ECCC Update...

The official Emerald City Comic-Con page has been updated with programming notes, and yes, the trivia contest is listed there!

Speaking of the trivia contest... I've made the Cosmic Cube, and am in progress on the Red Kryptonite, plus I have the materials for the FF Flare Gun.

More news as things develop!

Jon

Coming Attractions...

I've started preparing some pictures for another temporary feature for this blog... some scans from old Sears Wish Books, focusing on toys that I think would be of interest to my readers!

The only thing holding me back from starting to post those now is that since I haven't gone for a Flickr pro account, there's a limit of 200 photos available to me at a time... and I want to post a few more of those TV comics covers before I do my next upload of photos to Flickr, so I don't lose access to 'em!

Man, one of these days, I've got to pay for that upgrade on payday...

Jon

TV Comic of the Day!

Here's the first issue of Charlton's Bionic Woman comic... from the few issues I've read of this book, I'm afraid it just didn't stack up that well against their Six Million Dollar Man book (maybe if Byrne had drawn it?).

Jon

No other posts tonight...

...I'm catching up on three months of comics! Enjoy the TV comics post below... and here's a few toy commercial videos, too!


Here's a very cool commercial, from Mattel's Shogun Warriors line… it's Godzilla!



Here's another Shogun Warriors commercial… sorry about the low sound level!



And to show how Japanese toys (and toy commercials) are just plain cooler than ours… here's a Japanese Shogun Warriors commercial!



Jon

TV Comic of the Day!

The Abbott and Costello cartoon was a 1960s H-B production, with Bud Abbott providing the voice for his animated counterpart. I haven't seen but one or two of these cartoons, ever, and I don't remember how good or bad they might have been. I think the cartoons were part of a syndicated package.

Here's the opening of the cartoon:



Jon

TV Comic of the Day!

You know, The Wild, Wild West is one of those shows on the looooong list of shows that I'd like to have on DVD, complete series, some day.

And it's probably going to be years before I manage that.

I can't possibly imagine that the Gold Key comic had any of the charm or excitement of the show, but I could well be wrong.

Jon

Jessi's Buying a New Computer...

...a PC, naturally! She ordered it Wednesday direct from Dell, and I'm not sure when she'll be receiving it.

Since her PC broke down a number of months ago, she's had to use my Mac for getting her email and doing any websurfing she needs to do, but I don't think that she's that comfortable using it. I forget the model of Dell she's ordered, but it's a laptop.

Now me? I don't care much for laptops. Give me a desktop computer any day! Now, I don't really have anything against laptops, per se -- I'm sure for many people, they come in extremely handy. I just prefer desktop machines.

Since that computer's been ordered, now it's up to me to start looking at a new Mac... and taking a look at a few places, I think the next one for me will be an iMac, one with a 20" flatscreen (woo-hoo!). The model I'm looking at is about $1.5K or so, but if I recall correctly, we're a month or two away from the new year's Mac releases, and so the older models will start getting discounted. I'll have to check with some people at work to confirm this (I'd hate to buy a new Mac and then find out a month later I could've saved $300 or more by waiting).

Obviously, I'd *love* to get one of the top-of-the-line Macs, but they're about $2.5K, and I don't think Jessi can reasonably accept that kind of expense!

I'm just hoping that this Mac will continue to last... as I've mentioned before, the CD-ROM has decided not to work anymore, so unless I plug in my Zip drive, I've got no way to back up anything! At least nothing else has been wonky with it lately...

Jon

Some More Links for Ya!

Here's some more of the comics links I have on my bookmarks list:

The Golden Age Blue Beetle will tell you probably everything you wanted to know about the original BB!

If you're interested in tracking down reprints of Marvel Comics, Arthur's Marvel Comics Reprints Website is for you! This is the kind of web page I always appreciate finding!

I haven't looked at it for a while, but The Official Dick Giordano Website is still up and running, and a great resource for fans of the man!

I'd imagine most of you have already checked it out, but in the interests of completeness, here's TreasuryComics.com, the website that tells all about those oversized treasury books, and not just the 1970s ones!

