Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 13: Capwolf and the Howling Commandos #1

Happy Friday the 13th and we are almost halfway through this year's Countdown to Halloween.

Today's treat is the cover of Capwolf and the Howling Commandos #1, which kicks off the four-issue mini-series from Marvel. Captain America saves Sgt. Nick Fury and helps the Howling Commandos against a Nazi super tank in France of 1944. Fury gets wounded and Captain America is recruited to lead the team to destroy a bunker in Eastern Prussia known as Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Lair). Dum-Dum and most of the Howling Commandos are not happy about Cap being in charge. They arrive by parachute and are attacked by a group of werewolves several miles from the bunker. Bullets don't stop them, and one manages to scratch Captain America. The ending leaves on a cliffhanger that sets up the next issue.

Cover of Capwolf and the Howling Commandos #1 from Marvel

Goodnight Phyllis Coates

Today is a sad day for Phyllis Coates, the First Lois Lane on Television, Dies at 96. She first played the reporter in the Superman vs the Mole Men movie and played her for just one season on the Aventures of Superman tv series. She passed away of natural causes on October 11, 2023.

George Reeves as Superman with Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 12: Young Sheldon Pick of the Patch Sweepstakes

I have been watching Young Sheldon at 5:30 pm Central Monday through Friday for the past year. I have seen most episodes about four or five times by now. I have also been entering the Pick of the Patrch Sweepstakes by entering the Word of the Day. The sweepstakes is sponsored by Valpak. I doubt that I will win the grand prize of $10,000 but I would settle for the Bazinga glow bracelet since I love items that glow in the dark.

Cast of Young Sheldon as Characters from Wizard of Oz

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 11: Witches Magazine

Witches is another collectible magazine that has been on the rack at the local Walmart's for the past month. I had to get this one for sure since I have a soft spot for witchy women. The magazine has seven sections: Witches Throughout History, The Witching Way, Witches Making History, Enchanted Movies and TV Shows, The Power Is Rising: Witches Today, Divination Tools and Astrology and Ready to Explore Your Power. Of course, a brief history of witchcraft is provided along with the witch trails in Europe and America. There are articles on Wicca, Hoodoo and Brujeria. Famous and infamous witches include Maria Laveau, Aleister Crowley, Gerald Gardmer. Doreen Valiente, Laurie Cabot, Raymond Buckland, Starhawk and Bri Luna. You can pretty much predict which movies and tv shows are briefly covered so I won't bother naming any (True Blood was covered but not Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Modern witches covered include Leanne Marrama of Salem, author Sarah Potter, male witch John Cardo and author Pam Grossman. Ouija boards, the tarot and the zodiac are covered in the divination section. Basic tools essential to witches and the witches holiday known as Halloween are also covered. Witches is a good magazine for those interested in the subject matter.

Front Cover of Witches Magazine

Back Cover of Witches Magazine

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 10: Ghosts: True Tales of Horror Magazine

Ghosts: True Tales of Horror is a magazine special that has been on the rack at the local Walmart's for the past month. I finally broke down and shelled out the $13.99 a few weeks ago. The magazine is divided into four sections: Ghosts: A Haunting History, Ghosts Stories, What's Really Happening and Where To Find Ghosts. There are some very familar ghost stories such as the Bell Witch, Bellamy Bridge and Huggin' Molly. There are articles on energy orbs, cold spots and mediums. The haunted places covered include Amityville, Salem, New Orleans and San Francisco. There is even a ghostly glossary and lots of pictures. While the Ghosts: True Tales of Horror magazine doesn't go into in-depth detail about some of the topics, it is a good starting point for those interested in the world of spirits.

Front Cover of Ghosts: True Tales of Horror Magazine

Back Cover of Ghosts: True Tales of Horror Magazine

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 9: The Devil's Machine

I picked up The Devil's Machine (2019) at the local Dollar Tree a few weeks ago in hopes that it would be a scary Halloween treat. The movie's story centers around a three hundred year old curse and a clockwork doll in Scotland. An antique dealer is hired to study the recently found life-size doll and takes his step-daughter along with him. The first half is a slow burn but things turn really weird in the second half. Not only does ghosts show up but strange dog men do too. Also, the story deals with some taboo subjects including incest, bondage and sadism. The ending was interesting but also a little predictable. I did get my money's worth since it was only $1.25 but I have to give The Devil's Machine a solid C since I felt like I was tricked.

The Devil's Machine

DVD Cover for The Devil's Machine

Note: The Devil's Machine was originally titled Automata.

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 8: Alice Cooper #1

Alice Cooper #1 from Dynamite Entertainment hits the newsstands last Wednesday. Lucifer is singing the blues but wants the love of the world so he decides to knock off the world's greatest rock musicians. Alice Cooper is warned by the archangel Gabriel that he has to stop him because he is also a target. From what I can find, this mini-series is going to be six issues.

