Big Wolf on Campus S02E11 - Blame it on the Haim

Big Wolf on Campus - Blame it on the Haim

Premiered June 10, 2000

Season 2, Episode 11

What is Big Wolf on Campus?

Big Wolf on Campus was a Canadian produced tv series about a high school football star turned werewolf and his outcast best friend and his girlfriend or girl that is friend. It ran from 1999 to 2002 on Fox Family in the United States. 

It was kind of your basic monster of the episode style supernatural series. One week vampires show up, another week Tommy's brother is sucked into a television and in other episodes Tommy is struggling with his werewolfism.

My Impressions

I love this show. I watched every episode. I might have actually seen The Lost Boys because of this show. I had a very long stretch of avoiding scary movies. I didn't know! I didn't know it was so good. I didn't know it wasn't scary. No one told me. Anyway, Big Wolf on Campus is a fun, campy show. 

Quickly

Corey Haim is in Pleasantville to shoot a vampire film.

Way Too Much Detail Recap

Tommy, Lori and Merton are really bored. Merton offers to read them his 200 page script (the rule of thumb is a script is 1 minute per page, that would make this an almost 3 and a half movie). They hear a woman screaming for help. Corey Haim in a costume store Dracula cape is about to bite a woman's neck. Haim yells cut. He's about to get upset until he sees Lori (the adult and the teenager thing would bother me but they were both in their 20s). 

Corey Haim is in town filming Sorority Vampire Beach Party (I don't think the town has a beach). Corey offers Lori a job as his personal assistant. She turns it down but he hires Merton instead. TNT threaten to assault Haim (the man with the spikiest of spiky hair) for not answering their fan mail. He defuses the situation gracefully. Corey casts Lori in the film, Curse of the Vampire Bride (name change). 

Tommy begins wolfing out in jealousy over Lori playing a love interest to Corey. They find a coffin in Corey's trailer while picking up a pot of turkey soup for the soup kitchen. They don't notice a bat hanging on the ceiling. The bat transforms into a very vampiric looking vampire Corey. Of course, Corey's a vampire. It's impossible to not anticipate that. The makeup is pretty well done. The details are a little overly elaborate especially considering other vampires on the show have just had teeth. The ears have tons of ridges. I like the bat nose. It must have been fun.

Tommy grows suspicious of Corey for no good reason. He's just jealous. 

Merton walks in on Corey drinking from a blood bag. He comments on the blood being vintage 1997. Since this aired in 2000 and I don't think the show was dark enough to elude to a three year old being the source of his snack, I think it was that wine vintage joke about blood. Either way, I've never understood it because why would a vampire drink old blood? And I can hear Dr Texas in my head telling me it's just a television show. Corey lies to Merton about the blood being his own. Merton accepts the explanation. Merton is apologizing to Corey for bringing him a garlic pizza when he notices Corey doesn't have a reflection. Why have a mirror then? He could customize the trailer enough to have a coffin. Geez, I need to stop thinking so deeply about this.

Tommy tries to tell Lori about Corey being a vampire but he can't remember the evidence Merton related to him and Lori calls him out for being jealous. Merton gears up to kill Corey. Merton doesn't get far. Corey tells Merton he's going to turn Lori into a vampire. Then buries him alive. That situation escalated quickly.

Merton wrote a multiple page letter to Tommy explaining his life story and telling him he was going to kill Corey. Fortunately Merton has the walkie talkie he's been using to work with Corey. He tells Tommy that Corey buried him alive. Tommy doesn't act with a ton a haste.

Vampire Corey and Werewolf Tommy get into a fist fight. Tommy stakes Corey. Lori and Tommy dig up Merton.

Victor and Valentino - S01E14 - Los Perdidos - Toonstalgia

Victor and Valentino - The Lost Boys Episode

Season 2, Episode 14

The Lost Boys Episode

Premiered October 5, 2020

Quickly

Victor and Valentino meet Los Perdidos.

Thoughts

The Music cues - They are subtly accurate to the movie in a way that makes me want to turn on the album.

Javier returns from "Legend of the Hidden Skatepark". The early reference to "rulegivers" is a clever foreshadowing to his appearance later in the episode.

"Who's the jumping lump in the little nemos?" A clever reference to Little Nemo in Slumberland, a comic by Winsor McCay that ran from 1905 to 1927. Little Nemo was often in his pajamas. The comic series is remembered for its creative adventures, artistic quality and being a product of its time.  I'd recommend his work to people who are interested in the history of art in comics and cartooning with the warning that it has racist caricature in the art. Winsor McCay was also one of the early animators. He created a Little Nemo cartoon and Gertie the Dinosaur. 

The back of the Perdidos jacket is modeled on Ratfink.

The mouth cave entrance is a vampire's mouth. 

Also, the bat in the episode is too cute.

I feel the joy in this episode. There's so many references to not just the plot but lines and scenes in the film. This is a love letter.

Way Too Much Detail Recap

In the middle of the night, Victor is awoken by the sound of skateboarders. Victor and Valentino go out to skateboard and pogo. They meet Los Perdidos, Jamie, Tony and Alex. They join the Perdidos in skating through town to their hang out. Victor is enticed by their life of sleeping all day, skating all night and never getting bored. Victor and Valentino hang out in the black light colored cave until they get tired. Victor drinks a glass of skater's delight. They offer it to Valentino but he refuses. An unseen individual watches with glowing red eyes from the darkness. The next day, Victor isn't feeling himself. Valentino investigates. He sees Victor's sharp teeth. Don Jalapeno informs him Perdidos are vampires and sells him the gear he needs to face off with the Perdidos. Valentino walks into the cave to save his brother. The Perdidos capture Valentino. Javier reveals himself and a thirsty Victor. Victor restrains himself and frees Valentino by biting through the rope. Valentino turns the gang members human with water balloons filled with garlic water. Valentino turns Victor back. Javier crashes into the wall again. Javier lives and the boys escape.

Victor and Valentino - S01E05 - Legend of the Hidden Skatepark - Toonstalgia

Victor and Valentino - Legend of the Hidden Skatepark

Season 1, Episode 5

Premiered April 6, 2019

Quickly

Victor and Valentino find a skating paradise.

Thoughts

The name made me think of Legends of the Hidden Temple.

I love the dog with the dope hat.

The episode makes references to "Hook". The character of Javier returns in "Los Perdidos".

Recap

Victor and Valentino search the jungle for a legendary skatepark. Victor wants a place to skate and Valentino wants a place to pogo. They find it and are briefly captured by a bunch of kids dressed up in animal costumes (their animal essences). Victor is accepted by the Wild Kids and their leader Javier. Valentino is rejected as lame for pogoing, he's forced to build track with one of the younger girls. Victor finds out the kids sacrifice precious items to a pit to keep the rulegivers away. Valentino finds out that all the kids live in the forest, grows suspicious of Javier and starts seeing the problems behind the paradise. Valentino is intent on leaving so he can get home before sundown. When the Wild Kids attack Valentino, Victor stands in his defense. They flee. Victor faces off with Javier, the leader. I love seeing Victor stand up for his brother.  Victor finds out Javier's been keeping the kids' sacrifices. The kids depose Javier and send him down the doom ramp. Victor and Valentino go home.

The Lost Boys - The Script - Gnarly 80s

The Lost Boys - The Revised Script

I love film scripts. Not transcripts but shooting scripts. A transcript is the movie written down, the shooting script is the script used in production. I also love early drafts. I wish I could get my eyes on more but I love the ones that I have read. It's fascinating to see the difference between the original idea and the finished work. It's a chance to see what was changed, what worked better in the script, what worked better in the movie and gain a new appreciation for a film.

Differences from the Film

There's a fight between Sam and Michael that was rightfully dropped. It wouldn't have played well in the film. A changed version was included in the deleted scenes.

The motorcycle race is longer.

Some lines are added or dropped through out the film. It's natural for the dialogue to change from the script to the film.

In the hotel scene, the Lost Boys have more dialogue. One effect of the dialogue is it makes them sound slightly younger than they're portrayed in the film with conversation about parents and rules. Another effect is it slows it down and elaborates on points that don't need elaboration.

The railroad trestle scene is moved to the night after Michael goes to the cave. Instead of going to the railroad trestle after drinking the blood, Michael goes home. 

A couple small scenes are removed like Michael trying to lift his barbell and Nanook licking salt from his feet.

Star has a backstory in the film script. She tells Michael she ran away from home and joined the Lost Boys. She also pierces Michael's ear. 

