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Terry Hooper-Scharf

Tuesday, 21 April 2026

Who CBO Visitors Are fascinates Me More Than Numbers

 


I know that this must get very boring for some people but I was just asked why I get no paying sponsors, etc on CBO.  Th view figures are there and we just hit under 27,000 at 1630hrs (UK). Sort of figures you would think might interest some parties but... My fascination is with the countries providing the views these are at 1630 hrs:  

Brazil
4.23k
United States
3.04k
Iraq
1.2k
Bangladesh
901
India
896
France
833
Argentina
811
Chile
708
Canada
645
Germany
604
Pakistan
593
Spain
585
Colombia
540
United Kingdom
534
Russia
533
Mexico
524
Philippines
495
Türkiye
464
Ecuador
449
Other
9.47k



Now if I looked again at 2000hrs (UK) I would see the countries change...in fact I had to go back to check the view figures and in10 minutes the number of views stands! at over 28,000/ 

I wonder just WHO is reading the blog, what are their comic interests -are there things they would like to see featured here and, of course, do any of them make their own comics? People and what they do are far more fascinating to me than numbers.

I hope visitors get some fun out of CBO!

Monday, 20 April 2026

'Avengers: Armageddon' Changes the Face of Earth's Mightiest Heroes

 

Yes, I am still totally ticked off that the last Avengers run was mediocre to the point where 3-4 issues could have been done in one book. Then I get to no. 36 and find...yeah, that was it. A volume of 36 issues that had some great art but story-wise was forgettable.

Now we have the big build up to Armageddon. I do NOT buy X-Men as I gave up on that years ago.  So, unless the story plays out in the Avengers I guess I'll miss out on being a cash cow for Marvel.


The five-issue event series by Chip Zdarsky, Frank Alpizar, and Delio Diaz launches in June and leads into a new era of 'Avengers.' Check out never-before-seen variant covers along with a sneak peek at the prelude story in 'Armageddon/X-Men' #1 CGD 2026.

Witness the origin of the end! The last year of Marvel Comics storytelling, particularly the events of One World Under Doom (2025) and Chip Zdarsky’s Captain America (2025), have been building towards a watershed moment in Avengers history. That turning point arrives this June in AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON, a five-issue event series from Zdarsky, the superstar writer known for his defining and Eisner-nominated work on Daredevil (2019), and rising stars Frank Alpizar and Delio Diaz, the artist duo behind Doomed 2099 (2025) and recent issues of Captain America.

Following key buildup in Captain America and Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon (2026)AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON leads to a transformative shakeup of the team—the likes of which haven’t been felt since Avengers: Disassembled. The saga begins in Latveria where Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, A.K.A. Red Hulk, claims Doom’s homeland for himself, igniting a global conflict. When the Avengers assemble against him, explosive escalations will force them to unleash a power that changes how the world views their mightiest heroes forever. This pivotal chapter will lead directly into a new era of AVENGERS starting later this year.

ARMAGEDDON HAS ARRIVED!

Red Hulk’s devastating tear across the globe must be stopped…but it will take a colossal gathering of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to do it! Calling in the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Wolverine, and more… but who will survive this super-powered cataclysm?! There will be a pre-Armageddon Marvel Universe and a post-Armageddon Marvel Universe. Be here to bear witness to the transformation.

AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON #1 Cover by DIKE RUAN

AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON #1
Written by CHIP ZDARSKY
Art by FRANK ALPIZAR & DELIO DIAZ
Cover by DIKE RUAN
On Sale 6/3

Fans can also see a first look at the prelude story in ARMAGEDDON/X-MEN #1 CGD 2026, available at participating comic shops on Comics Giveaway Day™, May 2. Delivered by the event’s creative team, the can’t-miss story offers a terrifying glimpse at the cost of Marvel’s heroes’ explosive war with Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, A.K.A. Red Hulk!

ARMAGEDDON/X-MEN #1 CGD 2026 by CHIP ZDARSKY, FRANK ALPIZAR & DELIO DIAZ

ARMAGEDDON/X-MEN #1 CGD 2026
Written by CHIP ZDARSKY, JED MACKAY & RYAN NORTH
Art by FEDERICO VICENTINI, FRANK ALPIZAR, FRANCESCO MOBILI & DELIO DIAZ
Cover by RYAN STEGMAN
Available 5/2

Check out AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON variant covers by Kaare Andrews and Jerome Opeña below, as well as a look inside ARMAGEDDON/X-MEN #1 CGD 2026. Stay tuned for more info on all things ARMAGEDDON in the weeks ahead!

How Do The All Time Views Stats Breakdown?

