericho. Page then attacked him to return the favor, and was shown to be the underdog. Both guys want this more than anything, but I think that Jericho should win it. He may not be in his prime, but he is still a legend, and if they have a legend holding that belt on their first TV show, then people will be interested. Page is world championship material, this feud has shown that, but just not yet. He will win the belt eventually, but he won’t be the first. I just don’t think he can compete with Jericho’s name value, even if that value is from WWE and WWE affiliates. However, Page could still win considering that he is close with the EVP’s. And it would be a feel good way to end the show, so I could be wrong. This match should be really good if not great, but either way it’ll be a visceral sight to see the first champion crowned. 

[emblem-333]

What-If The Rock Never Came Back?

The WWE after the unfortunate retirement of superstar, and champion Edge, was a baron wasteland shallow on talent. Arguably, a worse roster than the first couple of years post-Hulk Hogan in the mid-1990’s. Where at least then creative was willing to take risks and search for new guys to be that top Babyface, WWE didn’t feel the need to do that and instead relied heavily on John Cena and Randy Orton, and called in favors whenever they felt it necessary.

Chris Jericho, Kevin Nash, Triple H, The Undertaker dragged out of retirement with mixed results. Though Jericho was successful, the company pushed their chips in the middle of the table for the pasty Irishmen Shaemus. A wrestler who makes Roman Reigns look awesome in comparison. To put it bluntly, Shaemus was disgusting.

This era seemed all too hapless. Alberto Del Rio, a decent heel, talented wrestler won the Royal Rumble and faced the champion Edge in the third match on the WrestleMania card. Before 2006, winning the rumble meant you would main event WrestleMania. But, like all things, corporate meddling ruins a perfectly good thing for no good reason. If Vince McMahon doesn’t believe Del Rio to be main event material, then put somebody else over at the event. Nobody overthinks and under-thinks likes the WWE.

If there’s one thing WWE did right it was how they told the three-year story of John Cena and his feud with returning superstar The Rock. Starting off at WrestleMania 27, Cena gunning for The Miz’ WWE Championship. Though creative did allow Rock to bury both Miz and Cena, it is an otherwise small blemish on a well told, large scale story.

Miz deserves credit for getting himself over. His name is stupid. He has a very punchable face. His brash, egotistical demeanor built him up to status of champion. His fame from the Reality TV show MTV’s The Real World: Back to New York shotgunned him to stardom. He started appearing on Jimmy Fallon’s show and for the first time in a while WWE had an organic star. Cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Randy Orton on a November 22nd episode of Raw after Orton defended against Wade Barrett.

Heading into ‘Mania, Miz was 133 days into what’ll end up as a 160 day title reign. Rock overseeing the festivities foreshadowed the larger tale in its beginning stages. The Miz retained twice that night. Once on a count-out, the other when Rock intervened and Rock Bottomed Cena from behind. The Miz left still the champion. But with Rock standing above his lifeless body after taking a devastating Spinebuster, followed by a People’s Elbow, the Miz’ push was effectively over as we transitioned wholly into the Rock-Cena feud.

Outside of The Miz, WWE didn’t really bulldoze anyone while building to their “Once in a lifetime” fantasy match. In fact, someone else rose to prominence during all of this. C.M Punk. The C.M stands for many things. Chick Magnet. Chicago Made. Punk dallied around in the second tier of WWE contending for the World Heavyweight Championship strap. Gaining wins over the likes of The Undertaker, Jeff and Matt Hardy, and Batista.

His intel gimmick was promoting his “Straight Edge” persona. Normally an Atheist, Punk portrayed himself as a cult leader absolving troublemakers of their sins. Wrapped around his fists is tape with big X’s on each hand. This is what club bouncers would do to underaged club attendants to notify bartenders not to drink. On his knuckles “Drug” and “Free” are tattooed. Punk lived this gimmick and cranked it up to 11.

Eventually, Punk’s gimmick ran out of steam and he was forced to go back to the drawing board. With his contract set to expire after 2011’s Money in the Bank, Punk was set to square up against champion Cena. In effort to juxtapose himself with the usually straight laced Cena, Punk decided to incorporate his real-life frustrations with WWE’s creative into a promo one night on Raw. Promising to take the belt with him out of the WWE showing no intentions of re-signing. Punk mentioned that Hulk Hogan, Rock, and Cena was good for was kissing Vince McMahon’s ass. He derided the fans for their superficiality. Harangued the McMahon Family for their stupidity. Punk wasn’t just an average run of the mill heel to be beaten. Punk portrayed himself as someone with a purpose.

