El Professore Movie - Santo and Blue Demon vs Dracula and The Wolfman

1972
Director: Miguel M. Delgado
Starring: Santo, Blue Demon, Aldo Monti, Agustín Martínez Solares, Nubia Marti
* * *

El Santo and Blue Demon were Mexico's two most popular Lucha Libres. Hated rivals in the ring, they formed an inseperable pair onscreen, akin to a Spanish Dynamic Duo. Of the two, Santo was always the unquestioned leader as he was the older and more popular (he more than almost anything else in Mexican pop culture has become a living legend). This annoyed Blue Demon to no end as by this point in their careers, he was basically mopping the floor with his hated rival in match after match. But since he never quite achieved the same level of recognition, he had to settle for being second banana whenever forced to team with the Man in the Silver Mask on the silver screen. This is one of their later pairings and one of their better ones.

Full review after the jump.

Thank GIF it's Friday

There is nothing I could possibly add to this.

The Best Hellboy Story Ever

I'm not a Hellboy fan overall - it might be the artwork or the story, but it's never grabbed me. This short, however, is making its way around the intertubes right now and I haven't really laughed at a comic the way I laughed at this one for a long time:

Book Review: Flash Gordon: On the Planet Mongo: The Complete Flash Gordon Library (Vol. 1)

If you’re of a similar age to me, then the 1980 Flash Gordon movie no doubt sparks many fond childhood memories and you probably won’t even be able to read the name “Flash Gordon” without the Queen soundtrack beginning to build in your head. So why not venture back to the source and read the original strips that birthed Flash, Dale, Ming and inspired many sci-fi films and stories since - including, it should be said, George Lucas’ Star Wars.

I have an incredibly noticeable soft, squishy spot for classic comics so I was thrilled when our friends at Titan Books forwarded along a copy of Flash Gordon: On the Planet Mongo: The Complete Flash Gordon Library (vol. 1) collecting artist Alex Raymond’s original work. I am extremely eager to find out how all of this space-faring swashbuckling began!

Join me after the jump and we’ll discover the origins of Flash together...

America's Got Talent Finals: The Last Chance!

It's the very last chance for the top America's Got Talent finalists to prove themselves as the top act in the country. Six acts, and only one will be crowned the winner. It's been a long journey to this point, so let's jump right into it.

Instead of just choosing my number one, I've added videos and thoughts on all of them. I'm going to say that Tom Cotter and William Close are going to be the top two and I think William Close will get it, even though I want to see it go to Tom Cotter. And here are all 6 performances so you can decide for yourself.

Click through the jump for notes on all six!

The Batman '89 Soundtrack: A Critical Evaluation of How Each Song Pertains to Prince's Penis.

Another great find at this past weekend’s vintage/retro market was one of the most notorious soundtracks of all time! On vinyl! Yes, I’m talking about the pumping, Mardi Gras, sex music that diminutive pop-star Prince wrote and performed for Tim Burton’s dark, brooding Batman ‘89.

This album has long been a source of fascination and speculation for me (I once wrote a briefer post about it on my now defunct personal blog). It’s so tonally different from the film that I can’t help but wonder how such a strange marriage exists. It’s like Burton approached Prince and said, “Hey... can you write nine songs about Batman?” and Prince replied, “Well... I don’t know a whole lot about Batman, but I can write nine songs about something that I do know quite a lot about... my penis.” And Burton said, “Close enough.”

Let’s look at each sex-fuelled song, one-by-one... after the jump!

Stryder's Favourite Comics - 9/5/2012

          Zero Month is here!  DC Comics, in celebration of the first full year of the New 52, has decided that all of their titles this month will be released as Issue #0 and feature origins, secrets and other tantalizing nuggets for us, their faithful readers, to enjoy! 
I have to say, I started collecting comics again with the start of the New 52 and it's brought a little happiness into my life every day since!  What started as a Jedi mind trick to help me quit smoking has become a hobby I love!  It still amazes me that something that cost me only 3 lousy bucks can mean so much, but hey...comic books!  There you have it!  So for me at least, the one year anniversary of the New 52 truly is worth celebrating! 

But enough of that...let's get down to business! 

