As I'm writing this blog entry, this week's Cover Stories is already up at World Famous Comics -- you can click on the link to the right to check it out.
This week's installment is a bit unusual... because I didn't choose the covers, faithful CS reader Joe Lenius did! You see, when Joe read the installment featuring sexy babes on the covers, he felt that I'd by no means chosen the sexiest covers, and he offered five covers he felt were better choices.
Since I always like feedback from my readers (here and for CS), I asked Joe if he'd mind if I used his choices for a future column, and he gave me the okay... and the rest is history!
Next weekend's CS entry is a special second anniversary column!
Jon
Jon's Random Acts of Geekery is your five days a week destination for old-school geekery!
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Comic Book Ad of the Day!
Remember when a one-shot was truly a special event in comics, and would actually tell a complete story, without requring you to buy a bunch of other books to follow the story?
Such was the case with this Superman Spectacular... and I'm not really certain what the deal was here... DC had been doing annuals since the 1960s at least, and would continue to do so... but here, in the November 1977 DC books was this ad!
As the ad says, this was the first Superman Dollar Comic. Dollar Comics, for the uninitiated, were a noble attempt by Jeanette Kahn to help bolster newsstand sales of DC Comics... by publishing thicker books (which included Superman Family - converted from Jimmy Olsen's numbering, and also folding in Lois Lane and Supergirl, World's Finest, Adventure Comics, Batman Family - which was later folded into Detective Comics when that converted to a Dollar Comic, and probably a few others) that would have a higher profit margin, she figured the newsstands would be more willing to carry them.
It's really amazing... in the 1960s, DC produced 80-Page Giants for a quarter... then in the early 1970s, they went to 100-Page Super-Spectaculars that were 50 cents (later 60 cents), and then in the late 70s, these Dollar Comics (which were apparently also 80 pages) were, naturally, a dollar... but by the 1980s, the regular comics kept edging to higher and higher price points... reaching the dollar price before that decade was out, unless I'm mistaken... to the point where you can't find a brand-new comic for a buck these days unless it's a special one-shot thing, usually published at a loss!
Jon
Genre Movie Image of the Day: Dinosaurus! Again!
Yes, it's another Dinosaurus pic... and isn't it funny how all these Dinosaurus stills that feature humans seem to be using GI Joes or Barbies for the human figures? Of course, that can't be the case, since that would make the dino figures tremendously large!
This is the last Dinosaurus still I have for you... tomorrow, a still from a different movie!
Jon
Comic Book Cover of the Day!
Here's E-Man #1 from Charlton, the first of the many E-Man #1's! I've long been a fan of E-Man, although I don't know that I ever had this issue (I know I had the First Comics reprint, however). I loved Joe Staton's art on it, as well as Nick Cuti's writing, and feel that this title was one of Charlton's best ever (I've also been a big fan of Doomsday +1 and The Vengeance Squad... the former book was Byrne artwork and has been reprinted, but I don't know if the V-Squad was reprinted outside of a few Modern Comics reprints).
Jon
Classic Toy of the Day!
I'm not sure which company produced this Dracula figure in the 1980s... perhaps it was AHI, but I could well be wrong. This was, if I recall correctly, a blow-molded figure, meaning it wasn't solid plastic, but rather all the pieces were hollow. It's a pretty decent sculpt and paint job, isn't it?
There were others in this toy line... but I'm not sure if I have photos of any of 'em.
Jon
Artswalk, Spring 2007!
This being Artswalk weekend in Olympia, Jessi and I decided to head downtown to take it all in.
Well, not right away... first we had breakfast, and then we went out and hit some garage sales... and had great luck with them, too! Among the items we purchased were the board games Scrabble, Taboo and Scattergories, a new lightweight coat for me, a Rubbermaid pitcher, some beading stuff for Jessi...
...and three of the 12" Planet of the Apes action figures of a few years back, still in the original packaging... Zira, Taylor and the Gorilla Sergeant. I got all three of them for $25, which was a heck of a deal! I think Doctor Zaius might've been the only other one they produced, but I could be misremembering. I think they originally retailed for $15-20 each.
We took KO and Krypto with us, and they got lots of attention from fellow garage sale goers.
Afterwards, we headed for home and unloaded the car, had a quick lunch, put the dogs to bed, and headed downtown.
Fortunately, we're always able to find free parking when we go to downtown Olympia, and this time was no different.
Artswalk, for the uninitiated, is held twice a year, once in Spring, and once in the Fall. Area businesses have sales and also display works of art by local area artists. In addition, there's music in the streets, demonstrations by various groups, and informational booths. One of our first stops that took any time was at a table set up by some group (I forget their names) who were giving away free helium balloons as well as wooden tops, which you could also paint while you were there.
After that, we stopped at Wind Up Here, a downtown toy store, where I bought an extra set of Left-Right-Center dice (which was for my boss, who will be paying me back for them), as well as four tiny glow-in-the-dark fairies for Jessi to use in a terrarium.