Star and Laddie have a scene after the Lost Boys take Michael out to the railroad where they discuss Laddie's memories of his family.

Michael visiting Star in the cave is different. There are flashbacks.

Scene 133 where Sam consults with Alan and Edgar is on the beach and not in the comic book shop. Much of the dialogue is the same but it's slightly different because of the setting at the beach.

The individual attack at the car of the "Surf Nazi" and his girlfriend, who in the final film ripped off some comics from the Frog Brothers, isn't in the script. The Surf Nazis all get wiped out on the beach.

Before they enter the collapsed hotel, Michael asks Sam to protect Star instead of asking him to not enter the collapsed hotel. I think the change was good because it's a nice character moment to have Michael worried about his little brother and Sam say he'll protect his big brother.

There's a brief moment during the Frog Brothers and Sam's search for the Lost Boys where they come across a bunch of skeletons of people that died in the earthquake that collapsed the hotel. It both doesn't really make sense and reminds me Goonies where it did make sense so I'm glad they dropped that.

None of the Lost Boys get staked at the hotel.

There are several differences in the conflict with the Lost Boys at the Emerson house. Michael owns a hunting bow and shoots Dwayne in the neck with an arrow. Dwayne isn't described as being staked. He dies with electrical flare but he vanishes and no stereo. Paul "vanishes" into the tub.

Marko, the first to die in the film, works with David to attack Michael and Sam. Michael takes on David. Marko separates Sam by dragging him into the kitchen.

Edgar and Alan decide to kill Star and Laddie. Sam isn't present and the decision is very deliberate. It's a jerk move and undermined them as heroes because they're talking about murdering two people who haven't done anything to them or anyone.

Everything with Marko following the hotel is different because he was killed there in the film. Marko has a long serpent tongue to clean his face. I kind of wish I could have seen that in the style of special fx in the film. It's a really weird mental image.

The garlic works in the script. There's a line in the film where a vampire says it doesn't work. But it's Marko's downfall in the script. He blows up like Thunder in Big Trouble in Little China.

The dynamics of David and Michael's fight is a little weird. But following Marko's death in the kitchen, David flies Sam upstairs and traps him with the Frog Brothers, Star and Laddie in Michael's bathroom using an elaborate power that's not established previously. He creates flames around the doors and windows. David does this to have a one on one fight with Michael. Except, all of his friends have just been killed and he wanted revenge. I'm just rewriting it in my brain but it's because it doesn't ring true in my brain that David would stop the fight after Michael lost consciousness. The scene's set up for Star to embrace her vampire nature to help Michael. But nothing really comes of this because they're cured so soon after.

Max's death is slightly different. Lucy pushes him. Michael isn't involved. Grandpa still "drives" the stake.

There's a post credits scene making it clear there are other vampires. The ending line was perfect in the final film.

Thoughts

There are parts that were streamlined for the film and work very well. I think the majority of those changes were for the betterment of the film.

Little details like Star resisting tasting a drop of Michael's blood while piercing his ear makes sense but they're not missed. It would actually be a little outside the style of the film. It would have required very close shots to communicate the idea.

The changes to Star's role in the events puts the relationship between Sam and Michael at the center of the film. Michael overcomes David through his sense of self and not because of a girl he likes. It's an improvement.

The script is good, the film is better. The script is worth the read.

There are a few sections that made me laugh especially at the end with the way the vampires died. I do not know how the special effects artists would have pulled some of them off. But it's easier to write something than execute. They did fantastic work the way the explosions went.

Max disappears into a vortex that sucks things in and the theorist and troper and writing part of my brain can't help but think about the implications of that on the rules of their universe.

The Lost Boys - The Film - Gnarly 80s

The Lost Boys: The Movie

The Lost Boys premiered in 1987. It is a vampire comedy film directed by Joel Schumacher.

Why this?

I cannot count the number of times I've watched this film. It brings me joy. I usually offer the caveat when I recommend a film to a friend that "I like it" but I recommend this film to everyone. If there's even a little chance you'll like, it's worth watching because it is an 80s classic.

Why I Love It

I favor films with extreme rewatchability. I can appreciate a great classic film and never watch it again. I can recognize the flaws in the films I watch and love for all the flaws. You could find breakdowns for the film and reviews. I write mostly on cartoons so this is a new thing for me.

The Lost Boys is one of my all time favorite films. In the film, the Emerson family moves to Santa Carla to restart their lives after a bad divorce. Quickly after arriving, they attract the attention of the local vampires and vampire hunters.

It's funny, exciting, silly and unique. The costumes and the production design are on point. Santa Cruz comes off as the kind town I would love to visit...I could even deal with the vampires. I don't like going out at night anyway. 

The cast is perfect in all of their roles. I watched Michael Rosenbaum's interview with Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland. They reflected on their work on the film and had wonderful memories of it.

I love to watch this film. I could write a long list of my favorite scenes and bits and pieces. The simple fact is I love the act of watching this film. I can't talk about it objectively. The Lost Boys is more than the film to me, it's all of the memories I made in the light of the film. It's putting in the tape late on a hot summer night and watching it at midnight. It's the book, the comics and the screenplay. It's lying in bed listening to the soundtrack on my Walkman. It's watching Victor and Valentino and hearing the first notes of a song referencing the soundtrack before realizing the whole episode is an homage. It's excitedly telling my nephews how the episode was based off my favorite show.

Over the years, the parts I've focused on have changed. I remember envying Star's clothes. I bought shoes that looked like Michael's sneakers. I studied the way the story was told to try to understand why it worked so well. I love it.

The Lost Boys - The Novel - Gnarly 80s

The Lost Boys: The Novel

I have a copy in my collection of film novelizations. I like living in the world of a movie I love for longer than the length of the film. I like the details that get incorporated that you can't have in a film or are left out due to pacing. 

There are certain genres of film that do not benefit from the change in medium. Comedies can lose their humor and musicals can lead to strange artistic choices. Also, the characters might be interpreted differently than they are in the final film. There's a wide spread in quality in films novelizations.

Review??

I am not a book reviewer. I am not trying to be a book reviewer. If you want a proper review of this book, you're in the wrong place. I can only say whether I enjoyed it and I enjoyed this. But I am kind of a fanatic for the film. I could nitpick the novel because I can nitpick anything. The novel does what it is meant to do, it tells the story of the film. But it doesn't tell it any better than the screenplay or the film. 

If you're looking for a really well written novel that happens to be a novelization of a film, I recommend Alan Dean Foster's novelization of Alien. I think he brings something extra to the novelization and it's still in print so it's simple to get a copy.

About Adaptations

The adaptations often precede the final cut of the films they're based on. This is what makes them interesting to me. Sometimes scenes in scripts flow better. Sometimes scripts have ideas that are outside of budget. Of course, some things in films just don't work well in novels. The more intimate interactions often work better in the novels. 

Added Details to the Novel

Overall, the novel has the same timeline as the screenplay which is a little longer than the film.

Michael was dating a girl in Phoenix before they moved. He reflects on a desire to belong.

Lucy's marriage to Sam and Michael's father was tumultuous and unhappy. She felt that he was enough of a public figure in Phoenix that it would be hard to continue living in the city of 1.7 million people.

The novel reincorporates an excised plot about Michael getting daywork and planning to quit school to support the family. The plot adds character development to Michael showing his fears for his family and his protectiveness. It also shows his fears for himself. He doesn't see a future for himself. I think it's a very teenager way to feel. When you're a kid, you can struggle to see past high school. Talking to my mother about it, she suggested it's a matter of values dissonance. Quitting high school just wasn't done when and where I went to school. Most of my class went to college.

Lucy's relationship with Max is developed further.

Michael has a partially developed character arc where he is emulating the Lost Boys. I think this would have been a more interesting arc if it wasn't competing with his desire to forge a financially secure future and diluted by the idea that he is only emulating them to attract Star.

The novel officially states the gang is The Lost Boys.

Sam's age is indicated to possibly be around 12. This is younger than the actor playing Sam. When Michael meets Laddie, he assesses Laddie to be a couple years younger than Sam. He later describes Laddie as 10.

There's a scene of Lucy being taunted by the Lost Boys. I think it works better than the similar scene of Max being menaced by the Lost Boys because it maintains the mystery of Max and builds the tension. When Max isn't dead after his confrontation with the Lost Boys, it gives him away.

The transformation of Michael is elaborated on. Michael tries to shower and the attempt leaves him injured. His mother reflects on a change in his style of dress. While in the film, the changes in his clothing are mainly the leather jacket he purchases, the earring and the sunglasses he frequently wears.

