Sunday, August 2, 2026
COLLECTIBLE TIME: PRINTERVAL, CREEPY T-SHIRT
As fate had it, I came upon a lovely, Printerval T-shirt, one featuring Ben Oda's iconic logo for Warren Magazine's Creepy.
Creepy (hosted by the odd yet erudite Uncle Creepy) was a comic curation created by the innovative Russ Jones. Horror, anthology fans will remember him as the scriptwriter for director David L. Hewitt's (Dr. Terror's) Gallery of Horrors. Both the comic and the movie are favorites of mine. I believe the Creepy-logo T-shirt celebrates my appreciation for such, or at least would among those inspired to engage me in a discussion on the matter.
Otherwise, Creepy might be mistaken for my personal label (i.e., the person I am), but I'm far from creepy. I'm a damn-dashing, cultivated gent who'll nonetheless look spiffy in this horror-homage apparel.
To procure your own Creepy T-shirt (and look as spiffy as me), surf on over to
Saturday, August 1, 2026
GOODBYE, VINCENT PASTORE
Through your portrayal of Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero, you became a Sopranos legend.
Your cheerful, "wise guy" persona not only populated that television classic, but it visited an envious stretch of pulpy, quirky, profound and humorous movies, which include Goodfellas, Carlito's Way, Mickey Blue Eyes, Revolver, New Jack City, Witness to the Mob, The Family, Surviving Family, Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn, A Brooklyn State of Mind, Who Do I Gotta Kill?, Flodders in America, Dough Boys, Money Train, Manhattan Murder Mystery, A Slight Case of Murder, Who's the Man?, The Basketball Diaries, The Ref, It Could Happen to You, A Tale of Two Pizzas, The Deli, The Cookout, Good 'n Screwed, Deuces Wild, Black Roses, Awakenings, Men of Respect, The Hurricane, American Cousins, Serving Sara, This Thing of Ours, Riding in Cars with Boys, Remedy, Shark Tale, Bachelor Party Vegas, Under Hellgate Bridge, I'm in Love with A Church Girl, Mail Order Bride, College Road Trip and The Jerky Boys: The Movie.
Beyond The Sopranos, you guest-starred on many enjoyable television productions (several of which were designated as either recurring, game-oriented or "reality"-based), including Blue Bloods, Bull, General Hospital, The Practice, Gravesend, (the new) Hawaii Five-O, Chase Street, Pair of Kings, Sherman's In Sanity, Grounded for Life, The Neighborhood, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Ed, Son of a Beach, Queens Supreme, Las Vegas, For Your Love, The Curse, Yellowjackets, Mad TV, Cyberchase, Comedy Central Roast, Hollywood Squares, Emeril, Celebrity Fit Club, Celebrity Apprentice, Celebrity Family Feud, Dancing with the Stars, Shark Tank, Famous Food, Gordon Ramsey's 24 Hours to Hell and Back, World's Smartest Inventions, Animals, Filmore! and Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
You truly were a good guy at heart, Mr. Pastore. In fact, you were quite gracious to my brother, Freddy, when the two of you crossed paths some years back. In my book, that holds a lot of weight and goes a long way. So saddened to hear you're gone, though, but to those who matter, you made an amiable and unshakable impression, for which you deserve unfeigned and enduring thanks.
WE BELONG DEAD #49: SHOCK WAVES & SUMMER SCARES
We Belong Dead #49 celebrates the summer with a sensational, Shock Waves spread, adorned by two great covers, one commemorating Ken Wiederhorn's popular, Peter Cushing/John Carradine/Brooke Adams, Nazi-zombie opus (fashioned by artist Mark Armstrong) and the other saluting the season's fruitful, fun-time frights (rendered by artist Paul Garner).
Among the aquatic attacks, beach beasts and arenaceous mayhem, the issue contains retrospectives on Jaws, Jaws 2, Piranha (1978), Piranha II: Flying Killers (The Spawning), Piranha 3D, Piranha 3DD, The Horror of Party Beach, The Monster and the Beach Girl, The Monster of Piedras Blancas, Slithis, Humanoids from the Deep (1980), Blood Beach, The Beach House, The Sand, Venus Drowning, Night Tide, Surf Nazis Must Die, Cape Fear (1962 & 1991), Who Can Kill a Child?, Us, Old, Send Help, Surf II, Uruba, Byzantium, Fail Break, and a look at several scary, summertime shorts.
To increase the creepy quotient, there are articles on I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequels, The Amazing Mr. X, I Spit on Your Grave 2, The Other Hell, author Guy N. Smith's nightmarish paperbacks, horror-themed albums, a horror travelogue, horror climatology, horror holidays and the always welcome "Emma Dark's Corner."