And finally, The Crossover Comics Calvacade website lists all the comics crossovers, ever!

Jon

TV Comic of the Day!

Yes, it's the Wacky Races! You can see the cavemen here that I referred to as the visual inspiration for Captain Caveman. Also note here Penelope Pitstop and Dick Dastardly... the season after this show ended, each of those characters were spun off into their own series!

I remember an episode of Dexter's Laboratory did a parody of this series, complete with narrator!

Later, Hanna-Barbera would revisit the whole sports cartoon thing with the Laff-A-Lympics.

Jon

Since the Previous Toy Videos are in the Archives...

Here's a bunch of Wham-O toy commercials… what happened to this company?

TV Comic Cover of the Day!

OK, in my opinion, this title, Valley of the Dinosaurs is the single best Charlton book based on a Hanna-Barbera series. I mean, the artwork is on-model (actually, it probably looks better than the cartoon did), and the issues I read were quite entertaining to read as well!

Valley of the Dinosaurs didn't last that long on TV, which is unfortunate. As you might have guessed, it was on during that time that dinosaurs and cavemen were all over the place on Saturday morings.

Well... okay, I think there was Land of the Lost and Korg, and that was probably it... one per network, right?

Anyway... depending on where on the web I look, the show was on for one or two years, and had 15 episodes made. I'd imagine it'll be quite a while (if ever) before Warners gets around to producing a complete series DVD (I think it'd be very cool if, as part of the boxed complete series of Valley of the Dinosaurs, if they could also include a TPB reprinting all the Charlton issues of the comic).

Jon

This is my 985th Posting...

...which means that in another 15 posts (i.e., within the next two weeks), I'll be making my 1,000th post on this blog!

No, I don't have anything special in mind for this post... yet.

Jon

I'm Sure You've Already Noticed...

I've been doing some tweaking and stuff with the blog... finally figured out how to add that header image, plus I moved stuff around on the right-hand side, so that the links will be seen easier (sorry you'll have to scroll down a bit to get to the archives and the labels, but at least the labels are all there now!).

I still have some more tweaking to do with the look and feel of it, but it may be a few days before I get around to that.

Jon

A Bunch O' Links!

Here's some links I've got on my bookmarks file which I thought you readers might be interested in checking out:

If you like designing comic book characters, but don't have the artistic skills to do so, you might want to check out HeroMachine, which lets you choose a body type, then create the costume for it!

The Mighty Crusaders Network, last I checked, actually used some artwork of mine originally created for the MightyMLJ website. In fact, they have a page devoted to my artwork here.

I've never shopped at The Superman Superstore, at least, not via the website! I did check out their brick-and-mortar store when my first wife and I went to Metropolis. Judging from what I saw on their front page, next time I have a few extra bucks to spare, I'll have to do some shopping!

If you have fond memories of the Aurora models, checkout the Aurora Ads in DC Comics site for a trip down memory lane!

A nice treat for golden age comics fans, even though they stopped adding new stuff in 2002, is the Prescription for Excitement page.

If you're a fan of Harvey's Black Cat, then this site is for you!

Don't forget to check out (and bookmark) The Dave Stevens Web Site, if you were a fan of The Rocketeer!

And last, but not least, for tonight, is The Marvel Value Stamps unofficial guide!

Jon

Well, That Wasn't Fun...

Did I mention that over the weekend I took the time to do some reorganizing of my computer's hard drive? Well, apparently I reorganized a bit too much.

Today, during my lunch break, I started having issues connecting with our wireless router, and once Jessi went to bed tonight, I figured I'd restart the computer and see if that would help.

As it turns out, it didn't help (I ended up resetting the router and the cable modem before it worked). However, the restart did demonstrate how I moved all the preferences for Netscape, Outlook Express, and iTunes (so far, anyway) to where they couldn't find them!

Took a bit of time for me to track down where the preferences, bookmarks, etc. had gone to and put them back where they belonged! I was in quite a panic, as I wasn't sure I could even remember what my Netscape bookmarks were!

