Retro Ridoctopus

Awooooooo!! The moon is full and things are about to get HAIRY! For our second monster-riffic epsiode in a row, we are going werewolf hunting! Along for the ride is Hollywood special effects artist, Michael Broom! Mike is the writer/artist of the insanely original graphic novel Membrane and with credits like The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Predators, X-Men First Class, Wolves, Creepshow (...

The first of three consecutive Retro Ridoctopus monster-riffic episodes for season 6's month of October! This episode is broken up into two distinct parts. The first covers those made for TV specials that would have us marking our calendars and TV Guides. Sometimes it would be a 25 minutes cartoon, sometimes a made for TV movie, either way, Halloween specials were part and parcel with the holiday...

8-Bit Alchemy leads a walk down memory PAIN, as we dredge up all the video games we loved but could never beat. Sometimes this was do to us just never getting good enough, but other times, we have to consider the quality of the games themselves. Were they hard but fair? Or, in the end, were they complete F*@2ing bull$!#?!?!? This is an episode of frustration that ends up being pretty cathartic......

Is this episode a dissertation, an audio essay, or just a chat between friends? L. Marie Wood becomes the second person in Ridoctopus history to get locked in the BRIG three times! On this occasion, she chats about new new non-fiction book, "The Horror Aesthetic: Essays from the Dark Corners of the Genre"! It's a book that shares perspectives of the horror genre; providing study and nuan...

We've all got that one best friend. Your bestest buddy, your #1 pal, your BFF! The one person who's seen you at your worst and ALWAYS had your back. Well, this episode is dedicated to characters we feel set the standard for what it means to be best buddies! Your Octo-hosts will share 6 pairs of some of the all time greatest friendships in cartoons and animated film, as well as some personal storie...

We welcome our buddy Nintenjoe back again to talk about one of the most memorable aspects of any video game, the BOSSES!! Whether they're in charge of a single stage or are the final challenge waiting at the end, these characters are sure to make an impact. We'll tackle the more iconic "last guys" first, spotlighting iconic final bosses who come back again and again over multiple entries...

This week we have a talented author whom NY Times Best Seller Christopher Golden called “one of the most talented under-the-radar writers the horror genre has to offer”. Kristin Dearborn has written numerous published short stories, novels and novellas including Woman in White, Stolen Away, The Amazing Alligator Girl and her newest novel Faith of Dawn, which is just crawling with skunk apes! If it...

Back for his second stint in the BRIG… it’s writer/comedian/producer Chris Gersbeck! With his company Dumb Industries, Chris produces and hosts a metric ton of hilarious weekly programs (including but not limited to) The Mads Are Back, The Mary-Jo Pehl Show, The Dave Hill Goodtime Hour and the retro gaming centric, Super Dumb Bros! Chris talks about how it feels to be finally on a break after prod...

It's music time again, folks! And holy crap, Nintenjoe has returned to the helm for his first episode of season 6 as the main host! Appropriately, it's his popular recurring Themes From a Memory series!! This time, the mission was to choose intro theme songs from Nickelodeon cartoons and live action shows! As we've done so many times before, each host has chosen 3 songs which we play for you in se...

The work of K. H. (Ken) Vaughan has appeared in numerous volumes of the New England Horror Writers’ WICKED series, as well as a myriad of other anthologies such as both volumes of Once Upon an Apocalypse, New Moon Quarterly, the award winning Nox Pareidolia, and more! For this episode, we'll chat about Ken's short fiction and his involvement with the popular biennial celebration of weird fiction N...

The legendary Ellen Datlow has been called “the venerable queen of horror anthologies” per the New York Times, and with over 40 years in the business, it's not hard to see why! In celebration of her new horror anthology, "Fears: Tales of Psychological Horror" from Tachyon Publications... Retro Ridoctopus proudly presents "The Fears of Ellen Datlow"! We'll have readings from hor...

For many of us, rushing home to plop our butts in front of the Disney Afternoon was a seminal part of childhood! From Gummi Bears, Ducktales and Rescue Rangers to Goof Troop, Tail Spin and beyond, these were some of the best produced children's cartoons on television and we ate 'em up! In this episode, Coopster Gold leads us through a discussion of 6 of our favorite Disney Afternoon shows! We'll e...

Returning guest, Bobby Canipe Jr. started his film making career with the killer 2022 documentary "Mom n' Pop: The Indie Video Store Boom of the 80s/90s" but has been making horror flicks ever since! For this episode, we'll touch upon what it was like starting from nothing to doing a documentary on video stores to making numerous scary movies a year for SRS Cinema! We'll talk about tons...

