Earl Shepherd Artist, Toy and Movie Prop Collector

Masters of the UniverseXStranger things Skeletor&demogorgon2pack#actionf...

ionnalee; la la love

NEW COMIC BOOKS RELEASING MAY 22ND 2024 MARVEL PREVIEWS COMING OUT THIS ...

Black Tower Books -40th Anniversary

 

4" Native Scout & Field Veteran Cavalry Figures | Early Review

Black Tower Comics & Books -40th Anniversary

 

Low budget Japanese heroes & THEIR BALLS.

Black Tower Comics: Dark Night Detectives: Everything Is Under Control and The Ministry of Safety

 

 

A4

Black & White
50 Pages
Price: £6.00 (excl. VAT)

Ships in 3–5 business days
 http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-dark-night-detectives/paperback/product-21975325.html

Its a world where if you stand up for what is right you'll be lucky if its just a beating you get.

A world where people are starving (if poor) and the rich live in luxury.

A world where you have to have birthing Rights.

Where sacrificing someone to the Devil is acceptable -as long as they pay the wages.

A world where if you DO NOT take that bribe you WILL be made an example of.

This shows off Dilworth's skill at writing dark and brooding stories with a hint of satire but just too true to modern life!  It also shows his skill as an artistic story teller and designer.  Some of Ben Dilworth's most provoking and dark work in ages.

 

A4

28pp

B&W

£7.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/the-dark-night-detectives-no-2-november-2020/paperback/product-7jr8g8.html

Its a world where if you stand up for what is right you'll be lucky if its just a beating you get. A world where people are starving (if poor) and the rich live in luxury. A world where you have to have birthing Rights. Where sacrificing someone to the Devil is acceptable -as long as they pay the wages. A world where if you DO NOT take that bribe you WILL be made an example of. 

This was the dystopian world set up by Ben Dilworth in Small Press publications in the 1980 and some strips in Black Tower books and led on to The Dark Night Detectives: Everything Is Under Control. 

Now Detective Inspector Black and Special Constable (Community Policing) Jones are back and it is still dar, bleak and depressingly familiar in a way.

 The ending will make you ask more than a few questions.

How Many Posts? Where From? What Have I Got Planned?

I've just been looking at the number of posts each year since 2010. At that time (2010) this was a backup blog for the WordPress CBO because the number of views each day was so high that WP kept going down. There were also other problems and Blogger seemed far easier to use in the long run.

One problem is that Blogger continuously shifts where it operates from. I was once asked what my job was as I seemed to travel and post from all over the world. I was an agent of U.N.C.L.E.!  I checked and found that the blog url identified the server as Italy, France, Germany....well everywhere really.  This causes some problems as some countries block others or use systems that will block others.  Also Blogger blocks views from various countries for their own reasons -the Peoples Republic of China for one.

感谢您继续访问，希望大家喜欢我们的内容！

Here are the years and post totals

 2024 (so far)  347 posts

2023                731 posts

2022                495

2021                747

2020                993 -apparently I stopped a lot of people going insane in lockdown!

2019               865

2018               765

2017               979

2016               1188

2015               1271

2014               1167

2013               443  (this was a back-up blog back then)

2012               541

2011               227

2010              33

And yet, with all of those posts garnering over 10 million views comments and feedback are rarer than a solar eclipse (if I had thought ahead and had that reference a few weeks ago it would have been topical!).  Even the mega posts that took a few days to put together and had thousands of words and in some cases a hundred or more images -on topics not handled before on the net....virtual silence.   

It is one reason why I stopped doing the mega posts even though the ones I posted are still getting lots of views.  Go figure.  

Reviews I noticed are still being read years after posting such as Titan Books The Secret Service - Kingsman was posted in 2014 and as you can see (to the right) it is still being checked out a I've been told people are still buying based on CBO reviews. Checking the dashboard every so often I look at what posts are being read and in the last week there were five that I just asked "What the heck are those?" but they went back to 2013, 2016 and so on (but I cannot remember them!).  

