“Aloha friends, another beautiful day in paradise.” It’s how Mike Stone begins every post on Facebook from his home in the Philippines, where he’s currently working with a writer on an extensive biography of his storied life and career(s). He’s … Continued
Today marks the 12th anniversary of VN‘s first ever post, and coincidentally I was 12 when the 1980s ninja craze more or less ‘officially’ kicked off with the release of Enter the Ninja in 1981. I bring up Enter because … Continued
It is the summer of 1984, and I am baffled. Hiroyuki ‘Henry’ Sanada has been with me through every phase of my ninja fandom. Desperately hungry for ANYTHING ninja in the mid-80s and as pasted to HBO as any other … Continued
The advent of the 80s ninja craze saw all sorts of established martial artists from the 1970s transition from various arts to the explosively profitable and high profile modern ninjutsu of both dojo and screen — Sho Kosugi and Mike … Continued
If there’s one speck of light in the dark months of the pandemic shutdown, it’s been some great quarantine reading for fans of Cannon Films, and that continues with Austin Trunick‘s The Cannon Film Guide Volume 1: 1980—1984. After an … Continued
Years in the compiling, months in layout, and updated a few times now via feedback from fans around the globe — VN‘s now famed timeline has been updated again with some corrections, additions and newly discovered goodies. From the 1960s … Continued
Tony Stella is an astounding painter whose brush work beckons to a previous era of movie poster glory. He’s also a must-genre film buff with a decades-ling passion for 1960s ninja films, and there’s a genuine exuberance in every word … Continued
We’ve recently been blessed with the book Carnal Curses, Disfigured Dreams by Japanese cinema researcher Kigami Jigoku Kobayashi, and it inadvertently provided some jaw-dropping insight into the depth and breadth of ninja movies going back to the 1910s and how … Continued
As we enter a second month of shutdowns and quarantines (if we live in one of the smart spots of the world, that is) one’s ‘to-be-read’ book stack is probably dwindling. So it’s a great time to check out the … Continued
If you’re reading this, COVID-19… the ‘Rona… has affected your life. You’re cooped up inside. You’re not changing clothes as often as you should, but who cares. You’re exhausting your to-be-read stacks and streaming queues. Frantically cleaning up the background … Continued