Mrs. Dex got me a couple of these with my Valentine's goodies.
Some people hate the whole blind package thing but we love it
here. I don't usually try to go for complete sets so picking up a few rarely
results in duplicates.
But sometimes you do get ones you're not as excited for. I don't remember much about the Bigfoot & Wildboy show other than it existed. I actually thought this might be Chaka from Land of the Lost when I pulled him out. Bigfoot was huge in the 70s but I'm guessing when you talk about him and TV most people are going to think of when he was on The Six Million Dollar Man.
On the other hand, ElectraWoman and DynaGirl was probably my second favorite of the Krofft shows (just behind Land of the Lost naturally). Live action superheroes on Saturday morning weren't a rarity but unlike the other shows, EW & DG were usually squaring off against costumed villains. Plus they had those cool Electracomp bracelets and a flying car.
Other shows represented in this series are Land of the Lost (gotta get that Sleestak!), Wonder Bug, Lidsville, The Bugaloos, The Lost Saucer, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (which got a whole other series of these).
I'm hoping there's a series two to give us Fi (Ruth Buzzi) from The Lost Saucer and maybe a Doctor Shrinker.
Back in 2018/2019 I did a few posts under the title Quarter Bin to talk about random old comics. That title never really clicked with me (even though I decided on it!) so I'm rebranding to Lost in the Longbox...and I'll probably post another one in 2033.
Today's deep pull (maybe that would be a better title?) is Tales of Sword and Sorcery Featuring Dagar the Invincible. Or just Dagar the Invincible to his friends.
Dagar was published by Gold Key from October 1972 to December 1976 for a total of 18 quarterly issues. I think I was just getting into Superfriends comics when Dagar ended so I missed out. If he'd come along a few years later when I picked up my first D&D box set and Thundarr was on TV, I'm sure I would have checked it out. I mean, look at that cover!
Issue 2 was reformatted and packaged as a give-away with bubble gum. Bazooka Joe, he ain't! I know packing a comic book with bubble gum sounds weird but if you're wondering what it would look like, here you go.
Issue 1, Page 1. That saber-tooth tiger is looking for lunch!
Dagar was written by Donald F Glut who Star Wars kids will no doubt recognize as the author of the Empire Strikes Back novelization. He was also a screenwriter for Saturday morning heavy hitters like Land of the Lost, Transformers, G.I. Joe, DuckTales, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, and also created characters and lore for Masters of the Universe. How's that for a resume?
Covers and interior art was done by Dagar co-creator Jesse Santos who is best known for this book and Tragg and the Sky Gods, another Gold Key book written by Glut. Tragg, as you might guess by the name, is a prehistoric caveman. The Sky Gods are humanoid aliens so this book has a little more sci-fi to it than Dagar. Santos would go on to work in advertising to work with properties like Blackstar, Jem, and Tiny Toon Adventures.
Dagar was a typical brawn over brains adventurer type contending with magic and monsters in a fantasy world. But Glut's writing is what keeps him from being a Conan knock-off. Thanks to the Wayback Machine, you can read an interview with Glut about his work on Dagar.
If you'd like to enjoy some Tales of Sword and Sorcery, head back to that first cover and give it a click.
Before I jump into anything, I want to take a minute and dedicate this
post to Will West. If you read this blog, you probably know who he is and that
he had a stroke last week. I don't know him personally but he's one of the
bloggers that inspires me. He's got such a great voice online and has a lot to
say. I know a lot of us in the blog-o-sphere are pulling for him and hope he
recovers soon. There's a GoFundMe out there
to help out his wife and two girls and they're getting close to their $40k
goal. More than anything, I think he's going to be pissed
at having to break his weekly blogging streak.
Gatchaman Progress
Not only did I forget to log this last month, but I've only watched 5 eps
since November.
Current ep: 70
Streaming
Stranger Things (S1-5, Netflix)
Usually, when a show comes back after a break, I'll find a 30 minute YouTube
recap video but I know how much I loved this show and with it being the final
season, I re-watched the first four seasons and am so glad I did! Not only did it make the overall story more cohesive but I got to meet the gang again and be reminded of their interpersonal dynamics. I feel like
I need a whole post just to talk about the series but I'm lazy. The first
couple eps of season 5 didn't quite click but once it did, I was all in. They
managed to stick the landing for me. It was satisfying and emotional. I'm
going to miss the Hawkins gang so I'll be diving into some of the books this
year.