How this was all packaged felt so unnatural fans actually believed Punk was leaving the WWE whether he won or lost. That even if he did win, he’d just leave as champion. With special guest referee Triple H watching, Punk defeated Cena (though Cena clearly had his foot on the ropes rendering the pin nullified, HHH didn’t see it) and absconded with the belt never to return...

He’d be back in eight days.

The new champion was fan favorite Rey Mysterio. A 5-foot, 6 inch Mexican luchador. His only main title was his brief reign as World Heavyweight Champion years ago. Just as fast Rey rose to the top he found himself in the mid card. Still, after defeating a lukewarm The Miz in a meh match the crowd become unglued. Their masked hero was given the push he deserved. Though it wasn’t on the grandest of stages it didn’t matter.

In less than an hour Cena would take the belt back from Rey.

One word: Bastards.

Why act like you’re giving the fans something they desperately wanted only to take it away so fast? Having Rey as champion meant nothing. He didn’t even hold it for a week.

Anyways, Cena is champion only to again fall to Punk at a match for Summerslam. Within minutes, Money in the Bank winner Del Rio would cash-in his briefcase and win the belt for himself. Del Rio was in the tournament Mysterio won for Punk’s vacant belt. He lost to Kofi Kingston in the first round. I understand why you can’t have a heel vs heel match for the championship, but of all the people to get one over on the conniving Punk why does it have to be the uninspiring Del Rio?

This was basically done to get Cena out of the title picture so he could let Rock go over at ‘Mania. Why does Rock need to win at ‘Mania you ask? Because we need a reason to do this again the next year. Why do we need to this same match again next year? Because fuck you.

Punk entered WrestleMania the champ, winning the strap back from Del Rio at Survivor Series. Punk would go on to hold the belt for 442. A returning Chris Jericho came in second in the Royal Rumble and earned himself a title shot, losing by submission. This was the highest profile win for Punk during his long reign.

Punk’s title reign came to an end at the hands of The Rock at the Royal Rumble to set up a rematch with Cena. While the first Cena-Rock match did gangbusters at the box office was well received critically, the second incarnation fell flat. We can’t really blame WWE for chasing the cash. That’s their prerogative as a corporation.

But say we lived in a perfect world? What-if Rock simply never came back?

Well, WrestleMania 27 goes down as perhaps the biggest disaster in the companies history since WrestleMania 9. That card was severely lacking in star power which is exactly why The Rock was needed to host. The top heel going into the event was a mysterious G.M who only made their presence known via email from a laptop next to the announce table.

WrestleMania 28, Cena likely goes into the PPV the challenger to face the champion Punk. Royal Rumble winner Shaemus (yuck) sadly beats World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan in 18 seconds.

The biggest loser is Jericho. Given absolutely nothing to do, despite being incredibly talented and superior to Shaemus. In our timeline, Jericho earned his title shot by winning a Ten Man Battle Royal on Raw. That definitely doesn’t happen. WWE was pushing Shaemus HARD. In my perfect world, Jericho and Bryan have a show higher up on the card with the young heel Bryan going over.

But, as we’ve previously established. The WWE run by a bunch of talentless, thoughtless bastards who wage constant war with the people they are supposed to try and get money from.

For my preferred scenario, Bryan going over even with the secondary belt probably placates his rapid fans for at least a few more years.

Cena likely goes over Punk clean as a whistle after losing (via shenanigans) twice before.

From simply making The Rock disappear we’ve cost the WWE millions, elevated Bryan, and destroyed Punk’s illustrious lengthy title reign.

The second year of this scenario, instead of a “Worst Year of Cena’s Life” shtick, perhaps we’re treated to his best year. He main events every PPV, successfully defends his title beating back various heels. Cena’s title reign is unspectacular outside of the walls of WWE.

Okay, on second thought... Punk retains. He retains versus Cena, Jericho, Kane, Ryback, Orton, simply runs through the roster. At the Royal Rumble with no Rock to push Punk down a peg he retains heading into WrestleMania 29. The only hurdle he hasn’t overcome is The Undertaker and his WrestleMania Streak of 20-0.

Does Punk end The Streak? Should he? Oh, hell no! Punk probably had one foot out the door by then for a multitude of understandable reasons. Regardless, the money in this universe is pitting Streak vs Streak.

Our good friend Daniel, his reign eventually ends, but he isn’t shuffled so far down the card so his epic, long-standing push culminating in his crowning achievement in WrestleMania 30 is pushed back a year or two. Maybe in WrestleMania 31 it’s Bryan in Seth Rollins place cashing in his MITB briefcase mid-match to steal the World Heavyweight Championship from under Brock Lesnar and Roman Reign’s noses.