We looked in on a few other stores as well, and then we were both feeling a bit thirsty and needed a break, so we went back to the car (which was parked at a Safeway), got in, and ran over to a different Safeway (the one we were parked at didn't have a public restroom), got something to drink there, and then it was back to the house, where we loaded up the dogs (putting on their backpacks, which were loaded with bottled water -- Cesar Milan recommends this when taking dogs for a leashed walk, because it gives them a job, and helps tire them out).
With the dogs loaded up, we went back downtown for the annual Procession of the Species, which always happens during the spring Artswalk.
The Procession of the Species is a parade in which volunteers dress up as various kinds of animals, and they perform along the route, with animals grouped together by type (insects together, sea life together, etc.). It's always entertaining, if a bit loud (most groups use drums to provide music). We brought the dogs because we they needed more practice dealing with large crowds and noise, and they did rather better than we expected.
We'd brought some folding chairs with us to sit on during the parade, and twice during the parade, Krypto got scared enough by the drums that he climbed up on my lap! Still, overall, both dogs handled it all right. They'll probably do better next time.
Jon
Well, not right away... first we had breakfast, and then we went out and hit some garage sales... and had great luck with them, too! Among the items we purchased were the board games Scrabble, Taboo and Scattergories, a new lightweight coat for me, a Rubbermaid pitcher, some beading stuff for Jessi...
...and three of the 12" Planet of the Apes action figures of a few years back, still in the original packaging... Zira, Taylor and the Gorilla Sergeant. I got all three of them for $25, which was a heck of a deal! I think Doctor Zaius might've been the only other one they produced, but I could be misremembering. I think they originally retailed for $15-20 each.
We took KO and Krypto with us, and they got lots of attention from fellow garage sale goers.
Afterwards, we headed for home and unloaded the car, had a quick lunch, put the dogs to bed, and headed downtown.
Fortunately, we're always able to find free parking when we go to downtown Olympia, and this time was no different.
Artswalk, for the uninitiated, is held twice a year, once in Spring, and once in the Fall. Area businesses have sales and also display works of art by local area artists. In addition, there's music in the streets, demonstrations by various groups, and informational booths. One of our first stops that took any time was at a table set up by some group (I forget their names) who were giving away free helium balloons as well as wooden tops, which you could also paint while you were there.
After that, we stopped at Wind Up Here, a downtown toy store, where I bought an extra set of Left-Right-Center dice (which was for my boss, who will be paying me back for them), as well as four tiny glow-in-the-dark fairies for Jessi to use in a terrarium.
We looked in on a few other stores as well, and then we were both feeling a bit thirsty and needed a break, so we went back to the car (which was parked at a Safeway), got in, and ran over to a different Safeway (the one we were parked at didn't have a public restroom), got something to drink there, and then it was back to the house, where we loaded up the dogs (putting on their backpacks, which were loaded with bottled water -- Cesar Milan recommends this when taking dogs for a leashed walk, because it gives them a job, and helps tire them out).
With the dogs loaded up, we went back downtown for the annual Procession of the Species, which always happens during the spring Artswalk.
The Procession of the Species is a parade in which volunteers dress up as various kinds of animals, and they perform along the route, with animals grouped together by type (insects together, sea life together, etc.). It's always entertaining, if a bit loud (most groups use drums to provide music). We brought the dogs because we they needed more practice dealing with large crowds and noise, and they did rather better than we expected.
We'd brought some folding chairs with us to sit on during the parade, and twice during the parade, Krypto got scared enough by the drums that he climbed up on my lap! Still, overall, both dogs handled it all right. They'll probably do better next time.
Jon
Friday, April 27, 2007
Comic Book Ad of the Day!
File this under "stuff you'd never see in a comics ad these days":
This is from the November 1977 cover-dated DC Comics, and yes, that's a full page, full color ad showing this gun for kids blowing a hole through an apple.
Just how many twisted kids do you think saw that ad and pictured the head of the person they hated the most in place of the apple?
I'm not saying that this mid-70s ad made kids think guns were cool and shooting people solved your problems or anything like that... I've always thought that if your mind is twisted, it can take anything to use as an influence, and if you don't have a twisted mind, you can think for yourself and act like a valued member of society.
But heck, even I think that this particular ad was in bad taste!
Imagine if it had been published just a month or so before the Columbine incident... I would think that it would've been picked as one of the reasons it happened, and probably started an all-new witch hunt against comic books!
Jon
This is from the November 1977 cover-dated DC Comics, and yes, that's a full page, full color ad showing this gun for kids blowing a hole through an apple.
Just how many twisted kids do you think saw that ad and pictured the head of the person they hated the most in place of the apple?
I'm not saying that this mid-70s ad made kids think guns were cool and shooting people solved your problems or anything like that... I've always thought that if your mind is twisted, it can take anything to use as an influence, and if you don't have a twisted mind, you can think for yourself and act like a valued member of society.
But heck, even I think that this particular ad was in bad taste!