History of the World Part II (Hulu)
At it's best, it was okay. It probably would have been better as a movie
instead of a comedy sketch type show. Does not fill me with hope for
Spaceballs 2.
I see why a lot of people didn't like this. I enjoyed the first one but this
is is more like a whole new operating system than an upgrade. It's got a more
campy tone, is more violent than I remember the first one being and also somehow feels like a superhero movie? If I saw
this by itself, I'd probably like the 90s direct to video feel but as a
sequel, it doesn't quite deliver what you liked about the original.
Rating: 5/10
Igniting the Spark - The Story of Magic: The Gathering (2025, Prime)
I was there at GenCon 1993 when MtG debuted and like everyone else, was
instantly hooked. At least for a few years and then I got out. Anyway, this
doc starts of with the founding of Wizards of the Coast and then how MtG came
to be. If you've ever been into the game, I highly recommend checking this
out. If you've never played but are a gamer at heart, I still think its
interesting to see how a whole new genre of game was developed.
How many freakin islands are there?! Despite the very video game plot (they
need to get DNA from a water dino, an air dino, and a land dino), this was a
pretty solid monster movie. There's no legacy characters to bog it down and I
like the assembled by circumstance adventuring group. It may not really do
anything new (other than introduce contractually obligated new dinos) but it's
a fun ride that stands on its own.
Rating: 7/10
Killing Mary Sue (2025, Prime)
An action comedy that doesn't quite deliver on either premise. I'm guessing
they spent most of the budget on the cast because it sure wasn't on the
gunfire effects. This movie wants to be cooler than it really is and that's
too bad because it could be fun if handled the right way. I'd recommend Becky and The Wrath of Becky instead of this.
File this under unexpected sequels I didn't know I needed! But didn't The
Grabber die in the first one? Yes, yes he did. Horror fans will not doubt draw
comparisons to Freddy here but it all works for me. The psychic dream
sequences have a fantastic otherworldly creepiness to them (as they should!)
and I really liked how they tied it together with the first one.
Rating: 7/10
Marshmallow (2025, Shudder)
This is one of those where you should go in as blind as possible as it keeps you guessing. The kid actors are pretty good and the counselors play their slasher movie stereotypes well. This should be a good gateway horror flick for young teens that want to dip a toe in the pool...or summer camp lake.
I got this a little while back and keep forgetting to show it off. Boom Studios did a Kickstarter for this hard cover collecting their eight issue adaptation from 2024. The cool thing about it is that it adapts the movie novelization which was written while the movie was still in production so there are a couple things here and there different from the final film.
I shelled out a little extra to get the version with the slipcase which is styled after Sarah's Labyrinth book from the movie. Boom Studios was also offering hard cover collections of their two (yes two!) Labyrinth sequel comics. I already have those and didn't feel the need to drop the extra cash to upgrade to hard covers. Of course, I also already have the comics collected here but this is THE story.
This Kickstarter version has an exclusive variant cover that won't be reprinted again. The pages are gold gilded which just adds to how it looks on a table. I like when they do stuff like this so you feel like you're really getting something special when you support them.
Speaking of something special...one of the stretch goals was this fantastic art print.
And this enamel pin was unlocked for people that backed on day one (that's me!). The campaign hit its initial $25k goal in 15 minutes! I guess there's a lot of us weirdos out there that love this movie.
I instantly fell in love with the art style. I like that it's sort of cartoony. Disney's been all about live action remakes of animated movies. I think this would be a great candidate for an animated remake of a live action movie! I'd just use the film audio and animate it.
At the back of the book are 16 pages featuring different cover art used for the individual comics.
The last six pages have character designs. There's two pages each for Sarah and Jareth and the last two have a bunch of the characters Sarah meets, including Alph and Ralph the two dog-like door guardians that pose the logic puzzle to Sarah. Bet you didn't know they had names!
I'm really happy with this one and it's going to be a great addition to my growing Labyrinth library.
This used to be an annual tradition but it looks like I haven't done one since 2022. At any rate, here's a look at some of the goodies left under my holiday tree by various supernatural beings.
We'll start off with these awesome gift tags that Mrs Dex found. Perfect for me!
Sadly, this art print from Spooky Cat Press isn't a full comic magazine!
Speaking of Krampus, here's a weird plush from the Pinhead Monsters line.