Cover A of Alice Cooper #1 from Dynamite Entertainment

Cover B of Alice Cooper #1 from Dynamite Entertainment

Cover C of Alice Cooper #1 from Dynamite Entertainment

Cover D of Alice Cooper #1 from Dynamite Entertainment

Cover Gallery of Alice Cooper #1 from Dynamite Entertainment

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 7: Sabrina Annual Spectacular #1 Cover

Archie Comics released Sabrina Annual Spectacular #1 last month. The first story, which is all new, is "Power of Three", which features the Wicked Trinity: Amber Nightstone (she made her debut in last year's Sabrina Anniversary Spectacular #1), Jade and Sapphire. The second story is the first appearance of Sabrina from Archie's Mad House #22 (October, 1962). The third story is "Spook Out", which originally appeared in Sabrina the Teenage Witch #5 (April, 1972). The fourth story is "Court Jester" from Sabrina the Teenage Witch #2 (July, 1971). Young Salem is featured in the fifth story titled "Scaredy Cat".

Cover of Sabrina Annual Spectacular #1 from Archie Comics

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 6: Star Trek: Holo-Ween #1 Cover Gallery

Star Trek: Holo-Ween #1 launched this week with three covers. Cover 1A and RI both have art by Francesco Francavilla that features Captain Picard and Deanna Troi running from Redjac aka Jack the Ripper. Cover 1B has art by Suspiria Vilchez that features Troi screaming with a giant Medusa head in the backgorund. I won't spoil the story but some of the crew gets turned into monsters.

Cover Gallery of Star Trek: Holo-Ween #1 from IDW Publishing

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 5: DC's Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun #1

This year's Halloween treat from DC Comics is DC's Ghouls Just Wanna Fun #1. Surprisingly, Harley Quinn is not on the cover. Instead, it's Clark Kent and Lois Lane getting tricked by some little goblins dressed up as the Flash, Mary Marvel, Animal Man and Lobo. The best costume award goes to the one that looks like Man-Bat but he's cheating since that's not a costume.

The stories include the Question in "A Look to Die For", Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) in "The Shadow Over Coast City", Animal Man in "This Day, Anything Goes" (my favorite), Nightwing in "The Dark Bite", Superman in "The Spoils", Robotman in "Not Fade Away", Crush and Lobo in "Happy Hal(lobo)ween", and Man-Bat in "Out of the Shadows".

Cover of DC's Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun #1 from DC Comics

Note: This is one of four covers.

Halloween Special Report: Chucky Season 3 Starts Tonight on Syfy

That possessed killer doll known as Chucky returns to Syfy with season 3:

Chucky Season 3 Starts Tonight on Syfy

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 4: Elvira in Monsterland #2, 4 and 5 Cover Galleries

I forgot to post the cover galleries for Elvira in Monsterland #2 and #4 when the issues originally came out. The fifth issue came out last week so I thought I would post all three cover galleries today for this week's Women Wednesday post. In issue two, she riffs on Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein movies.

Cover Gallery for Elvira in Monsterland #2 from Dynamite

In Elvira in Monsterland #4, she riffs on the kaiju movie Destroy All Monsters, which features Godzilla.

Cover Gallery for Elvira in Monsterland #4 from Dynamite<

Issue five wraps up the mini-series with Elvira battles Vlad the Impaler and his army of monsters but she gets help from a super hero group that spoofs The Avengers movie.

Cover Gallery for Elvira in Monsterland #5 from Dynamite

Note: You can view Elvira in Monsterland #1 Cover Gallery here and Elvira in Monsterland #3 Cover Gallery here.

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

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 2: Marvel's Doctor Who #3 Cover

Doctor Who #3 was published in 1984 by Marvel Comics and the Time Lord turns into a werelok, which is a futuristic werewolf. His companions in this issue are Sharon and K-9. I don't have this issue but I did read it online and it was not bad.

Cover of Doctor Who #3 from Marvel Comics

Countdown to Halloween 2023 Day 1: Mtn Dew Voodew Returns

Today starts the annual Countdown to Halloween. I picked up four bottles of Mtn Dew Voodew last Tuesday at the local Dollar General. The flavor didn't stay mystery for long since I read a review the day before saying that it was Cherry Airheads. I'm not a huge fan of the candy but I did like the drink.

Mtn Dew Voodew Returns for 2023

King-Size Special Thor Annual #2 Cover from Marvel 2024 16-Month Calendar

The Marvel 2024 16-Month Calendar starts off by using the cover of King-Size Thor Annual #2 for the last four months of 2023. Naturally, my digital camera didn't want to cooperate before the batteries died. However, I did manage to get a blurry picture of it below:

King-Size Thor Annual #2 Cover from Marvel 2023 16-Month Calendar

Here's the actual scan (not mine) of the Giant-Size Thor Annual #2 cover from Marvel Comics:

Cover of King-Size Special Thor Annual #2 from Marvel Comics