Eight sides of THE OCTAGON
I really love The Octagon. I loved it as a stupid kid in black pajamas back in the day and I love it now. It is an unsung hero of the 80’s American genre, the biggest non-Kosugi entry into the … Continued
Everything I Needed to Know About Ninjutsu I Learned from Carlos Ray Norris, I
A guest column by MATT WALLACE in honor of THE OCTAGON‘s 30th Birthday! Chuck Norris has taught me a lot. He taught me not all men with mustaches who lived in the 70’s did porn. He taught me that it’s … Continued
Let us now begin an intimate weekend with Chuck and Kyo…
Tomorrow marks the 30TH (!!!) Anniversary of the release of The Octagon! Holy shit I’m old… Rarely credited with starting the American ninja craze of the 80’s, this jewel of the Chuck Norris crown beat Enter the Ninja to theaters … Continued
DEATHWISH with throwing stars!
Its was a dog-eared, dime-store novel world where a man was a man, a woman was a victim waiting to happen and the road to revenge was a street washed in blood. Violent and lurid men’s adventure novels go back … Continued
Chiba as Hanzo by Marusan
Retro-styled like a kid’s vinyl toy from the 60’s, this 10″ figure of Sonny Chiba as Hattori Hanzo from Kage No Gundan (aka Shadow Warriors) is absolutely BOSS! I’m not a big fan of boutique vinyl and the high-end collector … Continued
Deadliest park rangers and tour guides ever…
Via the English-language section of the Iga-Ryu Ninja Museum, some nifty photos of the park and museum performers, staff and crew: Good to know there are dedicated groups out there keeping the sensationalized, movie-inspired, historically corrupt image of the shinobi … Continued
Argentine Clamshell Heaven!
Raro VHS is a great new blog dedicated to VHS package art from Argentina. LOTS of ninja stuff, with art permutations I’ve never seen.
Ishihara Gojin’s weird Lion Maru
Pink Tentacle has a terrific series of images from profound illustrator Ishihara Gōjin, including these pages from a Kaiketsu Lion Maru ‘sonosheet’ book: Otherwise known as ‘Gekko Hayashi,’ Gojin’s paintings and illustrations range from kids superhero and sci-fi books to … Continued
No safer place to hide yer pennies.
Ninja could be found via myriad big-name properties in the 80’s, but it is the generic, no-brand ninja merch I love most from that era. This 15″ plastic kids’ bank is a personal fave. Intrigued by the TM placed beside … Continued
More Ringo!
New “Dead Ringo” images up on the FWAK! Blog! (See earlier posts here and here.)