Throwing this in here because it's on theme. This was a gift to myself after we saw the author, Jeff Belanger, do his "The Fright Before Christmas" show. It's just him and some slides talking about the origin of Christmas as a holiday in addition to all the weird dark folklore from different countries. Can't recommend this enough if you want to dive into the darker side of winter traditions.
A great set of figures from Disney's Haunted Mansion. All the most popular characters are here and I found it interesting that they picked the mummy to round out the set.
And to go with them, a Disney Racers Haunted Mansion Hot Rod! Love the details on this: Mdme. Leota's headstone on the front and the pipe organ in the back.
The Indy Temple Trekker is sporting the famous hat and whip. The vehicle is based on the design used for the ride vehicle from the Disneyland attraction.
While we're talking Disney, Mrs Dex got me this very cool Tron: Ares light up popcorn...bucket? container? It's pretty sizeable at just over a foot tall!
I was very excited to unwrap this Funko of one of my favorite Muppets: Pepe the King Prawn. There's not enough Pepe merch out there! And he's flocked!
Rounding things out with a pair of Star Wars card games. This Solo Solitaire game comes in a tin that looks like Han in carbonite. It's basic "Patience" solitaire with a themed deck of cards. There's a Jedi Master mode where you add two additional cards: Carbon Freeze which "freezes" the lane when it reveals, preventing you from playing or moving cards there, until you play Save Solo on it to remove it.
Finally is the Stay on Target card game, which I really wanted because it comes in that cool Death Star! Each player takes a squadron color and battles their way through Imperial defenses to take a shot at that exhaust port to score victory points.
Well, here we are at the end of another year. This was probably my
lightest month for movies since I started keeping track. I was up for watching
some so bad it's good holiday horror and ended up with a lot of coal in my
stocking.I have no one to blame but myself as I rarely watch trailers to see
what I'm in for.
Series
IT: Welcome to Derry (HBO Max)
I'm a King fan but only know IT from its film incarnations. The series started
out a little shaky but quickly gained its footing. The kid actors are all
great and their performances make each one endearing. Pennywise may not be in
every episode (which is good!) but when he does show up, things are bound to
get horrific and/or bloody.
The Creep Tapes (S2, Shudder)
On one hand, sometimes less is better. Seeing this much of "Peachfuzz" takes a
little away from the films. On the other hand, watching Mark Duplass perform
this role in all its unhinged craziness is a delight.
Movies
Twas the Night (2023, Tubi)
I honestly couldn't tell you what this is about other than it's a holiday
themed anthology. There's a wraparound story to supposedly tie everything
together but like most of the rest of the movie, it fails to do what they want
it to. I feel like the folks that made this had an idea in their heads that
just didn't make it to the screen. For some reason, people in Purgatory are
judged by Krampus?
Rating: 2/10
I Trapped the Devil (2019)
It's a slow burn that could have used a little more fuel for the fire. There's
a lot of atmosphere in the way it's shot and the actors are very good but I
feel like it would be better as a 30 or 60 minute episode of the Twilight Zone
or something similar.
Rating: 4/10
Krampus vs Vikings aka Pagan Warrior (2019, Tubi and
YouTube)
Hey, we have a Krampus costume and access to a castle, let's make a movie
around that! Low budget, bland actors, laughable stage combat, and typos in
the text opening aside, the biggest crime committed here is that Krampus is
summoned by witches to help a Saxon get revenge on Viking invaders. That's not
how Krampus works! There was at least one scene where the horns on his head
were noticeably askew.
Rating: 3/10
I remembered the Blumhouse "Into the Dark" Hulu series of holiday horror
movies so decided to try my luck in that neck of the woods...
New Year, New You (2018, Hulu)
I'm sure there's an audience for the type of movie this is, but I'm not it. I
found it hard to get invested in most of the cast. It doesn't get off the
ground for me until the second half and then it's a lot of chasing around in a
dark house where I was never quite sure of the layout which made it difficult
to keep track of what was happening where.
Rating: 4/10
A Nasty Piece of Work (2019, Hulu)
At least I ended the year with a winner! This thing has more twists than a multi-story parking garage ramp, you know the corkscrew ones? Julian Sands (channeling his best David Warner) and Molly Hagan are wonderful as a rich couple with an epic love/hate relationship. How far would you go to get that promotion?
Rating: 8/10
Letterboxd tells me I logged 93 movies this year but my on going total only shows 92. I wonder what I forgot to post about?
