The Destroyer #16: Oil Slick (1974) by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy

"There is only one thing that can save you from that typhoon. That is another typhoon. I am he."

After King Abras of a wealthy Middle Eastern state is sent packing in a bloodless coup, Colonel Baraka of the Lobynian army takes over and puts the squeeze on America by turning off the supply of precious oil to the States. And when a scientist with a revolutionary – and free – way to produce oil turns up dead at the hands of phony federal agents, it’s time to bring in Remo Williams and Chiun, Master of Sinanju to get the pipes flowing again before the American economy comes crashing down. What our heroes don’t anticipate is that one of their deadliest enemies is pulling the strings and awaits them in Lobynia.

I actually started OIL SLICK back in August (!) during a beach vacation but put it down seven chapters in because it wasn’t really grabbing me. Which is odd for a Destroyer book as they usually pull me right in and breeze along for a fast-paced 200 pages as I chuckle and wish for somebody to make a series starring Scott Adkins as Remo. So, after finishing an Executioner, a couple Batman graphic novels, Grady Hendrix’s WE SOLD OUR SOULS, FALLING and an excellent book on 1970s baseball I figured it was time to pick up where I left off. And I’m glad I did.

Once the authors are done setting up the story with the first 80 pages, OIL SLICK gets cracking as Remo and Chiun head to the Middle East along with a perverse oil company president and members of the Third World International Youth Conference. Chiun, incensed that Lobynia has backed out of its contract with the world’s deadliest assassins, wants Adras returned to power while his nephew Nuihc wants to battle the pig Remo whom he believes has stolen his rightful place as Chiun’s pupil and heir to the secrets of Sinanju. Remo, well, he just wants Chiun and CURE honcho Dr. Smith off his back so he’ll do whatever it takes to end the oil crisis.

OIL SLICK is a bit more schizo than other Destroyer entries and I suspect that co-creator Warren Murphy wrote the second (and better) half of the book as it crackles with sharp dialogue, especially between Chiun and Remo. Bad guys are dispatched (a dry cleaner showdown is gruesomely inventive), Remo has unsatisfying (for him) sex with an undercover agent, and it all leads to a showdown in the oil fields. Unfortunately, it’s a lot of buildup to a conclusion that’s a bit of a letdown, though we do get to see just how much Remo cares for his “little father”.

This one grades out to a B thanks to a sub-par start and above average finish. – Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is the editor/publisher of Exploitation Retrospect and The Hungover Gourmet, as well as the host of the internet radio show Around The Dial. Next up on his men's adventure reading list is MAFIA: OPERATION HITMAN.

The Destroyer #16: Oil Slick is available on Amazon.

Exploitation Retrospect Returns with 130 Page 30th Anniversary Issue!

The Journal of Junk Culture and Fringe Media returns with a super-sized 30th anniversary issue clocking in at 130 pages! 

This time out the ER Crew looks at the world of horror anthology films with a special review section featuring SLAUGHTER TALES (2012), TORTURE GARDEN (1967), THE UNCANNY (1977), TOMB OF TERROR (2004), HOLIDAYS (2016), GRIM PRAIRIE TALES (1990), ASYLUM (1972), THE BURNING MOON (1992), CRADLE OF FEAR (2007), SCREAMS OF A WINTER NIGHT (1979) and many more. Plus, we look inside the world of 21st century anthology flicks with filmmaker Scarlet Fry.

We remember THE DESTROYER co-creator Warren Murphy with an interview by The Paperback Fanatic and examine the legacy of Don Pendleton's Mack Bolan (THE EXECUTIONER) and other men's action heroes via reviews, articles and an interview with author Mike Newton.

Obscure horror gets its due thanks to an interview with Gary Wallace (star of video store oddity THE JAR) while Evan Romero waxes nostalgic about Joe D'Amato's PORNO HOLOCAUST and breaks down the films of Jorg Buttgereit.

Longing for the sights, sounds and smells of old movie theaters? Take a trip through Kris Gilpin's theatrical scrapbook while Chris Poggiali examines the history of hot pants cinema.

