First Man On Mars – Witch Tales Blu-Ray Combos SOLD OUT

Dateline: Gatorville Fla.
Indie sci-fi horror filmmaker Mike T. Lyddon’s First Man on Mars / Witch Tales Blu-Ray combos have officially SOLD OUT.  Many thanks to those who bought the combo or solo blu-rays of either movie, it is greatly appreciated and you are a true patron of the indie movie world!
Here’s the good news:  You can still get the brand new 2023 limited signed and numbered blu-ray release of FIRST MAN ON MARS at a special low Halloween price!
first man on mars bluray

Additionally, you can watch WITCH TALES on Amazon.  Witch Tales is the perfect Halloween movie that literally takes place on Halloween night.  A seductive witch hosts tales of terror adapted from pre-code horror comic book stories of the 1950’s, but when a group of trick or treaters comes along, she quickly develops other more sinister plans for All Hallows Eve!
Critics rave about WITCH TALES –
“WITCH TALES is a great anthology horror film that doesn’t hold back on the gore..”
Ciao Handy
“SPOOKY and DISGUSTING” –House of Tortured Souls
“Delightful cartoonishness and plenty of practical gore…WITCH TALES is an enjoyable romp” – RUE MORGUE
“EFFECTIVELY GROSS EFFECTS” – Voices from the Balcony
“Lyddon knows how to tell a FRIGHT-FARE story well” – Ghastly Grinning

So settle back during Halloween season and watch WITCH TALES.
And don’t worry about the rats.  They don’t bite…much!
witch tales halloween horror movie

First Man on Mars Sci-Fi Horror 2023 Blu-Ray Now For Sale!

Reel Progress LLC and Mike T. Lyddon are pleased to announce that the feature film FIRST MAN ON MARS is now available as a limited edition signed and numbered Blu-Ray Released April 28th, 2023!

This special blu-ray comes with an original mini-poster insert signed and numbered along with the blu-ray disc for authenticity.

Click Here for full details including the amazing MOVIE PROP giveaway celebrating the First Man on Mars Blu-Ray release!

Halloween HORROR Anthology Movie WITCH TALES on SALE

This HALLOWEEN…🎃 the pretty girl next door wants to invite you in for a treat… OR A TRICK! 😈
WITCH TALES Halloween Horror anthology Signed and Numbered blu-ray is ON SALE NOW!
Witch Tales takes place on HALLOWEEN NIGHT with tales of terror adapted from pre-code horror comic books in the vein of TALES FROM THE CRYPT hosted by an enchanting witch with her own diabolical plans for All Hallows Eve!
The reviews are in – “Delightful cartoonishness and plenty of practical gore…WITCH TALES is an enjoyable romp” – RUE MORGUE
“SPOOKY and DISGUSTING” – House of Tortured Souls
“EFFECTIVELY GROSS EFFECTS” – Voices from the Balcony
“Lyddon knows how to tell a FRIGHT-FARE story well” – Ghastly Grinning
“WITCH TALES is a great anthology horror film that doesn’t hold back on the gore..” – Ciao Handy Films
“This film would be perfect for you on a chilly night around Halloween time.” GNoH
#horrorfan #halloweenmovies #witches #indiefilm #horrorbluray
Blu-ray on EBAY
RENT on AMAZON!
witch tales halloween horror movie

FOUR COLOR FEAR Pre-code HORROR Comics of the 1950s

In the first of three parts, Horror Mike takes a close look at FOUR COLOR FEAR, the remarkable 320 page full color illustrated book on pre-code HORROR COMICS From The 1950s edited by Greg Sadowski and published by Fantagraphics Press in 2010 with a 2nd printing in 2017.  Watch the video companion here.
Part two will finish up the pre-code horror comics reprints and part three will focus on the incredible horror comic cover art gallery, comic book notes, and a comprehensive list of all precode horror comics ever published during the era.
Horror comics gallery with art by L.B. Cole, Bernard Baily, Iger Shop, Warren Kremer, Lee Elias, and many others.
four color fear precode horror comics

We begin with a nice Ajax Farrell house ad “the best in supernatural thrills and chills!
strange fantasy – haunted thrills – voodoo – fantastic fears on sale everywhere!”