The relationship between Sam and Michael is a little more distant because we experience more of their reflections on each other. The line before they enter the Lost Boys lair follows the script where he asks Sam to protect Star rather than noting he can't protect Sam. Unlike the revised script, the novel has Michael follow Sam outside when he goes to untie Nanook from the fence.

Star's background is illuminated slightly. She had a sister. She left home because her parents were abusive. Her mother "almost killed her" and her father "wished she had never been born".

The confrontation with the Lost Boys follows the scenes in the film and not the revised script.

The novel has an epilogue not present in either the film or the script. Star goes to live with the Widow Johnson and Laddie's reunited with his family.

Gunship featuring Tim Cappello and Indiana - Dark All Day - Toonstalgia

Gunship - Dark All Day featuring Tim Cappello and Indiana

Released July 13, 2018

Gunship is a British synthwave band. Dark All Day features Indiana, a British singer, on vocals and Tim Capello, from Lost Boys, on saxophone. This song comes from their 2018 album "Dark All Day". It's the kind of album that feels right listening to on my tape player. This isn't just a vibe. I have it on tape.

Premise

The music video is set in Santa Carla. The band visits Santa Carla to do a show. The animated sequences are interspersed with live action of the band performing under a red deluge.

The use of Lost Boys isn't incidental. The song references the Lost Boys "Come on Lost Boys, let's stay alive". The album is peppered with classis 80s films references in a purposeful way. I recommend the track "When You Grow Up, Your Heart Dies" and if you know the movie that quote comes from off the top of your head, this might be the right album for you. I don't know. Everyone has their own tastes. But I've fallen asleep listening to their album more than a few times.

Advisory

Skip the video if you don't want to see beloved characters get aced. I was a little surprised the first time I saw it. The violence is not for kids. I'd rank it at Rick and Morty level.

The Cameos

Three vampire hunters appear as security for the concert, Buffy, Blade and Seth Gecko. Being the setting of the Lost Boys, there are multiple visual references like the Santa Carla sign and a missing poster. The video includes David, Edgar and Alan Frog and the Saxophone Man (Tim Capello).

Tim Capello performed I Still Believe in the film and for the soundtrack. He's in Dark All Day on the track and in the video.

The Animation

It's nothing revolutionary but it's good 2-D digital animation. The character designs for the vampires are great, especially David. The violence is a little gratuitous but that's the style. I would have preferred Edgar and Alan not getting aged down for the video. It's not my aesthetic but I think it's pretty killer.

The Spoilers

David takes out Buffy and Gecko because of course he does. The band takes out Edgar and Alan. Blade's bomb takes out David.

The Lost Boys - The Comic

The Lost Boys: Comic Sequel 

Published 2016

I was going to skip this. I knew it came out and avoided it out of skepticism. I read it for this with the intent of leaving it as a footnote in the movie post. But I liked it. I really liked it. 

Quickly

The Emerson family, the Frog Brothers, Star and Laddie are living their lives until a tragedy reveals that Santa Carla still has "too many goddamn vampires". 

Nitpick

I got fixated on my confusion of why Lucy is Lucy Emerson and Sam and Michael Emerson. She's recently divorced and that would commonly be her husband's name but in this comic it establishes her father is an Emerson. It's not impossible that she would keep her maiden name and give that name to her kids but it's not common. The comic has enough going for it that I'm just stuck on a nitpick. Really, the only reason this bothers me is because it feels like a mistake. There were a couple tiny things here and there that didn't feel completely thought out but that didn't take away from the overall story.

Just Some Detail

The comic book picks up shortly after the film ended. Everyone's back and just living their lives. It's not easy and not glamorous but it's good. Michael's working at a nursing home. Lucy's still working at the video store. Sam's working at the comic book shop. Star and Laddie are living with the Emersons. The Frog Brothers are training with the grandfather to be vampire hunters. Then the vampires come and the Emerson family and friends need to fight back.

Thoughts

In the way the first movie was more Michael's story, this is more Sam's story. We learn more about Star and we learn about other vampires but Star doesn't change. She already changed in the first movie. She has to face her past now as the new person she's become. Sam starts out unconfident, still focused on superficial things, and neglecting the things that really matter. By the end, the Frog Brothers are even impressed with Sam.

One of my favorite parts is the Saxophone Man (Played by Tim Capello in the film). I loved his character. The expansion of this diegetic source of music into a character makes sense and it's fun.

I didn't really care about the new vampires. A couple of the vampires had interesting backstories but the story stops to flashback and it's a lot of effort for a character that's about to die. I didn't read the comic for the new vampires, I read it for the returning characters and the idea of what might have happened next. It was interesting but not much more than that.

How to Make Highway Signs and Logo Cards

Logo Cards and Highway Signs

The Genesis

When Dr Texas was younger, he developed a passion for these YouTube videos with just company logos. I wanted to support his interest and the videos bored me. So I took some excess cardboard I pulled out of the recycling at work and drew a logo on a card. It was fun for me because creating and it took a little selling but once he got the idea, he was on board. After the logo videos, he got interested in FreewayJim videos which are just a guy driving on highways and freeways. Then the logo cards gave way to highway signs. Here I am a few years later and we have a bucket full of the cards. They are story telling, they are inspiring to him and I will keep making them until he moves onto something else. Then I'll hold onto a few in my personal keepsake box.

Logo Cards

The cards can teach kids to be literate of the world around them. It can even help them learn to literate. The car logos were Dr Texas's favorites. I know what little I know about cars from looking at a website of car logos with him.

Materials

Cardboard - Whatever is available. Delivery boxes, cereal boxes, and anything else free. These are played with and sometimes wrecked by happenstance or act of cat. Don't be precious because they're better if they can be guiltlessly wrecked.

Markers - Whatever colors you need. Sharpies and White Uni-ball work best. Waterbased markers will bleed and smear.

Steps

1. Ask the "client" what logo they want.

2. Draw it on the card.

Tips: If you are unconfident in your skill as an artist, remember most kids don't judge too hard. Also, there are many logos that are simple like the Nike swoop.

Highway Signs

My nephew can navigate better than I can. That's not huge given my ability to get lost anywhere but still an accomplishment.

Materials

Cardboard

Green Bottled Ink (And brush)

White Uni-ball signo UM-153

Black Pen

Red Gel Pen

Blue Gel Pen

Steps

1. Paint the cardboard with green ink.

2. Let the cardboard dry overnight.

3. Pick out an exit sign image.

4. Draw the sign to match the source image.

5. Be enthusiastic. 

Unsolicited Advice

I think it's important to foster their passion. If a kid hears someone isn't interested and doesn't like what matters to them, they'll eventually stop trying to share their interests because they'll assume that's going to be the response every time. They might even stop being interested in things and that would suck. Maybe it's just my perspective as an artist but that's my two cents.

10 Movies and Television Shows that Deserve Cartoon Spin-Offs

10 Cartoon Spin-Offs I Want to See 

All for fun. Just some cartoons I would like to see.

Fright Night

I could fill out this entire list with just 80s horror films like Lost Boys. Satisfying cartoon adaptations of 1980s horror films would be a radical fad. But this one is on the list for a reason. The comic book continuation. It tells the story of Charlie Brewster and Peter Vincent tangling with monsters and the supernatural.

In the intervening years, Lost Boys has gotten follow ups. But oddly, the movie featuring comic books didn't get a comic book at the time of release and the movie with no comics got a really fun comic book continuation. Don't get me wrong, I would still watch every episode of a Lost Boys cartoon multiple times but I feel like the comic book gives a clear idea how the show could go.

She-Wolf of London

This show started as an American-British production before being transformed into an American only production. It tells the story of an American student in London getting bit by a werewolf then working with her professor to find a cure and encountering many monsters along the way.  It was part of the early 90s supernatural show boon that I reveled in. Alternatively, there was also Big Wolf on Campus but that show had a completed story. She-Wolf was retooled then cancelled.

Kolchak

Kolchak was a seventies show about a reporter encountering supernatural forces and never using his camera correctly. Kolchak had the iconic style that would translate beautifully to a cartoon character. His style is iconic to the point that his suit is a signifier of the character in other shows like Rhys Darby's wardrobe on The X-Files.

I swear, not everything is supernatural shows.

Legend of the Seeker

Legend of the Seeker is an epic fantasy series about the Seeker and his allies fighting against the evil of their land. This book series and show could be adapted in the same vein as Avatar: The Last Airbender which tackled intense topics.