And what would an issue of Exploitation Retrospect be without a bulging review section? Join Douglas Waltz, Mitch Lovell, John Grace, Devin Kelly, David Zuzelo, Jim Ivers, Evan Romero, Eric Miller, Neil Vokes, Robert Segedy, Mike Hauss and Dan Taylor as they dive deep into a video vortex of horror, action, exploitation and sleaze.

The new issue is currently available from CreateSpace as well as Amazon.

If you prefer to order direct from the publisher, please visit the ER website.

Men Of Action... Assemble! Bolan and Remo to Battle for Big Screen Bragging Rights?

You can have your superhero movies... this was a great week to be a card-carrying Man Of Action.

First came the announcement that the grandaddy of the men's action novel – Mack Bolan aka The Executioner – was in development (again) for the silver screen. Bolan has been a property of interest in Hollywood pretty much since Don Pendleton debuted the character in 1969's WAR ON THE MAFIA.

Still chugging along thanks to a dozen or so new titles each year, Bolan has drawn the attention of everyone from Steve McQueen and Sly Stallone to Burt Reynolds, Clint Eastwood and even Groot himself, Vin Diesel (that one I can't see). I even have several copies of 70s-era Bolan paperbacks with a flag on the cover trumpeting its imminent arrival as a "major film series".

Alas, the film series we all wanted never materialized – I'd still love to see a young, lean Burt Reynolds in the role – and I think fans had long given up hope of ever seeing Bolan on the big screen. Then news arrived that AVATAR sequel screenwriter Shane Salerno had obtained rights to the long-running series from the Pendleton estate and was pitching a gritty, action-oriented (though PG-13) trilogy showcasing the man who basically wrote the book for The Punisher.

While the news was met with enthusiasm by myself and fellow men's action lovers/Bolan fans, I think that we all were taking a cautious, wait-and-see approach given the series' lengthy flirtations with the silver screen.

And BAM! Like Bolan taking out a warehouse of oily thugs with a trusty rocket launcher we got word that not only had the trilogy found a studio with some background in the Men of Action market – Warner Bros. – but that the project had secured A-list talent in front of and behind the camera. Warner has locked up director Todd Phillips and – thanks to GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY – red hot Bradley Cooper as the lynchpins for what could be an action franchise to rival the Bonds and Bournes of the cinematic world.

Admittedly, I've grown to love Bolan – which wasn't easy after my first attempt at the character via the clunky TENNESSEE SMASH – so I'm thrilled to see him coming to a multiplex near me, in 2017-ish. (Which should coincide nicely with ER 53 featuring... MACK BOLAN!) But my initial thought upon hearing the news of A-list talent being attached to the character was the hope that maybe, just maybe, a blockbuster Bolan flick would result in Hollywood getting off their collective ass and making the movie I really wanted... a new Remo Williams/The Destroyer flick!

I've made no secret of my love for both Remo Williams (the book character) and the film REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS. In fact, our new issue – out soon! – features cover boys Remo and Chiun imagined by award-winning illustrator Neil Vokes. And if any series lends itself to our turbulent times with its blend of action, sci-fi, martial arts, politics, bromance and satire it's The Destroyer.

So color me shocked when I pulled up Facebook on my phone this afternoon as I sat on the beach and saw ER scribe John Grace crow "this is even better news than the Mack Bolan movie". Even as I shaded the phone with my hand and squinted through my sea-spray-coated specs I knew exactly what he was talking about – a new Destroyer flick was in the works!

But it wasn't just the news that Sony was planning a new Remo big-screen adaptation that got my brain going, it was the news that longtime Destroyer fan Shane Black was attached to direct a script co-written by series author James Mullaney (he co-authored #88: THE ULTIMATE DEATH and went on to author novels #111 through #131 as well as several installments of THE NEW DESTROYER series).

Though both projects are in the early stages of development – no casting has been announced for either project besides Cooper as Bolan – and it will be a few years before we see either on the big screen, this was a good week to be a fan of The Men of Action!