Synopsis for the stories supplied by comics.org and presented where available.
Here are the horror comic book reprints from Four Color Fear.
The Strange Case of Henpecked Harry – Eerie #1 Jan 1947 – art by Fred Kida
Synopsis – Harry Horton plots the death of his wife, but the guilt drives him mad.
Pit of the damned – chamber of chills #7, 1952 art by bob powell.
Corpses coast to coast – voodoo #14 1954 iger shop.
Synopsis – a mad undertaker has a dream of zombie world domination.
A pact with the devil – web of evil #9 1953 jack cole.
Synopsis – Suicidal John Masters enters into a pact with the devil and gets ten golden years of wealth and fortune. When his time is up, Masters tries to run. But Satan and his minions follow suit on his heels and drive him to suicide.
The corpse that came to dinner – out of the shadows #9, 1953, art by reed crandall.
Synopsis – A young couple returns from their honeymoon. They learn that a friend has committed suicide, because he had wanted to marry the girl. The friend’s corpse climbs out of his grave and lays siege to the couple’s apartment.
The maze master – baffling mysteries #20 1954 Lou Cameron.
Synopsis – Victor Rarlo is a sadist who loves puzzles and lets people perish in his fiendish mazes. Being challenged by a strange mystic, Rarlo travels into psychedelic mind-mazes and gets irreversibly caught in the maze of his own mind.
Swamp monster – weird mysteries 5, 1953 – art by basil wolverton.
Synopsis – An escaped convict is bitten by a vampiric being in the swamp and turns into a demonic beast man.
What Was the Discovery – black cat mystery 46 – 1953 manny stallman.
Death sentence – tomb of terror 14, 1954 – sid check.
Synopsis – Reporter Adams visits a convicted murderer in his cell, and he is warned by the doomed man that the reporter must warn the world that mankind is about to be wiped out.
Death deals a hand – strange mysteries 18, 1954 iger shop.
Synopsis – Several people join a club in which one person kills another each meeting until only one is left. The remaining person inherits all the others possessions. Finally the last person left is murdered by the ghosts of the other members.
Custodian of the dead – web of evil 1, 1952 jack cole.
Synopsis – Undertaker Horace Vennery is a graverobber at night, stealing valuable possessions off his dead clients. Crawling through coffins, he is caught in a cave-in and eaten by rats.
Servants of the tomb – witches tales 6, 1951, bob powell.
Nightmare – adv into the unknown 51, 1954 harry lazarus.
Synopsis – Harry, a down on his luck writer, goes to a pawn shop where he is shown the creatures that take the people guilty of the seven deadly sins. He uses the experience to write more stories which are bought by his publisher.
Me, ghost – adv into darkness 10, 1953 jack katz.
Synopsis – A guy uses his girlfriend as a human shield against a robber.
Dust unto dust – chamber of chills 23, 1954 howard nostrand.
Drum of doom – out of the night 2, 1952 al williamson.
The body maker – black cat mystery 39, 1952 warren kremer.
Green horror – fantastic fears 8, 1954 iger shop.
Synopsis – Over her husband’s objections, Martha plants a cactus in the yard of their home. George broods over the plant and one night decides to chop it down, but the cactus seizes the axe and kills George instead. Then the plant enters the house and hugs Martha, crushing her to death. (probably written by ruth roche).
Puppet peril – weird adventures 2 – ernie bache, inked by harry harrison.
Synopsis – American impresario brings over puppet player genius “Satana” from Germany to appear on TV. Her puppets are bewitched, shrunken humans, taking revenge on her tormentress.
Mother mongooses nursery crimes – witches tales 25, 1954 Howard nostrand.
Chefs delight – mysterious adventures 20, 1954 dick beck.
Synopsis – A vile famous chef named Francois Nicole, treats everyone in his life like garbage except his rich girlfriend whom he lavishes money on. Meanwhile his wife and two children are left to suffer in squalid conditions. She murders Francois at his restaurant and butchers his corpse. When the other chefs arrive the following morning, they see Francois’ organs all spread out as as a meal in the kitchen.
Colorama – black cat mystery 45, 1953 bob powell.
The thing from the sea – eerie #2, 1951 wally wood.
Synopsis – Eddie Murray is killed by Johnny Smithers and pushed overboard at sea. While the killer courts the girl of the deceased, the dead man trods along the bottom of the ocean home to his honey.
The flapping head – forbidden worlds 6, 1952 al williamson.
Amnesia – chamber of chills 17, 1953, warren kremer.
And last but definitely not least, a beautiful insert page entitled Vision of the gods, nightmare 1, 1952, everett raymond kinstler who I was fortunate enough to interview for my documentary haunted thrills a year before he passed away.

In part 2 we will wrap up the story reprints and check out the gorgeous precode cover art gallery in four color fear!