Imagine if it had been published just a month or so before the Columbine incident... I would think that it would've been picked as one of the reasons it happened, and probably started an all-new witch hunt against comic books!
Jon
Genre Movie Image of the Day: Dinosaurus Again!
Wow, I really need to find a copy of this movie... I mean, check it out: There's a kid riding on the back of a brontosaurus!
OK, I know, there wasn't really a brontosaurus, I should call it an apatosaurus or something like that, but old habits die hard.
Another Dinosaurus image tomorrow, friends!
Jon
Comics Cover of the Day!
Tired of the 80-Page Giants yet? I hope not...
This is one of the Giants that I've always wanted to get for myself, with all those imaginary stories in it! What can I say? I've always been a sucker for Silver Age Superman stuff!
Tomorrow's cover: NOT an 80-Page Giant!
Jon
This is one of the Giants that I've always wanted to get for myself, with all those imaginary stories in it! What can I say? I've always been a sucker for Silver Age Superman stuff!
Tomorrow's cover: NOT an 80-Page Giant!
Jon
Classic Toys of the Day!
The Mummy and Creature action figures above were, if I'm not mistaken, also made by Remco, who made the Mighty Crusaders figures I've been posting over the past few days. These figures, however, were made more on the scale of the original Star Wars toys (which you may have guessed from the articulation), and the sculpts on them are really great!
I used to have a few of these myself, back in my toy collecting days... every now and then, I'd come across one of these... or maybe it was a Universal Monsters happy meal toy of some kind, because there were some of those made in about the same scale, no doubt making things confusing.
Too bad that the Dollar Stores don't have figures like this for sale around Halloween... I'd bet they could sell a jillion of 'em! As it is, there's just generic future ninja figures or something like that. Heck, even making more or less generic monster figures would do well, I'd think!
Jon
Fartman: Caught in a Tight @ss -- A Review
So, as I mentioned the other day, I received a DVD in the mail of the movie "Fartman: Caught in a Tight @ss" (last word rendered to try not to offend, which will make this review rather difficult to write).
Fartman is a character created by Howard Stern, someone whose sense of humor I've never found particularly enjoyable. Fartman is a "superhero" whose powers are based on, obviously, Farting.
The movie opens with a man and a woman coming home from a date, but when they're mugged, Fartman shows up to save the day. This man, afterwards, is mad at Fartman, and somehow, becomes the arch-villain Tight @ss, and vows to disinfect the world or something, using props that appear to be made of excrement.
In his first encounter with Fartman, he gets the best of the "hero," but Fartman eventually recovers and goes after Tight @ss, and then defeats the villain with a "silent but deadly."
Now, if excrement and fart jokes are your idea of top-notch comedy, then this movie is definitely for you. Unfortunately for me, those don't do it for me.
It's not that I have anything against fart jokes in particular... after all, one of my favorite comedies is Blazing Saddles, and you should all know about the one scene in there involving a whole series of farts!
No, I think this just doesn't suit my particular sense of humor. Perhaps I'm just too old for this kind of thing? Your mileage may vary.
I will say this: The special effects, while low-budget, do work well for this short movie. And the overall production values are pretty decent, too, with music and costuming well-done. The acting is over-the-top, but that's very appropriate for a movie like this.
Feel free to judge for yourself... you can see the movie at this site, which I couldn't due to my computer being a bit outdated.
You can also check out the official website, at fartmanmovie.com if you want to know more.
Here's the press release that came with the DVD:
First Fartman Film Flies on Atom Films
Howard Stern's infamously flatulent superhero, Fartman now stenching up Atom Films. Originally airing on Howard Stern's In Demand cable channel, Howard TV, Fartman: Caught in a Tight @ss, has been picked up by Atom Films and is now available to the free smelling world on the internet. The New York Times named Atom Films as one of "the most selective of the web video sites."
Written by Joe Tyler Gold and Tammy Caplan, and directed by Caplan, the film indulges in an array of hysterically tasteless flatulence humor, with fart special effects created by artist Alexander Enberg, (frequent actor on Star Trek: Voyager), while introducing a brand new villain, Tight @ss, who has the ability to squeeze weapons out of his (you guessed it) at will.
Among the actors who contribute immensely to the film's flatuent success, are Kevan Fabian (Gilmore Girls, The West Wing, Will & Grace), Tania Getty, Stephen Wastel (Law & Order, 24, The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckylll and Mr. Hyde), Neil McGowan, Rebecca Crandall, and Joe Tyler Gold, who most recently starred in Gold Cap Film's feature Never Say Macbeth.
According to creator Tammy Caplan, who contacted me about doing a review of this movie, it was chosen to be a finalist for the Howard Stern film festival, but was disqualified because she missed the rule that said you couldn't use union actors. Howard's In Demand cable channel, Howard TV, loved the film so much they ran it on their channel for several months. The film's had over 225,000 views in just over a month.
