Women Wednesday: Monster High: World's Scare #1

Monster High: World's Scare #1 from IDW Publishing is out today.

Here's the spooky summery found on the back cover: "Surprise, ghouls — I'm baaack. Did you miss me? For those unacquainted, let me reintrobooce myself. I'm Monster High's purrmiere gossip account, CryptCrier. I know everything and everyghoul. And here is my juiciest piece of gossip yet: IDW is bringing readers a faboolous new miniseries from fang favorites Jacque Aye and Caroline Shuda, starting with a double-sized first issue. Frankie Stein, Draculaura, Clawdeen Wolf, Cleo de Nile, and Lagoona Blue are starting a new scaremester at Monster High, so this is a creeperific jumping-on point for new fangs. How eekciting. This year, the World's Scare is in New Salem! The brightest minds are gathering to exhibit their latest breakthroughs that could change monster-kind furever. And Monster High's very own Frankie Stein is dreaming up something monstrous to honor her late father, Headmaster Frankenstein. With a little help from her fiends, Frankie is sure to shock the judges."

Cover of Monster High: World's Scare #1 from IDW Publsihing

Women Wednesday: Vampirella: Armageddon #1 Cover Gallery

Vampirella: Armageddon #1 (2025) hits the newsstands today. Here is the official summery: "Return to the future world of Vampirella and Sepulcher City in Vampirella: Armageddon, from Vampirella writer Tom Sniegoski and artist Kewber Baal! Picking up from where our last series (Vampirella Strikes!) left off, Vampirella faces internal and external forces of chaos as a new threat arrives to stare her down! A threat… not of this mortal plane!"

Of course, there are several variant covers to collect. One of my favorite covers is the Universal Monsters cover by Mark Spears since it has Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, Wolfman, the Mummy and the Creature of the Black Lagoon.

Cover Gallery Page 1 of Vampirella: Armageddon #1 from Dynamite Entertainment

Cover Gallery Page 2 of Vampirella: Armageddon #1 from Dynamite Entertainment

Countdown to Halloween 2024 Day 30 Bonus: Horror and Fantasy Illustrated 2024 Pinup Special

Here's a special bonus treat for this week's women Wednesday. Zenescope Entertainment's Horror and Fantasy Illustrated 2024 Pinup Special came out earlier this month. The issue starts off with a special eight-page science fiction story.

Cover of Horror and Fantasy Illustrated 2024 Pinup Special from Zenescope Entertainment

The rest of the issue is filled with pinups of various women by different artists. The artwork includes fantasy, horror and science fiction. My favorite has to be the sexy mummy by Vinz El Tabanas

Sexy Mummy from Horror and Fantasy Illustrated 2024 Pinup Special from Zenescope Entertainment

The Horror and fantasy Illustrated 2024 Pinup Special has several alternate covers. My favorite is Cover A featuring a demoness by Pierluigi Abbondanza.

Cover Gallery for Horror and Fantasy Illustrated 2024 Pinup Special from Zenescope Entertainment

Countdown to Halloween 2024 Day 23: Grimm Fairy Tales 2024 Halloween Special

Grimm Fairy Tales 2024 Halloween Special actually came out last Wednesday from Zenescope Entertainment but I decided to share it for this week's Women Wednesday post. The story's title is "Cinderella's Monster Mash" and for good reason. She meets Yertle the hunchback, Count Roberto Yeh the vampire, a vampire bride, Friday Barnes the ghost girl, Lily the mad scientist, a manbat monster, talking piranhas, a mummy, a werewolf and his four werewolf pups, and a bunch of ghosts (one that looks a lot like Wolverine). There is even a musical scene along with a homage to Scooby and the gang. This issue is full of puns and gags, but the artwork is good especially the page with Cinderella wearing her new black outfit.

Cover of Grimm Fairy Tales 2024 Halloween Special from Zenoscope

Cover Gallery for Grimm Fairy Tales 2024 Halloween Special from Zenescope

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 31: Kinder Joy Monsters 2023 Edition

The local Dollar General actually had one case of the new Kinder Joy Monsters stocked in the middle of September and never stocked any more. I only picked up eight since they were almost three dollars each. This year they had four little figures (mummy, skeleton, vampire and werewolf) that you could put cardboard cutouts on plus four wristbands (ghost, jack-o-lantern, skeleton and vampire bat). The figures and wristbands glow in the dark. I didn't get a complete set and I ended up with two vampires and two werewolves. I still need a skeleton figure and a vampire bat bracelet. Below are the monster figures but not the bracelets.

Kinder Joy Mummy 2023

Kinder Joy Mummy 2023 Insert

Kinder Joy Vampire 2023

Kinder Joy Vampire 2023 Insert

Kinder Joy Werewolf 2023

Kinder Joy Werewolf 2023 Insert

Here is the back of what the inserts look like that features the entire Kinder Joy Monsters collection:

Kinder Joy Monsters 2023 Insert Back

Note: You can view the Kinder Joy Monsters from 2022 here.

This is the fifteenth year anniversary of the Countdown to Halloween at Moongem Comics and I hope you enjoyed it.

