SO LONG, DONNIE DUNAGAN

You gave Bambi his sweet, innocent voice, but to Universal fans, you'll always be little Peter, the wide-eyed, gracious lad who befriended the Monster in Son of Frankenstein. 

You reteamed with your Son of ... costars, Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone, for the historical thriller, Tower of London, but also had a tender turn in the heartwarming Mother Carey's Chickens (your big debut) and shared your inimitable cuteness in Meet the Chump, The Forgotten Woman and Vigil in the Night.    

Without question, you were one of the few child stars with whom I felt a connection. In other words, you represented me (and so many other kids) so well on the big screen. However, on a more significant note, you came to serve your country by becoming a U.S. Marine. For that, you deserve an eternal salute, Major Dunagan. 

Rest assured, your legacy--the fruits of your lifelong labors--shall continue to reap the respect and admiration that only great men deserve. 

ROCK BAKER'S CARTOON CUTIES #11: LAUGHS! ACTION! ROMANCE!

Artist/writer Rock Baker, in conjunction with CB International Publications, has released the highly anticipated Cartoon Cuties #11.

The cuteness factor sure does overflow in this one, with Creek Bend adventures that include Yvette Pond discovering an amazing, "magic eye" lens (Minerva Mallen and Mel are featured); the Baxter Twins stumbling upon a peculiar passage beneath a closet panel; Minerva's parachute stunt and how it inspires a spiritual turn for her friend, Angie; Daisy Poise pushing pretty Patty into full-throttle improvisation for a U.S.O. show; Crissy Carrots and Roger Ralphwit (with some sprightly help from Minerva) embarking on a Creek Bend Bikini Company gamble; and Misty Carter and her gent, Ed, whose big heart aids a traveling salesman.

Once again, Baker's storytelling blends classic, cartoon hijinks with identifiable, sitcom sentiments. His artwork matches the cunning combination, with colors that pop and invigorate, abetted by crisp lettering from Jim Ludwig and Chris Wayne Stagg and a sterling production design from Michael Jensen. 

That Baker's creation continues to gain momentum pleases me to no end. It shows that there are still folks out there who appreciate wholesome, fun material, and Baker deserves a mighty big pat on the back for his insightful efforts. In my estimation, thanks to Cartoon Cuties (and the splendors of Creek Bend), our otherwise strenuous world has become a far better place.  

Cartoon Cuties #11 is available for purchase (along with its pleasing, prior issues) at Amazon: 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HQ3CK2LQ?fbclid=IwY2xjawVV48lleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mBWJyaWQRMXJBaG5tTW1YM1YyUUF2MERzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEfSEUXg9QahQUNt7-Maw27znUqoDKcoklsPB2iHIFfsKOFKwkuEy4M7F5X128_aem_Df_eKOByyW2fd8JBUpMqRA

HAROLD NONO'S THE GURNEY SHAKES

The trailblazing Harold Nono returns with a far-reaching, Bearsuit Records EP: The Gurney Shakes. 

The EP's sounds are unique and therefore exquisite, if not unstable, but in such comes an audio experience that celebrates all things unpolished, broken and fixed. To rephrase, it builds a story of repair over despair. 

The titular track (snatched from Nono's saturating We're Almost Home) is memorable in its neurosis. One's ears are strapped in, pushed along, but all the while the exotic whistles screech, scoot and sway. Will one be rescued or fall? Ah, how the journey thrills and enthralls! 

"Recut, Reframed, Resumed, Undone" answers with bells and bangs that insinuate plans for reassembly. It's a Frankenstein blueprint, intended for a mad machine that will stitch part to part, ambient note to ambient note. 

"These Fins Don't Fit," on the other hand, recalls the deep-rooted damage, sounding an urgency for greater scrutiny. A quacking trill infiltrates, like wheels skidding straight off the track. Maybe one has landed in the wrong surgical hands, and if so, what will be salvaged (if anything) in the end?  

"Gunter - Reluctant Gun" intervenes: a masquerading, lipsticked pig, if one will, wearing an Eastwood-ian facade. Will the swine-slinger shoot from the hip to set things straight? Nono's heavy echo hints that the dusty savior will, but to confirm the matter, one must first look to the sky.

"Nacreous Cloud Over the Western G" rips a hopeful palette that breaks one's bubble of discord to pacify and rectify. Soon one's worries melt in a wide, rushing hush. 