SPECIAL NOTE: Mike Lyddon’s indie Halloween horror film WITCH TALES adapts pre-code horror tales that are featured in this video! Rent it on Amazon today –

Halloween SPOOK SHOW October 22nd COSTUME CONTEST Amazing Prizes

Dare ye enter the blook soaked horror chambers of Captain Strangelife and Horror Mike for the Halloween SPOOK SHOW taking place on October 22nd at 7pm EST exclusively on the Captain Strangelife channel?!
HALLOWEEN SPOOK SHOW
Can you stand the TERROR of SPECIAL GUESTS that include The HOTEL ORLOFF, Dr. SILVERAGE, and NIGHTTIGER COMICS??
Come to the show IN COSTUME and enter to WIN one of THREE GREAT PRIZES from the vault of Captain Strangelife, Gotham City Comics, and Horror Mike!  These prizes included original PRE-CODE HORROR COMICS from the 1950s, authentic UNIVERSAL MONSTER prizes, AND Dave Stevens and Michael Gilbert comic books valued at over 300 dollars!
Subscribe to Captain Strangelife’s channel NOW and get ready for an amazing SPOOK SHOW extravaganza on Sunday, October 22nd!
Be there and BE SCARED!

Bronze Age Comic Books MARVEL Multi-Mags

Greetings, friends. Today we’re taking a good look at Marvel Multi mags produced by Marvel between the years of 1972 and 1984.
You’re looking at a very good example of Marvel Multi Mags distributed to grocery stores and supermarkets in september of 1975.
3 comics for 74 cents! The books included here are The Avengers #139, Conan the barbarian #54, and Jungle Action #17 featuring the Black Panther. All three of these comics were originally published in June of 1975 and all three have Gil “Mr Ubiquitous” Kane covers.

Marvel Multi mags were produced for many years from 1972 to 1984, offering a convenient way to buy multiple comics at your local grocer or supermarket. Granted, the sale price for this particular set was 74 cents, a whole penny less than the cost for buying three single issues in 1975, so it wasn’t the “bargain price” as much as the convenience that made these multi mags popular for years.
You can still find these Marvel multi-mags in very good to excellent condition for a reasonable price on ebay and elsewhere. This particular set I bought a while back for 30 bucks is in superb shape. The two visible comics, Avengers #139 and Conan the barbarian #54 appear to be in VF to NM condition and I would imagine that Jungle Action #17 is in better condition considering its sandwiched between the aforementioned books and thus has had little to no interaction with light or direct handling.
The bag itself appears to be entirely sealed and the top hanger label completely intact. Often you will find a tear or seal break with these bags which is understandable considering their age, this one in particular being nearly 50 years old.
Of course, once you open the bag, it pretty much destroys the entire “multi mag” idea in the collectors world. If you price these three issues out separately in VF-NM condition you’ll find that the single issues are equal or greater in value to what I paid for this multi-mag, so if you can get a good price for one in great shape I think its an excellent buy whether or not you end up opening the bag.
Other Marvel multi-mag sets include –
1974 MARVEL MULTI-MAGS with VAULT OF EVIL #12, WEIRD WONDER TALES #5 and DAREDEVIL #112
1976 MARVEL MULTI-MAGS with MASTER OF KUNG FU #45, TOMB OF DRACULA #49, MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #30
1980 marvel multi mags SHE HULK #1 AND Amazing Spider-Man #201
1981 Marvel Multi-Mags Multi-Pack Sealed 2-Pack with Daredevil 173 and amazing spiderman 219 – both have Frank Miller covers.
Special thanks to http://www.wymann.info/comics/ for additional images and information on these Marvel multi mags.
WATCH THE FULL VIDEO HERE.

Titan Comics CONAN The BARBARIAN #3 PLUS Sneak Peek At NEW Conan Series

CONAN The Barbarian 3 Titan Comics featuring DEMONIC CULTISTS and a SNEAK PEEK Issue 5 NEW CONAN SERIES.  Watch NEW Video.
Horror Mike takes a good look at the brand new Issue 3 of Titan Comics’ Conan the Barbarian series written by Jim Zub and drawn by Roberto de la Torre. Also, a recap of issue number 2 AND a sneak peek at the NEW SERIES that begins with Conan the Barbarian #5.
Greetings friends. Today we are looking at the 2023 Conan the Barbarian issue #3 from Titan comics written Jim Zub and drawn by Roberto de la Torre with a recap of the story in issue #2.
Also, we will take a sneak peek at the NEW series that begins with issue #5. Who’s involved in the series? Stick around and find out!
conan-barbarian-2-splash1First an issue #2 recap. Conan and Brissa the pict find themselves on the trail of the Lost Tribe and finally reach an ominous, towering structure called THE FORTRESS. Issue 2 is heavier on exposition and lighter on action, and while Conan doesn’t have a bone to pick, he does have a Pict to bone heh.