In a rare non-celebratory episode, we welcome the co-writer/star/director of the hilarious flick, BAD CGI SHARKS, Jason Ellsworth to join us in a critical discussion on some of the LESS impressive FX we've seen in movies. These are the sequences that are so jarringly inadequate, they hit like a Mac truck, smashing any semblance of immersion to smithereens. We each pick 2 examples of the worth effe...

A 'beat 'em up' or 'brawler' is a style of video game where the player character walks from left to right, beating up a seemingly endless number of enemies, until reaching the inevitable boss encounter at the end of the level. Simple, repetitive and addictive as heck, this genre of games were very popular in the late 80s and early 90s with beloved entries such as Final Fight, Double Dragon, Golden...

Rotting in the BRIG this week, we have another returning guest, Paul R. McNamee! Paul is a talented author and lover of all things pulp… who’s short stories have appeared in multiple anthologies and magazines including STORYHACK, WEIRDBOOK, and BLOOD ON THE BLADE. And in 2021, he released the superhero novel Hour of the Robot!. His brand new collection, HEROES AMONG SHADOWS, was just released last...

The X-men theme that was just too big for one episode continues! In this second action-packed installment of our X-Men Cartoon Apocalypse, we celebrate 2 more of the 4 major X- men cartoons! As with last time, each host will present a favorite episode from each. Joining the team just time is new recruit and X-Men über fan, Kevin "Kex" Hayes! For this first part, we are covering... • Wolv...

This idea has been brewing for a while and it was just too big for one episode! This action-packed episode celebrates 2 of the 4 major X- men cartoons! Each host presents a favorite episode from each with the help of our very special guest... our returning pal and constant poster Santino "The San Man" Mancebo! For this first part, we are covering... • X-Men: The Animated Series (AKA: X-M...

Good friend of the show, Josh Nealis (from Cutthroat Comics) makes Ridoctopus history by becoming the only person to get locked in THE BRIG for a THIRD TIME! He talks candidly with Parasite Steve about his latest books "Gloves Off: Going Toe-to-Toe with Cancer", "Judy and Her Irrational Fears" the final issue of his "Turkey Sharks" comic series and what it was like cr...

Roger Corman did it all and he did it in spades. Whether you call him the King of Cult or the Pope of Pop Cinema, it's no exaggeration to say that Corman had an output unmatched by anyone in the industry. And while he is perhaps known as much for his schlock as his amazing Poe Cycle with Vincent Price, one thing is for sure. The man constantly did what he loved, and that was making movies! For thi...

This week, in THE BRIG… Deader is Better! We welcome the co-creator of the world's longest continually running series of collectible horror themed dolls. The Living Dead Dolls. Make no mistake, folks… this is a guy who makes nightmares come to life, New Jersey’s own… Damien Glonek! Ever wondered how you can turn a quirky little idea into a vast 26 year empire, beloved and fiercely collected by fan...

The 1980s and 90s saw the release of an unprecedented number of cartoons, movies, toys and games starring DINOSAURS! And unlike the adventure films of the 60s & 70s these projects took everyone's favorite extinct behemoths out of their hidden savage land environments and made them cool again. Mashing them together with genres like science fiction, post-apocalypse and even sitcoms! You want din...

It's 11:00 in Nosgoth. Do you know where your vampires are? This week's motley crew includes Parasite Steve, Synopsis (Boss Rush Mode) Grim and Lady Carianna (in her first appearance)! All three have stocked up on Hearts of Darkness and have a serious blood lust for the classic PS1/PS2 series known as THE LEGACY OF KAIN! These gothic dark fantasy treasures are known for their incredible entwining...

The GODFOE Universe: APOLLYON 20XX is a gritty new indie comic from the team of artist Joshua Adams and writer Dan Evans. For this episode, the book's artist Joshua give the lowdown on this massive media-panning project, which will eventually span comic, novels, films and even video games. Is that ambitious enough for ya?! For more info on this awesome project, check out the official website! ----...

Our secret nerdom revealed at last! We at the Retro Ridoctopus cephalopodcast are all huge geeks about animals and all sorts of creatures that walk, crawl, swim and fly over this fantastic blue marble we call Earth! For this science-centric episode, the Octo-hosts each pick 4 animals we think are the most fascinating and share a bunch of fun facts about them! Pretty simple, pretty different and ho...