The VN Timeline: HOW NINJA CONQUERED THE WORLD
An exhaustive timeline of the 1980s ninja craze, from its prehistory in the 60s-70s to its premature fizzle by the 90s.
The Earliest Hatsumi
Few realize multi-media ambassador and curator of modern ninjutsu Masaaki Hatsumi’s first exposure in the Western world came in a 1961 issue of a pulp fiction rag…
Early Western ninja in JUDO MASTER
Comic books never get enough credit for being the vanguards of entertainment movements, and their contributions are almost always overlooked in comparison to the big, break-through movie or TV show. But comics do two huge things that really lay the … Continued
Zukins, zukins, zukins…
Check out this awesomeness! This 3×8-inch sheet of kids’ temporary tattoo image transfers has somehow survived the decades, and is aging in delightfully weird ways. No manufacturer or year, and I won’t even guess, but it’s FAR from new… Sword-slingin’ … Continued
So, about that infamous ninja football battle…
Kage no Gundan (aka Shadow Warriors) is one of the most famous, and prolific, properties in ninja media history. The Sonny Chiba TV show was the shinobi Magnum PI — a smash hit that lasted several seasons and defined TV … Continued
Why did it take me so long to write about THE GREAT KABUKI?
Akihisa Mera is a name unknown to most ninja-maniacs — he never starred in a martial arts film, was never featured in the pages of Black Belt, never consulted at a Bujinkan seminar. Yet he is one of the most … Continued
We need to talk about the horror that is the 1966 live-action NINJA HATTORI-KUN
The anime version of this decades old property is ubiquitous, the big-budget movie was a hit in 2004, but we’re no longer able to protect you all from the horrors of the largely forgotten late 60s live action kids TV series. You’ve been warned…
Possibly the BEST menkos I’ve ever come across…
The somewhat physical card game of Menko (aka Bettan or Patchin) — wherein players ‘fwap’ cardboard rectangles or circles down on each other then claim whatever flips over — isn’t the most conducive to collectible items surviving the decades. These things … Continued
Best of vintage ninja COMICS for Comic-Con week…
It is yet again ComiCon week down in San Diego. Yet while the nerd-world’s attention is hyper-focused on the breaking news and goings-on of the convention, its core reason for existence — the comic book industry — is increasingly irrelevant, … Continued
On our 9th Birthday, here’s 9 gifts WE gave the world
Nine years ago this weekend, this site’s first posts went live. We typically celebrate the anniversary of our launch by reposting our first feature — press stills from Akai Kageboshi — but we decided to change things up this year. … Continued