Green Lantern #0 - "Simon Baz of Earth.  You have the ERROR ability to overcome great fear. "

In what is perhaps the only Zero issue set in the present, we get to meet new Green Lantern Simon Baz for the first time this month!  The reintegrated ring(s) of Hal Jordan and Sinestro find our new guy deep inside some secret military prison where he is being interrogated on suspicion of being a terrorist!  Oh, America... To be fair, Simon IS a criminal.  A car thief with a record of illegal street racing.  He just happened to steal a van with a bomb in it this time...You can see why the feds are skeptical as he proclaims his innocence.

All in all, the story of Simon Baz looks like it'll be an interesting one.  I'm far more interested in Hal Jordan and Sinestro, personally, but hey...it always takes me a few issues to warm up to something new.  We'll see how this one goes!  I'm sure, regardless, that the old characters will be back in SOME form or other soon enough...

Action Comics, Detective Comics, some Before Watchmen and a NEW comic after the JUMP!

Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention 2012!

Friend of FP Luke Caporn found himself in Singapore at the same time as the Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention, and the call of Nerd Mecca was strong. He was kind enough to send us a few photos, and I must admit, they had us drooling on our keyboards and looking at flights for next year. There was a heavy focus on toys, which we love, and we know YOU love, so head below the cut to check out all the action.

Nerd History: Denis, the Headless Saint

Still playing catch-up right now, but I wanted to share something I tripped up on regarding St Denis. His image is all over Paris, and he's very noticeable, mostly because he's seen carrying his own head. So the story goes:

Saint Denis was the first bishop of Paris, back in the third century when Paris was still very much a Roman city. The prodigious number of conversions Denis performed got him on the bad side of the local pagan priests. So the Roman rulers of Paris had Denis arrested and brought him to the highest hill in Paris, now known as Montmartre, where he was executed by — you guessed it — beheading. Now, here comes the good part: It's said that immediately after Denis was killed, he picked up his head and walked six kilometers to the North, and then finally died. The spot where he fell is now the town (technically a commune) called Saint Denis.

He's now shown on plenty of artwork, he's got his own day, etc. And, funny enough, he's invoked primarily by prayer seekers for either demonic possession or...headaches.

Retro Review: Nintendo Game Pack Trading Cards!

This past weekend we ventured to a vintage market where, amongst dusty LP’s, burlesque prints, and fancy hats, I managed to find some sealed packs of classic Nintendo Game Pack trading cards for a mere two dollars a (waxy) pack. I didn’t know what was lurking inside - I didn’t even need to know - all I knew is that I needed them and that I’d force you to hear all about them. Even though, let’s be honest, Nintendo is notoriously sissy. DON’T HIT ME! (Or should that be “ineffectually slap” me?).

Join me after the jump and we will crack these cards open and ROFL at the gloriously retro art and fun to be had inside. Or should I have spent that $4 on a coffee? Let’s find out!

The Book Was Better Podcast Episode 26: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!

The Book Was Better is the podcast where Jessica and I discuss/debate and mock the tie-in novelisations of your favourite (and not-so-favourite) films! This week our scorn is directed at the absolutely exhausting Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull! Join us as we complain, moan, disagree about the artistic merit of the series and make stupid dick jokes about Indy's most sluggish adventure yet!

"STFU, Mutt!"

Download it from the official site, or why not subscribe to us on iTunes so that we can force our way into your iPod every single week!

Super Hexagon Will Eat Up Your Time and Destroy Your Mind. (It's That Good)

It feels like just Friday I played Super Hexagon for the very first time… I lasted about 2 seconds total before the incoming walls crushed me to death. But I tried again, and again, and soon enough 4 hours had passed and I was in the top 1000 players in the world with a high score of about 30 seconds.

This video is pretty close to real time:

Terry Cavanaugh's Super Hexagon is probably my favorite iOS (iPhone/iPad) app to date. It has very simple intuitive controls (touch the right side of the screen to move clockwise, touch the left side to move counter-clockwise), it's very addictive, and has a perfect fast restart (tap anywhere on the screen). It also features the amazing music of Chipzel that will never get old.

More insanity after the jump.