Anyway... I don't know if Tammy's done any other movies, or is working on any other ones, but even though I didn't care for the humor of this one, I would be interested in seeing what else she's done, as well as any future work. I do think that independent filmmakers like herself do have something to contribute, even if I'm not necessarily the right audience for all of their works.
Jon
Fartman is a character created by Howard Stern, someone whose sense of humor I've never found particularly enjoyable. Fartman is a "superhero" whose powers are based on, obviously, Farting.
The movie opens with a man and a woman coming home from a date, but when they're mugged, Fartman shows up to save the day. This man, afterwards, is mad at Fartman, and somehow, becomes the arch-villain Tight @ss, and vows to disinfect the world or something, using props that appear to be made of excrement.
In his first encounter with Fartman, he gets the best of the "hero," but Fartman eventually recovers and goes after Tight @ss, and then defeats the villain with a "silent but deadly."
Now, if excrement and fart jokes are your idea of top-notch comedy, then this movie is definitely for you. Unfortunately for me, those don't do it for me.
It's not that I have anything against fart jokes in particular... after all, one of my favorite comedies is Blazing Saddles, and you should all know about the one scene in there involving a whole series of farts!
No, I think this just doesn't suit my particular sense of humor. Perhaps I'm just too old for this kind of thing? Your mileage may vary.
I will say this: The special effects, while low-budget, do work well for this short movie. And the overall production values are pretty decent, too, with music and costuming well-done. The acting is over-the-top, but that's very appropriate for a movie like this.
Feel free to judge for yourself... you can see the movie at this site, which I couldn't due to my computer being a bit outdated.
You can also check out the official website, at fartmanmovie.com if you want to know more.
Here's the press release that came with the DVD:
First Fartman Film Flies on Atom Films
Howard Stern's infamously flatulent superhero, Fartman now stenching up Atom Films. Originally airing on Howard Stern's In Demand cable channel, Howard TV, Fartman: Caught in a Tight @ss, has been picked up by Atom Films and is now available to the free smelling world on the internet. The New York Times named Atom Films as one of "the most selective of the web video sites."
Written by Joe Tyler Gold and Tammy Caplan, and directed by Caplan, the film indulges in an array of hysterically tasteless flatulence humor, with fart special effects created by artist Alexander Enberg, (frequent actor on Star Trek: Voyager), while introducing a brand new villain, Tight @ss, who has the ability to squeeze weapons out of his (you guessed it) at will.
Among the actors who contribute immensely to the film's flatuent success, are Kevan Fabian (Gilmore Girls, The West Wing, Will & Grace), Tania Getty, Stephen Wastel (Law & Order, 24, The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckylll and Mr. Hyde), Neil McGowan, Rebecca Crandall, and Joe Tyler Gold, who most recently starred in Gold Cap Film's feature Never Say Macbeth.
According to creator Tammy Caplan, who contacted me about doing a review of this movie, it was chosen to be a finalist for the Howard Stern film festival, but was disqualified because she missed the rule that said you couldn't use union actors. Howard's In Demand cable channel, Howard TV, loved the film so much they ran it on their channel for several months. The film's had over 225,000 views in just over a month.
Anyway... I don't know if Tammy's done any other movies, or is working on any other ones, but even though I didn't care for the humor of this one, I would be interested in seeing what else she's done, as well as any future work. I do think that independent filmmakers like herself do have something to contribute, even if I'm not necessarily the right audience for all of their works.
Jon
Yes, I Am Posting Later Than Usual Tonight...
...because it's been a busy evening! But now, some bullet points:
ITEM! Long-time readers of this blog may recall about six months ago, I was complaining about the absolutely terrible format for a special publication at the newspaper called "Portraits of Success" (which, when I say it out loud, I have to fight the urge to call it "Portraits of Excess"). The design for the ads, which is supposed to kind of look like magazine articles about the various businesses, was ridiculous... a tabloid-sized page where a little over a third of the width was a photo (yes, a tall skinny photo... you can imagine how much trouble that caused), then a skinny column for a little bit of text, including the company logo, and then another skinny column for the meat of the "story," which used a light condensed font which we almost always had to manually condense even more, because of the volume of text! Well, after the last time around, I got so tired of working with this format (as was the rest of my department) that I worked up four different designs (each design featuring three different ads reworked for those designs) that would work infinitely better. Well, today at work, the new salesperson in charge of this publication asked me to send her a PDF template of the format for the salesmen to use for their layouts (because nobody had a copy of them anymore), and I mentioned that I'd hoped we were changing it this time around, and that I did some reworks. She asked to see them, loved them, chose one, got it okayed by her superiors, and that's what we'll be using this time around! Huzzah! Another victory at work!
ITEM! The main reason posts were a bit later than usual is because I've been cooking away since I got home from work! Jessi's got a bake sale at her office on Friday, so I had to make something for that (No-Pudge Brownies, in case you're curious), and we're having a surprise birthday party potluck for my boss at my office (and since I know she doesn't read my blog, I don't have to worry about the surprise being spoiled), and so after the brownies were in the oven, I started working up a quadruple-batch of this low-calorie spinach dip recipie I've been wanting to try! Both the brownies and the dip are cooling now, which is why I have the time to make these posts.