How many posts for 2024? Who knows because I review whatever I receive and I post what I like -comics, action figures, music -why not? My blog and enough people check the stuff out -68,013 last month alone. 

So...we'll see.

Isn't it just?

 

Mattel Jurassic 93 Dennis Nedry track and chase set (target exclusive)#a...

RIP Roger Corman 1926-2024

 

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/roger-corman-low-budget-movie-162732148.html

Marvel Legends Warbird -- Instant Sell-Out

Black Tower Comics: Ace Hart #4

 

20pp
A4
B&W
£6.95
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/ace-hart-no-4-july-2020/paperback/product-wk79wn.html

Ace Hart The Atomic Man is back in the final issue of this four issue run. 

See our hero deal with Pluto Attacking and other threats while back up strips include the Rev Merriwether -God's Demon thumper, the Purple Hood, GoBo and...well, why spoil it!

Black Tower Comics: Ace Hart #3

 

20pp
A4
B&W
Text and comic strip
£6.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/ace-hart-no-3-july-2020/paperback/product-669g9z.html


Ace Hart -The Atom Powered Man. One of the UKs first post war super heroes is guided through more action and stories by Ben R Dilworth in this third issue. 

And behind that powerful Atomipower cover you'll find stories including: What Is It Good For? Stone Cold Killer Box and the story behind the cover -UP Stream!

Black Tower Comics: Ace Hart #2

 

A4
B&W
20pp
Text and comic strips
£5.95
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/ace-hart-no-2-june-2020/paperback/product-5667wp.html

Ace Hart -the Atomic Man! One of the UK's first post war sauper heroes is back with his second issue and guided by the creative wizardry of Ben R. Dilworth -all behind the new Atomipower covers!

With titles such as Space Pirates, The Trap, After the Bomb, Unseen and Colonize how can you go wrong? I'm excited and I just edited the book (to be faior I have had a lot of coffee so I could be hyper). 

The British Golden Age of Comics is in safe hands!

Black Tower Comics: Ace Hart No. 1

 

A4
B&W
20pp
Text and comic strip
£5.95
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/ace-hart-no-1-june-2020/paperback/product-mmqe22.html


Ace Hart The Atomic Man -one of Britain's first and greatest super heroes is back in his own limited series created and produced by Ben R. Dilworth.  With an Atomipower cover designed to irradiate your eye-balls

1970, After The Bomb, Arride, 42 and Princess.

All stories complete so if you just want to try one issue you can!

Black Tower Comics: The Return Of The Gods:Twilight of the Super Heroes/Cross Earths Caper#Green Skies

 "I read the original quote from that German blogger and thought it was a lot of hot air. When Return of the Gods: Twilight of the Super Heroes arrived I thought "thick book" and knew you'd taken it from 96 pages to 360+...it looked impressive. I read through it in two days and -robots, aliens, "gods", super heroes, sorcerers, alien invasions and more and world-wide. And you tell me this was done without a script?! It's the only one I can think of so, yeah, the greatest British super hero graphic novel fits as a description."

"You say this is your final big story? The Green Skies was fantastic and everything laid out into chapters was a great touch!"

David Stephens, Comic Reviews

" 'Holy ******* ****!' was all I could say. I even tried counting the number of characters and how the **** you produced all of this without a script beats me. Return of the Gods: Twilight of the Super Heroes and The Green Skies could only have been better if George Perez had drawn it!"

Dan's Comics

"I have no idea why you are not pushing this even harder. The books Return of the Gods: Twilight of the Super Heroes and The Green Skies I would love to see in German or at least get German fans to read since it has a good number of German heroes in it. Next big comic event over here send me copies and I'll sell them on my table!"

Gerd Hammer, German comics historian and trader

Selected comic readers were also chosen to review copies and, obviously, two of these were people from Hong Kong who I corresponded with on Manhua over the years.

