ZOKU SHINOBI NO MONO press stills (part 1)
These sepia-toned (and aging poorly) 8×10’s are from either a theatrical lobby promo kit or a studio press kit contemporary to the 1963 theatrical release of ninja blockbuster Zoku Shinobi no Mono (Return of the Band of Assassins, ). Raizo … Continued
My icon explained…
Couple folk have asked about my icon on Twitter or Facebook. It’s an image of where my worlds of ninja fandom, pro wrestling mark and obseesive toy collector meet – a Japanese capsule figure of ninja-themed 80’s pro-wrestler The Great … Continued
First print ad for this site…
Many thanks to longtime friend and co-conspirator Rafael Navarro for giving us the back inside cover to the new Sonambulo Lives! comic, which makes it’s debut at this year’s ComiCon International in San Diego.
YATSUHA in “Samurai Champloo”
Samurai Champloo is now available as a lower-priced box set, so I’ll re-purpose an old Ninja80 post here. I was a huge mark for Cowboy BeBop, but the creative team’s follow-up series failed to make the same impact with me… until … Continued
FUJIMARU book-n-record (PART 2)
The adventure continues… Fujimaru had a rather large friend from above his whole life – a giant eagle. It was all part of a well-balanced mix of genuine historical weaponry and credible martial arts with superhero-like powers and outright magic. … Continued
SAVITAR – best ninja figure of the 80’s?
For the most part, 80’s ninja figures released in the U.S. resembled the cheesy straight-to-video movie costuming or equally lame ninja suits sold in the back of Soldier of Fortune magazine. Re-mold a He-Man in black pajamas, paint the head … Continued
FUJIMARU book-n-record (PART 1)
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 Joe, Frankenstein and Planet of the Apes comic book / … Continued
Dear various network suits…
…please greenlight this now! NOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!! FWAK!’s Dead Ringo developmental project
Airborne combat in LEGEND OF KAMUI
With the movie pending, I’m re-reading and re-loving Shirato Sanpei‘s second run of Kamui manga. The godfather of ninja comics debuted the character in 1964, then re-imagined the property as a more grown up and severe manga in the 80’s. Kamui … Continued
A ‘Tonbei the Mist’ primer
Once upon a time, there was a ground-breaking Japanese TV series called Onmitsu Kenshin (or Onmitsu kenshi), starring Koichi Ose as Shintaro, wandering samurai detective protecting his half-brother the Shogun from various conspiracies and assassins. It was popular in Japan, but when … Continued