ITEM! Received in the mail yesterday from BCI/Eclipse: Mission Magic, the Complete Series. I remember seeing this show as a kid... it featured an animated Rick Springfield (way before his 80s popularity), and was sort of a teenage predecessor to the Magic School Bus in many ways. Received in the mail today was a DVD of a very different kind: from Gold Cap Films, it's Fartman: Caught in A Tight *ss, which is that superhero parody movie I mentioned off-hand a few days ago. Once I get a chance to watch it, I'll tell you guys what I thought and provide you with a link to view it online.
ITEM! Went to the library today (even though I still have stuff I haven't finished reading from the previous trip or two) and got Red Dwarf V and Looney Tunes Golden COllection Vol. 4 on DVD, and a bunch of books: The Addams Chronicles, Science Fiction Movies, a bio of Gene Roddenberry, Movie Monsters, Dear Johnny (Johnny Carson's most hilarious fan mail), Movie Monsters and their Masters, Vintage Monster Movies, Science Fiction and Horror Movie Posters, Legendary Sci-Fi Movies, and Fangoria's book of the greatest horror movies you've never seen. Many of these (and you can probably guess which) are going to be fodder for future posts here!
Jon
ITEM! Long-time readers of this blog may recall about six months ago, I was complaining about the absolutely terrible format for a special publication at the newspaper called "Portraits of Success" (which, when I say it out loud, I have to fight the urge to call it "Portraits of Excess"). The design for the ads, which is supposed to kind of look like magazine articles about the various businesses, was ridiculous... a tabloid-sized page where a little over a third of the width was a photo (yes, a tall skinny photo... you can imagine how much trouble that caused), then a skinny column for a little bit of text, including the company logo, and then another skinny column for the meat of the "story," which used a light condensed font which we almost always had to manually condense even more, because of the volume of text! Well, after the last time around, I got so tired of working with this format (as was the rest of my department) that I worked up four different designs (each design featuring three different ads reworked for those designs) that would work infinitely better. Well, today at work, the new salesperson in charge of this publication asked me to send her a PDF template of the format for the salesmen to use for their layouts (because nobody had a copy of them anymore), and I mentioned that I'd hoped we were changing it this time around, and that I did some reworks. She asked to see them, loved them, chose one, got it okayed by her superiors, and that's what we'll be using this time around! Huzzah! Another victory at work!
ITEM! The main reason posts were a bit later than usual is because I've been cooking away since I got home from work! Jessi's got a bake sale at her office on Friday, so I had to make something for that (No-Pudge Brownies, in case you're curious), and we're having a surprise birthday party potluck for my boss at my office (and since I know she doesn't read my blog, I don't have to worry about the surprise being spoiled), and so after the brownies were in the oven, I started working up a quadruple-batch of this low-calorie spinach dip recipie I've been wanting to try! Both the brownies and the dip are cooling now, which is why I have the time to make these posts.
ITEM! Received in the mail yesterday from BCI/Eclipse: Mission Magic, the Complete Series. I remember seeing this show as a kid... it featured an animated Rick Springfield (way before his 80s popularity), and was sort of a teenage predecessor to the Magic School Bus in many ways. Received in the mail today was a DVD of a very different kind: from Gold Cap Films, it's Fartman: Caught in A Tight *ss, which is that superhero parody movie I mentioned off-hand a few days ago. Once I get a chance to watch it, I'll tell you guys what I thought and provide you with a link to view it online.
ITEM! Went to the library today (even though I still have stuff I haven't finished reading from the previous trip or two) and got Red Dwarf V and Looney Tunes Golden COllection Vol. 4 on DVD, and a bunch of books: The Addams Chronicles, Science Fiction Movies, a bio of Gene Roddenberry, Movie Monsters, Dear Johnny (Johnny Carson's most hilarious fan mail), Movie Monsters and their Masters, Vintage Monster Movies, Science Fiction and Horror Movie Posters, Legendary Sci-Fi Movies, and Fangoria's book of the greatest horror movies you've never seen. Many of these (and you can probably guess which) are going to be fodder for future posts here!
Jon
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Comics Ad of the Day!
From the March, 1975 cover-dated DC Comics... here's one of those ads just chock-ful of superhero toys that I absolutely wanted to get (even though I was about 13 at the time... well, maybe not all of them).
It's interesting to me that the DC calendar they were selling used the actual artwork of the calendar in the ad... at least, compared to the Heroes World ads, which were all drawn by students at the Kubert school.
I think I've written here about that Batman stuntcycle before... I know I used to have that one, but I don't recall even seeing the Penguin or Joker ones. Well, then again, I have a vague memory of them... but I'm sure I wouldn't have wanted a Penguin one, at least, because he's just not a motorcycle kind of guy! Now, Two-Face, on the other hand, I could definitely see on a motorcycle... two wheels, you know.