Unfortunately, all this didn't do a darn thing to get the CD-ROM drive on my Mac working again. I'd been planning on doing a CD archive to back everything up, but since the drive isn't working, that may be out of the question! Or perhaps I should just dig up my old Zip drive, and start archiving stuff on those 100-MB discs.

On the other hand, since that Zip drive is a SCSI device, it won't help me when I get a new Macintosh, since I don't plan on getting a SCSI drive installed on it (which is why I'll also need a new scanner). Hopefully, I'll be able to simply network the old Mac with the new Mac to copy files over.

Not that I actually have a timetable on when I'll be buying that new Mac, by the way.

Jon

TV Comic of the Day!

Not too much to say about this, other than it was during the brief time Marvel had the rights to the H-B characters (ironic, since today they're owned by Warner Bros. along with DC... Hanna-Barbera, that is, not Marvel!).

Captain Caveman's appearance seems derived from the cavemen who appeared in The Wacky Races. Sometime after his initial cartoon appearance, he ended up being moved back to the Stone Age, and teamed with Betty and Wilma, believe it or not!

Grape Ape? Well... he had the annoying habit of ending every sentence with "Grape Ape! Grape Ape!" This was around the time of the Dino Di Laurentis King Kong blasphemy, so it can be understood why H-B thought a giant ape might be a successful cartoon.

Jon

Similar, but Different...

It's been commented on my post with the Time Tunnel TV Comics cover that Quantum Leap was similar to TT. Yeah, similar is probably an accurate term... but QL was as similar to TT as Voyagers! was to either of those shows. They all featured time travel, and all featured some touches with history (although TT and Voyagers! had more interaction with famous historical events), but that's really about it.

Well, Voyagers! and QL both had something that needed to be fixed before the episode was ended... but Voyagers! was fixing history to be correct, and match our history books, QL's changes tended not to fix major history, but more personal history.

I love all three shows, actually (I wish Voyagers! was available in a complete series DVD)... I'm a sucker for time travel tales, especially entertaining ones. And especially when they offer a twist to make them different.

Honestly, I don't recall all that much about the specifics in Time Tunnel... I know that they'd have adventures in history, and their knowledge of historical events would help them, but I think they'd pretty much get in trouble, and then have to find a way out of being in trouble... although given that the Time Tunnel would pull them back into the timestream at the end of each episode (and not, if I recall, with any rhyme or reason... it just did), I'm not sure why they'd be that worried, unless they were facing execution or something like that.

Sam Beckett, on the other hand, HAD to put right what once went wrong, with the help of Al and Ziggy, before he could Leap out of when he was, and go on to his next mission. I don't think they had any episodes where he screwed up somehow, and then had to do something else to fix his error, but it's been a long time since I've watched the show. The biggest historical meet-ups in QL were in the last season, which I think were done in desperation to keep the show from being cancelled, but I'm not sure those were great ideas (especially the Lee Harvey Oswald episode).

Voyagers! basically had the lead adult character (Fogg?) who was a time traveler, and he was accompanied by a kid who knew history better than the adult did, and would help him interpret what had been changed in history, and how to fix it. Their time travel device would show them the altered history, then they'd go back further to find out how it got changed and put it right again, until their device said everything was fine. This show was much more educational in nature (it was on Sundays at 7 p.m., if I recall correctly) and was at least co-produced by Scholastic Books.

I wouldn't mind seeing all three of these shows return in some form or another, although I think in the case of QL, it may have to wait a while longer so that they could recast it... I know the leads (Scott Bakula, at least) has said many times that he would be happy to play Sam again, but it's almost been too long since the show ended for him to take the role again (unless, say, it was done in animation, so he could simply voice the part). I was kind of hoping that when Enterprise ended, the Sci Fi Channel would bring the show back themselves, but that didn't happen (and I haven't heard any news about a possible revival in well over 10 years).

Jon

Trivia Contest - Short Update!

Right now I'm in kind of a holding pattern on preparations for the trivia contest. I know which props I'm going to have on hand (as per the rules I posted below), I'm just waiting for payday to have the funds to purchase the materials I need for them!

