1989 Batman - The Warner Bros. Ballcap

For some reason, I used to absolutely love the promos that they had before the main feature on VHS tapes. I can’t tell you how much I used to enjoy the trailers for OTHER Universal Stuidos Monster films before I ended up watching the main movie that I popped in (probably “Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman”). 

I forgot how amazing this poster was. HOW?!

1990s Comic Book Ads- Action Comics #662

When I’m home in Springfield, MA (The 413, baby!), I often don’t bring anything to read. Lucky for me, there is no shortage of books, from Sandburg’s Abraham Lincoln: The War Years (this edition) to the novelization of The Fugitive (this edition- that went through multiple printings, right?). I am never wanting for something to read, and I often do want something to read. 

Along with those books, though, I have my old comic book collection. I collected comics for years. The first comics I remember getting were the Archie Comics TMNT Adventures (which started as a straight comic adaptation of the cartoon and then expanded into its own universe. It was actually pretty good (unless Jim Lawson drew it... grrr). I switched to Superman, Batman and the X-titles in the early 90s, and continued for years (for the record, this stopped me reading DC Comics and this stopped me reading Marvel.)

So, even now, as an adult, I still read comics (Marvel Unlimited is well worth $60/year). But reading my old, actual comics that my mom put in a big plastic container in our basement brings back memories. Those old stories are fun, and I’m a sucker for well drawn comics (Oh yeah? Then why do you have Liefeld-era issues of X-Force? Great question, me.) so I love to pick up my old comics. And, really, nothing takes me back to the late 80s and 90s like the ads in those books. So I decided I would take you, the dear readers of Saturday Morning Deathgrip, on a trip into the deepest, darkest regions of February 1991: Action Comics #662*.

*Incidentally, you can get a nice summary of the story content of Action 662, the story in which Lois Lane finally learns that Clark Kent is Superman here. Bob McLeod’s art is pretty rock solid, in my opinion. 

Episode 5- Bots Master

We're back with another edition of Saturday Morning Deathgrip. Courtesy of Giancarlo's apparently demented childhood, it was Laser Time as we watched the pilot episode of "Bots Master," a show designed for people who loved early 90s hip hop but may have thought that "Do the Urkel" was both too risque in lyrical content and too subdued in musical construction.

In today's episode, our topics include Andrea's staunch Libertarianism, the perfect Kevin Costner movie, people with names that are, purely by coincidence, one letter off from a famous person's, and Giancarlo's deviant behavior (nothing new there, amirite?).

Thanks for listening, please subscribe, tell your friends, and don't litter on your way out of wherever you are at the moment you read this.

Download from iTunes (or subscribe and review- pretty, pretty please) or listen right here!

Freezy Freakies

I hate to kick off my inaugural SMDG post by getting all controversial but I don’t much care for winter.  Sure, the season might conjure up charming images of snow kissed trees, rustic fireplaces, Sonny Bono skiing into a tree.  But no matter how much joy one can derive from sticking carrots into balls of snow, it’s impossible to redeem the moment when the temperature dips low enough that it feels as though you forgot to put on pants.  And, more importantly, hypothermia doesn’t complement my natural skin tone.


Elton John in summer doesn't go with my skin tone, either (source).

Of course, as a child, I hated having to bundle up once late November hit.  I didn’t want to arm myself against the elements so much as complain about them.  Zipping up jackets, wearing mittens, donning ski caps – winter apparel felt so restrictive.  Who wants to be entombed in cotton or Thinsulate?  Nature was trying to straight jacket us all and it had convinced the fashion industry to its bidding (typical move fashion industry, typical move)! 

Episode 4- Denver the Last Dinosaur

Our fourth episode, with improvement in 3/4 of the audio and regression on Andrea's audio. I swear, we're on the verge of massive breakthrough on audio quality.

In our latest episode, we turn our attention (and our occasionally wonky audio) to the 80s biggest innovation in television animation: the syndicated cartoon. The honor goes to none other than the Denver the Last Dinosaur episode, "Chinatown Caper." We talk a lot about Chinatown architecture, cats shaped like Rihanna and we get to sit down for a very real and disturbing interview with a surprise guest star from the show. 

Thanks for listening!

Download from iTunes (or subscribe and review- pretty, pretty please) or listen right here!

Ghostbusters 2 Coloring Book

If you were like me, you LOVED Ghostbusters as a kid. As in, the Real Ghostbusters, not the stupid ghost busting ape that Filmation had. (Don’t be fooled, that phrase makes it sound much cooler than it actually was). In the summer of 1989, the feature film Ghostbusters 2 came out and a 4 year old Sean saw it in theaters. Why would my parents take a 4 year old to a film that has scary ghosts, a painting trying to possess a baby and a mink coat coming alive to try to eat its owner? Because they loved me.

I had many pieces of Ghostbusters merchandise.A few years ago, I found an odd piece of memorabilia - the Ghostbusters 2 coloring book. What makes it odd? Well, let me walk you through a bit of it.

Keep in mind this has spoilers for both the movie and coloring book of Ghostbusters 2. So ... yeah.

Pg. 5

We can see why Viggo picks Oscar as a surrogate as he’s already the creepiest baby that’s ever lived.