That Batman glider plane is kind of neat, but you could pretty much take any styrofoam glider plane and put Batman logos on it, and you'd have the same thing.
I remember seeing those squirt guns of Superman and Batman... and then as now, I find it really bizarre that they created squirt guns where the water was coming out of these heroes' mouths! OK, maybe you could justify Superman, by playing it's his super-cold breath or something... but for Batman, it just looks like he's either spitting or projectile vomiting (sorry).
I don't recall ever having any desire for the Batman electric toothbrush as a kid... but it'd be cool to have one now!
And finally, that Super Friends car... kind of looks like someone manufactured a remote controlled dune buggy that wasn't selling, and then someone realized, "Hey, let's glue plastic figures of Superman, Batman, Robin and Aquaman in this thing and call it a Super Friends car!" I have no idea why they chose Aquaman to be the driver... and doesn't Batman know enough not to stand on the back of a moving vehicle? Superman can get away with it... flying powers, invulnerability, etc.
Now, it's possible that NCG Merchandise was part of Heroes World, or some offshoot, because we don't know for sure what the NCG stands for... or do we? As has been pointed out elsewhere on the web, NCG could stand for National Comics Group, which means this may have been an in-house mail order operation of sorts!
Or maybe not.
Jon
Genre Movie Image of the Day: Dinosaurus!
You know, I think any movie that has a tyrannosaurus rex battling a piece of construction equipment, no matter how bad the stop-motion effects might be, is something I've really got to see one day!
Jon
Comic Book Cover of the Day!
Yes, it's another 80-Page Giant, this time featuring Jimmy Olsen... and what a collection of tales this is! I really wish when DC was producing facsimiles of some of the 80-Pagers they'd done one of this issue... I mean, how can you go wrong?
Jon
Classic (?) Toy of the Day!
This photo of the 1980s Remco Web figure from the Mighty Crusaders really shows just how dorky-looking this line of toys was...
Nice detail with the cape, though... gotta give 'em credit for that!
This is the last of the Mighty Crusaders toys I have pics of... tomorrow, some monster toys!
Jon
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
So What Else Has Jon Been Up To Lately?
Well, a number of things...
ITEM! Jessi and I had our second home study meeting this morning with the adoption licensor, and we both felt it went very well. It appears that we may only have one more meeting to wrap up the last of the questions she has for us!
ITEM! I got another sad reminder of why I don't store cookware in the oven... after making breakfast this morning, I put the skillets and the lid I used for cooking in the oven so they wouldn't be laying on the stove, and when I came home for lunch, and turned the oven on to broil to make my lunch (Jessi's dinner), I forgot those were in there.... and the plastic handle for the lid (which is the lid to the crock pot) melted down completely, making it useless. Since the lids run $5-$10 plus postage, I think we'll just buy a new crock pot insted of replacing the lid... although I am thinking that I might take a measurement, and see if I can find a compatible lid on a crock pot at Value Village!
ITEM! I thought this week was going to be the last week with me on this later work schedule, but it's been extended another four weeks. This means, however, that I'll have the Memorial Day weekend to readjust my sleeping habits when things return to normal!
ITEM! Been doing a lot of reading when I can, thanks to the library... especially Ron Goulart's wonderful Groucho Marx mysteries. I'd read these all once before (also from a library), and re-reading these, I'm struck once again at how dead-on Goulart captured Groucho... as well as how well I think these books would work as a serialized TV show (assuming each of the books comprised a season of the show, it could easily last five seasons, assuming there's not a sixth or later book I'm not aware of). I've also been watching the special features on the Red Dwarf DVDs that I've checked out... haven't watched the episodes themselves because those discs tend to be too scratched up for my DVD player to handle! I'll never understand why people can't take better care of these materials when they check them out. I've also got currently checked out a set of CDs of Abbott and Costello radio shows which is missing a disc entirely.
ITEM! Since I realized that I'll be running out of TV Comics covers to post to the DC History list in another month or so, I've begun the next mega-theme which I'll start posting after the TV Comics are all done (actually, now that I think about it, I've got about six weeks of those left). The new theme? By The 10's... which will feature every 10th issue of various comics titles, so we can compare and contrast how the books changed over time. I'm being very studious with this one... I first prepared a title list from an old Overstreet Price Guide, so I could keep track of what books changed titles to what books (in order to keep those together), and I've already collected what cover images I can for the "A" books from the Grand Comics Database (too bad they don't have a more complete set of scans for Archie and Harvey books... this means when I'm considering posting those, I'll have to check and see if there's any new uploads to fill in the holes).
ITEM! This weekend is Olympia's ArtsWalk event, which Jessi and I have gone to before. It's held in downtown Olympia, and participating businesses display works by local artists, as well as have special sales. There's also other special events happening down there, including the Procession of the Species, which used to be on Earth Day (when Artswalk happened on that weekend) but now stays with whatever weekend ArtsWalk is. The Procession is a parade with music and all sorts of people dressed up as various animals, all grouped with like animals together. It's a visual feast for the eyes, but I don't think we'll be taking pictures this year. We are, however, considering taking the dogs with us, so they get more practice being out in public with people they don't know around them.
