My name is MICHAEL F. HOUSEL, author of THE HYDE SEED; THE PERSONA TRILOGY; and MARK JUSTICE'S THE DEAD SHERIFF #4: PURITY. My short fiction is featured in THE PURPLE SCAR #4; RAVENWOOD, STEPSON OF MYSTERY #4 & #5; and THE PHANTOM DETECTIVE #2 & #3. My additional works can be found in Eighth Tower's DARK FICTION series and Main Enterprises' WHATEVER!; PULP FAN; MAKE MINE MONSTERS; SCI-FI SHALL NOT DIE; THE SCREENING ROOM; *PPFSZT!; and TALES FROM GREEK MYTHOLOGY.
Monday, July 21, 2025
Sunday, July 20, 2025
HALEY HEAVYMETAL'S FEAR FAM: SLASHER MAG
Haley HeavyMetal, of Neon Fear and Birthday Bash fame, and her talented cohorts have been putting together a horror magazine, with the first issue catering to slasher movies. The magazine is called Fear Fam, and it's nearly done, but the finishing touches must be financed.
I encourage Bizarrechats readers to visit Haley's Fear Fam, Kickstarter page, where she gives a video rundown of the magazine's intent and content. The page also features many interesting options that one can invest in, and why wouldn't one? As with any of Haley's endeavors, Fear Fam looks to be another sure-fire, labor-of-love hit.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/471707873/fear-fam-horror-magazine?fbclid=IwY2xjawLqNXVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmj0qxwANftY7NfLTZvsexIKGzJHjKdfHQfsBXe6pxqt78fv6ld4JAQHKKxj_aem_aAlnZtrs4QkhEcw3X8Odow
Thursday, July 17, 2025
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
COLLECTIBLE TIME: LIFE'S SUPERMAN RE-RELEASE (2025) MAGAZINE
To commemorate James Gunn/David Corenswet's Superman, LIFE has re-released its popular, 2023 edition of Superman: The Comics, The Films, The Cape, which emphasizes the significant phases of Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster's brainchild, with extra-special focus on Richard Donner's 1978 Superman: The Movie, with Christopher Reeve as DC's titular hero and Margot Kidder as his spunky galfriend, Lois Lane.
In addition to the Donner blockbuster, Superman II - IV are accessed, along with Bryan Singer's follow-up, Superman Returns, with Brandon Routh; the radio show; the animated incarnations; the cliffhangers with Kirk Alyn; The Adventures of Superman with George Reeves; Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman with Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher; Superman & Lois with Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch; Jeannot Szwarc's Supergirl with Helen Slater and Faye Dunaway; the Broadway musical, It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman with Bob Holiday; and Zack Snyder's somber, cinematic retelling with Henry Cavill as The Man of Steel, along with Batman v Superman and the Justice League offshoots. Unfortunately, the Superboy series, led by John Newton and Gerard Christopher, gets the cold shoulder, but at least Smallville and its headliner, Tom Welling, are recognized.
The supporting performers who made (and yet make) the aforementioned adaptations so memorable are referenced, too: Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Valerie Perrine, Marc McClure, Glenn Ford, Marlon Brando, Tommy Bond, Jack Larson, Jackie Cooper, John Hamilton, Phyliss Coates, Noelle Neill, Michael Shannon, Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas, Jack O'Halloran, Richard Pryor, Robert Vaughn, Mark Pillow, Mariel Hemingway, Amy Adams, John Shea, Lyle Talbot, Michael Rosenbaum, Annette O'Toole, Kristin Kreuk, Erica Durance and many more.
As a appealing buffer, the edition delves into classic, comic storylines, which helped shape Superman into the perennial, All-American icon we know and love.
And as a further treat, the edition bursts with stunning stills, comic-book covers, posters and behind-the-scenes outtakes (in particular from Superman 1978 and The Adventures of Superman), certain to leave fans delighted.
LIFE's Superman: The Comics, The Films, The Cape is a gratifying collectible for both Earthlings and Kryptonians alike. Purchase it at your local supermarket, bookstore or drugstore before supplies go up, up and away!
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
MR. LOBO'S CINEMA INSOMNIA: MONSTER BASH & FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE SPACE MONSTER, THIS SATURDAY
June 2025's Monster Bash convention (at Pittsburgh's Marriott) was another macabre smash, and its fun and creepy ingredients were captured by director Aaron M. Lane for Mr. Lobo's special, Cinema Insomnia commemoration, which can be viewed this Saturday night, July 19 (with a preshow commencing at 10 pm) on Twitch, OSI74 Roku and Amazon Fire.
The convention footage wraps around Robert Gaffney's 1965, black-and-white, crossover classic, Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster.
The movie uses an idea found in both Devil Girl from Mars and Mars Needs Women, in this case with the Martians seeking bikini girls for procreation. A valiant, android astronaut (i.e. a neo Frankenstein Monster) attempts to stop the abductions and in the end, battles a hairy, bug-eyed beast.