Friday the 13th

Imagining this makes me laugh. Is there a better reason than that for a cartoon show? I am referring to Friday the 13th the movie series, not the television series. I don't know if anyone would assume I meant the Friday the 13th series but it's me and it's not unreasonable to think I would mean that. My favorite Friday the 13th film is Jason Lives. Push it a little more comedic and we could have a killer show with a Rick and Morty level twist. Or just make it a twisted thing.

Troop Beverly Hills

Troop Beverly Hills is a 1989 film about a troop of "Wilderness Girls" from Beverly Hills. It opens with an animated title sequence (the best kind of title sequence). The style shows strong influence from the members of the team who went on to create Ren and Stimpy. It would be cool to see a continuation of that.

The Naked Gun

The Naked Gun spoof films were a spin off from the Police Squad! television. Now modern spoof films have a spread of quality that range from rank to okay. But intelligent writers and fun visual gags could pull it off. Sam and Max: Freelance Police made a visually funny and fun show about Police.

The Conjuring

The Conjuring, Annabelle, The Nun and all of the others. This is another idea that makes me laugh. A Scooby-Doo style mystery series based on The Conjuring-verse, not the real stories but a fun mashup between the two.

The Thin Man

This movie was about Nick and Nora Charles, a retired detective and a socialite, getting dragged into a murder case. The Thin Man was adapted from a novel into a movie, a television series, a radio series, and a radio drama adaptation of the film. It also had five sequels. There was oddly no comic strip adaptation at the time. This was odd because other movie serials like The Saint were adapted into comic strips. They even had comic strips to advertise Broadway shows.

A big part of the charm of the series was the banter between Nick and Nora. The characters are exaggerated in the film and they could be ridiculous in a cartoon and still be recognizably them.

Drop Dead Fred

Drop Dead Fred was a film about a woman, her childhood imaginary friend and the difficult childhood and the end of her marriage. I just want to see what kind of drama and adventures Elizabeth and Drop Dead Fred had in the vein of Beetlejuice, the animated series.

Special Mention

Southern Fried Fugitives

Southern Fried Fugitives was a comic that ran in Nickelodeon Magazine. It's about a group of animate pieces of fried chicken fleeing for their finger licking lives.

Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer

Peter Gabriel's Animated Music Videos

Peter Gabriel is an English musician who's been active since 1967. I'm a big fan of his 80s work because that was when he came out with the album "So". The album features Sledgehammer, the song "In Your Eyes" from the movie with the guy holding the boombox over his head and "Red Rain" that always makes me think of vampires because that is how my brain works.

Sledgehammer

It earned its accolades.

The video opens with the biology of life. Then superzooms on Peter Gabriel in stop motion. He's animated while singing the song. The person in charge of timing did a fantastic job. It moves through many different phases of imagery.

1. 
   Train
2. Paper Airplane
3. Blue Sky and Clouds
4. Bullhorn
5. Rollercoaster
6. Bumper Cars
7. Ice
8. Fish
9. Banana
10. Fruit
11. Flowers
12. Box/Work Table
13. Plasticine Peter
14. Fertilization
15. Yin and Yang
16. Fish
17. Water Pillar
18. Abstraction
19. Egg
20. Dancing Chickens
21. Animating People

They animate him interacting with bumper cars. A few scenes replace him with ice, fruit and clay. The floor in the later minute of the video has a green grid on the white floor. The grid helped them track the movements the dancers and the objects made.

Other than Sledgehammer

I'm not going to get into Peter Gabriel's back catalog of music because that's not the point. I like his music and I'll leave it at that. Also, I'm in a place emotionally where I keep feeling songs in a really deep place...so, I'll stick to talking about the visuals and set aside discussion of the music. I'll leave it at this. I'm a fan.

MTV rewarded ridiculous creativity and style. You couldn't replay a clip, you couldn't save it and you couldn't share it. A lot of music videos were conceived to stick in your mind after seeing it once.

Behind the Video

Stephen R. Johnson directed Pee-Wee's Playhouse. He also directed Big Time and Steam for Peter Gabriel and Road to Nowhere for the Talking Heads. 

The work of Aardman Animations is gorgeous. It's the best part of the video.

Road to Nowhere - Talking Heads

Stephen R. Johnson also directed Road to Nowhere for the Talking Heads. For about 12 seconds, we get a glimpse of the concept of Sledgehammer with the lead singer sitting still while the things animate around him.

Big Time - Peter Gabriel

I would recommend this video for the creative imagery and the experimental mediums.

I see flavors of Pee-Wee's Playhouse in the production design. There are moments that callback to Sledgehammer. The stop motion animation is more ambitious. Overall, the video is disparate images and different ideas strung together with interspersed shots of Peter Gabriel performing the song. It's an "and then there was..." video. 

Sledgehammer flows together a little more. It doesn't have as many ideas and they transition a little bit better. But aside from the literal sledgehammers in Sledgehammer, both relate to their song about equally and this is fine.

Steam

I would recommend this video to anyone interested in early computer animation. It's very of the era and gives me flashbacks to Tomb Raider and Sims. It's interesting. The scenes work a little better than the previous videos. Unfortunately early 90s computer animation aged like milk in 90 degree weather.

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 15 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 15

Released December 1972

Stories

The Phantom Wolf

This is an original story. Scooby receives a letter asking him to investigate the Phantom Wolf haunting a town. The entire gang goes to the town with the understanding that it is Scooby's investigation. They stop off at a diner before going to the hotel. Fred and Daphne note the water tastes strange. They notice the locals seem very tired. They're told that they're not tired from the wolf, they wake up exhausted and callused.

It's a good story. The clues are laid out effectively including one clue I didn't identify as a clue but remembered when it was explained. The mystery moves quickly and leads into dangerous places. The atmosphere is dark.

The town wakes and sleepwalks into the mountains, including Fred and Daphne. Velma, Shaggy and Scooby follow and fall down a mineshaft. In the mineshaft, they find a dog painted in luminescent paint. They make friends with him and he leads them to the mining operation. Everyone from the town and Fred and Daphne are mining gold. They also find the mastermind of the operation who was drugging the town through the water supply and controlling them through radio broadcasts. He tries to force Shaggy, Velma and Scooby to drink the water at gunpoint. This is another gun. Scooby destroys the radio transmitter with the drugged water.

This is another issue without a masked villain, though it does have the "phantom wolf".

Professor Putter - The Robot Watchman

This is an non-Scooby short. A scientist tasks his robot with guarding his house from a local burglar without recognizing the burglar looks like him. It's cute and funny how the scientist solves his problem by dressing up. I still dislike robots.

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 14 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 14

Released October 1972

Stories

The Way-Out Inn

This is an original story. The gang are enlisted by a toy maker to uncover the source of haunting ghostly laughter. After the toy maker is tormented again, they decide to get him away from the city and the penthouse. He takes a boat trip with Velma, Shaggy and Scooby while Fred and Daphne search his penthouse for the source of the laughter. The boat grounds itself near an inn. They contact Fred and Daphne to come find them. Then they take refuge at the inn. The inn proves to be a less than restful place.

Many of the original comics fall into a different category than the expected masked monster. Many of them are crimes perpetrated by unassuming expert engineers. This category includes a comic strip artist with a remote control plane, a house haunted as a hobby and a dollhouse.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! mysteries aren't brain breakers. Sometimes the most obvious people because the only people aside from the gang in the story or they're someone who was never referenced. The point wasn't originally the mystery, it was the atmosphere. The human villain was a tool to make the story less scary for kids. I have thoughts about whether this make sense or not that boil down to...I like the fact that within the history of Scooby-Doo there have been real monsters and fake ones. In this story, the villains are the only people that aren't the gang or the client. 

The characterization of Scooby is unique in the comic due to his thought bubbles. We get a lot more dialogue from Scooby even if the gang doesn't acknowledge it. He can be a little snarky like calling out the rest of the gang for being afraid. The thought bubbles can make him being one of the smartest and bravest incarnations of Scooby in some issues like this one. In this issue, he seeks out the bad guys then works a crane to save the gang.

This is the first issue was released after the premiere of The New Scooby-Doo Movies.

Batty and the Green Grumble - The Dud Diamond Deal

Batty returns with his friend, the Green Grumble, and his mission to commit crimes. He plans to rob a diamond company. He discovers it's a doily factory. He's bummed but a little happier when he finds out he is now a wanted man.

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 13 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 13

August 1972

Stories

The Miniature Haunt

This is an original story. It features a cursed dollhouse and it doesn't have a masked villain.

