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Saturday, 6 June 2026

Howard The Duck #21: A Review

Howard the Duck #21Howard the Duck #21 by Steve Gerber
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Howard The Duck was surprisingly new to me.

As a kid I have enjoyed such kid friendly Marvel heroes such as Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, Hulk and of course, everyone's favourite, Spider Man, but this? This one is different.

Before I met him, I knew little about Howard...but then, I got this vintage comic, and things went over the hill and over the moon - literally.

While I put on a Donald Duck style voice for Howard, I put on beefy, wideboy, geezer and funny voices for the other characters, including the unmistakably creepy Soofi.

A must have for new grown up Marvel fan readers!

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A T T Retro Review: Doctor Who: The Horns Of Nimon

At first glance, The Horns Of Nimon might seem like a very boring vintage Doctor Who story to you guys, with just the Fourth Doctor, Ramona and no one else to accompany them. However, once you see K9 with them, you're SO IN! And that's what makes these kinds of Doctor Who Tom Baker DVDs so special to me - not only is Baker great as Doctor Four, and John Leeson as K9 too, but this studio-bound story is much more soothing than the later filmed-on-location stories starring David Tennant. The Blue Peter documentary that accompanies it makes it much more fun, as it brings us back to a time when CBBC wasn't all about algorithm, and they weren't like "WATCH IPLAYER OR WE'LL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!"

And I rank this DVD 10 out of 10 Jelly Babies.

A T T Retro Review: Doctor Who & The Macra Terror

Using lost audio files from the archives, the missing Doctor Who four part adventure The Macra Terror featuring The Second Doctor and his pals Jamie, Ben and Polly, is lovingly crafted and animated by Sun & Moon Productions, aka the studio behind those ripoffs of Hey Duggee and Yakka Dee. However, I have to admit that the mix of modern animation and old studio-recorded dialogue recorded live back in the '60s is a bit eerie and creepy, but enjoyable. If you've had enough of Creature Comforts and want an action adventure animation with voices recorded on set, then this is the cartoon for you!

And I rank this DVD 5 out of 5 Macra pincers.

A T T Retro Review: Thunderbirds ft. Brains

It's nice to see Lady Penelope and Parker play a major role in Brink Of Disaster and The Duchess Assignment, and comparing the Duchess Of Royston's elderly age with Lady Penelope being a pure young woman contrasts human beauty easily. However, in the next two episodes, Alan and Tin Tin play roles, mainly Tin Tin's father, Kyrano, as they deal with aliens and giant crocs.

And I rank this DVD 5 out of 5 Croc Prints.

A T T Retro Review: Thunderbirds ft. Alan

The absence of Lady Penelope and Parker on this DVD really puts me off a bit, but hey, at least we still got Brains, Alan, Tin Tin and especially John, who fills in for Alan on Earth while his brother is aboard Thunderbird 5. At least he still cares about his little baby girl.....me, presumably....

And I rank this DVD 4 out of 5 International Rescue patches.

A T T Retro Review: Thunderbirds With Lady Penelope & Parker

I think this Thunderbirds DVD goes really well with that Nice & Easy CD of Irish pop songs I got from the charity shop - THAT GOT 8,000 VIEWS ON GMAPS! Anyway, one episode from the DVD that stuck out to me was The Cham Cham, because Lady Penelope and Tin Tin acted like best friends on this DVD, as if Double-T were Lady P's daughter and she was her mother.

I rank this DVD 10 out of 10 wine glasses......milady.🤣

A T T Retro Review: Thunderbirds, With Tin Tin Kyrano

All the stories on this DVD were as charming as Tin Tin herself - Alias Mr Hackenbacker was quite soothing and soft as Lady Penelope, I found Tin Tin's dancing in Ricochet to be a bit wobbly but still kinda fun, but the one that stood out to me was Give & Take A Million, the Christmas episode, because it ended the original puppet shows on a low stakes note - just how I like it.

And I rank this DVD 10 out of 10 tiger stripes.

Thunderbirds & Captain Scarlet: A Review

 

Captain Scarlet and Thunderbirds AnnualCaptain Scarlet and Thunderbirds Annual by Anonymous
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Such soft, gentle reading.
The comics were an easy read, but I am afraid the long pieces of text were not. I had to stop just after the Thunderbirds 'Mind Machine' strip because it made me go all dreamy. My true favourite bits were the funny cartoons, which included a racist reference that would not be acceptable today - the joke involved Space aliens, and it should spark outrage if it were published today.

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A T T Retro Review: Rocko's Modern Life: The Complete Series

Despite it being rated 12, Rocko is one of the best cartoon series ever released by Nick on DVD these days. Much better than Spongebob!

And I rank this show 10 out of 10 Pasture Puffies.

A T T Retro Review: Stingray With Troy Tempest

Stingray is just as awesome this year as it's always been! My favourite episode on the DVD was 'In Search Of Treasure' - Phones and Oink were so cute together. Although, I prefer Oink with Marina and Phones with his little puppy Bertie.

I rank this DVD a ten out of ten starfishes.

Disney's 365 Boys' Stories Review: What Did Oliver Mention Just Then?

 

Disney - 365 Stories for BoysDisney - 365 Stories for Boys by Walt Disney Company
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such inspiring and fun stories.
Was a bit weirded out by the Playhouse Disney stories in the book, but still, it goes to show that with Disney, reading can also indeed be magic!

Wow, I didn't know Oliver & Company had a meta reference in its sleepover story. And it directly lead right into a film starring The Aristocats. Can life get any better?

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