conan-barbarian-3-coverIssue 3 finds Conan and Brissa venturing inside the fortress and it doesn’t take long for revelations to be made and battles to be fought, in particular with a group of demonic cultists.
Dean White takes over as colorist for this issue and he does a fine job. As usual, Jim Zub’s writing is spot on channeling that Robert E. Howard vibe albeit with a modern slant while the artwork of Rob de la Torre continues to impress. At times it’s like reading one of the first issues of Creepy or Eerie magazine with Frazetta, Orlando, Reed Crandall, Angelo Torres, and the gang doing art in the mid to late 1960s. As I’ve said before it’s also reminiscent of John Buscema’s style although the thing I really like about de la Torre is his ability to keep the art loose and not dwell too much on background details.
All in all, if you’re looking for more exciting action from this conan the barbarian series, Issue #3 will whet your cimmerian whistle!

So what about the next series? Good question, and I have a few good answers. First, let’s take a look at the covers for issue #5 that starts out the new series.
Conan the Barbarian #5 Covers and Solicit Revealed as a New Story Arc Begins:
Covers left to right by Liam R Sharp, Mike Deodato, Rob De la Torre, Subversive Girl, Patrick Zircher.
conan-issue-5-sneak-covers
For me, there are two standouts with these covers. The first is de la torres beautiful piece featuring Conan and Belit who returns to the fold for a new adventure!
2nd, the cover featuring Belit by artist subversive girl has to striking Weird Tales pulp magazine vibe to it, if rendered in a more modern context.
The credits for issue 5 cite Jim Zub as writer and Doug Braithwaite as the artist.
conan-barbarian-6-cover-belit dan panosianOn this cover featuring Belit, Dan Panosian is the artist.

Here’s the scoop directly from the substack of Jim Zub – “Doug Braithwaite is drawing our second story arc (issues 5-8), a tragic and brutal caper that takes place after the classic Robert E. Howard tale Queen of the Black Coast, and he’s delivering career-defining pages of stirring emotion and gut-wrenching violence. The 4-part story is called Thrice Marked For Death and, if I may be so bold, you are not prepared for what gets unleashed here. Rob De La Torre has already begun work on pages for our third story arc – issues 9-12 (title still under wraps for now)”

So there you go, folks, it appears that de la torre will return for issue 9 after Braithwaite does issues 5 through 8.  Watch entire video!

Before KOLCHAK And The X-FILES: The Original MONSTER HUNTER!

Horror Mike looks at the original Calzador of Cryptids, the Battler of Beasts, the Hunter of HORRORS worldwide! Before KOLCHAK The Night Stalker…Before The X-FILES…There was the original MONSTER HUNTER!  Watch full video HERE.
kolchak the night stalkerHorror fans with any credibility will tell you that the Dan Curtis creation Kolchak The Night Stalker starring Darren McGavin and the Kolchak inspired X-Files starring David Ducovny and Gillian Anderson, brainchild of Chris Carter, are two of the greatest horror tv series of all time.
But long before these two silver screen legends hit the airwaves, there was another Monster Hunter who first appeared in 1946 in a golden age comics issue of Triumph comics #31 in a story called “The New Adventures of Doc Stearne as Mr. Monster.”
Although Mr. Monster would only appear in a few golden age comics, he would later be revived in the 1980’s by comic book artist extraordinaire Michael T. Gilbert in what would be a long running comics series lasting dozens of issues and several publishers including Eclipse and Dark Horse. Gilbert went back to the golden age roots of Mr. Monster and reintroduced the character using the original material combined with new comic stories. Soon after, Mr. Monster would be globe trotting to track down terrors from Europe to the far east, with several choice comic books produced in 3-D with the help of Ray Zone.
In this introductory video to Mr. Monster, we are going to look at the origins of the character along with Michael Gilbert’s additional origin storylines.

We begin in the year 1945. Doc Stearne, aka Mr. Monster had already been in a few issues of WOW comics as himself. Then, in 1945, Triumph Comics #31 published by Bell Features produced the first comic book appearance of Mr. Monster with a story called “The New Adventures of Doc Stearne as Mr. Monster” with art by Fred Kelly. It’s a strange little tale rendered in classic, crude golden age style.
Doc Stearne gets involved in a mysterious case involving a traumatized woman with amnesia that propels him deeper into the world of the supernatural and sets up the very first appearance of Mr. Monster!