"I just wish someone like Tong Li would publish this in Chinese -I mean there are Chinese heroes in this so why not?"

Wang Xiuying

"There HAS to have been a script and more than one person working on this! Brilliant!"

Mike Wayne, Australian comic dealer

Generally, these comments were all similar and I only quote these as any more would be very egotistical. The books should speak for themselves.

Paperback

A4

Black & White

331 Pages

Price: Reduced to £21.89 

Prints in 3-5 business days

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-return-of-the-godstwilight-of-the-super-heroes/paperback/product-22076337.html

It begins slowly.  It always does. It's a deception that everything in the world is as it should be and that never changes.

Earth’s heroes and crime-fighters are going about their daily tasks –fighting a giant robot controlled by a mad scientist’s brain, attackers both human and mystical -even alien high priests of some mysterious cult and their zombie followers and, of course, a ghost and a young genius lost in time. 

Pretty mundane. 

But psychics around the world have been sensing something.  A "something" that sends feelings of sheer terror through their psyches.

There is a huge alien Mother-ship near the Moon. Undetected by deep-space radar and other instruments, only a few on Earth have sensed it and they cannot penetrate the hull but only feel psychic screams and....worse.

And then it begins: strange orange spheres isolate and chase some of Earth’s heroes who then vanish into thin air –are they dead?  An attack by an old foe or foes -?

Black, impenetrable domes cover cities world-wide. 

Then it becomes clear to those within the domes what is going on: Alien invasion of Earth! 

A war between the Dark Old Gods and the pantheons that followed! 

Warriors from Earth’s past having to battle each day and whether they die or not they are back the next day! 

No one suspects the driving force behind the events.  One single evil guiding events.  Events that could cause destruction and chaos throughout the multiverse.

Assaulted on all fronts can Earth’s defenders succeed or will they fail...is this truly the end? 

The Cross-Earths Caper: Part II of the Invasion Earth Trilogy

Paperback, 

A4

Black & White

107 Pages

Price: £12.00

Prints in 3-5 business days

 http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-cross-earths-caper/paperback/product-22076318.html

Following the events on Neo Olympus and the Boarman invasion of Earth, many heroes and crime-fighters have withdrawn from activity. Some are trying to recover from injuries while others are fighting the mental scars left by the events.

But things have to go on.  As heroes from other parallels who helped during the recent events return home, members of the Special Globe Guard are shocked at the sudden appearance of Zom of the Zodiac. Never a sign of good things a-coming!

Very soon, a group of heroes mount a rescue mission and find that a quick rescue mission can turn sour equally quickly. As they overcome one challenge the the heroes become lost between parallel Earths and face new threats.

 Sometimes one Earth just is not enough. The complete story published in issues 7-10 of Black Tower Adventure now in...one handy dandy book!

A4

B&W

124pp

£15.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/the-green-skies-vol-3-part-1/paperback/product-5j4y7e.html?page=1&pageSize=4

It all began in 1987 and the Black Tower Universe has seen alien attacks, heroes kidnapped to be put into the middle of a war of the gods. 

Despite the deaths and losses the heroes -crime fighters, super powered and members of the magical union have come back but now unaware that alien races are escaping through the Sol system and that a mysterious space fleet is heading towards the inner planets, they find themselves trapped or distracted. 

The Many Eyed One is finally coming. 

The Multiversal Council has quarantined Earth and forbidden any to help. 

The evil has spread and there is treachery striking at the very core of Earth's defenders

A4

B&W

126pp

£15.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/the-green-skies-vol-3-part-ii/paperback/product-nj7wqr.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Following on from events in Green Skies V. 3 Part I the Clone Zone Boyz are increasing in number while those who created them, the Vampirons, continue to plot and await the arrival of their 'God' -The Many Eyed One. 

The Druid finds that his physical and mental state are deteriorating and even the Rev. Merriwether cannot help him. 

Shockingly, the Clone Zone Boyz claims someone close to Merriwether and this leads him to team up with two 'unsavoury' characters. 