The cast is a wonderful who's-who, with Playmate, Marilyn (The Brain That Wouldn't Die) Hanold as the evil Martian Princess Marcuzan; Lou (Pee-wee's Big Adventure) Cutell as her eager henchman, Nadir; Jim (Poltergeist 1982/Return of the Living Dead) Karen as the supportive Dr. Adam Steele; Bruce (Diamonds Are Forever) Glover (Crispin's dad) as a Martian crew member and Mull the Space Monster; and Robert (Lilith) Reilly as the man-made protagonist, Colonel Frank Saunders.
As for the convention segments, they're bound to please, as Mr. Lobo makes the rounds, rubbing elbows with horror veteran Daniel (The Munsters 2022) Roebuck; Land of the Lost icons Kathy Coleman and Wesley Eure; Darkride Dracula Scooter gal Amy Vampi; Kevin Scarpino, aka Son of the Ghoul; horror host Doc Dread; off-the-cuff filmmaker David "Rock" Nelson; organizer Ron Adams; staff/vendor Dan Weber; Phyllis Floyd of Monster Fest and Creatures of the Naro; rubber-alligator curators, the Frick Brothers; Rabbi Joe and Father Mike; Bill Diamond of Bill Diamond Productions; Ghouldari connoisseur Gary Smith; and Cedric the Musical Butler of Terror Night Theater.
This may be Cinema Insomnia's best, on-site offering to date, so tune in to absorb all the "misunderstood" frivolity.
MR. LOBO'S CINEMA INSOMNIA PRESENTS THE BRUTE MAN AT MONSTER BASH ON BLU-RAY
Mr. Lobo and Sally the Zombie Cheerleader have a blast at Monster Bash (thanks to a little, time-trekkin' tech) on blazing Blu-ray. In addition to sharing their shenanigans, they present Jean (The Devil Bat/House of Horrors) Yarbrough's 1946, vengeance-wracked The Brute Man: Rondo Hatton's final appearance as the legendary (and quite "misunderstood") Creeper.
Along with Hatton, The Brute Man includes Donald (The Invisible Woman/7 Yr Itch) MacBride; Peter (The Rough Riders) Whitney; John (The Adventures of Superman) Hamilton; Jan (She-Wolf of London) Wiley; Tom (Detour/Jungle Girl) Neal; and Jane (House of Dracula/Batman and Robin 1949) Adams as the Creeper's blind, love interest, who adds a lovely, City Lights angle to the piece. Incidentally, Fred (Don Ricardo Returns) Colby portrays the Creeper in his college days, allowing this Beauty & Beast fable to reveal how the titular lug came to be.
To spice up The Brute Man's interludes, Mr. Lobo and Sally emphasize the convention-floor scenery, mingling with salt-of-the-earth vendors/promoters and engaging in on-the-spot vignettes, while showing unconventional (pun intended) commercials and super-exciting trailers. (Mr. Lobo also gives a touching acceptance speech for his Rondo Award, which can't help but warm the heart.)
Without question, this Cinema Insomnia installment offers tons of brutish fun for everyone.
Order Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia Goes To Monster Bash: The Brute Man Blu-ray at
https://osi74.square.site/product/blu-ray-backer-pre-order-cinema-insomnia-goes-to-monster-bash-featuring-the-brute-man-with-credit/181?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=true
Monday, July 14, 2025
MR. LOBO'S CINEMA INSOMNIA PRESENTS THE MAD MONSTER/MONSTERPALOOZA BLU-RAY
Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia's Monsterpalooza Con Crud Special: The Mad Monster (set in Pasadena, Ca & OSI 74, Pa) is now available on blazing Blu-ray.
Released by PRC, The Mad Monster is a neato, 1942, werewolf flick, which stars two horror titans, George Zucco (at the time in full swing with his Mummy/Kharis efforts) and Glenn Strange (just two years before playing Frankenstein's Monster), wherein the former (a mad scientist) transforms the latter (a child-like handyman) into a lycanthrope (with a little, ferocious help from makeup artist Harry Ross). The werewolf emergence is comparable to Whit Bissell's transformation of Michael Landon in I Was a Teenage Werewolf, though that one struck a good fifteen years after the fuzzy fact.
In addition to Zucco and Strange, Mad Monster stars Johnny (Our Gang) Downs and Anne (Black Friday) Nagel, and was directed and produced by Sam Newfield (the uncredited director of the Gojira II redux, Gigantis: the Fire Monster) and scripted by Fred (Nabonga) Myton. The results create a wolf-soldier-serum experience that triggers top-tier tension throughout its tight running time.
For extra enjoyment, Mr. Lobo intersects the melodrama by bringing his bushy-tailed cheer to the big convention, meeting fascinating venders, avant-garde artists and even G. Larry (Frankenstein Versus the Monster from Blood Cove/Skate to Hell) Butler. Such is accompanied by a jubilant, studio visit by the hyper Yellow Fever, who nurses a sickly Mr. Lobo back to health with bananas.
Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia, Monsterpalooza Con Crud Special: The Mad Monster is an ideal submission for any "misunderstood," physical-media library, and one can procure it at
https://osi74.square.site/product/blu-ray-backer-pre-order-cinema-insomnia-monsterpalooza-con-crud-special-mad-monster-with-credit/186?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=true