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 27: Star Trek: Holo-Ween #4 Cover

The cover of Star Trek: Holo-Ween #4 from IDW Publishing features Redjac with his arm around Scotty's neck while Armus has Riker as a Wolfman and Deanna Troi as a mummy queen in his grasp. This is the final issue of the mini-series and it was indeed a real treat to read.

Cover of Star Trek: Holo-Ween #4 from IDW Publishing

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 20: Star Trek: Holo-Ween #3 Cover

Star Trek: Holo-Ween #3 came out this week from IDW Publishing. The cover features Worf as a Gill Man and Deanna Troi as a mummy queen being chased by a mob with the giant face of Redjac looming high in the background. This issue features a surprise (or not so surprise) guest star from the original series plus the return of a surprise (or not so surprise) villain also from original series.

Cover of Star Trek: Holo-Ween #3 from IDW Publishing

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 16: Monster Mash Remix Cereal Box

Carmelia Creeper takes center stage on the box of the Monster Mash Remix cereal. She is joined by her cousin, Franken Berry, along with Count Chocula, Boo Berry, Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy. I missed out on the Monster Mash cereal that was released in 2021 for their fiftieth anniversary. The berry flavored cereal was a litter better than Carmelia Creeper's caramel apple flavored cereal and disappeared a little faster. This might be another one that I may not pick up again next year. I'm currently in the middle of the Count Chocula box and still have Franken Berry and Boo Berry to go. Yes, it takes me a while to finish off five family size boxes of Monster Cereals.

You can listen to the Monster Mash Remix at official Monster Cereal site.

Front of Family Size Monster Mash Remix Box

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 14: Star Trek: Holo-Ween #2 Cover

IDW Publishing released Star Trek: Holo-Ween #2 earlier this week. The cover features Data as a Frankenstein monster facing Riker as a Wolfman while the face of Troi as a mummy queen looms in the background.

Cover of Star Trek: Holo-Ween #2 from IDW Publishing

There is a great homage to classic monsters in this issue with Deanna Troi as a mummy queen, Riker as a wolfman, Worf as a Gill Man and Picard as Mr. Hyde:

Classic Monster Homage from Star Trek: Holo-Ween #2 from IDW Publishing

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 3: Dracula Soltaire on Facebook

Facebook went through another game purge last month and I lost several of my favorite games (Candy Crush Saga and Hit It Rich! Casiono to name a few). There are not very many Halloween-related games either. However, there is Dracula Solitaire. I'm on level 31 and it's a fun way to kill some time. There is a story of sorts that involves finding different monsters. So far, I have found the lady vampire and the mummy.

Dracula Solitaire on Facebook

Lady Vampire from Dracula Solitaire on Facebook

Mummy from Dracula Solitaire on Facebook

Goodnight, Anne Rice

Sad news for vampire lovers and horror fans for Anne Rice, 'Interview with the Vampire' author, dies at 80.

Anne Rice
(October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021)

Countdown to Halloween 2021 Day 24: Halloween Party CD

I picked up this Halloween Party CD at the local Dollar Tree a few weeks ago thinking it was one of those deals where studio musicians do covers of spooky songs for kids. What I ended up hearing was the sexy voice of Janice Hagan doing jazzy lounge renditions of Halloween favorites. This CD was originally produced in 2007 and rereleased in 2012. The left side of the exterior of the Halloween Party CD insert #1 has the musicians listed with Janice Hagan on vocals, Kenny Vehkavaarn on guitar, Pat Kilbride on bass, Randy Cooke on drums, Rob Gusevs on piano, organ and synthesizer, Glendo Smith on saxaphone, Phil Gray on trombone and William Sperandel on trumpet and flugelhorn (yes, a flugelhorn). The right side (front cover) has a sexy witch singing in old-fashion microphone attached to a broom. In the background is a mummy and skeleton giving a toast while holding martinis. Behind them are more witches partying on either side of a cauldron with a fire underneath it. There are also bats flying around and an old leafless tree on the side.

Exterior of Halloween Party CD Insert #1

The right side of of the interior of the Halloween Party CD insert #1 has the song credits while the left side has a recipe for Witch's Brew that can be made with or without rum or brandy. Just make sure you have plenty of apple cider.

Interior of Halloween Party CD Insert #1

The interior of the Halloween Party CD insert #2 would make a great Halloween wallpaper since it has plenty of orange with some yellow and black.

Interior of Halloween Party CD Insert #2

The exterior of the Halloween Party CD insert #2 (back cover) proclaims "Add a spooktacula to this year's Halloween Party with frightening festive music and scary sounds." The song list includes "Evil Ways", "That Old Black Magic", "Ding, Dong, The Witch Is Dead", "People Are Strange", "Witchy Woman", "I Put A Spell On You", "Spooky", "Black Magic Woman", "Witchcraft", "Monster Mash", "Bad Moon Rising" and "Welcome To My Nightmare". It's hard for me to pick just one favorite song since they all want me to drown a few martinis and just mellow out. The final track features about twenty minutes of spooky sounds, which seems out of place on this album.

Exterior of Halloween Party CD Insert #2

You can listen to the entire album here for free on Spotify.