 To be honest I've never checked and the following is based on current Dashboard stats (view disappear by the thousands at times)

United States
1.96m
China
1.16m
Singapore
555k
Hong Kong
396k
United Kingdom
278k
Russia
260k
France
229k
Brazil
217k
Germany
163k
Ukraine
142k
Vietnam
106k
Canada
57.4k
Spain
38.2k
Netherlands
38.1k
India
27k
Poland
26.4k
Argentina
21.6k
Bulgaria
20.9k
Philippines
20.3k
Other
954k

Sunday, 19 April 2026

 Mr. Vampire (1985)- Chinese horror comedy



Hong Kong’s biggest anime ‘doujinshi’ event returns to AsiaWorld-Expo

 


Horror Mangaka Art PARADISE: Art Exhibition Crawl in Tokyo, Japan


 

Tales of Terror 5

 



Terry Hooper-Scharf, Ben R. Dilworth et al

Pages 75
Binding  Perfect Bound
Interior Black & White
Dimensions A4 (8.27 x 11.69 in / 210 x 297 mm)
£8.00

https://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper/tales-of-terror-5/paperback/product-nvq7mmg.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Once again the library of the Black Tower is opened and its files delved into. Robert Lovett -back from the dead for vengeance?

A mysterious case of two men falling into a strange dimension -the Black Abyss! The Living dead!
Black Tower's two sorcerers Kotar and Sabuta try to intervene in The Deadly Dilemma of Sigismund Benfrigisson!
Oh and there is more and you will sharpen your vampiric fangs, file your lycanthropic claws to razor sharpness to get this one!

Johnny Neg 2: Down In The Burn Pitts

 


Ben Dilworth & Co.
A4 (8.27 x 11.69 in / 210 x 297 m
25 Pages
Interior Color: Premium Black & White
Binding Type: Paperback Saddle Stitch
Cover Finish: Glossy
£8.00 UK 

Johnny Neg -future detective in a dystopian Nu London where double speek, fist, gun and corruption are every day things Neg has to deal with. Join him Down in the Burn Pitts. Along for this journey are stories involving Wilberforce of the Yard, Corporal Religion Horror Tales and...a cat.

The Iron Warrior Collection

 


49pp

A4

Black and white

£10.09

https://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-iron-warrior-collection/paperback/product-162j299y.html?page=1&pageSize=4


In the 1940s, Rodney Dearth and his exploratory fighting machine known as the Iron Warrior left Africa to travel to South America in search of lost explorer Percy Fawcett. Crocodiles, giant snakes, hostile natives and..Big Bong -the terror of the Amazon! This collection presents a 1940s William A. Ward strip, Ben R. Dilworth's Big Bong, Amazon Adventure and a couple special pages, and Terry Hooper-Scharf's Black Tower Adventure strip The Iron Warrior: Jungle Terror plus text features!

The Amazing World of Alan Class

 


A4
B&W
24pp
£7.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-amazing-world-of-alan-class/paperback/product-1rgkeq5p.html

Marvel, Timely, Atlas, Charlton, ACG, MLJ/Archie Dennis the Menace (US) -one man published them all. Alan Class. Who? Class is legendary for bringing black and white reprints of US comics to a country starved of the medium thanks to a certain war! 

From 1959-1989 Suspense, Sinister, Astounding and Uncanny gave us a comic fix for a few pennies. Learn more about the man and how Class Comics came about in the long awaited print version of Terry Hooper's exclusive interview!

Quick Notes

 Some reviews of Cinebook titles coming up this week so we'll see what they have to tempt us


to part with money!   

Pushing some of the Black Tower books here today as someone asked why we are called "Black Tower Comics and Books" when we "have no books" -I pointed that gentleman in the direction of the Black Tower Comic News blog where all our comics, albums, graphic novels and books are listed (with links to the online store!).

Tomorrow back to drawing.

In Pursuit: Things Known and UNKNOWN



62pp

A4

B&W

£7.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/in-pursuit-vol-1-no-1-november-2020/paperback/product-pjpjkk.html

 Fact NOT fiction journal looking at trange creatures and stories from around the world 

Contents:- 

A "Cold Case" Too Old? The Beast Of Faudiere –Mystery Killer 

The Strange Creature in Repton Woods 

Cry Werewolf ! and The Curious And Frightening Case Of The Hull Werewolf 

On The Scientific 'Need' To Kill A Sasquatch 

The Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy group has blood on their hands?. 

On Gathering Hard Evidence 

The Strange Case Of The Gotherington Gargoyle 

Photographic Evidence That Dinosaurs Exist 

The Monster of the Forest of Mouliere

Black Tower World Mysteries -Cryptozoology, The Paranormal and the Plain Weird

  Some Things Strange & Sinister

 


 

A4 Format

B&W

Paperback

358 pages

Heavily illustrated

£20.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/some-things-strange-sinister/paperback/product-19qknz2d.html

 

After more than 40 years as an investigator and more than fifty as a naturalist,the author has opened some of the many files he has accumulated dealing with such things as.. 

The Terrifying Events At The Lamb Inn, The Ghosts Of All Saints Church, Dead Aquatic Creatures of Canvey Island, captured bigfoot like creatures in India -all exclusively presented for the first time and with new added research previously unseen. 