1947 saw the publication of SUPER DUPER COMICS #3 by Canadian based F. E. Howard Publications. This contained the first full blown Mr. Monster story THE TERROR OF TREZMA in which our supernatural super hero battles an ancient creature that is seemingly unstoppable, but of course, Mr. Monster takes of that little problem.

On the next Mr. Monster video, we dive into the re-birth of this character by Michael T. Gilbert and his first series published by Eclipse comics in the mid 1980’s.

Only TWO Witch Tales – First Man on Mars Blu-Ray Combos LEFT!

The limited edition signed and numbered WITCH TALES blu-rays are SOLD OUT!
There are only two WITCH TALES – FIRST MAN ON MARS combos left and after that, they’re gone forever!

I have pulled my reserve copy of WITCH TALES #13 to sell in one of the two remaining combos, so you have your choice of number 13 or number 300 (the last numbered copy).
It will be a long time before a 2nd printing of WITCH TALES on blu-ray is available so now is your chance to get one of two FIRST MAN ON MARS / WITCH TALES Combos before they are SOLD OUT!
Perfect for HALLOWEEN, WITCH TALES (2020) is an indie horror anthology film featuring a sexy witch concocting a very special brew on Halloween night as she terrorizes you with gruesome stories of fright!
FIRST MAN ON MARS (new on blu-ray for 2023) is a satirical homage to 1970’s grindhouse sci-fi horror films starring Bobby Gilchrist of NCIS: New Orleans / Queen Sugar and Kelly Murtagh, star of The Purge and The Lovebirds.
Get both WITCH TALES and FIRST MAN ON MARS limited edition signed and numbered blu-rays for one very special low price!

 

MEDIASCENE Issue 37 Jim Steranko’s Fantastic Pop Culture Magazine

NEW VIDEO on Jim Steranko’s MEDIASCENE Issue 37 with CAROLINE Munro, BILL Ward, The COMIC GIRLS & Rocky HORROR Picture Show!

Horror Mike takes a good look at Jim Steranko’s groundbreaking pop culture magazine, MEDIASCENE! Issue 37 from 1979 features cinema’s newest sex symbol CAROLINE Munro, Torchy artist BILL Ward.  Horror Mike remembers going to the 1979 Pittsburgh Science Fiction Festival and meeting Caroline Munro and Tom Savini as well as recalling his assistance with Mediascene writer Bill Warren’s KEEP WATCHING THE SKIES two volume book on sci-fi films of the 1950’s! PLUS:  Pulp artist VIRGIL Finlay & the cult phenomenon of The Rocky HORROR Picture Show! Also: a revealing look at the COMIC GIRLS and all of the new comic books released in May/June of 1979!
Get back issues of Mediascene and Prevue Magazines

SHOCKING NEWS About Alter Ego Comic Book Fanzine!

NEW VIDEO >>>
SHOCKING NEWS About Alter Ego Comic Book FanzineDetails In This MUST SEE Video!

They did WHAT to ALTER EGO? Horror Mike dishes on the shocking developments concerning the long running Alter Ego Comic Book Magazine / Fanzine published by Twomorrows – Get the Details In This Video! Alter Ego is the long running, award winning comic book fanzine from Roy Thomas and TwoMorrows publications.  Closing in on 200 fantastic issues covering comic book superheroes like Shazam, Superman, Batman, Catman, The Black Terror, Grim Reaper, The Hulk, Wolverine, Spider-man, Fantastic Four, and artists including L.B. Cole, Jay Disbrow, Joe Kubert, Bernard Baily, Graham Nolan, John Buscema, Barry Windsor Smith, Jack Kirby, and many more!

Halloween Skull Blood Candles Dripping Bloody Red Wax

One of the coolest Halloween decorations we’ve seen this year has to be the Skull Blood Candles Dripping Bloody Red Wax from GUTE!
You get a putrifying pair of skull candle holders with blood red candles and when they starte melting, they bleed through the eyes of the skull BWAHAHA.

Amaze your friends, hypnotize your enemies for hours as they will be powerless to look away from the flowing crimson rivers of bloody wax emanating from the eyes of the skull candles!

The Halloween Skull Blood Candles 2 Pack is one of the best ways for giving more life…or death to your crypt décor. The skull candles set of 2 combines fresh scents with a repurposed skull.

This unique and trendy decorative candle is handmade and brings a spooky vibe to all parts of your home. When lit, the red candles drip down the skull, creating a blood-like effect that is sure to be a conversation starter at your next Halloween party.

This Halloween, buy your favorite fiend the ultimate gift of bleeding skull candles!