I know many of the materials I need will be available at Michael's... such as foam board and the like... another item is at Wal-Mart, and I think I can pick up some stuff at the Dollar Store (assuming they have play money with coins I can use to make Two-Face's coin). Once I have that stuff, I'll start making everything I need.

And before any of you even ask -- I am not going to offer any of these items for sale.

I may, however, offer some instructions on how you can make some of these for yourself, if you feel so inclined! I'm especially thinking about the Cosmic Cube and the Fantasti-Flare, depending on how well those come out. The Fantasti-Flare I'm really hoping to make semi-functional; it won't shoot a flare, naturally, but I think I can make it so it will fold up like it does in the comics. The Cube should definitely have some kind of light effect in it. I may also offer instructions on how to make the Red K... but that may give the surprise away!

Jimmy Olsen's Superman Signal Watch will basically be the cheapest watch I can buy... and Wonder Woman's magic lasso will simply be a length of golden rope (I should be able to find appropriate stuff for this at Michael's, but may be a Wal-Mart purchase).

I will, at the very least, offer a photo of the items!

Jon

I Completely Forgot to Notice...

That on February 11, I started my third year of this blog!

And since I'm already two weeks late on observing that, let me make just a few promises to you, my faithful readers:

I promise that I will always at least attempt to continue to post on a daily basis, and if I'm not going to be able to post, I will try whenever possible to let you know ahead of time if a hiatus is needed.

I promise that I will keep you up to date on the latest goings-on in my life, from work to comics reading to the status of our foster parenting and adoption and beyond!

I promise to continue posting a comic cover a day... currently, as you're well aware, I've been posting a TV comic each day, and once those are all cycled through, I'll go on to other stuff!

I promise that I will continue to read all comments posted here, even if I do not comment on them.

I promise that I will keep my links list up to date, adding new links when I find other blogs and news pages and so forth that I think may be of interest, and deleting any links that become dead links.

I promise that I will continue to look for interesting videos to share with you.

I promise to continue to give you advance info on stuff that I'm privy to, assuming that I'm at liberty to do so.

I promise that I'll try to entertain, inform, amuse, and get you to thinking about things!

(now watch, after posting this, I'll get involved with something that'll keep me from blogging for a week or two)

Jon

Toy Commercial Videos!

I honestly don't recall if I've posted these or not... I was organizing my documents on my computer's hard drive, and came across two different Word files of videos to blog, so I figured I'd go ahead and post them, or re-post them if that's the case!

OK, you just have to check this Canadian commercial out…



Here's a commercial (why in black and white? I don't know) for Ideal's Evel Knievel action figure…



My brother had one of these… well Evel and his motorcycle, anyway. I recall the Evel figures were manufactured like Gumby, with a solid soft rubber body with wires inside!

Here's a much older set of commercials…



More in a few days!

Jon

TV Comic of the Day!

Tonight's TV comic is the Time Tunnel, which lasted a short time in Gold Key's lineup. I used to have one issue of this title, and recall it as being pretty standard Gold Key stuff... not as wildly out-of-continuity as their Star Trek book, but nowhere near as fun as their original titles, either.

This is a concept that I've been amazed hasn't been revived in some form or another... I mean, yeah, there's just the one standing set, and everything else has to be done from scratch each week, but with today's computer effects available, it would seem to me that things could be replicated onscreen easily, no? Use "virtual sets" that would be filled in via CGI, film the live-action on a green screen set, and your only physical needs would be period costumes (which most studios should have access to, right?).

Modernize the main Time Tunnel set with a new look, but keep the tunnel the way it is, maybe do a bit more characterization, and I think you could have a hit! Heck, for that matter, the tech team at the Tunnel could feature some pretty big-name stars, and so long as all the scripts are written in advance, their scenes could all be filmed in a month, and then it's all Doug and Tony (that was their names, wasn't it?) for the rest of your filming season!

Just make sure the scripts have some very cool concepts, nice "bumps" with history, and keep the dialogue fresh and witty!

Jon