In space Krii and Tyn hrrn face a seemingly unstoppable enemy. 

On The Moon the Selenites and representatives of other worlds meet and decide that Johnny Apollo, the Z-Man, is the only one who can lead the counter invasion fleet. 

With the enemy striking Mars and then the Moon things look grim

 A4

B&W

208pp

£16.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/the-green-skies-vol-3-part-iii/paperback/product-kj6r7r.html?page=1&pageSize=4

The gathered Sol Defence fleet is prepared to make its final stand led by Johnny Apollo the Z Man. If it fails to halt the invaders then the doomsday weapon will be detonated and destroy the entire Sol System. 

Meanwhile, unaware of the threat in space, Jack Flash, the Avenger and others prepare for a final show down with the Many Eyed One; a final confrontation they know they do not have the power to win. 

Is this Humanity...the Earths...final day?

 

"When are your action figures available/"

 

First time I thought it was a joke but apparently people think  that I am producing a line of action figures!

Sorry, although Black Tower characters would make great action figures what I have posted clearly states that the images I posted were of figure conversions I did.  Pretty standard with action figure collectors.

Dr Syntax, Ally Sloper, Electro-Girl etc will not be appearing 1as 3.75 inch action figures. Neither will the Iron Warrior I plan to start work on soon.

The Cyclops Lives! It's Just a toy really....

 1992 Yolande, Spain about 4 inches tall. I got mine from France when you could still buy things and the postage never cost 4x the item price. in this case with postage -£5/$5

I painted mine

Hmm. Draw 150 pages for free?

 "Are your characters copyrighted to you?"

"Can I use one or two of your characters in my own book?" 

 Do I get asked these questions? Yes. A lot.

 I've even has US small pressers try to reprint some of my 2000s material as "Public Domain". That got stopped pretty quickly. One email. No response?   Do you know who handles Intellectual Property theft in the United States?  The National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center -p-art of Homeland Security. I had no idea but report a copyright theft and the thief stops pretty fast.

Am I ever going to loan out any of my characters to someone else with no control over how they will be used and no contract?  Even with a contract offered NO    

Create your own characters and be creative with stories. "That character looks cool" well; create your own design. If you cannot design a costume for your character then you are in the wrong business.  I have been asked to design costumes for people and when I ask questions about the character I have had "It's a blank slate. Once I see the costume I'll put it all together" -again;you are in the wrong business.

"I love your retro style. Are you working on anything currently because if not I have a hot graphic novel idea I'd like you to draw -around 150pp" 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Sorry. Repeating that always makes me laugh. A new creative team, maybe two friends, working on a graphic novel is fine. Contacting a stranger and asking them, without contract, without any sort of deal let alone publisher who has shown interest is just a hobby project. I need to eat and pay bills (both badly). There are other problems.

When comics became a temporary hip fad everyone was going to be a "graphic novel" author (not realising that 95% of these are trades; a series gathered under one cover. In fact they had no idea about comics but it was all on The Big Bang Theory so how hard was it? There were two people I am aware of who got artists to draw at least three (each) graphic novels.  There was an excuse and the artists never heard from them again although they were sensible and refused to send all the original art.  Did those two ever submit or try to interest a publisher in the book? Who knows because they vanished.  These were very likely two individuals who can say to their pals "Yes, I wrote a graphic novel once" and show the completed work and then bitch about the industry not being ready for the concept.

I have had artists who tried to sell off a joint project as their own to publishers behind my back -the  publishers all contacted me to ask what was going on.

Always create your own character and know what that character is about and his/her back story.  Small publishers cannot afford to pay $150-200 per page and if you want to get into comics remember that.  Years ago creators started out in the small press and then went to independent comics and that route led to mainstream comics. 

Today everyone thinks they are a star with that multi million dollar comic character/idea. Dream on.  

