Monster Carnival

I picked up these 3 handsome little fellows in Japan a few years back. I had no idea who they were or what they were from, I just liked the fun way they're designed.



After opening them (and putting their arms and legs on as is typical with most gashapon toys), I found tiny folded brochures with each containing a cool comic printed on one side, and the rest of the characters in the set listed in their actual colors on the other side (two of mine are apparently greyscale variants.) The name "Monster Carnival" which when googled, produces only hits about a completely unrelated game bearing the identical same name, and the only other English in the brochure is: G Dama, Copyright Akira Noguchi / Reigning Looney Corp, East Up Co. / EU Works, Ages 13 and Up, and of course, Made in China. Googling any combination of these words together produces absolutely zero information. Anyone know anything about these guys?





I'm bummed I didn't get the rest of these while I was there, but I figured I'd just look them up online when I got home. Ahh well... and apparently, pirate monkeys were to be the next series from whoever this company is:



Who are you?

Babel 2

If you saw and enjoyed my Giant Robot post back in April HERE, then here's some good news, today I have a follow-up post featuring a few fun items from another Mitsuteru Yokoyama robo-classic, BABEL 2, --specifically, the rad robot called Poseidon. In this series a young boy discovers that he is not only the reincarnation of an alien entity, but that he is also entrusted to protect the Earth with the help of a shape-shifting panther, a dragon-like flying creature, and a giant robot that lives at the bottom of the ocean. I was able to read the entire original 1971 manga series for FREE online a few years ago thanks to one of the many fanslation sites, --but unfortunately I have only seen a few of the actual animated episodes from the original 1973 television series, and that was without translation too. Still, I adore the story and absolutely love the robot, so here he is as part of the superb Furuta gashapon toy collector set based on the works of Mitsuteru Yokoyama (meaning he came blind boxed and yes you had to assemble him.) Also pictured below is a neat little BABEL 2 pencil sharpener that's shaped like a TV set-- found this in Japan as well!









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And speaking of giant robots, I recently downloaded the free TUBI app on my phone and it's amazing... I mean, aside from thousands of great movies and TV shows, they have a ton of anime (old and new) and I was finally able to see all 26 episodes of GIANT GORG (1984) with English subtitles. It's an incredible series, and super highly recommended if, like me, you're into exciting tales of scrappy boys and their giant fighting robots!

Sideshow '49

A selection of sexy girl gags from Avon's 1949 one-shot issue of Sideshow #1, featuring a cavalcade of artists you'll likely recognize from other funny (and adult) magazines of the era, ie: Don Flowers, Michael Berry, Bill Wenzel, E. Simms Campbell, Arthur Ferrier, and more...

Halfway to Halloween

We're officially halfway to Halloween 2020, and even though we're isolating ourselves in quarantine and practicing safe social distancing-- today is still your lucky day! That's right, we're having a masquerade ball here at AEET, and famous news photographer, Lucky Starr himself has invited you all along to share in the haunted house shenanigans, plus, plenty of bad guys, bad/good golden age artwork, hellacious costumes, and more! This is a very funny story from the August 1946 issue of Lucky Comics #5, with a sense of ball bustin' humor that could only come from a comic of this era. The art by Alan Mandel is fun, though a little uneven at times, but that Walter Johnson cover is hotter than Hell! And for more spooky good times, head over to THE HORRORS OF IT ALL where, of course, every day is Halloween!

Porky's Ghost Chasers

Just a few more days and we'll be halfway to Halloween in this *cough cough* cautionary calendar year of 2020, and what better way to celebrate than to hunt down some p-p-p-p-p-petrifying p-p-p-p-p-polterg-g-g-g-geists with our good pal Porky Pig in his Ghost Chasers mobile! This was an early 90's McDonald's Happy Meal toy, and I just adore how the little ghost can be tucked down inside and then bolt up with a BOO! when you push in the yellow grill on the front of the truck. I'll have a few more Halfway to Halloween posts coming up, but for now-- THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

Hess

More fun key art from the same March 1958 issue of Real For Men (see the previous two posts), all created by "Hess" and part of a chapter titled, "The Real Almanac" which acted as a monthly supplement of assorted, permanent, and ever useful information articles.

Television Legs

--and not the good kind.



FOR YOUR HEALTH!