[wrestlingisfake]

G1 Supercard preview

This is the big New Japan/Ring of Honor show at Madison Square Garden.  MSG has a special place in wrestling lore, and it’s primarily been WWE/WWF/WWWF/Capitol Wrestling turf since 1957.  The venue’s official promoter briefly dropped Capitol in 1959 (in favor of the team of Kola Kwariani, Pedro Martinez, and Jack Pfefer), but management ultimately reconciled with Vince McMahon, Sr. by December 1960.  There hasn’t been a non-WWE wrestling show in the Garden ever since...until now. 

You can watch it on traditional PPV or stream it with Fite or Honor Club, although I personally recommend streaming with NJPW World.

Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada - This is White’s first defense of the IWGP heavyweight championship, which is essentially the New Japan world title.  Okada won the 2019 New Japan Cup tournament to earn this title shot.

Years ago Okada’s manager Gedo plucked him from obscurity and managed him on a rapid rise to the top, in which Okada quickly captured his first IWGP heavyweight championship.  Okada’s last run with the title lasted 720 days, but that ended nearly a year ago with a loss to Kenny Omega.  Gedo lost confidence in Okada and helped White betray him, starting a bitter rivalry that saw White score a massive upset over Okada in the Tokyo Dome on January 4.  That win affirmed Gedo’s decision to switch horses.  Okada had to claw his way back into title contention by winning the New Japan Cup to prove Gedo wrong.

The wrinkle in this story is that Okada was originally supposed to challenge Kenny Omega, who was supposed to still be champion at this point.  But Omega’s departure in January necessitated a couple of impromptu title changes to move White into his position.  So in a sense, White was never meant to be champion this soon, which has made his meteoric rise to the top even more sensational.  As a result, Okada has a chance to regain his title and get revenge on White and Gedo in one fell swoop.

Okada is easily one of the best wrestlers in the world today, and he knows he has to prove it to a lot of Westerners seeing him for the first time here.  White was really not anyone’s first choice to headline this show, and I think he knows he has to prove he belongs at this level.  I think they can deliver.  I’ve got a good feeling about this one.

The finish could be interesting, because if the original plan was to end a lengthy Kenny Omega title reign, that may not fit well with the goal of pushing White as a sudden success.  If Okada wins, I think that suggests they’re more committed to their original long-term plan than White’s push.  If White retains, that suggests they’ve recently altered the plan, which could lead to other surprises this year.  There’s no way to be sure which will happen, which is great since it eliminates the usual aura of inevitability that Okada brings with him.  I cannot pick a winner here.

Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven vs. Marty Scurll - Lethal is defending the ROH world championship.  This is a ladder match, so the title belt will be hung above the ring and ladders will be set up at ringside to climb up and get it; the only way to win is to be the first competitor to retrieve the belt.

Lethal has been champion for 280 days.  Taven has been feuding with him for months, claiming to be the “real” world champion based on his belief that he should have won the June 30 four-way match where Lethal captured the title.  Meanwhile, Scurll won the Survival of the Fittest tournament on November 4 to earn the right to challenge for the title; on March 13 he declared his intention to exercise that right at this show, against the winner of Lethal vs. Taven on March 15.  However that match ended in a 60-minute draw, so Lethal is still the champion but now Taven gets to be in the match as well.

Like most big three-way matches, there’s a sense that one participant is crammed in.  Lethal is there because he’s the established champion, Scurll is there because he’s arguably ROH’s hottest star (the only member of the Elite not to leave for AEW), and Taven is there because ROH wants to push him.  They may want Taven to win this match, but they don’t want it enough to take the risk of doing the match without Lethal and Scurll, which tells you they aren’t that serious about him, which undermines his credibility.  (See also: Flair, Charlotte.)  This is not to say Taven doesn’t deserve to be there (he finally impressed me in the time-limit draw), but if ROH really believed in him they wouldn’t be hedging their bets on him.

I expect a title change, but I’m not sure which challenger will end up with the belt.  This is probably going to be very pro-Scurll crowd, and the intrigue of putting the title on a guy everyone expects to go to AEW someday would enhance would should already be a big reaction.  On the other hand, a Taven victory sets up a Taven-Scurll program for a few months, and builds toward the long-term future after Scurll inevitably leaves.  (It’s also possible the crowd will turn out to be more into Taven than anyone might have expected a month ago.)  My gut says ROH should go with Scurll while they still have him, to get him as hot as possible before he puts someone over on his way out.  But I’m not super confident about that.

Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi - Ibushi pinned Naito on March 10 during the New Japan Cup tournament, so he’s getting a shot at Naito’s IWGP intercontinental championship.  These guys can really take it up to another gear, and this could easily be the match of the night, if not the whole Wrestlemania weekend.

Naito’s angle these days is that he has a love-hate relationship with the intercontinental title--it keeps coming back to him, even though he thinks it’s worthlesss--but he would like to become the first man to hold it simultaneously with the main heavyweght title, so he has to fight to keep it.  Ibushi, meanwhile, has finally signed a contract (dramatically choosing to stick with New Japan instead of departing for AEW), so his fans are hoping this will eliminate the “free agent” stigma that has kept him out of the booking at the top.  So while neither man necessarily needs this win, a loss would be a significant detour heading into the summer.

I would personally put Ibushi over, because a title run would mean a lot for him, and give Naito something to do (chasing Kota) besides feud with Suzuki-gun.  But I’m not so sure New Japan will go that way.  So it’s another pick-’em at the top of this card, which is pretty nice.

Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - Sabre is defending the Revolution Pro Wrestling British heavyweight championship.  Rev Pro is a UK promotion that has a working relationship with New Japan, but this appears to be their only involvement with this show.  Tanahashi pinned Sabre to eliminate him in the New Japan Cup, and that would be enough to guarantee a New Japan title match all by itself, but in this case I think the main issue is Sabre’s wounded pride.

If I was Rev Pro, I’d want the prestige of a title change in the US, in the Garden, onto a living legend like Tanahashi.  Even better, It immediately sets up a rematch that would be a perfect main event for New Japan’s London show on August 31.  I’m just not seeing much upside to keeping the belt on Sabre right now, even though it’s at least doable.

Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. PCO & Brody King vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe vs. EVIL & SANADA - The Guerillas of Destiny, Tama and Loa, are defending the IWGP heavyweight tag team championship, and PCO and King are defending the ROH tag team championship.  This is a four-way match, so the first team to score a fall on any opposing team will win the match and both championships.

This match came about after GOD teamed with the Briscoes on February 22, and came to blows after losing the match.  The following night, GOD won the IWGP tag title from Evil/Sanada, and challenged the Briscoes (who then held the ROH tag title) to a title-for-title match.  The Briscoes accepted, but had already committed to defend their title in a match on March 15, against PCO and King, which they lost.  So then the match was billed as GOD vs. PCO/King, and then on March 25 it was officially changed to a four-way for no apparent reason.

This could get crazy.  The Briscoes and PCO/King had a wild and crazy fight last month, and they’ll be looking to top it here.  I think GOD will do their best to keep up with that level of violence.  I don’t know what to expect from Evil and  Sanada if this match breaks down, but they’re certainly not delicate flowers.  In theory you’d expect the New Japan side of things to rein in the chaos, but in practice I think it has to be a Pier 6 brawl to contrast with the more technical contests in the second half of the show.

I have absolutely no idea which of these teams can or should win, or how they’ll deal with either ROH or NJPW losing its tag belts for a few months, or when the double champions will drop one of the titles.  However, since I’m expecting Ospreay to win his double title match for New Japan, it stands to reason an ROH team would win this win this one to even it out a bit.  In that case, the Briscoes feel like the right team to bring home all the gold.

Taiji Ishimori vs. Dragon Lee vs. Bandido - Ishimori is defending the IWGP junior heavyweight championship; the first participant to score a fall on either opponent will be the champion.  There is a decent chance that the champion coming out of this match will hold the title through this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament, and defend the championship against the tournament winner at Dominion.

This match came about because Ishimori issued an open challenge to the ROH roster, but CMLL’s Dragon Lee was the first to respond.  Since that technically meant there was still a spot for an ROH guy, Bandido was added to the match.  So it’s basically Ishimori against two luchadors, and we’ll just have to see if it they do a good lucha thing or if Ishimori can force them into his type of match.  I’m expecting Ishimori to retain, although I suppose there’s no pressing reason they can’t do a title change.

Juice Robinson vs. Bully Ray - Bully (better known as Bubba Ray Dudley in ECW and WWE)  issued an open challenge  on March 15 for someone to face him here in a “New York City street fight,” and Juice accepted on March 31.  Juice is the IWGP United States champion, but it’s not yet clear if the title will be on the line--New Japan typically doesn’t book title matches on the fly, but it’s in character for Bully to potentially goad Juice into making it a title match at the last minute.

