During the course of this series, I have done my best to take you on a journey through my childhood, and impart upon all of you exactly what it was about each Universal Monster that made me crazy about them. I've given anectode about my interests beforehand, and toys that I had, and games that I would play with my Mom, and have woven those together with each week's feature in the hopes that maybe you'd appreciate the Universal Monsters as much as I do...

I have mentioned, at some length actually, my mom's influence in my love for the Universal Monsters.  As I sit down each week to write these installments, though, the depth of her influence -- and the slow, subtle brain-washing -- becomes more and more apparent, as memory after memory begins to unfold in my mind...

I have been in love with the Universal Monsters since I was four years old.  That year marked the first time (and by no means the last time) I was Dracula for Halloween, the first action figures I can remember owning -- Remco's Mini Monsters -- and my first major foray into reading, featuring the scholastic tomes you see to the right.  There they were, in glorious black and white, ripe for the reading.  It was through Crestwood Publishing that I learned all that I needed to know about Frankenstein's monster, Wolf-Man, Dracula and his son, and many, many more...

I have been in love with the Universal Monsters since I was four years old.  That year marked the first time (and by no means the last time) I was Dracula for Halloween, the first action figures I can remember owning -- Remco's Mini Monsters -- and my first major foray into reading, featuring the scholastic tomes you see to the right.  There they were, in glorious black and white, ripe for the reading.  It was through Crestwood Publishing that I learned all that I needed to know about Frankenstein's monster, Wolf-Man, Dracula and his son, and many, many more...

Inglourious Basterds: I saw it before you!
by Chooch


I don't often do movie reviews for the 'Mess, but I just had a phenomenal movie experience that I couldn't pass up sharing.  As some of you know, I spent last weekend in San Diego at Comic Con International.  With me, as always, was my hetero life-mate MonkeyChaos.  That's one of his screen names anyway.  I'm more of a comic geek, he's a full-on film geek.  He's also a flimmaker, so CCI is a chance for him to jizz a little in his pants as he gets close to famous directors.  Here's a picture of him wearing a dog tag.  It'll make sense in a minute.

Culled from one of the longest-running threads in our forum's history, here is the condensed Critical Mess guide to everything that is good, bad, and meh about Zack Snyder's Watchmen.

On the Eve of Watchmen...
With less than 24 hours until the release of one of the most anticipated films to come along in years, resident raconteur Rocko Jerome gives his us his thoughts, hopeful and doubtful, on Watchmen: what is is, what it means, what it could be, and, perhaps most importantly, what it should be.