The gang is lost in a rainstorm. They see a man dump a dollhouse in the wood. The gang takes the dollhouse to stop it from being destroyed in the storm. While driving, a clock in the dollhouse spontaneously breaks. They spot a house identical to the dollhouse. and bring the dollhouse there. An insurance investigator dumped the dollhouse because of a curse. Everything that gets destroyed in the dollhouse gets destroyed in real house. He dumped the dollhouse to try to get rid of the curse. The gang offers to stay and solve the mystery of the breaking antiques. They witness a painting get sliced apart and a vase break. The events reach a crescendo when the gang finds dolls of them stabbed through their hearts. The gang flees while Scooby solves the mystery as he's been trying to the entire issue.

The owner of the house had been rigging the dollhouse to break and breaking the antiques. He used the curse as coverup so he could collect insurance money. He would have sold them but his uncle put it in his will that he wasn't allowed to sell the heirlooms.

He's one of the most threatening villains. He tries to shoot them with a ice gun. Fortunately, the bullets had melted and Scooby takes him down. The comic ends with someone trying to shoot the gang.

Batty and the Green Grumble in The Jinxed Clinx Job

This not a Scooby-Doo story. A bat is determined to knock over an armored truck.

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 12 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 12

Released June 1972

Stories

The Bewitched Weather of Buccaneer's Bay

This is the fourth original story. A sudden change in the weather and Fred's poor driving strands the gang. They happen upon an inn and find out that others are being stranded near the inn due to unpredictable weather. They check in at the inn.

Fred, Shaggy and Scooby investigate in the middle of the night. They discover a haunted pirate attraction. The next day they investigate an observatory and discover the source of the mysterious weather. They find out that the inn owner's uncle was manipulating the weather to drive guests to the inn. Shaggy and Scooby instantly forgive him for putting their lives at risk and give him advice on how to achieve the goal of bringing guests to the inn without resorting to potentially deadly snow squalls. Shaggy suggests  making dramatic lighting around the sign for the inn or making a sunny day for the beach. 

I really enjoy the art in this issue. The pirate ship has cool pirate skeletons. The characters are distinct and interesting. They have fun with the details like the bear skin rug with the bear having a very unhappy look on his face. I think this is one of the best issues in the series so far.

Like the previous original stories, it eschews the guy in a mask format. There are creepy elements in each of these stories but they lack a guy running around in a rubber mask threatening them. The closest was the Galleon Ghost but that was a family dressed up as pirates in the vein of the Ghost of Redbeard. They weren't dressed as "ghost pirates", just pirates.

The Weird World of Dr. Strange

I really enjoyed this. A scientist turns himself into a werewolf then gets annoyed when he can't scare anyone because it's Halloween and everyone thinks he's in costume. It's compliments the Scooby story better than the previous short stories.

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 11 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 11

Released April 1972

Episode Premiere

No Episode

Stories

The Jinxed Jet

This is an original story. The gang is invited to a party on a plane by the mysterious JM. They find themselves on an island faced with a strange man tormenting them.

This was a fantastic story to read. I have been watching Scooby-Doo since I was a little and the mysteries don't require Sherlock Holmes so it feels like I've always known who's under the masks. This story had surprises and they weren't surprise chase sequences.

The gang is lured into a plane that takes off suddenly. The pilot jumps out and they're left to find a way to control the plane without entering the cockpit. Fred figures it out. Then they are landed by remote on an island where they meet their host. He asks for help recovering the hidden goods of a smuggler. They agree despite this guy making them think they were going to die. 

He leads them to a cave and traps them in with fire. Fred solves it by exploding the roof of the cave to let in water from a subterranean river. After each seeming attempt on their life, they find a backup safety system. 

They track their host to a castle. Scooby is trapped in a room with the ceiling lowering on him. They break into the castle to save Scooby. Scooby is saved when his tears (too sad) hit the outlet. I hate this guy. He made Scooby cry out of fear for his life.

Shaggy and Fred discover their tormenter is Jules Myrick, a comic strip artist. He was putting the gang into these situations to get ideas for his comic strip. Even in the golden age of comic strips, it's unbelievable that anyone would have had that kind of money. The story ends with little drama. The gang joyfully helps the artist with his strip.

Lolli's Pop

It's not Scooby. It didn't keep my attention.

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 10 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 10

Released February 1972

Episode Premiere

A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts November 22, 1969

Stories

The Ghosts of Grimstone Castle

This story is an adaptation of the first season episode, A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts. The gang visits a tourist destination where they are terrorized by ghosts.

This issue tells the story of the episode and improves on it in a few ways. The improvements start with the explanation of Grimstone Castle (named Franken Castle in the episode). In the episode, it's explained that the castle was moved from Europe. In the comic, they explain that the castle was built from stones brought from Transylvania by an "eccentric" over a hundred years earlier. In the time that the castle has been there, it's developed a reputation for being infested with lycanthropes.

The comic puts them in the middle of a desert. An interesting combination, Saguaro cactuses and Dracula. The plot changes after they reach the castle. This plot is shortened by hastening pointless parts of the plot. In the episode, Daphne is trapped inside the castle as a result of the drawbridge closing. In the comic Fred, Velma and Daphne get trapped. Shaggy and Scooby decide to brave the moat with alligators to save the rest of the gang. No hesitation, no Scooby Snacks.

Their time in the castle plays out similarly but not the same. There's no extended scene of Velma trying to find her glasses. The gang all acts with intent, especially Shaggy. Shaggy turns the crank on the drawbridge to "secure an exit". Shaggy and Scooby try to barricade a door with bags of  Monster Rations Kibble.  I appreciate it when they do something other than run around. I like it when they execute plans because it gives the characters autonomy and that's an important trait for a detective or a team of detectives.

Shaggy acknowledges the skeleton in the torture chamber of the castle in the cartoon and the comic but in the comic he uses one of the bones as a weapon. He realizes the bone is plastic. This is one of the best clues presented in the comic that's not present in the episode. It's a clue that the castle was dressed up to look creepy and menacing.

They escape the castle in the comic before solving the mystery. It's the best change from the episode because it makes the villain better by making his motive more sensible. The castle was haunted strategically to scare them and drive them out.

The hidden treasure works better in the comic. We get Fred's heroics when the bad guy attacks them and he flips him over and traps him. Velma realizes the meaning of the message Daphne found in the dungeon. The message refers to a fake brick containing the lost jewels. The set up works, it makes sense why the jewels would still be there because the castle was never moved. The castle was built where it stood. Although this means, the guy that owned the castle was imprisoned in the dungeon in the United States.

It's silly cute seeing the gang wearing the jewels they got as prizes for finding the lost jewels. It's like something out of an episode of the Monkees.

Scooby's thought bubbles are out of character for him. The thoughts are too detailed and they don't always sound like Scooby. Example: "Whup? I think I hear a wee small voice!"

The Other Story

There's another story filling up the leftover pages but it's not Scooby and it feels like some thing they had laying around and thought, "Eh, no one will care."

Rogue's Gallery

Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, Fortune Teller, Suit of Armor

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 9 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 9 - Comic

Released December 1971

Episode Premiere

Bedlam in the Big Top - November 15, 1969

Stories

The Phantom Clown

This issue is an adaptation of the first season episode "Bedlam in the Big Top". The gang meets a pair of circus performers who have just quit their circus. They learn about the Phantom Clown haunting the circus and driving it to ruin. Soon, they are being stalked by the Phantom Clown.

The comic begins the same way as the episode with the gang meeting the circus performers. But as soon as the gang arrives at the circus, the story starts to diverge. The comic introduces the mystery of Big Bertha, the European dancing elephant, who won't perform.

The gang still leaves the circus after learning about the clown. Leaving is a decision that goes against the character of Mystery Inc. But the comic explains how they could leave Scooby behind. Shaggy expected Scooby to be under their blanket. I took this to mean that Shaggy and Scooby have a designated hiding blanket.

The clown shoves Fred into a cannon instead of a wardrobe and it makes me laugh. The changes continue with Fred getting shot out of the cannon and saving Daphne from the lion. For the second time in two issues, Daphne and Velma just leave while Fred sets up the trap. The trap goes wrong. Fred and Shaggy get hypnotized into horses and Scooby is hypnotized into a lion. So Velma comes back and hypnotizes the clown into being a monkey. 

This is not an issue that improves on the episode. I don't like Velma and Daphne being shoved out of the story. I prefer the resolution of the episode. I dislike the change because it was nice seeing Shaggy be the hero in the cartoon, solve the mystery and capture the bad guy in such a simple way.

The very ending of the issue shows the gang hypnotized into working for the circus by the circus owner this time. The darkest ending to a Scooby-Doo comic so far.

