It’s comics time on Popular Antiquarian as my parlous state of mental health sends me scurrying into the comforting embrace of 1960s Batman, here represented by issue 350 of Detective Comics from April 1966. The Caped Crusader has allegedly met his match in the shape of the very stupid Monarch of Menace but what kind of quality does this retro comic represent? Listen along to find out. The Batman story in this issue features art by Sheldon Moldoff pretending to be Bob Kane, inking by Joe Giella, lettering by Joe Letterese and cover art by Joe Kubert. It was written by Rob Kanigher.
S2E18 Enter the Asylum - The Da Vinci Treasure (2006)
Who doesn’t love a very cheap movie based on a successful film adaptation of a wildly successful novel written by a man who writes with all the grace and flair of a malfunctioning toilet? That’s what we get with The Asylum’s The Da Vinci Treasure, a mockbuster of the 2006 adaptation of The Da Vinci Code. They may not have Tom Hanks or Paul Bettany but they do have C Thomas Howell and a depressingly brief turn from Lance Henrikson. Join us for a truly wild ride that takes in London, half of Italy, Athens very briefly, and also Afghanistan for some reason in search of treasure hidden by Leonardo Da Vinci for very unclear reasons.
S2E15 - Enter the Asylum - Dracula: The Original Living Vampire (2022)
It’s something of a double header this episode as I actually sat down and watched Morbius, the film that Dracula: The Original Living Vampire is mockbustering. Morbius, it may shock you to learn is not a good movie but there’s always the possibility that The Asylum will manage to turn out something even worse. Listen along to find out.
S2E14 - Enter the Asylum - Transmorphers (2007)
It’s possible there are worse film makers out there than Michael Bay and if there are they’ve almost certainly worked for The Asylum at some point. Transmorphers is their attempt to recreate the cinematic magic of Bay’s Transformers movie, an astonishing franchise that somehow manages to be much stupidity than the Saturday morning cartoon from the 80s. How well does it work? Listen along to find out.
S2E12 - Enter the Asylum - King of the Lost World (2005)
Once upon a time you couldn't move for gorillas in the movies and, thanks to the King Kong remake in 2005, the Asylum got on some of that sweet ape action. Ostensibly an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World this horribly cheap jungle adventure features Bruce Boxleitner as the token actor you've heard of. How bad does the giant ape look? Listen along to find out.
S2E4 - Enter the Asylum - Snakes on a Train (2006)
Snakes on a Plane was arguably 2006’s biggest disappointment, a film that promised so much more than it was able to deliver despite the presence of noted charisma haver Samuel L Jackson. Fortunately all was not lost as The Asylum bravely decided to tackle the idea of reptiles on public transport with Snakes on a Train. It’s got no budget but can it manage to deliver some slithery thrills regardless? Listen along to find out what opinions HJDoom has on the matter.
S2E3 - Enter The Asylum - Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill
Zombie movies. The finest art form known to humanity or only the second finest art form known to humanity? This is one of the questions that may or may not be answered as HJDoom takes on The Asylum’s first movie produced in house and a rare foray originality (insofar as a zombie movie in 2004 could be called original). It’s certainly very cheap but is it also rubbish? Listen along to find out.
S2E1 - Enter The Asylum: Scarecrow (2002)
The Asylum is perhaps the most hated movie studio in Hollywood, churning out extremely cheap movies which are usually based on an existing and more popular film. They are the undisputed masters of the mockbuster and their films are typically derided as parasitic cash ins. We’re going to find out if all that hate is deserved by watching as many Asylum movies as I can stand. We start with one of their early films from 2002, the simple tale of a bullied weirdo who turns into a murderous scarecrow for reasons that are deeply unclear.
Episode 6 - The Eye of Argon
Join HJDoom for an examination of possibly the worst (but secretly maybe the best) thing ever commited to paper, The Eye of Argon by Jim Theiss.
Episode 4 - The Damp Man
Join HJDoom has we explore the work of a forgotten master of the weird tale, Allison V Harding. A curious and elusive figure who wrote over a short period but left behind a fascinating body of work.
Episode 3 - Wario Land 2
Who doesn’t love a Gameboy game about a being of pure id? Wario Land 2 from 1998 is a fascinating little game which shows that it’s not always the most powerful platform that has the most memorable games. HJDoom takes you on a tour through the strange history of a large, furious man.
Episode 2 - The Collect Call of Cathulhu
HJDoom takes a look at an episode of The Real Ghostbusters cartoon from 1987, The Collect Call of Cathulhu, and gives his barely informed thoughts on this curious slice of kids entertainment inspired by the works of HP Lovecraft.
Episode 1 - I Was A Communist For the FBI
Join Hieronymous J Doom as he takes you on a tour of media produced before the turn of the millennium. In this inaugural episode we’re looking at I Was A Communist For the FBI, a classic piece of red scare paranoia from the 1950s.