ITEM! Jessi and I are holding our next barbeque/potluck on May 27th, the day before Memorial Day, at 3 p.m. I don't know if any of you reading this are in the Olympia area and would like to attend, but if so, shoot me an email at waffyjon at comcast dot net and let me know! It'd be nice to meet one of my faithful readers!
ITEM! I don't have any more items tonight!
Jon
ITEM! Jessi and I had our second home study meeting this morning with the adoption licensor, and we both felt it went very well. It appears that we may only have one more meeting to wrap up the last of the questions she has for us!
ITEM! I got another sad reminder of why I don't store cookware in the oven... after making breakfast this morning, I put the skillets and the lid I used for cooking in the oven so they wouldn't be laying on the stove, and when I came home for lunch, and turned the oven on to broil to make my lunch (Jessi's dinner), I forgot those were in there.... and the plastic handle for the lid (which is the lid to the crock pot) melted down completely, making it useless. Since the lids run $5-$10 plus postage, I think we'll just buy a new crock pot insted of replacing the lid... although I am thinking that I might take a measurement, and see if I can find a compatible lid on a crock pot at Value Village!
ITEM! I thought this week was going to be the last week with me on this later work schedule, but it's been extended another four weeks. This means, however, that I'll have the Memorial Day weekend to readjust my sleeping habits when things return to normal!
ITEM! Been doing a lot of reading when I can, thanks to the library... especially Ron Goulart's wonderful Groucho Marx mysteries. I'd read these all once before (also from a library), and re-reading these, I'm struck once again at how dead-on Goulart captured Groucho... as well as how well I think these books would work as a serialized TV show (assuming each of the books comprised a season of the show, it could easily last five seasons, assuming there's not a sixth or later book I'm not aware of). I've also been watching the special features on the Red Dwarf DVDs that I've checked out... haven't watched the episodes themselves because those discs tend to be too scratched up for my DVD player to handle! I'll never understand why people can't take better care of these materials when they check them out. I've also got currently checked out a set of CDs of Abbott and Costello radio shows which is missing a disc entirely.
ITEM! Since I realized that I'll be running out of TV Comics covers to post to the DC History list in another month or so, I've begun the next mega-theme which I'll start posting after the TV Comics are all done (actually, now that I think about it, I've got about six weeks of those left). The new theme? By The 10's... which will feature every 10th issue of various comics titles, so we can compare and contrast how the books changed over time. I'm being very studious with this one... I first prepared a title list from an old Overstreet Price Guide, so I could keep track of what books changed titles to what books (in order to keep those together), and I've already collected what cover images I can for the "A" books from the Grand Comics Database (too bad they don't have a more complete set of scans for Archie and Harvey books... this means when I'm considering posting those, I'll have to check and see if there's any new uploads to fill in the holes).
ITEM! This weekend is Olympia's ArtsWalk event, which Jessi and I have gone to before. It's held in downtown Olympia, and participating businesses display works by local artists, as well as have special sales. There's also other special events happening down there, including the Procession of the Species, which used to be on Earth Day (when Artswalk happened on that weekend) but now stays with whatever weekend ArtsWalk is. The Procession is a parade with music and all sorts of people dressed up as various animals, all grouped with like animals together. It's a visual feast for the eyes, but I don't think we'll be taking pictures this year. We are, however, considering taking the dogs with us, so they get more practice being out in public with people they don't know around them.
ITEM! Jessi and I are holding our next barbeque/potluck on May 27th, the day before Memorial Day, at 3 p.m. I don't know if any of you reading this are in the Olympia area and would like to attend, but if so, shoot me an email at waffyjon at comcast dot net and let me know! It'd be nice to meet one of my faithful readers!
ITEM! I don't have any more items tonight!
Jon
Comic Book Ad of the Day!
From DC's March, 1976 cover-dated books, here's a "Justice for All Includes Children" PSA, featuring the art of Neal Adams.
It's funny how the whole PSA thing goes in cycles... in the 1950s and 1960s, there was a PSA in pretty much every DC book (I think most of them had Buzzy or Binky in them, but there were a few with Superboy, too), and then, about this time, there was this new line of them, mostly told in comics fashion, and all the ones I recall featured Superman. I don't recall there were any in the 1980s, and I'm sure some of you recall the ones that ran in the 1990s, which dealt with Aids and other stuff.
Jon
Genre Movie Image of the Day: Dinosaurus!
Dinosaurus is another one of those stop-motion animated dino movies that, sadly, I don't believe I've ever seen! I've got a couple of images from this to share with you over the next few days.
Yeah, that's right, I am a sucker for stop-motion animated dino movies. So sue me.
Jon
Comics Cover of the Day!
