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2 – Books and Manga

Hey SHADOW HUNTERS, lighten up a bit, will ya…
8 Apr 2017

Hey SHADOW HUNTERS, lighten up a bit, will ya…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 2 - Books and Manga | 0

If you were a young devourer of manga and anime in the 1980s, creator Takao Saito will always be the man who gave us Golgo 13. However in the mid-2000s the good folk at Animeigo released two early 70s live action … Continued

Kage Gari, Shadow Hunters, Takao Saito
KAGEMARU and his pointy hood
6 Jan 2017

KAGEMARU and his pointy hood

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga | 0

Compiled from a series of posts published Summer 2009 Mitsuteru Yokoyama is probably the second most prolific creator of crossover ninja properties next to Shirato Sanpei. Both Kagemaru of Iga and Masked Ninja Akakage expanded from their pulp roots to … Continued

Kagemaru, Mitsuteru Yokoyama
Books of the 60s Japanese ninja boom
3 Sep 2016

Books of the 60s Japanese ninja boom

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga | 0

Charles Vincent Gruzanski was a travelled student and teacher of Japanese martial arts, including modern ninjutsu. His son Robert maintains an invaluable website as a memorial to his father’s accomplishments and passions. His scans of 1960s Japanese ninja articles and … Continued

“THE NINJA” vs. “THE NINJA: The Movie”
17 Apr 2016

“THE NINJA” vs. “THE NINJA: The Movie”

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 2 - Books and Manga | 0

20+ weeks on The New York Times‘ Best Seller list, millions of copies in print, five sequels and enduring publication on all modern electronic platforms… Eric Van Lustbader‘s vanguard novel The Ninja turns 36 years old this month. It was easily the … Continued

Eric Van Lustbader, John Carpenter, Nicholas Linnear, THE NINJA novel
VN REVISITED: Fujimaru Book-n-Record
16 Feb 2016

VN REVISITED: Fujimaru Book-n-Record

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga | 0

Originally published in two parts — July 2009 Growing up in the pre-home video era often meant the only way to relive your favorite movie or TV property was the now extinct book-n-record. I positively wore out my GI Jo Adventure … Continued

Fujimaru, Hayao Miyazaki, Shirato Sanpei
Some info from Yugoslavia
27 Jan 2016

Some info from Yugoslavia

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga | 0

Back in March of 2015 we posted some art, and plenty of speculation, about 80’s craze-era ninja comics from Yugoslavia, and now we have some first hand info on them, thanks to VN reader and student of the arts Navid Bulbulija: … Continued

Yugoslav comics
VN REVISITED: A look at ZANPEI KUMOTORI manga
4 Dec 2015

VN REVISITED: A look at ZANPEI KUMOTORI manga

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga | 0

Lots of new readers lately, and I always love delving into the archives, exposing folks to some of the great stuff we posted back in the early years, so here’s an EXPANDED revisit of an article originally from November of 2009: … Continued

Takao Saito, Zanpei Kumotori
Reading in progress…
31 Aug 2015

Reading in progress…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 2 - Books and Manga | 0

Yeah… THAT Ninja novel, and yeah… THAT John Carpenter! Coming later this year, big feature about this craze-kindling novel, the differences between it and the scripts, its time in big studio ‘development hell’ and what could have been (warts and … Continued

Eric Van Lustbader, John Carpenter, THE NINJA novel
Eastern Block ninja pulp
5 Mar 2015

Eastern Block ninja pulp

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga | 0

There were a couple of sellers on eBay last month that had ninja-themed comics from what was formerly Yugoslavia. Sadly, I’m broke as hell for the foreseeable future and they were priced too high anyway, so I didn’t keep track … Continued

Yugoslav comics
Some ARASHI manga goodness…
22 Jul 2014

Some ARASHI manga goodness…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga | 0

I may just love the illustrated version of Henshin Ninja Arashi more than the much better known tokusatsu version… Kamen Rider and Cybog 009 creator Shotaro Ishinomori‘s manga slightly preceded the Toei TV show, although what would have had more production lead … Continued

HENSHIN NINJA ARASHI

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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.

Read the Definitive History:

50+ Japanese ninja movies reviewed

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  • 3 – Toys and Merch
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  • 7 – Ninja Miscelany
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