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Showing posts with label warrior. Show all posts
Showing posts with label warrior. Show all posts

Slash-Mess Day Six: Fire And Ice (1983)


The creator of the first X-rated cartoon and the master of all comic arts create Fire And Ice (1983).

A cartoon on the 'Blender? And during the unholy holiday of Slash-Mess!?! WTF... Unprecedented! But, yes, it is true O scale-less manlings. The Sleaze-A-Saurus has an unquestionable rationale for posting Fire and Ice (1983)... Two of 'em actually. Two 1970's era art masters.

First, may I present to you, Mr. Ralph Bakshi. Bakshi is the infamous director and animator of underground classics including Heavy Metal, Wizards and the world first X-rated cartoon, Fritz The Cat. His work was at once breath-taking in it's artistry and also disturbing due to the heavy amounts of brutal inhuman violence, nudity and an obvious irreverence for Establishment thought.

Bakshi's leadership and vision is emblematic of the creator driven, original approach that has shaped so much entertainment today. In animation, The Simpsons and Ren and Stimpy are the result of one man's personal drive to realize an original idea. This is definitely not the case with mainstream animation as Disney and Warner Brothers idea is to create a uniform product with a broad appeal - a cookie cutter approach devoid of substance. It is an approach to animation that has dominated the entertainment industry for 100 years outside of indie or underground animation.

The second master artist involved in Fire and Ice was the late Mr. Frank Frazetta. Frazetta became a legend in his own lifetime for his brilliant work and prolific output. His art in comics, illustration and fine art is unparalelled. His attention to detail and ferocity of his subject matter has contributed to the art form. Frazetta's work raised comics and illustration up to a level not outside the scope of fine art.

Due to Frazetta's original, fine arts driven and action oriented approach to comics and art there are wave after wave of incredible artists working in the mainstream comics industry after he blazed a trail to prove that unusual and original work can find a broad following.

Please, scaleless manlings, enjoy the culmination of these two masters collaboration in... Fire and Ice!

References:
IMDB, Fire And Ice (19830
Wikipedia, Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta Museum, Home



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Flicks: The Ninja Squad (1986)


Rule #1 of Ninjitsu: always wear a head band stating you are, indeed, a ninja.

The Ninja Squad (1986) star Richard Harrison (not that one) is famous for two things. Number One, as being rumored during his time as a extra in Italy to suggest Clint Eastwood to Sergio Leone when the famed director was looking for a lead in "A Fistful of Dollars" in 1964. And, Number Two, as acting or starring in 17 unbelievably awful ninja-sploitation films from 1984 to 1988 sometimes starring eight films in one year.

These sixteen movies start with Ninja Thunderbolt (1984), then Ninja Champion (#1) and Ninja Holocaust(#2) both made in 1985. Some say a Holocaust would be enough to stem the tide of Harrison's ninja themed roles yet at the end of 1985 came Ninja Terminator (#3), another Hong Kong release exploiting the title from James Cameron's The Terminator from 1984 and nothing else.

Actually Ninja Terminator is regarded today as something of a camp classic. The over-the-top dramatic dialogue unfailingly illicits unexpected howls of laughter. "You betray the ninja empire?! Why did you no that, you reckon?" In what part of China is "reckon" a popular expression? Seriously. Someone needs to get back to me on this.

Harrison continued with his fifth ninja foray in Ninja Hunt(#4), our current feature Ninja Squad (#5) and Ninja Dragon (#6) all released in 1986. In 1987, Harrison went on to do Cobra vs. Ninja (#7), Hands of Death (#8), Ninja Operation: Licensed to Terminate (#9), Ninja Avengers (#10), Ninja Commandments (#11), Ninja Kill (#12), The Ninja Showdown (#13) and Ninja: Silent Assassin (#14) while also finding time to star in Hitman the Cobra a Chinese WWII period anti-Japanese film.

In 1988, Harrison starred in Ninja Powerforce (#14), Ninja Strike Force (#15) and The Power of Ninjitsu (#16) before making his final ninja themed movie Diamond Ninja Force (#17) the same year.

References:
IMDB, The Ninja Squad (1986)
IMDB, Richard Harrison



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