R.I.P. Macho Man

I've been taking the loss of the Macho Man today pretty hard. Not, "day off of work" hard, but harder than it might make sense to the casual observer.

Randy "Macho Man" Savage (later "Macho King") was arguably the most popular heel of the mid 80s WWF, and that means he holds an incredibly special place in the hearts of many, now adults, who were kids during that era.

As a kid who went to house shows in Mid-Michigan, it was a HUGE deal when Macho Man was on the card. HUGE. Somewhere in my Mom's house, I have a giant orange foam finger for Macho Man. I could've bought Hogan's, but I bought Macho's.

The wrestling toys in the 80s (made by LJN) didn't move, and were bigger and therefore more expensive than most other toys of the day - meaning you didn't get too many of them. You had to prioritize. Growing up, I had the LJN toys for Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. You just didn't need anybody else.

As I grew up, I joined the school band -- which I hated -- and the only thing that got me to practice was teaching myself to play wrestler's theme songs. Especially Macho's - which came in handy since we were expected to play it every year. (I don't think I've ever heard Pomp and Circumstance being played and not thought it would be awesome if Macho Man just ran out in neon leather fringe with big 80s sunglasses on and totally elbow dropped the Dean.)

One of my few original Game Boy games was WWF Superstars - and I LOVED hitting that elbow drop time after time.

Those who know me know that, to put it mildly, I didn't exactly have a great childhood. But the one I had is filled with fond vivid memories of the Macho Man.

Later, when the 80s wrestlers moved to WCW (and Macho Man was selling Slim Jims) I was at the Monday Nitro when Macho Man told Miss Elizabeth that things had been through with them for a long time. Even as a high schooler, there was just something magical about being a part of that. It felt like I was a part of history. (Wrestling history, which is the best kind of history I think.)

As an older guy, I've come to realize how Macho was in a way really one of the first high-fliers. Guys like Jeff Hardy and John Morrison (who I love), owe a debt to guys like Macho Man. Macho Man, in a sense, was the Jeff Hardy of 1985. Besides, I've just always dug bad guys - their ability to make an entrance, to make an impression - and nobody in wrestling could do that like the Macho Man. He was the first name wrestler I can remember to really successfully (and fluidly) alternate between a face and heel persona.

And all these years later, Macho Man died of a heart attack down in Seminole, FL - not a 5 minute drive away from a pizza place I regularly ate at when I lived back in Tampa. I own things I bought at a second-hand shop just down the street from the crash site. It's just weird to me. Granted, wrestlers tend not to live to be 100 - but to have one of the field's very best die like this feels not only sad, but perhaps too ordinary.

It's so easy to forget that the men (and women) in the squared circle really are just ordinary folks -- and it's a testament to the quality of the work they do that it's so easy to forget it.

Macho Man - you will be missed.

The Search...

This is stuff I'm looking for. Even if it's not for sale, just knowing where it is would still be a big help!



I was lucky enough to get a sketch from Kyle Hotz at a 1995 con when I was just a kid. I got him to draw Lord Pumpkin. I have always dug things with pumpkins for heads, and have thought it would be cool to own this cover since I was like 14 years old.


Some artists just nail the essence of certain characters. This is THE Scarecrow to me. I love Jason's work, but I liked this before I even knew who he was. (Back then the books didn't list cover art credits much, and his stuff was just signed "Jason" back then.) I'd love to see this up on my wall someday.





The first interior appearance of Carnage. This image was everywhere back in the 90s. If I remember right, it was even featured as a screen of the Maximum Carnage video game. Another top-notch example of comic book evil that burned into my mind back in the 90s.

Super-Wha?

While I wait to see if another blogger I emailed picks up this ball and runs with it, enjoy an excerpt of my email to him.

/----------------------/
I felt like you should see these. Concept art for alternate/evil versions of several DC superheroes, in "high-tech," "road warrior," and "robotic" styles.

"Road Warrior" in this context is basically code for "leather bondage fantasy."

Yes, that means Batman wearing a hockey mask outfitted with knives over a slave collar, all while sporting a wrist crossbow and a loincloth.

These were almost toys.

Judging by the roman numeral date of 1985 and the word "Kenner," - these were almost Super Powers toys.
/----------------------/

Really, you owe it to yourselves to check these out.
http://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?back=%2Fauctions%2Fpreview.asp%3Fcode%3D2011feb%26itemtype%3D1%26pg%3D2%23Item_876111&id=876111

As the Kids Say.... "OMFG, Epic, FTW" or as I Say - AWESOME.

That's right, after years of me talking about it, the X-Men Arcade Game (which was never ported to any home system) is going to be available as a download title.

This game's art style was based on the Byrne/Zeck/Cockrum-ness of the 1980s Pryde of the X-Men pilot. It was the first game ever (to my knowledge) to have a DOUBLE SCREEN, which meant that it was the videogame equivalent of a double-wide (in a good way), which enabled space for you and 5 OTHER FRIENDS to play the game all at once.

A lot of people might remember it for the bad voice acting/translation, but I remember it as being my favorite way to spend a roll of quarters. This had "80s/90s arcade/pizza place birthday party" written all over it. When you're 10, kicking the crap out of bad guys with 5 other dudes, and by the way - YOU'RE ALL X-MEN - that's seriously about the awesomest thing there is to do.

I was usually Colossus. Nightcrawler as a backup. Wolverine if I was lucky. (Because Storm and Dazzler were girls and Cyclops was Cyclops.)

This is one of those few rare games (like Mike Tyson's Punch-Out) that I can just play, beat, and want to play all over again.

Quite honestly, I'm thinking about taking whatever day this comes out off of work as a personal day. This is just really awesome news for me.

Link to the original article is below
http://destructoid.com/nycc-x-men-arcade-welcomes-you-to-die-on-psn-xbla-soon--186007.phtml

AoA Reference Pics

Madureira/Townsend Reminiscing...

Pages are listed chronologically.

Uncanny X-Men 334, p.19. I especially love the panel with Juggernaut screaming in Jean's face, and the last one where J's removed his helmet. Lots of emotion and vulnerability here. Definitely a strong memory of my comics reading as a kid!

Uncanny X-Men 336, p. 17. There's a lot of nostalgia for me in Onslaught baring Xavier to the heroes (I think they made a toy that re-enacted this?). This was just a great scene, and I love the nice Onslaught headshot to the right, but what really delivers this page for me is Cyclops in the lower-right corner with his gritting pointed teeth. You can't get much more "it's about to go down," than that! (Unless...)


Uncanny X-Men 340, p.17. OK. So you CAN get more "it's about to go down." A super-angry Wolverine about to let loose on some mutant-haters. This is bone claws Wolverine, somewhere between his animalistic/bandana time and being back to normal. That's pretty awesome.

Uncanny X-Men 346, p. 7. In the bottom panel, this is THE image I see in my head when I think of Marrow. Definitely a favorite.

The Omega Question...