Countdown to Halloween 2018 Day 12: Hotel Transylvania Candy Sticks

Dollar General put out their Halloween candy back in September and I picked up a bag of Hotel Transylvania Candy Sticks since it was only a dollar. There are plenty of monsters here including vampires, werewolves, a mummy, a blob and a Frankenstein monster (the Bride is shown on the bag but none of the boxes I got had her on them). Here's the front of the bag:

Here's the back of the bag:

Each of the Hotel Transylvania Candy Sticks box have two small all white candy sticks in them. Here are one side of all the boxes that was in the bag:

Here are the other side of the boxes:

Countdown to Halloween 2018 Day 8: Gotham City Sirens in Costumes

The Gotham City Sirens include Harley Quinn wearing a mummy costume, Catwoman dressed as a black cat and Poison Ivy wearing a pointy witch hat. Check out the mouth on that wicked Jack 0'Lantern:

Countdown to Halloween 2015 Day 19: Super Mario Bros Meets Elvira

Yes, Elvira was actually on the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show tv series twice. The first segment was "Mommies Curse" and was the twentieth live action segment that originally aired on September 29, 1989;
"The Ghoul of My Dreams" was the sixty-fifth live action segment that originally aired on December 1, 1989 and could be considered a sequel to her first appearance since they both feature Luigi as a mummy:

Countdown to Halloween 2015 Day 18: Glow in the Dark Horror Puffy Stickers

I remember getting these glow in the dark horror puffy stickers in the mid-1980s out of a local vending machine for a quarter. Unfortunately, I only got seven out of ten since I rarely ever got a full set of anything back then. I finally took them out of my very warped sticker book and put them on homemade trading cards. On the first card is Dracula, the Mummy, Wolfman and Frankenstein:

The second card features King Kong, the Skull and I-Oneman:

Unfortunately, these horror puffy stickers have lost their ability to glow in the dark after all these years.

Another PCH Comic Book Grab Bag

I ordered another PCH Comic Book Grab Bag a few months ago and actually received it on Tuesday, April 7. This makes the third one with the first two being at PCH Comic Collection and PCH Super Hero Comic Books Plus Graphic Novel. I can't believe that it has been almost a year since the last one.

Once again there is no comics from Marvel. There are three comics from Boom! Studios, a graphic novel from DC Comics and Image, and another graphic novel from IDW Publishing. Yes, you read that right for this grab bag has three regular comics and two graphic novels.

First up is Higher Earth #3 (July 2012) from Boom! Studios. I have yet to read it but has dinosaurs so it might be an interesting science fiction comic.

Next up is Planet of the Apes Special #1 (February 2013) also from Boom! Studios. I have yet to read this either but I can't wait to do so.

I have always wanted to read the Steed and Mrs Peel series from Boom! Studios and now I get my chance to start with #0 (August 2012). I got Cover A and I have read the first few pages while I was scanning the rest of the comics in. It's set in 2000 and old agents are showing up dead.

The Mummy: The Rise and Fall of Xango's Ax (July 2008) from IDW Publishing is a prelude to the movie, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Empire and has some photos of Brendan Fraiser in the back. I haven't read this either but can't wait since I enjoyed all the mummy movies.

I also received the Spawn vs Batman graphic novel from DC Comics and Image in the last PCH Comic Book Grab Bag. While it was nice to get two graphic novels this time around, I just wish it wasn't one that I already had.

Overall, I liked the choices of the comic books in this grab bag. However, I was disappointed with getting a graphic novel that I already had. Also, I thought the value was not great once you add shipping costs to the normal price of the grab bag. This will probably be my last one from PCH for sure.

Countdown to Halloween 2014 Day 28: Ultimate Spider-Man vs Dracula Book and Stickers

Ultimate Spider-Man vs Dracula is based on the second season episode of Marvel Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon titled "The Howling Commandos". The book is 8" x 8" and includes twenty pages. Two pages of stickers are also included. I'm only posting a few pages from the book to give you an idea of what's inside. I bought my copy earlier this month on a road trip to the nearest Hastings for $5.99.

As you can tell by the cover, this Dracula has white hair and is not the version from Tomb of Dracula:

Page three starts the story plus features a picture of Spider-Man and Nova (other characters that make appearances include Blade, White Tiger, Power Man and Iron Fist):

The Howling Commandos are supernatural agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and steal the show when they are called upon by Spidey (they include Werewolf By Night, The Living Mummy and The Monster of Frankenstein):

Man-Thing also makes an appearance:

Here's the back cover of the Ultimate Spider-Man vs Dracula book:

The book also comes with two pages of stickers. The first page is found in the front of the book. There are stickers of Spider-Man, Dracula, Man-Thing, The Living Mummy, The Monster of Frankenstein, bats and even spider-pumpkins:

The second page of stickers include Spider-Man, Dracula, the Howling Commandos, Man-Thing, Werewolf By Night, The Living Mummy, The Monster of Frankenstein, more bats and even more spider-pumpkins:

This is a fun little book to read and is appropriate for younger readers. Now I just have to watch the cartoon episode that it is based upon.