"Banjo Dimmer Switch" stands as its android accompaniment, where one's appendages are entwined with wires charged by Vangelis' Blade Runner vibe. One's veins are recircuited, plucked, picked and pricked, so that by the time the electrical dust dissipates, one is full-fledged bionic.

"Sing So Long to Singing" is the EP's sigh-of-relief farewell: a high-tech hymn that recalls one's shattered state but also one's refurbished outcome. It signals praise and gratitude, of life through death, of all the rattling platforms that came to break one, only to make one whole again. 

Listening to Nono's The Gurney Shakes is, indeed, the epitome of trial and error, of subtraction and addition, and if one's ears accept it, renewal becomes one's unequivocal fate. 

https://bearsuitrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-gurney-shakes

VETERANS DAY 2026 (11/11): IN HONOR & RESPECT

MR. LOBO'S SMOKELESS ASHTRAY: HOUSE OF GHOSTS

Mr. Lobo and his old, 1980s band, Smokeless Ashtray (which includes Sally the Zombie Cheerleader, Igor, AbbaKiss & Ryan Kilkenny) have summoned a wonderful, spectral treat. It's a catchy tune called "House of Ghosts," and according to legend, inspired writer/director Christopher R. Mihm to apply the title to his 2012, Castle-esque flick.

Give a listen--and a view. The content is guaranteed to haunt your soul enough to get you floating off the floor with its ghostly visuals & uber-groovy beat. 

For further info on this swell, Smokeless Ashtray creation, check out ...

https://cinemainsomnia.bandcamp.com/track/house-of-ghosts-feat-smokeless-ashtray

 

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER (MONSTER ZERO)

 

I SAW GODZILLA MINUS ZERO

It's here, and its huge! Godzilla Minus Zero, writer/director Takashi Yamazaki's big, bold sequel to his acclaimed Godzilla Minus One, summons old friends who reteam with their perennial foe and a new one of comparable, legendary rank in the alternate-reality year of 1949. 

For the sake of its focused, human compatriots, we have Ryunosuke Kamiki's fatherly Koichi Shikishima, Minami Hamabe's motherly Noriko Oishi and their adopted daughter, Sae Nagatani's Akiko, the three of whom meet up with Shadora Ando's weary but persistent Sumiko Oto, for all intent, a surrogate grandmother. (As an interesting bonus, Noriko has been mutated by Godzilla's G-cells, so that she now possesses an uncanny, symbiotic magnetism.) 

In the ominous interim, the story's terrible, new Titan descends upon Japan, having come from outer space. It begins with one head, but grows two more, becoming King Ghidorah, aka Monster Zero, and for this version is represented as an absorbing, "Who Goes There?" sort of thing.

As with Godzilla Minus One, Hidetaka Yoshioka's Kenji Noda lends his calm, meticulous know-how and is joined with Masami Nagasawa's guilt-ridden meteorologist, Makoto Aoyama, and Min Tanaka's Hiroshima-wracked biologist, Kanji Murakami, who (after other plans fail) devises a psychic-wavelength scheme (involving Noriko) to pit one monster against the other (in a neat nod to King Kong vs Godzilla), in hopes that an epic battle will force their demise. For further melodramatic effect, the skillful Koichi flies into the resulting, quasi-kamikaze fray, as Japan and the U.S. align to ensure the skittish plan reaches fruition. 

If Godzilla Minus One was an allegory for facing one's demons, Godzilla Minus Zero is a seminar on how to diminish one's flaws, even if the methodology often soars on an evident wing and a prayer. The arduous preparation is essential, for the resurrected Godzilla is even more dangerous this time around, and Ghidorah holds the astounding means to elevate buildings, while spewing lethal lightning at every turn. 

Though the monsters are the movie's draw, Godzilla Minus Zero emulates its predecessor by bestowing depth to its human principals. Through their speculative discussions, a progressing credibility enters the plot (dealt rather like those sweat-on-the-brow steps featured in Destination Moon). Yes, Godzilla Minus Zero is a monster movie, but it succeeds because of its diligent, human core. 

This earnest approach allows Godzilla Minus Zero to hit its mark through hope and fear, courage and sacrifice, and in the end, uncurbed conviction. That sets the movie on par with The Wrath of Khan and The Empire Strikes Back: a cinematic continuation that fans will revisit and cheer for years to come.