Rogue's Gallery

Phantom Clown

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 8 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 8

Released October 1971

Episode Premiere

A Night of Fright is No Delight - January 10, 1970

Stories

Night For A Fright

This is an adaptation of the first season episode "A Night of Fright is No Delight". Scooby-Doo is named an heir in the will of a man he saved from drowning. A condition of the will is that he and the other heirs must spend a night at his haunted estate. As they spend the night at the estate, the inheritors begin disappearing into the hands of the Phantom Shadow.

The comic follows the episode until the end. The villains are the same but the way the capture and the unmasking plays out is different. Scooby-Doo is enraged after accidentally getting caught in the trap Fred set up for the Phantom Shadow. It's not the trap, Scooby's just had a bit of a day. He goes ultra instinct Scooby. He hunts down the Phantom Shadow to take him (or them down). The gang also finds the other relatives tied up in the basement which is both better and darker than the episode. The gang just assumes everyone left in the episode despite the twisted clue of the five coffins in the basement including one open and four closed. The fact that they're tied up in the comic raises the specter of "What were they going to do with them?"

I really liked the changes the writer made from the show to the comic. It was fun seeing Scooby-Doo fight back against the ghosts threatening him.

Rogue's Gallery

Phantom Shadow

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 7 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 7

Released August 1971

Episode Premiere

Scooby-Doo and a Mummy Too - November 29, 1969

Stories

Somebody's Mummy

This story is an adaptation of the first season episode Scooby-Doo and a Mummy Too. The gang goes to the university to help Profesor Art T Fax with his replication of Anka's Tomb. They leave the museum to get sandwiches and burgers from Sleepy Joe's. When they return, they find the professor petrified and the mummy of Anka missing. They investigate and soon find the mummy dogging their every move in pursuit of a coin.

The story plays out similarly to the cartoon until they find the professor. In the cartoon, Shaggy leaves him tied up in the shed. A decision which prompted me to say aloud, "What is wrong with you Shaggy?" and then sent me down a rabbit's hole of speculation of why the writers made that choice. In the comic, the professor plays a role in concluding the mystery. They all return to his office to search for the coin. Shaggy lets him know that he still has the coin just as the mummy breaks out of a barricaded closet. The mummy attacks them with a sword. Scooby grabs a mouthful of bandages and unwinds the mummy.

The Professor also solves the mystery of the coin. He realizes the figure was coin operated and reveals the giant diamond. The only other character in the episode is revealed to be the mummy.

This is one of the issues that improves on the original episode.

Rogue's Gallery

The Mummy of Anka

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 6 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 6

Released June 1971

Episode Premiere

Go Away Ghost Ship - December 13, 1969

Stories

The Ghost of Redbeard

An adaptation of the episode "Go Away Ghost Ship". The gang steps in to help a shipping magnate. They investigate the pirate ghost raiding his ships.

Fred says he knows where C.L. Magnus lives because he worked for the post office the previous summer. This is a great little bit of character of development. They hang a lantern on the creepy nature of the butler by having Shaggy literally say "The Butler did it" then play it off as a joke. The butler character is even explained. He was an insurance investigator. He wasn't just spying, he was undercover.

I think there's an oblique pot joke. Either that or it just plays as a pot joke to my ears.

Fred: Good! Now keep your eyes peeled for a mysterious fog bank!

Shaggy: That's the kind of bank I'd like to withdraw from!

The typography is a little more creative in this issue. They take a couple opportunities to stylize the lettering including onomatopoeia and old English oversized text to illustrate the pirate yelling.

Hand From the Wall

An original story. The gang runs out of gas. Shaggy and Scooby are elected to go to the gas station. On their way, they sit down and get conveyer belted into a haunted house. Velma, Daphne and Fred come to search for them. They find  Shaggy and Scooby being frightened by an old man. His intent is...odd but ultimately benign. He ran a haunted house before he retired. He did his house up to scare people in his retirement which would be fine if he hadn't set up his house to take people in from the outside. He make amends by giving them tickets to a fair.

This is the first really good original story. It has a unique concept and "villain". 

Rogue's Gallery

The Ghost of Redbeard and his crew

The Haunted House

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 5 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 5

Released March 1971

Episode Premieres

Which Witch is Which? - December 6, 1969

That's Snow Ghost - January 17, 1970

Stories

The Swamp Witch

This is an adaptation of the episode "Which Witch is Which?" where the gang gets lost in a swamp and encounters a swamp witch and her zombie minion.

The zombie is given a flesh tone rather than green. The witch is the usual hag stereotype and also with flesh tone. The character designs are decent. The limited color of the comics doesn't serve the designs.

The subtle changes to the story like simplifying the trap and changing when Scooby catches the fish at the end from a mystical occurrence in the bucket to a fish biting his tail when it drops in the water. It's a really good adaptation.

Scooby's thought bubbles have been replaced with a mix of show accurate one word answers, thought bubbles and longer lines.

That's Snow Ghost

This is an adaptation of the episode of the same name where the gang's ski trip is interrupted by the ghost of a yeti.

The comic drops the character of the Fu Lan Chi, the Tibetan man living in a cave. That's an easily excised character because it doesn't contribute to the mystery. His character is a brief detour from the plot that only serves to illuminate the villain's inspiration.

Also, the scene where Velma is nearly killed on a saw and the confusing scene where Shaggy is somehow convinced he's a ghost by coat of clown white are both dropped. The saw scene is a loss but the adaptation is pretty good.

Rogue's Gallery

The Swamp Witch and Zombie

The Snow Ghost

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 4 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 4

Released December 1970

Episode Premiere

A Clue for Scooby-Doo - September 27, 1969

Spooky Space Kook - December 13, 1969

Thoughts and Details

This is the first issue of the comic to debut after the finale of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! It would be two years before the premiere of New Scooby-Doo Movies.

Stories

The Ghostly Sea Diver

This story is an adaptation of A Clue for Scooby-Doo. The gang see a glowing diver on the beach one night. This leads them to investigate the ghost of a captain that's making ships vanish.

As with other adaptations, the story is abridged to suit the shorter format. With this story, scenes are dropped to focus on scenes that are more important to advancing the plot. One of the scenes sacrificed is Captain Cutler attempting to murder Fred, Velma and Daphne by locking them in a boat in the Graveyard of Ships.

Fred is off model often in this comic. Other characters are as well but Fred's more noticeable. His head is a little too large and square.

Ebeneezer Shark, the Widow Cutler and Captain Cutler diverge from the appearances of their cartoon counterparts. Ebeneezer fairs the best in this version. He has really interesting look, almost dapper. Widow Cutler looks more like a stereotypical crone witch. Am I going to be offended that the possibly fake witch from a comic from 1970 is drawn to accentuate most of the stereotypical ideas of a witch's appearance? No. It's a bummer but it's just a comic. I prefer the cartoon design for the Not-a-Widow Cutler. I also prefer Captain Cutler's design from the cartoon, it's less goofy looking than the comic.

The Comic Strip

This is not based on any episode. It's a like the shorts from issue 3. Scooby and Shaggy read a newspaper and freak some onlookers out by sitting too close together and looking like a person with a dog head.

The Spooky Space Kook

This is an adaptation of Spooky Space Kook. The gang run out of gas. They stop at a farm house for help. They learn from the farmer about a ghost coming down from the stars. They are lead to an abandoned airfield where they unravel the mystery of the Spooky Space Kook.

The Spooky Space Kook shares a design trait with the ghost of Captain Cutler. They were both drawn in black and white. A bit of a shame considering the designs in the cartoon are iconic. Also, the Spooky Space Kook is in color on the cover. Although the red and green color on the cover isn't great.

Rogue's Gallery

The Ghost of Captain Cutler

The Space Kook

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 3 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 3

Released September 1970

Episode Premiere

The Backstage Rage November 8, 1969

The Puppetmaster is shown as a silhouette 
regardless of the lighting until he's shown
unmasked.

Tricky Treats - Original to the Comic

Thoughts and Details

This issue was released near the time of the second season premiere. The cover doesn't have Velma on it. The whole gang, aside from Velma, is there and they're looking at the Puppetmaster.

Stories

One Spook Too Many

This is an adaptation of the first season episode the Backstage Rage. The gang stumbles upon a counterfeit operation in a puppet theater.

As with the other adaptations, the plot is the same but the story is streamlined. Some scenes are cut for brevity.