PLUS a vastly expanded section on Spring-heeled Jack!  Photographs, maps, line drawings and up-dated to make 358 pages looking at Things truly Strange and Sinister. 

Cryptozoologist,Ghost Hunter,Ufologist or Fortean:this book has something for everyone -including the just plain inquisitive!  

Contents

Foreword by Travis L. Whitehurst

Introduction        de occultis non judicat ecclesia                                                                            

The Bristol Rocking Horse       

The Terrifying Events At The Lamb Inn       

The Coonian Ghost       

The Ghosts Of All Saints Church       

His Luminous Chamber       

The Late Reverend Dr. Blomberg        

And More Ghost Stories       

The Thomas B. Cumpston Case       

The Chupacabra       

The Strange Case Of The Gotherington Gargoyle       

What’s Tall,Hairy And Vanishes?       

Mystery Beasts Of Ireland       

The Creature Of The Dump       

The Strange Creature Of Repton Woods       

The Bizarre Legends,Crimes And Truth About Spring Heeled Jack       

The Black Beast Of Darmstadt       

The Nameless Thing Of Berkley Square       

The Terrifying Case Of The U.S. Naval Transport       

The Case Of The Ghost Lear Jet       

Ghost Planes,Crashes And Dead Aquatic Creatures       

The Mitchison Loch Ness Monster Video       

From The Deep Below To The Air Above –USOs       

Aerial Encounters Over Austria       

A Crashed UFO In 1790?       

Angel Hair       

Quimper-Corentin:Where “Thunder Fell”       

Strange Aliens From Space       

The Llandrillo ‘Saucer’ And Other Crash Retrievals       

Transient Lunar Phenomena,Alien Structures And Moon Vegetation       

Whiddon Down-Saint-Jean-du-Guard:Impossible Correlations?       

The Venezuelan HorrorA Final Word.

 

Some MORE Things Strange & Sinister

 


A4

322 pages

B&W

Illustrated throughout

Paperback:

£20.00

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/some-more-things-strange-sinister/paperback/product-23770998.html

 

Follow-up to Some Things Strange & Sinister.  For those interested in Ufology, cryptozoology, hominology, unusual natural history, ghosts and mysteries in general.

The secret history of gorillas -before they were officially 'discovered' along with exclusive lost photographs. 

Wild men of Europe, the UK and US; from the bizarre to blood chilling. Hominology.

Giant snakes. 

Amazons.

The Giant serpent of Carthage.

Girt Dog of Ennerdale. 

The Beast of Gevaudan.

Crocodiles in the UK.

Silent City of Alaska.

And much more.  Updated with extra pages and photographs.

 

Pursuing The Strange & Weird -A Naturalist's Viewpoint

 


240 pp

A4

B&W

Profusely Illustrated with photographs and illustrations

£20.00

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/pursuing-the-strange-weirda-naturalists-viewpoint/paperback/product-23770944.html

 

UP DATE -From Dead Aquatic (Humanoid) Creatures, the giant squid and yet undiscovered sea creatures; submarine and ships crews encountering true leviathans. This is a fully expanded section which also refers to the so-called ‘Ningen’ sightings and video footage.

Extinct animals at sea that have been re-discovered.

The subject of Sasquatch and other mystery Hominids around the world is dealt with including a look at the “Sasquatch-killer”, Justin Smeja. Dr. Bryan Sykes and his DNA test results for TVs The Bigfoot Files as well as the controversial Erickson Project and Dr. Melba Ketchum’s even more controversial Sasquatch DNA test results.

Also included are two early French UFO entity cases that still baffle.

Ghosts, strange creatures and the Star-Child hoax. All dealt with by the naturalist and pursuer of the strange and weird


Mysterious & Strange Beasts

 


A4

324pp

B&W

£20.00

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/mysterious-strange-beasts/paperback/product-23771024.html

Below cover for smaller format version

 


 

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/strange-mysterious-beasts/paperback/product-23822244.html

The Monster of the Forest of Mouliere 

The Beast of Lyonnais 

The Beast of Cevennes, Gard and Vivarais    

The Beast of Sarlat  

The Beast of Gevaudan   

British Man Beasts   

Bigfoot and Werewolves in the West Midlands  

The Strange Creature in Repton Woods 

Bigfoot Returns – To Kent!     

Werewolf!       

The Curious and Frightening Case of the Hull Werewolf     

The Gnome of Girona   

The Caponi Close Encounters and Photographs     

Return of the Shark Killing Thing –a Possible Identification  

The Dingellchough Mystery Creature

The Unidentified Corfu Sea Creature         

Strange Sea Creature Found In Persian Gulf   

The Devil of Gatagon    

The Supernatural Invasion: Slender-man and Black Eyed Kids  

The Sheep Killer of Niali    

Mystery Creature of the Bay of Flamanville 

Things Caught on Camera –Fact and Fiction  

The Bat Creatures    

The Owl-man 

The British Pig-man and Snake-man  

The Pictish Beast            

Shunka Warak'in –A Hyena Too Far? 

The Chupacabra