Black Tower Adventure 8

 

A4

B&W

Pages 58

Price: £8.00 (excl. VAT)

Prints in 3-5 business days

https://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper/black-tower-adventure-no-8-2020/paperback/product-dp4zw2.html?page=1&pageSize=4

At last! After cameo appearances in Tales of Terror and one strip over the last twenty years, Herbert Kirby’s THE PHANTOM DETECTIVE returns in two tales to horrify!

Plus, The Thinker...thinks DOOM!  He over stresses at times but we see that as him just being a kind of cosmic pressure release valve (he does tend to fart).  Meanwhile, having discovered the Iron Warrior in the African jungle, three adventurers are about to get a shock that ends in a loud “Bang!”

In the UK a wizened old man offers to give a rather over inebriated Kelvin Nolan his helmet -which creates a few misunderstandings in Kelvin Nolan and His Helmet of Power!  Runestone, with the help of his science pal, George,begins to test the rune stone that has embedded itself in his hand and is in for a few surprises.

In The Cross-Earths Caper (pt.2) Bristol is, quite virtually, The Wild, Wild West Country..and Selenites threaten to destroy Earth with a huge interplanetary cannon. Why?  Well, maybe a misunderstanding but have no fear –Earth’s finest from the 1920s have been unfrozen and are ready to fight. Thought that ought to be mentioned.

Black Tower Adventure 9

 

A4

B&W

Pages 65

Price: £7.00 (excl. VAT)

Prints in 3-5 business days

https://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper/black-tower-adventure-no-9/paperback/product-y9ernz.html?page=1&pageSize=4

This is it!! 

Yes, the one that someone has been waiting for!  It may well have been you but you just never realised it.

Runestone gets to try out his new powers as he faces...The Beast of Exmoor! And believe us this ain’t no puma or leopard.  That might be weird enough but this Beast is a tool of the Celtic dark god himself!

Kelvin Jones gets to try out his shiny Helmet of Power and by this point some may ask if he’s capable of even using a TV remote control.

Our heroes are on a parallel Moon and fighting off Selenites in The Cross Earths Caper! And their new mysterious companion, “Bob” deisplays some super human abilities leading to the question: who the hell is “Bob”??

Kotar has his hands full in a solo adventure while Lady Silana faces a demon of her own. The quest for the Iron Warrior continues in the Amazon and this one has a few surprises for our lady adventurers.

There is a prequel to two British Golden Age comic strips in Return To Lost Man's Gulch and more...including The Thinker and The Phantom Detective -all in the UKs TOP SUPER HERO-ACTION COMIC!

Writer, Director, Producer, Brian Levant's Top 5 Toys

Kult Creations: Shokwave #4

 

SHOKWAVE BOOK 4 

48 pages 

colour and black and white art! 

UK £9.00

12 Euro

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jas1/shokwave-book-4

A  anthology comic, featuring a quartet of ten page stories each issue written by British National Comic Awards' winning writer John A. Short, drawn by some of the most talented artists in British comics! All four feature new adventures!

NOSFERATU II continues our sequel to 1922's cult silent horror classic. Trapped on a ship crossing the Atlantic with the immortal remains of the dead vampire... The cult of Orlok works to resurrect the count. This time featuring a two hundred year old talking zombie rat and spontaneous human combustion! Art by Dark Horse artist David Hitchcock!

-Now this art style works well as I have noted before and the story begins to pick.  Awww, poor zombie rat...but can we say "aww" when it comes to zombie rats?  Well I just did.  Of course the count is bound to make an appearance so will he in this part of the story.  Buy the comic and find out! 😝

THE CLOCK STRIKES! Another adventure for the golden-age mystery man. A gun for hire aims to kill another assassin. A hit gone wrong in the ice and snow of a New York winter in 1937. Featuring the return of femme fatal assassin Scarlet Hunter! Art by Longpig artist Adam Jakes in cool black and white!