As an additional treat, my good friend and filmmaker extraordinaire, Ansel H. Faraj, shares a new "Asylum for the Psychotronic" column, exploring A.I.P.'s light-hearted, beach-party influencers Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow, The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini and Vincent Price's Dr. Goldfoot pair. (Without question, Faraj's essay can't help but rekindle balmy memories.)
Cozy up to the summertime thrills and chills by ordering We Belong Dead #49:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H718NFMZ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
COLLECTIBLE TIME: SPIDER-MAN'S AMAZING JOURNEY (TIME MAGAZINE)
To mark the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Time Magazine presents a special-collector's edition entitled Spider-Man: His Amazing Journey.
The issue, which was researched and composed by Time's extensive staff of writers, not only covers Peter Parker's historic roots (as founded by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee), but the Sam Raimi/Tobey McGuire trilogy, the Marc Webb/Andrew Garfield set, and the Jon Watts/Tom Holland lead-ups to Daniel Destin Cretton's current, box-office smash; plus as a sideline treat, readers receive a respectful retrospective on the popular, Tom Hardy/Venom spinoffs.
Other Spidey adventures are covered, as well, including the 1960s, Ralph Bakshi cartoon show, the 1970s Nicolas Hammond, live-action series, the psychedelic, Miles Morales Spider-Verse adventures and Amazon's alternate-reality Spider-Noir with Nicolas Cage.
To give the web-slinging contents extra pizzaz, the 96-page edition flaunts high-quality photos, a number of which spring straight from Marvel's archives.
Spidey fans will adore this one. It can be purchased nationwide in supermarkets, drugstores and just about anywhere magazines are sold. Keep your eyes peeled and weave one in!
CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES ANNUAL 2026
The Classic Monsters of the Movies Annual 2026 is a captivating compendium of science fiction and horror. Daniel Horne's vivid cover coveys it all, with a spree of popular personas featured throughout the magazine's issues.
The articles are distinguished by fascinating theories and angles, including Nige Burton's meticulous comparison of Tod Browning's Dracula to James Whale's Frankenstein; Jamie Jones' celebration of character actors and their everlasting, familiar faces; Dave Huckvale's skillful scrutiny of the corporate terrors of The Satanic Rites of Dracula; John Logan's glowing analysis of Gerry Anderson's U.F.O. and Space: 1999; Jonathan Rigby's grand tour of Roger Corman's Poe adaptations; Jones' opulent overview of the cinematic Stephen King; and Burton's daring dissertation on how Universal and Hammer's influence thrives within contemporary horror.
As with all Classic Monsters of the Movies issues, this 100-page release is printed on high-stock paper, with crisp photos that are both moody and vibrant, thus creating a page-turning museum for those who appreciate the morbid and the imaginative.
To purchase the Classic Monsters of the Movies Annual 2026, tap the link below:
https://www.classic-monsters.com/shop/product/classic-monsters-annual-2026-magazine/
SALLY THE ZOMBIE CHEERLEADER'S SCHOOL OF HORROR: EQUINOX (1970)
As Evil Dead Burn keeps cinemas possessed, Sally the Zombie Cheerleader's School of Horror presents a forerunning, Lovecraftian classic: Equinox!
Released in 1970, Equinox (aka The Beast, for one of its prominent, VHS releases) features inquisitive, young adults (one played by WKRP's Frank Bonner) who come upon a strange man, a strange book and the consequences of monstrous conjuring in the woods, which will leave the old-school-effects crowd in surrealistic Heaven, or should that be, the damning depths of Hell?
The movie was directed by Jack (Beware! The Blob/Son of Blob) Woods and (in an uncredited capacity) Dennis (The Empire Strikes Back/Battlestar Galactica/Flesh Gordon) Moran. Woods also cowrote the tale with Mark Thomas (Transylvania Twist/Hard to Die/Sorority House Massacre II) McGee, with Jack H. (The Blob/Dark Star/4D Man) Harris and Moran performing as producers. In addition, Moran supplied the effects, accompanied by Jim (Jack the Giant Killer/When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth/Flesh Gordon) Danforth and Dave (The Primevals/Laserblast/Puppet Master) Allen, with several sequences rendered by exquisite, stop-motion animation.
Sally conducts another encyclopedia service for her eager-to-learn fleshies, detailing the movie's production, with creepy trivia and eerie insights for her wraparounds, as her sweet, sarcastic SkeleKat and her dear, demonic dolls spout off snarky jabs.
I gotta say, I do find this School of Horror to be one of Sally's finest. I believe you will, too; so, don't be late for class. The bell's about to ring at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH_Ri6cNQSs
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