Collecting News Hot Toys 1989 Batman and Batmobile! NOT A RERELEASE!

Mylène Farmer - Rallumer les étoiles (Clip Officiel)

Scooby-Doo Vampire To...Nosferatu!

 

I started with a 5" (14cm) Scooby Doo Dracula figure.I already owned one and there was a duplicate from a job lot more than seven years ago so he was it!

Cape was not as difficult to remove as I thought as the glue holding the peg into the back of the figure was not the best quality.  I sanded back the hairline and then cut the ears to be more pointed.

Nosferatu has a sort of hunched over or at least sloping shoulders and a large head so out came the Milliput standard epoxy putty -I use the yellow and grey one which you knead together.

Dracula was no longer Dracula. Now he was Nosferatu and that meant enlarging the head and I even decided to give the fella a nose job.

I wanted the puffed up sleeve shoulders and then added collar and some buttons. This is all before the eventual clean up.                                                                                                                                                

Profile view shows the new nose and arched back

Back of the figure. The problem I had is that with a long coat I would need to basically swamp the figure with Milliput to fill in the gap between the legs as thin Milliput tends to be (even though it is rock hard once set) breakable in thin layers even though I have found 5mm thick Milliput very strong. So I decided that my Nosferatu would have a shorter jacket and far, far less buttons!

Once tidied up and sanded over with an emery board (my sandpaper has vanished) I did the main base coat which was black acrylic paint with contractors PVA glue mixed in to make sure any paint adheres

there is a basic figure painting trick where, if you want to use light colours, you base coat with white or a very light colour and if you are going to use a darker colour -base coat black. So I did not base coat the head and face but as my white paint is running out (and I can't afford any more just yet) I used a Folk Art French Blue acrylic paint. It actually looks quite good and the eye colour suits it.

I almost thought "That's it!" but, no. I am going to see whether a watered down flesh wash will work or even a watered down white.

As for clothing colour...I may leave the jacket black although grey might work or even a brown. Not decided at this point but the next photos will show what I finally went with.

Nosferatu the final version. This is the scheme I went with. The flesh has the French Blue base colour followed by a pink wash, a white wash and even a light green wash.

It's not much but I now have an original, no other copies, action figure and (obviously) after I finished it I realised how I could have made a long coat quite easily!

So that is the double Dracula, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma converted. Basic but all a learning curve.

I have a double Frankenstein from this set.....

Hexagon Comics: The Lords of the Depths #2: Commander Neptune

 THE LORDS OF THE DEPTHS #2: COMMANDER NEPTUNE

Art by Onofrio Bramante, Barbato; cover by Alfredo Macall.

7x10 squarebound trade paperback, 

98 p. 

b&w
ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-185-5. 

US $12.95

Underwater heroes and amphibian characters from Jules Verne’s famous rogue submariner, Captain Nemo and his myriad imitators, to Marvel’s Sub-Mariner and DC’s Aquaman (1941), have always proved popular with comic book aficionados.
Hexagon Comics introduced their own “Lords of the Depths” in six series, which we have sampled here in three issues. This is the second.

In this volume, meet:

Commander Neptune (1965), drawn by Onofrio Bramante, the leader of ABYSS, a special underwater commando of the International Oceanic Force, who leads the powerful, sophisticated submarine, the Arethuse.

The Patrol of the Depths (1975), an organization founded by Professor Jean Monnier, comprised of spelunkers and geologists Terry Bronx and Sandy Crown; Native American Seminole Poldus, and African American Tobie Drugg. 

Macall's covers just make you want to buy to look inside!

UFO! is drawn in a rather simplistic style but one thing it screams out loud is "1960s"! It reminded me of Magazine Enterprises comics and some of the strips they put out; quite a fun story with Cookie (a ship's cook no less) at the centre of the action  and who might just regret coming across diminutive evil genius Grotewull!

The Patrol of the Depths had a definitive Cave Carson and Challengers of the Unknown feel to it and was a bit of fun and action leading up to the (I hope) soon to be seen War Beneath the Earth.

There were scenarios very familiar to those from Gerald Swan's The Foy Fish and other adventure strips in the latter strip and I think it goes to show that certain themes and story concepts are not just confined to the United States or the UK. For kids at the time these comics must have been the spark for many imaginative adventures of their own and I wonder how many wanted to draw comics based on these?

Again, new material to English readers and I really hope comickers out there give this, and the other Hexagon books, a try.

Hexagon Comics: The Lords of the Depths #1: The Sea King

 THE LORDS OF THE DEPTHS #1: THE SEA KING

Art by Mario Cubbino, Barbato; cover by Alfredo Macall.

 7x10 squarebound trade paperback, 

88 p. 

b&w

ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-184-8.

 US$12.95

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-the-lords-of-the-depths-1-the-sea-king.html

Underwater heroes and amphibian characters from Jules Verne’s famous rogue submariner, Captain Nemo and his myriad imitators, to Marvel’s Sub-Mariner and DC’s Aquaman (1941), have always proved popular with comic book aficionados.