-I like the story and it's well paced and has a nice ending. I am still not too sure about the art style though. Not too sure why because it looks okay but something is not clicking with me. I do intend to read 1-4 again and see whether a re-read will change my mind. I would publish this style of art but I am getting old and it may be the fact that the characters look as though they are taken from photos of actors that is doing something to my moldy comic brain.

ANNA KEY back for more alien chaos! Sheriff Key has a new deputy to break in, but will there be time for proper training when there's a scheme of mass kidnapping unfolding in Rox City? Anna and Norm find themselves vacuum-packed in the latest self-contained adventure. Full colour art by Switchblade Stories artist Chris Askham!

-Now, this one is more like the old 2000 AD strips of old story-wise and initially I was not keen on the art style but in this part I was. Go figure. I'm a contradictory comic reviewer.  Nice story and nice colourful art that was very enjoyable.

RESISTORS an everyday tale of sex robots fifty years in the future. We delve back into the pasts of human droid mechanic, Kew, and lead warrior for the rebellion, Jez. How did he get involved in the bots struggle? And what was her life like before she rebelled? Full color art by Fantagraphics artist Richard Pester

Here we almost have a Bladerunner scenario gone wrong. Hooker "artificials" or robots -looking the way they do (humanoid) we used to call androids. Everything in this world is bloody changing. The Church is being naughty but as the naughtiness is with robots it doesn't count ...this could have gone so wrong!  The question is whether Kew can save the hooker robot that does not want to have sex (she obviously never met Captain Kirk). Are we seeing a Richard Anthony Pester resurgence?

All in all it is a good comic and if you check the Kult Creations site you can purchase all four issues and that way you can get in on the action. Reviews of previous issues are linked below and I recommend the title because comics should be fun and these are fun!

Shokwave #1

https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2023/01/kult-creations-shokwave-book-1.html

Shokwave #2

https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2023/05/kult-creations-shokwave-book-2.html

Shokwave #3

https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2023/10/kult-creations-shokwave-3.html

STORMCLOUDS The Creature From Galaxy X flexi disc

STORMCLOUDS Lost in Space (Rainfall single)

Broken Peach - I've Got The Fire (Official Video)

Róisín Murphy - 'The House (System Olympia Remix)' (Official Audio)

Chang3lings Comics: My 3rd Big Book of Utter (C)RAP

 

Richard Anthony Pester

• Project Option: US Letter, 8.5×11 in, 22×28 cm
  Pages: 20
• Colour
• £4.00
• Publish Date: Apr 14, 2024

https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/11968946-3rd-big-book-of-rap?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1OhaLd5Qb8NmScdeI8Vq0yuJZlDNvbIf2QJ1HTgeN_ux3sX-aIgN4sU0E_aem_AdQ06a4LvF7eYKH3XqcmPSBz5QlEdYQ6DS2N75pEsEJjPlp8YTJuxaZ9DDZ-N_5lcRpJQGDL2dMFZbrhMLTlrYTV

Richard has been canny in completing each issue so that it is ready for a regular event he goes to. Which means these are coming out monthly. If you read my other reviews -links below- you will know what I think of this series.  Here we see the Cosmic Oddity looking back at past events with...himself (bear with me).  Some brutal events from the past are looked at and if none of this impresses you...maybe you need to go buy a Micky Mouse comic?

I am hoping that once these shorter issues are completed that Pester compiles them into a "trade" especially since he is now using colour and tone to good effect. The original black and white versions are an arm's length away and those were, as I have probably boringly pointed out before (I never read my own reviews), and still are some of the best work I've seen.

If you think this is all a "Oh, my life. I've had it so hard" effort like you find at so many small press events then you are wrong.  I like the brutality that black and white art brings to the story (everyone knows I am a black and white comics man)  but the colour version is just as good.  PLEASE try a copy and see what you think.

Hey -the covers are worth the price!

(C)RAP #1

https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2024/04/my-first-big-book-of-utter-crap.html

(C)RAP #2

https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2024/05/my-second-big-book-of-utter-crap.html