There was speculation when this open challenge was announced that Bully’s opponent would be Flip Gordon (the man he’s been feuding with for the past year), as a way to bring Flip back after suffering a knee injury on January 13.  Flip was expected to be cleared in time for this show, and he was, but he reinjured the knee on March 24.  Juice appears to be a last-minute replacement, which would be weird since he should have been booked all along.  (What’s the point of having a US champion who doesn’t wrestle at your biggest US show?)

In his preview of this show for the Observer, Dave Meltzer suggested this match could turn into a multi-man tag team match.  If so, I’d expect Bully to seek backup from Shane Taylor and Silas Young, while Robinson would counter with his Lifeblood stablemates Mark Haskins and Tracy Williams.  Those four men will probably get involved no matter what, seeing as there’s no rule to prevent interference.

It would be a pretty big surprise if Bully were to pin Juice and therefore be in line for the US title.  For that reason I think Juice is the clear favorite to win.  That being said, Bully needs something to do until Flip Gordon is back, and Juice is working in both promotions, so I could see this becoming a prolonged feud.

Mayu Iwatani vs. Kelly Klein - Iwatani won ROH’s Women of Honor championship from Klein on February 10, and successfully defended it in a rematch on March 15, but Klein is challenging her a second time for some reason.  I think they’re trying to make it like Klein is a big deal and Iwatani’s wins have been huge upsets, but I barely know these women so none of that is very clear.  I’m assuming Iwatani retains again, hopefully to put an end to the feud.

Rush vs. Dalton Castle - Castle has been doing a “needs to get back on track” storyline, so he was at ringside to watch the Rush-Bandido match on March 15 with the intent of challenging the winner to wrestle him here.  I’m pretty sure the purpose of this is to feed a guy to Rush while also working Castle’s flamboyant entrance onto the show, so look for Rush to go over in little more than a squash.

Will Ospreay vs. Jeff Cobb - Ospreay is the NEVER openweight champion, and Cobb is the ROH television champion; the winner will hold both titles.  This match came about after Ospreay pinned Cobb in a tag team match on February 22.  Both guys are great and I haven’t seen much of them against one another, so I’m looking forward to it.  The one big twist in this thing is that New Japan recently booked Taichi to pin Ospreay in a tag match, obviously to set up a future title match between them, which won’t make as much sense if Ospreay loses his belt before that happens.  So I think that telegraphs an Ospreay win here.  Which is fine with me, since I figured he should win to begin with.

30-man Honor Rumble - This is a pre-show match for everyone who didn’t make it onto the main card.  It’s a gauntlet battle royal, so instead of everybody starting the match at the same time, two men start and everyone else enters one-by-one in timed intervals.  The match cannot end until the last participant enters, but eliminations can occur at any time.  A participant is eliminated upon putting both feet on the floor outside the ring, if and only if they last exited the ring over the top rope.

I’ve never seen one of these in ROH, but I’ve seen New Japan’s version and it’s mainly a comedy match with spots built around guys who rarely interact being unfamiliar with one another’s shticks.  If you’re watching this to see, for example, Minoru Suzuki kicking ass in MSG (and I don’t even know if he’ll be there), you’re probably just going to get his entrance and then he scares Cheeseburger or Colt Cabana and then he’ll get eliminated inside of five minutes.  I don’t think anything is at stake for the winner to receive, and even if there was I’m not sure it would matter who wins.  I’ll just pick Jushin Thunder Liger to win, since I know he’s in it and he’s a cool old dude.

Kagetsu & Hazuki & Jenny Rose vs. Sumie Sakai & Hana Kimura & Stella Grey - This is a late addition to the card, which won’t air live but will be taped to air later.  Kagetsu and Hazuki are from a stable called Oedo Tai in STARDOM, and apparently they recently attacked Sakai and Kimura to set up this match.  The Oedo Tai team picked Rose to team with them here even though she regularly teams (teamed?) with Sakai in ROH.  Grey is apparently Sakai’s new protege so she rounds out the babyface side.  I barely follow any of this, so I think ROH could do a much better job at promoting their own women and their relationship with Stardom.  But I guess this match shows they’re at least trying.  I guess Sakai’s team wins, maybe?

[sangriatimes]

Nintendo Switch saves Valentines Day

Can you believe that we are almost half-way done with January? Maybe it’s just me and the countless hours I put into reviewing the latest titles for the Nintendo Switch...which is our focus point that can change the tide if you hit a hard spot this V-Day. Maybe you don’t have enough money for that dinner, movie and gift. Maybe you thought that restaurant you made a reservation at is more expensive than you though. Maybe you just started a new relationship but you still have some awkward silences that seem to kill the mood. Whatever the situation may be a Nintendo Switch can get you to second base and home plate...trust me.