The comic continues with the convention of having Scooby create thought bubbles instead of talking. This seems to have been borrowed from the Archie comics convention of having Jughead's dog Hot Dog use thought bubbles. There may be other comics that followed the convention. This connection stands out to me because of the connection between Archie and Scooby-Doo. Reportedly, one of the inspirations for Scooby-Doo's development was Archie's success.

The comic made me realize that Shaggy and Scooby steal money from the theater when they take a brand new bill that they think might be counterfeit. It wouldn't be quite as clearly theft if Shaggy's first thought upon finding out it was real wasn't to spend it. Even if he still thought it was fake, that's not cool, it's just a different crime. 

A few nuances change between the cartoon and the comic. 

• The witch puppet that falls and scares Scooby instead hits him over the head and I don't like this because it forces me to question who worked the witch puppet.  
• Scooby jumps after the phantom in the pit in front of the stage. In the cartoon episode, he's tricked into jumping after a Scooby snack. In the comic, he goes after the phantom for attacking Daphne. I prefer the comic here.
• The mystery resolves a little more sensibly. They find the printing press in a secret room under the stage. Then Scooby traps the Puppetmaster by attacking him. It cuts a few details like the plate getting found then stolen.
• The character design for Pietro and the puppets is much different. I prefer the designs in the episode because the comic aesthetic is cuter and sillier than the creepy vibe of the tv show. 

Tricky Treats

There's mystery here. There's barely a story. Shaggy and Scooby scam for food. First from a doughnut shop, second from an employer who hires them in good faith then they ditch him.

It's kind of like a preview of the future Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo shorts.  Shaggy and Scooby are at their best when they're part of a team. There's no team here. It just feels like someone got told that they needed a couple pages to fill out the issue.

Rogue's Gallery

The Puppetmaster

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 2 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 2

Released June 1970

Episode Premieres

Galleon Ghost - Original to the Comic

Phantom of the Castle - Hassle in the Castle - September 20, 1969

Stories

Galleon Ghost

My favorite image from the episode. It wasn't in the comic.

A pirate ship appears from a swamp with a ghost pirate crew. The ghost crew is revealed to be a family of gypsies who found the ship and are trying to protect their claim on it.

This is the first original story.

The gang retains their pink Mystery Machine. In general, the colors are a bit wonky. The choice may have been a compromise to address the limitations in their printing process.

The writer tries to create the woman's accent through phonetic spelling and it doesn't work. The characters are exagerated. The family members have very pronounced confusing accents and are portrayed as somewhat impoverished. They are repeatedly referred to in the text as gypsies. They're not strictly villainous. Their intent in capturing Shaggy and Scooby is defined by their treatment of Shaggy. They just want to kick them off the ship. They are poor and need the money.

Shaggy has the most understated reaction to thinking Scooby died. "Poor Scooby" That's his best friend! Unless Shaggy is on his knees and wailing in grief, it's too understated.

Scooby attempts the disguise deception on the kids pretending to be pirates and it fails immediately and that's a great subversion.

Phantom of the Castle

The gang investigates Vasquez Castle on Haunted Isle and meets the Phantom. It's an adaption of Hassle in the Castle.

There's a gag where Shaggy winds up in the sawn in half trick. Velma is momentarily confused when it's revealed the head in the box isn't Shaggy's. The art in the comic works a little better because it looks a little like Shaggy but it is clearly not identical like in the cartoon.

The original episode is a slow burn creepy story. The comic loses the atmosphere. It also drops the detour of a riddle that just leads to a room in the castle. Overall it retains the story beats. It's a simple story to streamline because of the abundance of visual gags and jokes.

Rogue's Gallery

The Ghost Pirate Crew

The Phantom

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 1 - Comic

Scooby-Doo...Where Are You! - Gold Key - Issue 1

Released March 1970

Episode Premieres

What a Night for a Knight - Season 1, Episode 1 - September 13, 1969

Never Ape An Ape Man - Season 1, Episode 7 - October 25, 1969

Thoughts

The comics were developed separately from the television series but with many of the same scripts. Scooby, Shaggy, Velma and Daphne have the same appearances aside from off model drawings but often details will diverge from the cartoon like the pink Mystery Machine.

Scooby's dialogue is replaced with thought bubbles. It gives it a Garfield vibe. The convention was likely borrowed from Hot Dog in Archie comics.

Stories

What A Night For a Knight

This is an adaptation of the first episode for the cartoon show, What a Night for a Knight. The gang investigates a suit of armor that comes to life in the moonlight and searches for a missing professor. 

The design of the missing professor diverges from the show. The professor in the comic has a cowboy hat and a generic look. The professor in the episode is wearing a safari outfit with a more distinct appearance.

The plot is simplified to remove a few detours and remove some of Shaggy, Velma and Scooby wandering around while the knight stalks them. Velma doesn't give Shaggy medicine. Scooby doesn't knock down a dinosaur skeleton. Daphne and Fred find the trail of paint on their own. Shaggy never sees a missing painting. 

After the gang find the forgery studio in the comic, the story wraps up quickly. Scooby trips the knight and they unmask him. The entire plane sequence is dropped. The shorter space of the comic doesn't harm this story in any way. It's not worse for the absences and it's not significantly different. It's just simpler.

Never Ape an Apeman

This is an adaptation of Never Ape an Apeman. The gang investigates an ape disrupting Daphne's uncle's film production.

In general, the comic looks different than the episode. This is different from some contemporary tie-in comics like the Mickey Mouse comics for the modern Mickey Mouse shorts that initially ran from 2013 to 2019 and were followed by a recent revival. Those comic look like screenshots from the cartoon shorts. 

These comics weren't made in isolation. They do follow the same script. But they aren't the same.

The name of the film company in the cartoon is Epi-Center Film Company. In the comic, the film company is Starbright Films. 

Candy Mint looks more like Betty Page in the comic than she does in the cartoon. I actually prefer the comic but that's mostly because she's wearing brown slippers in the cartoon and I don't think it suits the costume.

The Groucho mirror gag is dropped. A fair change because it wouldn't work as well in a comic. The wine cask tunnel is dropped as well. Shaggy never photographs the Apeman because he's trapped shortly after their first trap fails.

The story ends with the director announcing he's going to make them the stars of the film.

Rogue's Gallery

The Black Knight and The Apeman

I Watched 97 Episodes of Booba - Toonstalgia

What I learned from watching all the Booba

He's a gremlin like creature that does things.

Thoughts

I only know about Booba because of my nephews. I favor 2-D animation and stop motion. It's a personal taste thing. But I've watched Bingo, Rollie, Rabbids, Booba, Mighty Mike, Grizzy, the Lemmings, and so many more for them it blurs in my brain into an uncanny mass of madness. Not to be dramatic or anything. 

So anyway...I decided to watch all of it.

Season 1: Episodes 1-10

Booba's eyebrows bug me because they're on little stalks. The midseason eyebrow redesign from fleshy to more white and furry helped ease my continuing discomfort. I know I will never be happy about his eyebrows.

Attic - My favorite episode in the first season is the attic. Booba explores a cursed attic. He finds himself under the sway of multiple magical objects including a cursed mirror and a magical doll. Since the cursed doll looks like him and controls him, that means someone made the doll to target Booba.

Season 2: Episodes 11-21

I like the background details worked into the shorts. They do some creative work with musical cues and sound design. The fly designs in "Mousetrap" are clean, not overly anthropomorphized and still expressive. Party has a Terminator 2 reference and I respect that. 

Booba's nails are no longer claws but rounded off (although he's able to cut glass with them). It's starting to gross me out to see him eat things that aren't food. The constant lack of dialog stresses me out. 

Episode 8 "Burger" Dr. Texas, my little nephew, thinks it's good but he doesn't like the ants because he wouldn't want to eat ant guts, legs or faces.

Episode 9 "Escalator" Dr. Texas thinks it's really good.

Episode 10 "The Supermarket" Dr. Texas thinks it's good. He likes that Booba works out before he tries to beat the robot. This is my favorite episode of the second season because Booba has a goal, faces an obstacle and creates multiple solutions to overcome the obstacle.

Season 3: Episodes 22-32

Episode 1 introduces a second character in the form of a bespectacled mouse with eyebrows on fleshy stalks and I hate that. This is the first recurring character. He's quickly followed by a parrot in the next episode and he had fleshy stalks too. Season 3, Episode 3 features a reference to Pulp Fiction.

Noise - My favorite episode of the third season shows Booba trying to complete his cheese dream. I really like the look of the cheese world.

