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5 – Art and Advertising

15 Feb 2014

Re-re-re-(re?)-Enter the Menkos…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 4 - Collectibles, 5 - Art and Advertising | 0

Super pressed for time lately, but I will leave you all with another nice selection of vintage Menko cards. These seem to be Fujimaru-themed, with plenty of the loose dot patterns, off register color and dodgy third-party artwork that make … Continued

Fujimaru, menko cards
30 Nov 2013

Things you can buy ME for Christmas – Part 1

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 5 - Art and Advertising | 0

Most sites give you all sorts of gift giving ideas this time of year, but I’m turning the tables and putting it all on YOU! Here’s something I’d really enjoy as a gift from one of you folks, original TV … Continued

Lee Van Cleef, The Master
27 Apr 2013

FIVE ELEMENT NINJA African marketing

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 5 - Art and Advertising | 0

This amazingness from the mobile “cinemas” of Ghana, Africa is on eBay right now, for a steal, too! Plenty more goodness here, as well!

Five Element Ninjas, Ghana movie posters
6 Apr 2013

Navarro Ninja

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 5 - Art and Advertising | 4

So I was having dinner with my pal, the uber-talented Rafael Navarro, and we were musing on what a ninja would look like if drawn by the legendary Jack Kirby. He whipped this off on a napkin, and seeing as … Continued

17 Feb 2013

Shirato Sanpei… NOT lazy.

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga, 5 - Art and Advertising | 0

Shirato Sanpei‘s manga epic Ninja Bugeicho had dozens of characters, and hundreds more victims of these characters, too. Being a ninja comic, he could have gone the easy route and just hooded-up most of these people, lessening the burdens of … Continued

Shirato Sanpei
23 Jan 2013

Shame on you, kung-fu kangaroos!

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 5 - Art and Advertising | 0

Remember during the home video explosion how many low-end kung-fu movies got cheap new package art and “ninja”-centric re-titles? I got burned so many times at the video store by this, fuming when the 70’s ‘chop-sockey’ playing on my VHS … Continued

Warriors of Virtue 2
16 May 2012

New DEAD RINGO trailer

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 5 - Art and Advertising | 0

Check out the latest from Eddie Mort! And see a pile of imagery at the Dead Ringo tumblr.

DEAD RINGO
21 Apr 2012

Sanpei sketches

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga, 5 - Art and Advertising | 1

These brush illos were used as chapter breaks in reprint collections of Shirato Sanpei‘s Ninja Bugeicho.

Ninja Bugeicho, Shirato Sanpei
22 Mar 2012

African movie posters

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 5 - Art and Advertising | 0

Some of the ninja-centric paintings from Ghana ‘movie theaters’ that were on display at last year’s Movie Mojo shows at Chicago gallery Primitive:

Ghana movie posters
15 Feb 2012

Bare-Armed Ninja

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 5 - Art and Advertising | 7

Something that came out the 80s and lived on into the 90’s was the bare-armed body-building look for ninja, a mutation driven by the painted covers of Ninja Magazine and video game package art. These roided-up shinobi sacrificed protection for … Continued

Ninja Magazine, video games

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Welcome to VINTAGE NINJA — dedicated to old ninja movies from Japan’s 60s boom to the 80s American exploitation craze and beyond, with a ton of vintage toys, comics, and sharp pointy stuff thrown in for good measure.

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50+ Japanese ninja movies reviewed

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