So let’s look at some of the titles for switch that are great to play with that special someone. (Games are listed in no particular order; games are not based on “)sales”; Games are mainly hidden gems)

1. Monopoly | 9.5 out of 10

Hear me out. I was one that grew up playing the original board game with my family and the overall appeal of the game was astounding, but I lost interest when I got older and noticed how long it takes to make everyone go bankrupt. ...but this is something...otherworldly. The first awesome thing you will notice when you pick up this title is the use of the Joy-Con controllers to shake the dice and throw them. Though this is still the same mechanic in spirit as its predecessor but with the newly animated boards populated by Mii’s and watching a living city grow as you play and add properties adds an entirely new respect for Money Bags. Our team lost track of time having so much fun with this one and before we knew it, we had seen 5 hours pass. (No one wants to play Monopoly for that long.) 

2. Uno | 8.5 out of 10

Uno is another one of those games I grew up playing with family. When I purchased the game, I was expecting some sort of controller mechanic similar to Monopoly’s dice...but with cards instead...but I was let down. None the less, going into this, I didn’t even know that there were so many ways to play Uno besides the normal rules. Once again, I was amazed at how much more fun this was than the physical cards themselves. Rules like “Stacking. Where Player 1 can play a “Blue Draw 2″ card and Player 2 can counter play a “Draw 2″ card as well. ...but if Player 3 doesn’t possess a “Draw 2″ card, Player 3 then has to pick all 4 cards from the previous turns” was so exciting to try and there are many other ways to customize rules and play styles. 

3. Super Smash Bros | 9.0 out of 10

I really don’t need to go into detail about this one. My only issue with the Smash series is I would really enjoy a multiplayer adventure mode or campaign. I was quite pleased with the full roster of characters though. Disclaimer: Make sure your partner isn’t a sore loser. We all know about SSB’s steep learning curve for beginners. “Don’t be a butt...”

4. Diablo 3 | 9.0 out of 10

I remember having this title on my old PS4 and being able to enjoy it on my PS Vita while I was in a relationship with someone who liked the game as much as I and we would both take our Vita’s to the restroom with us so we could keep the experience going. This title can definitely be used to understand the mindset your partner has by the way they customize their character and the actions they take in response to events. It’s a top-down action-adventure-role-playing-hack-n-slash (inhale.) It is a port of it’s original released on PS3 & 360...the price tag is still $59.99. That’s a deal breaker in my book.

5. NES Emulator | 7.5 out of 10

I honestly chose this one because of how many gamers I know and how 89% of them are males. This is something for those who don’t game to get their feet wet. The emulator is free on the eShop for a 7-day trial but comes with a subscription cost after. Pretty inexpensive for the titles they have. Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros, Metroid, and many more. It even comes with special versions of some of the games which gives the player the experience of playing with Game Genie cheats.

6. 99 Vidas | 7.0 out of 10

Your probably thinking, “ Why is this even listed?” Well, just in case that partner your with doesn’t dig the 8-bit look or the low-res adventures of the NES Emulator and desires a little more action and has a fetish for Streets of Rage and Beat ‘em Up’s. Simply. The available characters are cool enough to get players to find a favorite out of them. ...so...that’s good!

7. Oh Sir...The Hollywood Roast | 8.3 out of 10

After seeing the Samuel Jackson clone named “Bad MotherHugger” who’s personality is totally canon, I had to dig deeper. If you didn’t play the prequel, you don’t need to. I honestly only used the first title to learn how to play. In this installment, you and a co-star face off on a movie set where your scenario is to insult the other the worst. It plays like a fighting game, complete with health bars, special insults, tag team insults and so much more. For the price it is, I was expecting something way less entertaining. Oh, and one point or another you will joke against a Deadpool copy...a less funnier Deadpool but funny enough.

Consider this the American version of The Office.

8. Oh Sir...The Insult Simulator | 7.8 out of 10

Obviously, this is the European version of The Office. I won’t say this is better than the sequel and I can’t say it’s worse either but I will say “I am an American...” What this game does is teach you how to layer your jokes and how lay the foundation for repetition in your topics to create combo’ s. I like to let the opponent bombard me with little weak jokes and build a super mean and super long insult that grants victory for only one joke. I call it, “The Kamehameha Effect!”