Hexagon Comics introduced their own “Lords of the Depths” in six series, which we have sampled here in three issues. This is the first.

In this volume, meet:

 
The Sea King (1969), drawn by the incomparable Mario Cubbino, starring Daniel Cluny, an ex-captain of the French Navy, who was the subject of an experiment that gave him the ability to live and breathe underwater.

Bathy-09 (1978), a unit of the International Oceanic Force, created to police the undersea world, comprised of American skipper Tony Yale, French pilot Jean Pujo, and Italian navigator Bruno Valeri, cruising the seas aboard their submarine, the Shark-09.

It's interesting to see these stories that are definitely "of the period" because how many comics in the last 20 years have had the main, and other, characters puffing on a cigarette? Was it shocking? No. It's what people did and still do! 

These are comics reprinted in good quality that allow English readers to see characters they may never have heard of before. And it is interesting how Hexagon took what might be seen by today's comic readers as a tad "bland" to develop him to become...The Sea King!

The art on Bathy-09 I loved and its crisp and clean and the story had me thinking of DCs The Sea Devil's although sea adventures were highly popular in the 1950s and 1960s with TV shows such as Stingray patrolling for the WASP (World Aquanaut Security Patrol) and, of course, Admiral Nelson and Captain Crane aboard the Seaview in Voyage To the Bottom of the Sea.

I know there are comic fans out there who will collect specific themes/genres and the sea and and fighting underwater menaces is one of them so I hope they realise this book is out there and available in English. Some new characters to me at least.

In Search of Moebius (BBC 4 Documentary)

D-Gruppe: The Zeit-Geist Saga /D-Gruppe: Die Zeit-Geist-Saga

 

A4

B&W

164pp

£12.00

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/d-gruppe-the-zeit-geist-saga/paperback/product-21156613.html

Germanys first super heroes have fumbled along since the “Externsteine Event” One day something crashes into forestry followed by a “white out” event and the appearance of the Pied Piper of Hameln and then the appearance Frederick Barbarossa seemingly out of history at D-Gruppe headquarters and his calling them into action. 

At the Place of the Gods, D-Gruppe meets heroes from other German parallels –all targeted and some destroyed by a seemingly all powerful being known as “Zeitgeist” and the race is on to find and stop “It” But there is a traitor amongst the heroes. 

They were Germanys first. Germanys best heroes. But will they live long enough to succeed in their task? 

This book collects together the first adventure of D-Gruppe –Revenge Of The Ice Queen– along with the three part Zeitgeist saga and the 2012 annual that concluded the German super hero epic— plus other features! Art by Ben R. Dilworth and Art/Stories by Terry Hooper-Scharf

Deutschlands erste Superhelden haben seit dem „Externsteine-Event“ mitgefummelt. Eines Tages kracht etwas in die Forstwirtschaft, gefolgt von einem „White Out“-Event und dem Auftritt des Rattenfängers von Hameln und dann dem scheinbar aus der Geschichte verschwundenen Auftritt Friedrich Barbarossa bei der D-Gruppe Hauptquartier und sein Aufruf zum Handeln.

Am Platz der Götter trifft die D-Gruppe auf Helden aus anderen deutschen Parallelen – alle angegriffen und einige zerstört von einem scheinbar allmächtigen Wesen namens „Zeitgeist“, und das Rennen ist eröffnet, um „Es“ zu finden und zu stoppen. Aber es gibt einen Verräter unter den Helden.

Sie waren Deutschlands erste. Deutschlands beste Helden. Aber werden sie lange genug leben, um ihre Aufgabe zu erfüllen?

Dieses Buch versammelt das erste Abenteuer der D-Gruppe – Revenge Of The Ice Queen – zusammen mit der dreiteiligen Zeitgeist-Saga und dem Jahrbuch 2012, das das deutsche Superhelden-Epos abschloss – plus weitere Features! Kunst von Ben R. Dilworth und Kunst/Geschichten von Terry Hooper-Scharf

D-Gruppe Annual

 

A4
56pp
B&W
£6.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/d-gruppe-annual-2012/paperback/product-1pey2pg5.html

For D-Gruppe, Germany's first and only super team, things seem to have gone quiet since the Cross-worlds Zeitgeist event. 

However, Tarot, the mystic, detects a great evil below D-Gruppe's very own HQ. 

The ultimate evil has returned and this time it isn't just a question of whether D-Gruppe can stop it but how many of them will die trying?

Part 2 of the Zeit Geist saga contained in that volume

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero New Trailer - Battle Now (2022)

Return of the Gods! Cross Earths Caper and The 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?

Hexagon Comics Reviews Upcoming

 New books just arrived from Hexagon Comics so, hopefully, Monday I can start reviewing (I have to read them first!)

NEW COMIC BOOKS RELEASING FEBRUARY 15TH 2023 MARVEL COMICS & DC COMICS P...

Toy Shops of Tokyo - Vol. 2 Mandarake Ikebukuro

TOY SHOP in TOKYO has THOUSANDS of American Retro Toys.

Hasbro Dungeons and Dragons 40th Anniversary Hank, Diana and Bobby with ...