And yeah, it’s been in the theaters for almost two months now, but we’re finally getting around to reviewing the new King Kong on Scary-Crayon — which is only fitting since he’s appeared in two Hot Flashes thus far and will be appearing in an upcoming Foodstuffs review. As you’ll read, I wasn’t too keen on the movie, but there’s something about a giant gorilla that nevertheless makes the character hard to dislike, even when he is killing and eating people and whatnot. And because the movie’s still in the theaters and not on DVD (not that I’d buy it anyway, unless I came across it in the $5.50 bin at Wal-Mart), screencaps are taken alternately from King Kong Lives, the 1986 sequel to the 1976 remake of King Kong, and the intro to Kong: The Animated Series”, which I happened to record last Saturday morning. King Kong sure loves him some alligators.

And then, in Dusty Plastic HELL: Hot Flash #73, we take a trip down memory lane for a look at myself and one of my best pals back when I was in middle school. I drew this one after a conversation with some folks brought back memories of this guy and his atrocious taste in women. I’m sure you’ve all known someone like him (or at least seen the character in movies) — the guy who would fuck almost anything that moves. Now, I’m not saying that a woman has to be Lacey Chabert to be worth dating, and I’ve certainly been attracted to women who aren’t supermodels by conventional standards. But whereas my attractions have been largely due to the personalities of my respective crushes and my own personal tastes, guys like my old pal not only seemed to genuinely think that these cows were hot, but that their beauty was so obvious that everyone else on the planet would agree. He was definitely an interesting character.

Another thing about guys like this is that despite their obliviousness to any standards of beauty whatsoever, they invariably end up with the hottest girl in the school, town, etc., on their arm at one point or another. It’s amazing. Not only that, but then they’ll act like you’re the one who finally developed some taste when you comment on it and say stuff like, “Maybe now you’ll respect my taste in the future.” Unreal. And then when it doesn’t work out between them — because it never does — the guys go right back to chasing ogres as if they’re Charlize Theron (whom I really don’t find all that hot but she came to mind given that I just watched Mighty Joe Young the other day). Sometimes they’ll even go on at length about how the latest creature that ended up in their bed is even hotter than the super gorgeous woman they previously dated. I don’t get it.

Speaking of things I don’t get, what the hell was up with that “beauty killed the beast” shit in King Kong? I don’t know what events the characters were watching, but it looked to me like the beast was killed by a hail of gunfire and a 102-story drop. I’m just saying.