9. No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Back

The third installment to the series hits the eShop and retailers in a few days and I am super excited to get my copy. If you aren’t familiar with the series, let me fill you in:

Travis Touchdown is the protagonist of all three games. In NMH1 we find Travis at his lowest moment in life. Jobless, hopeless and drunk, he runs into a mysterious woman who offers him employment with a sketchy syndicate group he knows nothing about. Luckily he had lost all his money by winning a bid at an online auction for a Beam Katana,  his main choice of weaponry. Not long after, you find out you were hired as an assassin in a shady game by her higher-ups. Travis takes the job after being promised some passionate TLC if he can take out all 10 of the already top ranking assassins all over the world. Travis is a pretty simple guy. He likes mecha anime, luchador wrestling, old school video games, porn, sex, and sleeping on the toilet.

In NMH2, Travis finds out that after becoming the #1 ranking assassin in Santa Cruise, he finds out that he actually has hundreds of more assassins in a new ranking system where Travis is the lowest ranking.

This time around, Travis is joined by the father of one the assassins he killed in NMH1, and the co-op option is something that would have been outstanding to have in NMH2 but none the less the developers always deliver great content in their titles and this one will not disappoint. Couples will enjoy the kinky nature of the series for sure. It has been proven many times.

10. Broforce | 9.5 out of 10

Every wanted to play Super Mario Bros on NES but with guns? Ever want to change Mario for, let’s say...any huge action movie star from the 80′s, 90′s, 00′s? Ever wanted it to be a co-op experience with up to 4 players with local and online co-op? As a mercenary for the USA, you are sent to 3rd world contries to liberate them from the evil control of Satan and his hell spawn. Before that, you will have to fight through waves of kamikaze soldiers, war dogs, giant helicoptors, aliens (...from the movie “Aliens”) and much more. Along the way, you will recruit an entire cast of badasses. From Rambo to Robocop, you will find Chuck Norris, Neo, Blade, Bruce Willis, Terminator, Preditor, Machette, Michelle Rodrigez, The Bride (Kill Bill) & so many more including Mortal Kombats Raiden.

Very easy to pick up, very hard to put down.

11. Nidhogg 2 | 8.0 out of 10

2D-Side Scrolling Fighter. You start of with a sword. When you die, you respawn with a dagger. When you die, you respawn with a bow and arrow. Die again and respawn with an ax. Die again and respawn with your fist. This cycle will continue until you our your opponent makes it to the opposing end of the map. Maps are relatively small and consist of about 2 to 3 different frames. Sounds easy on paper right? 

Tons of laughs to be had!

12. Tales Of Vesperia

If your looking for an in-depth RPG you both can play while she sits between your legs and you both focus on the Switch screen laying in front of you: this is for you two. The co-op system usually only functions when you enter battle. Player 1 will always be the one running around the world map but this is still fine if you keep an open-mind and communicate on decisions that impact the story and more. (Keep track of your own money.)

side-note: All Tales games are co-op in this sense, even the Super Nintendo picks.

13. Harvest Moon: Light of Hope

I’ve been a Harvest Moon fan since Super Nintendo and got my first copy on the N64. I know a lot of people see this game and hate the thought of a farming simulator but unlike it’s counterpart with the same name-sake; Harvest Moon is so much more. This can easily tame the craving for an adventure-rpg-dating sim with a very rich story and characters that actually grow on you. I have not had the chance to play this particular version yet, but I saw it was multiplayer and that sold me. If you want to try a good yet cheaper version, Harvest Moon: Back to Nature is by far, one of the best, next to Harvest Moon 64.

So there you have it, our picks of love for your love to love with their love! Honestly...I don’ t celebrate Valentines Day (poly-gang), but I love exposing partners to new things that they can enjoy together.

OUT!

[eddycurrents]

The Bride of Hell & Others: “Hellboy in Mexico or, A Drunken Blur”

Words: Mike Mignola | Art: Richard Corben | Colours: Dave Stewart | Letters: Clem Robins

Originally published by Dark Horse in Hellboy in Mexico | May 2010

Collected in Hellboy - Volume 11: The Bride of Hell & Others | Hellboy in Mexico | Hellboy Library Edition - Volume 6 | Hellboy: Complete Short Stories - Volume 1

Plot Summary:

In 1982, following a mission in Mexico, Abe and Hellboy hang out in a derelict gas station while waiting for pick up. Abe discovers old photos of Hellboy with a trio of luchadores, which leads to a story of HB’s Mexican “vacation” in 1956, full of wrestling, drinking, and vampires.

