i love her magic.

Been sitting on the link to this trailer for QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC for some time now and lo and behold, those swanky fellas at Mondo Macabro have just released it on DVD! Three cheers for Mondo Macabro! Read more about it over at Twitch Film.

comic book carnage translated!

Also from the pages of Esquire back in 1973 is this translation of one of the rough and raw manhua aka HK comic books. Not sure which one it is, but it does have the same feel as the Tony Wong's early Little Rascals comics (aka Oriental Heroes) which I posted some early covers of here. For more info, pick up a copy of Wendy Siuyi Wong's "Hong Kong Comics" which covers the little known world of the HK comic pulps. Click to enlarge.


And big thanks to Groovy Age of Horror for posting the link to Blonde Zombies (via Tomb It May Concern), my new fave blog, which as I browsed it for the first time, was delighted to see they posted and linked to my original Little Rascals cover postings.

Esquire August 1973

Strange week. I am supposed to be in Hong Kong, but am stuck amongst the mountainous melting ice and snow drifts that cover Toronto. Went to the airport on Saturday at 7am for my flight to HK only to be turned away. I was only staying in HK until March 22nd and my passport was valid until April 2nd, but it turns out entry into HK requires a passport that is valid for 30 days. Bah! At least it was tagged when I checked my bags and not after a 15+ hour flight...

Some friends suggested that I eat Chinese food and watch HK movies all week, but that would just depress myself and I have been pretty calm about the whole thing. Instead of that suggestion, on Saturday night I dove into a pool of RockStar and gin and tonics til 7am Sunday morning.

Here are some scans of something I found at Orion Books, one of the skizzy used book/porn mag places that used to little Yonge Street that are now slowly closing as that strip gets duller and duller. A flash back to the day when "kung fu" first hit the mainstream vernacular.

This Hit Man Is Not As Cold As He Thought

Check out this look at the renaming of Western films in the Asian market over at the HK paper The Standard:

Did you see that brilliant Julia Roberts comedy movie The Sparrow Becomes the Empress?
No? Never heard of it?

Well, it may be a surprise to you, but you've probably seen it. Although it would likely have been under the lame, generic original title Pretty Woman.

It's the 85th anniversary of the first ever "talkie" film camera, so let's talk movies.

In Asia, we don't just chuck Hollywood movies up there on our screens.

No; we enhance them, invigorate them and gloriously reinvent them with eye-catching new names.

Come on, admit it: which is the most intriguing title? The English Patient? Or, the same movie as it was renamed in Hong Kong: Don't Ask Who I Am?

The Professional became This Hit Man Is Not As Cold As He Thought.

Bladerunner (which had nothing to do with blades or runners) became Silver Wing Killer.

Few Asians have any idea what the phrase The Full Monty means. But the Chinese title of the film was the wonderfully clear and unsubtle Six Naked Pigs. (I'm sure the stars were thrilled.)

Click here to see the film article.

I am looking for my countess...

the original dragon tiger gate

I LOVE THESE COVERS!