1970s... The fascination that the combination of vampirism and lesbianism exerts on young, impressionable minds cannot be denied (though it may be decried as any number of vile things...!) Needless to say, a myriad of Hammer Films (and their imitators) contributed to this, through the years... Hammer Films were, overall, the most impacting genre films of all - but, for this category, they were not the sole ones! Oh no - far from it. Roger Vadim gave it a try with his Blood And Roses, which was an artfilm more than anything else. José Ramon Larraz made his 1974 Vampyres the most lustful vampire lovers ever (Ingrid Pitt has more class but her Vampire Lovers are not as luscious; nor is The Hunger's twosome) and since the genre has gone by the wayside, it is a distinction that will likely stick, in the future. Several lesser filmmakers gave it the old college try, too... And then there was the very odd Vampyros Lesbos...! How can one forget the turns that the delectable Delphine Seyrig, Danielle Ouimet, Yutte Stensgaard, Anulka Dziubinska, Marianne Morris, Celeste Yarnall and many others took at portraying these type of nocturnal creatures with insatiable (and often incomprehensible) desires...? Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon's cinematic encounter (top) is quite unforgettable too, indubitably... There were more forgettable such encounters over the years, certainly... hell, they were the pits, I say! (No offense, Miss Pitt!) However, there were truly unforgettablepairs as well! But the uncontested queen of the genre remains Ingrid Pitt - Countess Dracula herself - and her harem! And hers is the dubious distinction of knowing how to both titillate and scare half-to-death an audience, all at once, and, seemingly, at will too! Ingrid Pitt remains forever linked to the role of Carmilla (actually, yes, it was) just as Ingrid Bergman remains forevermore the one Anastasia of cinema and Romy Schneider the Sissi, Empress...! Odd comparison, you say? I think not! Here's to you, Ingrid! No, that's not blood - it's cherry! ;)
The phenomenon was parodied often - brilliantly so here by one Steve Coogan His parody of lesbian vampire movies, with Coogan and Sally Bretton as newlyweds invited to stay at the castle of lustful Countess Kronsteen (Ronni Ancona, having a blast!) From Coogan's comedy-horror tv series, Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible, Episode: "Lesbian Vampire Lovers of Lust" Coogan could not get Ingrid pitt to participate; he got the next best thing in the classy Honor Blackman (The Avengers' Cathy Gale and 007's Pussy Galore - somthing she has in common with Countess Kronsteen there! But Honor is playing a Van Helsing type here, really; a middle-aged, sexy-as-hell female Van Helsing! And why not - if monstruous bloodsucking vampire women -particularly vampire lesbians- can be perceived as sexy despite their age that reaches inot the hundreds -allegedly- surely a middle-aged woman who looks her age can be sexy too!)
Vampire women have a certain allure all their own though... It is all very subjective, really!
Vampires, Witches, Succubuses... they're all the same!
Hard to believe, but true - some twenty years after a comic-book mini-series ended, and after the character in question made his last appearance, they released an action figure of the guy! "The guy" being the sort-of cipher and bystander become "man in the know" called The Monitor... Hmm... Is there such a thing as a "commemorative action figure," really? If there isn't, DC Direct proudly pioneered the avowed money-funneling from nostalgics scam here...! And, of course, they also issued one for his evil twin of sorts - his nefarious counterpart, the Anti-Monitor, the very one responsible for all the mischief and chaos in the original series called CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS... The murderer of countless heroes, in fact - including... ah... well, so many of them have famously cheated death and COME BACK SINCE... (Only in comics...) But a few have remained dead - of those notables are Barry "The Flash" Allen, Aquagirl Tula, the original Supergirl the original Robin (meaning Golden Age) and Lord Volt, along with his daughter Liana; the dear ones of one Lady Quark (who survived the Crisis - only to be killed off later on...! Damn you DC!) NOTA BENE: ''Liana'' not to be confused with this ''Lianna'' who came out (...) around the same time
Linda Griffiths' quintessential role...
Jane Hallaren would have been a good Lady Quark!
But that would have turned things even more
awkward... controversial...screwed-up!
Let's just... move on!!!
.
BUT BACK TO CRISIS: I believe that they also made honorific figures of The Monitor's ''henchwoman'' Harbinger and that odd fellow called Pariah (replaced in DC lore, since, by lady Pandora!) Hell, they even made one of Psycho-Pirate!!! All CRISIS-related characters... All dead these days. Or are they...?
It felt as though ALL fictional characters
from ALL possible derivative universes
(derivative from true literature
and bonafide mythology - of course)
were coming together or being affected
by this ''CRISIS''...
one that spanned all boundaries
of time and space...
Yeah... Flash will probably get all better from that "death thing" someday...
In a most unexpected way, I'm sure...!
Comic-bookies, y'know - no faith (much less respect) for the Grim Reaper!
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Born in the Age of Aquarius, destined to seek out truths in many an art form, trained as a historian and a journalist but truly a prose-lover... Luciano is out to dispel any clichés and reinvent them all both to the tune of a little something called the truth as also to his own image - and being old-fashioned, he does not mind that distinction one infinitesimal tiny bit at all...! "There are two ways to spread the light; be the candle... or the mirror that reflects It." I have chosen to be the latter... okay? ~*~
"To be not only a seeker of light... but a dream weaver of light" ~*~ For as surely as the moon reflects the light from the sun, you and I can reflect the Light from Above - and be, indeed, the light of this world! ~*~*~*~ NOTE: THERE ARE COOKIES ~ from at least three parties~ ON ALL OF MY BLOGS! ~*~ accept it!