Reading Notes:

(Note: Pagination is solely in reference to the story itself and is not indicative of anything found within the issues or collections.)

pg. 1 - It’s very bleak and hot where they are in Mexico in 1982. I love the opening panels as it kind of serves as a blank slate for the set up of the story. There’s Hellboy and Abe surrounded basically by mountains of nothing.

pg. 2 - It’s funny that in a story that explains bits of Hellboy’s past that this bit of Hellboy’s past, then present, goes unexplained. We don’t know what’s in that trunk and we don’t find out in this story.

pg. 4 - Gorgeous art from Richard Corben and Dave Stewart. The various photos and posters of the Mexican wrestlers before zooming in on Hellboy and the three brothers just show what kind of a celebrity phenomenon that HB was as a luchador. It’s like finding out a parent was the member of a band that was big in Japan.

Though draped in shadow, Hellboy’s posture is very telling for his grief and regret. Great expressiveness from Corben.

pg. 5 - Interesting explanation for why evil exists. This is one of the things I love about folklore and mythology as they try to make sense of certain things in nature that happen.

I also like this story within a story within a story format. Nested narratives are always a favourite construction of mine.

pg. 6 - It’s funny that Hellboy explains away the other agents’ that went with him behaviour by stating that they were just kids when HB himself is only “12″ in 1956.

pg. 7 - Hilarious understatement.

pg. 9 - The idea of luchadors fighting monsters is a brilliant one. It just makes so much sense. Many of the Mexican wrestlers are already in costumes and masks, so to have them as vampire and monster hunters seems like a natural extension of the idea.

pg. 10 - I love Corben’s take on vampires here. 

pg. 11 - Getting sauced regularly while cutting a swath through vampires is indeed likely a bad idea.

pg. 13 - Poor Esteban.

pg. 15 - There’s a question raised here that’s certainly troubling, regarding how far you’d potentially go in order to enact revenge or get information out of someone. How far is too far and you become the very monster that you’re hunting?

Also, just killer silhouette.

pg. 16 - One of the things that I love about Esteban’s transformation is that his Sacred Heart tattoo is changed as well. Now it’s a black heart encircled by a serpent. That’s a great detail.

Also, as Mignola points out in the introduction, Camazotz is a real Mayan bat god. It makes sense that Esteban would take over that identity in his new vampire incarnation. This also ties back to what the one woman said of the devil in the beginning, since Camazotz has ties to the Mayan underworld of Xibalba. 

pg. 17 - I just love these panels. Awesome sense of anticipation before the battle begins in earnest.

pg. 18 - Estaban no more. Poor kid.

pg. 19 - The detail on the vampires, showing age, variety, and degeneration is very impressive.

pg. 20-21 - Great action sequence here, tapping into some of the best Hellboy battles as he gets his clock cleaned for the first round.

Also, the vampire with the necklace of human hands that Mignola mentions in the intro that could be somebody but he lost his notes could well have been inspired by Cōātlīcue. She was an Aztec goddess, though, and a primordial earth mother, representing both creation and death.

pg. 22 - The bat face reveal is a sucker punch to Hellboy. Also just amazing design.

pg. 24 - It’s no wonder that Hellboy spent even more of his time drunk in Mexico. Having to do that to your friend would send just about anybody into an alcoholic binge spiral.

pg. 25 - I’d probably want to drink too.

pg. 26 - For more on Professor Bruttenholm’s reaction, pick up Hellboy and the BPRD #5.

pg. 28 - Love the idea that Hellboy was making luchador movies during his lost time. Also, these films help set up a recurring theme in the first part of this collection of the movie theatre.

Final Thoughts:

The timing on this read through and analysis with the current release schedule of the books in production is somewhat astonishing, as the historical series, Hellboy and the BPRD is currently at 1956. Its final issue very nicely dovetails the events of this one-shot, expanding even more on what Hellboy was doing in Mexico after the events of this story (we’ll be getting to the others in the Hellboy in Mexico collection way down the line as well). 

The Hellboy in Mexico stories in general, including this one, reveal one of the things that I’d love to see more of in the broader historical series, is expansion on some of the things that happen during that year. While I like the succinct stories that we’ve been getting, and the somewhat looser approach we’ll see during a couple of the Hellboy and the BPRD years, I think it would be interesting to see more side stories. More exploration of the various people outside of the core of Bruttenholm and Hellboy (and the various agents we’ll see as core in those forthcoming stories). It seems like the possibilities are endless and there’s still much left untold.

I mean, this story itself grew out of a simple drawing of Hellboy with a Mexican wrestler, it’s amazing how these things can develop.

d. emerson eddy is still messed up by Spanish, even after years of trying to figure it out. He knows French and Latin, so there are some intelligible words, but there are still many that he thinks means something, but turns out mean something else entirely. Verbs instead of nouns because they chose a different root during construction. Languages are weird.