Season 4: Episodes 23-33

Dr. Texas and I got into an argument about the worm. Dr. Texas was convinced the worm was a caterpillar because he looks like a caterpillar. I just assumed he was a worm because he was in an apple (worms in apples, caterpillars on leaves). But the names of green caterpillars include the word worm. The show descriptions say he's a worm. He wasn't happy that the internet confirmed my theory but he was reassured when I pointed out we were both proven right. But he will not agree to use the portmanteau Caterworm, he prefers half caterpillar and half worm. We haven't settled this argument.

Video Game - Booba gets sucked into a video game and binges on chocolate, cake and ice cream. The episode reminded me of the minigame section from Wreck it Ralph.

Season 5: Episodes 34-44

I went through about 25 episodes from Season 4, 5, and 6 with Dr. Texas and his brother. I didn't take many notes from those episodes because I was too busy talking about it with them while they messaged my sister GIFs of cats on my phone. 

Magic Chalk is a great episode. Magic chalk is not an uncommon concept in cartoons. Chalkzone comes to mind. But the battle between Booba and his rat friend is a fun take on magic chalk. 

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes - This is my favorite because my nephew started singing the sond and it was so adorable I couldn't even think of liking another one better.

Season 6: Episodes 45-55

I jokingly suggested to Dr. Texas that Booba's living in a post apocalyptic world populated by only teddy bears and his few friends. We had a lively debate on the subject.

Guest: This episode presented a continuation of a storyline. I appreciated that.

Season 7: Episode 65-75

At this point I realized, most of the fun of watching these is the nephews. They're loud, distracting and joyful. The show continues to be noise and movement. 

Easter: This episode embraces the feeling of the bunny and candy holiday. The ending is particularly sweet.

Season 8: Episode 66-76

They're not hard to watch. I'm pretty much convinced there's nothing I'm missing here. There's nothing more to this than "stuff happens". And Booba's eyebrows still bother me.

Season 1 and 2: Food Puzzle

There's not much to this. They're about 3 minutes an episode and they feel longer. It's Booba and his rat friend assembling food into pretty shapes. My brain reeled at the celery filled with grape jam and decorated with an orange slice. The ideas are cute and harmless unless someone's kid decides they want their meals to look like them. It feels like one of those games where you need to fill orders at a restaurant.

Season1, Episode 7 has Booba in a headdress and him and Loola making a war cry. It's not good. This is the second time Booba's used a Native American style head dress.

Minecraft - Hardcore - The World of Gravel - 10 Days

I'm actually pretty good at surviving in Minecraft but my normal strategy is building a house and securing a comfortable rural life. This was my first attempt at a one biome only challenge. It didn't go well.

Day 1 - Nothing Much Happened

I spawned in the gravelly mountains biome because that's all there was in this world.

I was surrounded by sheep with a couple convenient trees. So I got my bed, got some stone gear. Then I packed up everything and started to travel in hopes of finding more resources. None of the trees dropped saplings and none of the grass dropped seeds...it was just barren.

I like settling down in one spot and taming the world around me. But that works best with more wood.

Day 2 - Found a Place to Call Home

I needed wood. This most critical material was in short supply. I  had copper and a bit of coal. But I couldn't have a steady supply of tools and torches without sticks. I traveled a little while to find an oak tree. The oak tree gave me 4 saplings. So I was well on my way to a steady supply and possibly a food source since I still hadn't found seeds.

I spent the rest of the day digging past the gravel to starting making my safe path down to mineable resources.

Day 3 - Let There Be Light

The trees grew and the forestation spread began. 

I made my first torches. An essential tool for clearing gravel. Digging it out eats shovels. If you're quick on the button and place a torch after digging out the bottom block, the rest will break on the torch. Also, I really, really, really, really hate getting monster surprises so lighting up the world is essential.

Day 4 - Beginning of a Mine

I started digging a mineshaft. Copper is going to be my building block because I've found enough that it seems reasonable and it will stand out in the grayness of it all.

Day 5 - Going Deeper

I'm nowhere near where I need to be for iron but I'm getting closer. I really need iron because I nearly killed myself falling down the mineshaft. I need a bucket to make a bit of water at the bottom. I also need armor.

I've acquired spruce saplings and wheat seeds. A couple local chickens keep laying eggs so my stash of chicken seeds is slowly growing.

Day 6 - Hell Below

I guess I shouldn't have aimed so deep so fast. The mineshaft opened into a nightmare for someone with no armor, stone tools and a finite collection of torches. I will have nightmares of this.

I decided then to pull up stakes. I left the mineshaft intact and left a chest with a few stacks of gravel. I can't explain this but I hate despawning materials even if I don't have a use for them. Also the chest served as a marker of my original home. 

I took down a bunch of trees and took up my wheat that still hadn't sprouted. I picked one direction and started walking. I turned back briefly to face down a creeper. I forgot to use my sword.

Day 7 - On the Gravel Trail

I kept walking. I slept briefly in the rain. I considered chopping down some sheep but I had a bit of food and I didn't have a ton of space. I just kept walking. I hoped to see a village...something.

Day 8 - A Beautiful Ruin

I came upon the best ruined portal I've ever seen. It's just missing one block that's right next to it. There's nothing to do with it yet because I am not equipped for the nether. 

I finally have a little bit of iron.

The portal is next to a small mountain. I enjoy moving mountains. I immediately knew that this had to be home. I started conceiving grand plans of carving a home out of the mountain.

Step one, Carve out a cave and make a door.

I have a home. I am home. It is humble but it is home. I don't have any glass yet so I used a couple oak trapdoors to keep an eye on the outside

Day 9 - Starting a New Mine

The food situation is becoming fraught. But the trees are growing and the wheat is planted.

I started my mine inside the house with a door separating the stairs from the main living space. It's time to start stripping the high level mine.

Day 10 - Silverfish

I've never encountered silverfish before. I was very unprepared.

I'm sure any other player would have made a better showing.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! - Don't Fool With a Phantom

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! - Don't Fool With a Phantom

Season 2, Episode 8

Premiered October 31, 1970

Series Finale

Quickly

The Wax Phantom interrupts the gang's appearance on a dance show.

Thoughts

It's not a finale. It's the last episode of a batch. The revival came 8 years later. But considering the comic continued and the next series premiered in 1972, this was never going to be the end of Scooby.

Recap

The gang is competing on the Johnny Sands Dance Game Show when the lights go out and a glowing monster appears. After the monster leaves and the lights come on, they find Johnny tied to a chair, the station manager missing and the safe empty. He tells them about the curse of the Wax Phantom.

The gang basically tells Johnny to drop the act. They think this is just a stunt. My brain can't help but fill in that this is the world they live in. Criminals dress up as monsters and ghosts, television shows stage publicity stunts and people believe. My brain adds it that this means ghosts and monsters must exist. Otherwise, why would people believe in the monsters when the cases end with the revelation that the monster was just a criminal in a mask? Either that or there's a fantastical crime wave.

Daphne and Fred go to investigate the wax museum. Velma, Shaggy and Scooby go to interview a wax doll maker, Grisby. Grisby welcomes them to his house and acts a bit creepy. Shaggy and Scooby find ghostly presences. I love Grisby's house and the Wax Maker's black magic. They rush out of Grisby's house to warn Daphne and Fred of the danger they are in.

At the wax museum, Fred and Daphne are trapped and attacked by the Wax Phantom. Shaggy, Scooby and Velma get to the museum and find a way in. They find Fred and Daphne. Velma finds an airline ticket to South America. 

Shaggy and Scooby try to find a snack. The Wax Phantom finds them and threatens to go House of Wax on them.

While investigating, Velma, Daphne and Fred fall through a trap door. They're trapped in a room. They find hidden money. Velma opens a secret passage by stepping on a switch. They find a vent that opens to an overtly horrific scene. I mean, why does he have a giant vat of melted wax and a conveyer belt to it? Possibly meant to be part of a larger wax figure factory but the design doesn't feel like that.

The phantom has Shaggy and Scooby tied up and is about to coat them in wax. Daphne accidentally saves Scooby and Shaggy from their dip.

Cue Pop Song Chase

Fred comes up with a plan to lure the Wax Phantom to a wax shower. A wax shower in a wax museum workshop doesn't make sense. I know I'm applying too much logic. I'm basing my idea off how the figures are actually made and the show based their ideas off Vincent Price which I kind of love. But anyway...

Shaggy and Scooby accidentally get caught in the wax shower with the Wax Phantom. Fred leaves them in there until the police arrive. Really Fred! You couldn't free Shaggy and Scooby before then! 

Anyway, the unmasked villain is the station manager. He was stealing.

Rogue's Gallery

The Wax Phantom