Yes, it's another 80-Page Giant (I think these must've been from one of my 1-10 posts on the DC History mailing list), this issue featuring Lois Lane, and isn't that a lovely cover? Kurt Schaffenburger is hands-down my favorite artist on Lois Lane, because he made Lois and Lana look so attractive (especially Lana!).
Jon
Classic (?) Toy of the Day!
Yes, it's another of Remco's Mighty Crusaders figures, this time featuring the Shield, who comes with a whistle shield as well as a holster... although I don't honestly recall him using a gun at all.
Too bad there was never a decent line of action figures based on these guys, because I'd love to have 'em! I used to have a few of the Mighty Crusaders figures here back in my toy collecting days (I had all sorts of 'em... Megos, Secret Wars, Super Powers, a few Warlord figures, and others I don't recall right now).
Jon
So you might have noticed...
...that I've changed the counter on the blog... which, of course, means it's all reset to zero!
Why did I decide to do this? Mainly because the counter I was using never seemed to display properly.
And also because this is supposed to email me weekly reports. We'll see how well it works!
Jon
Why did I decide to do this? Mainly because the counter I was using never seemed to display properly.
And also because this is supposed to email me weekly reports. We'll see how well it works!
Jon
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Coming Up in My Life Tomorrow...
...Jessi and I have our second home study meeting with the adoption licensor. This is the second of four meetings, each lasting two hours each.
We're considering putting the dogs to bed so they won't be a distraction.
I have no idea what questions will be put to us this time... will she ask about our marital histories? Medical history? We'll just have to wait and see.
In the meantime, we still haven't been licensed for foster parenting yet... but our licensor says that we're in the top four for priority.
Honestly, the State of Washington really needs to put more money into this program, so that they can not only pay their people more each month, but also to hire more people so that the process can get done faster!
Admittedly, some delays can be understood, as rumor has it that there are issues with one of the licensed foster families that's taking a lot of attention right now.
Jon
We're considering putting the dogs to bed so they won't be a distraction.
I have no idea what questions will be put to us this time... will she ask about our marital histories? Medical history? We'll just have to wait and see.
In the meantime, we still haven't been licensed for foster parenting yet... but our licensor says that we're in the top four for priority.
Honestly, the State of Washington really needs to put more money into this program, so that they can not only pay their people more each month, but also to hire more people so that the process can get done faster!
Admittedly, some delays can be understood, as rumor has it that there are issues with one of the licensed foster families that's taking a lot of attention right now.
Jon
Genre Movie Image of the Day: Beast of Hollow Mountain!
You know, the problem with stills from stop-motion animated movies, or at least with stop-motion creatures like the T-Rex above, is that the creatures tend to look like plastic toys!
Then again, this may have looked like a plastic toy in motion, too, for all I know!
Jon
Comic Book Cover of the Day!
80-Page Giant #4, featuring the Flash.
It's funny, I've always heard that Tony Isabella came up with the name for Black Lightning from a Wonder Woman cover... but surely he had to have been aware of the Flash story cover-featured here?
Jon
Classic (?) Toy Of the Day!
Yes, it's another Mighty Crusaders toy, this time featuring the Fox!
The Fox was one of those non-powered costumed characters in the Archie superhero line, and I've always thought it was strange that he was included in this toy line, because I don't remember seeing him as a member of the Crusaders, ever!
Maybe it was just that Remco figured he was a cheap paint job or something?
You can see the signaling shield on this carded figure.
Jon
If This is the Top Post as You Read This...
...it just means that you're hitting the blog a bit early tonight... Well, not that you're early, I'm just running a bit late!
I'm trying to get back ahead on Cover Stories columns, so once Jessi's gone to sleep, I'm writing a column and sending it off before reading blogs and doing my own posts... so in an hour or so, I should have my nightly posts in!
Jon
I'm trying to get back ahead on Cover Stories columns, so once Jessi's gone to sleep, I'm writing a column and sending it off before reading blogs and doing my own posts... so in an hour or so, I should have my nightly posts in!
Jon
Monday, April 23, 2007
Comics Ad of the Day!
I'm still on March 1976 cover-dated DC comics ads, and here's one that I may have posted a version of a long time ago... but it's worth posting again!
I've always loved these things... super-hero stickers to put on your wall, notebooks, etc? Where can you go wrong? Well, for starters, I doubt they were as big as the illustration probably shows them.
Still, I would dearly love it if these were re-issued. I wonder if someone could work up a virtual version of these that we could print out on our own printers, on label sheets?
Jon
Genre Movie Image of the Day: Beast of Hollow Mountain!
A brief confession here... I'm not sure if I've ever actually seen this movie or not... because I think I confuse it sometimes with Valley of the Gwangi, which I think also featured cowboys and dinosaurs.
Think about it: Cowboys and dinosaurs. What a concept, putting those two things together! Brilliant, isn't it?
Yet another movie I really need to track down one of these days.
Jon
Comic Book Cover of the Day!
Yes, here's another 80-Page Giant... featuring some very cool Batman reprints. And once again, I hope that DC will someday do a Showcase Presents 80-Page Giant volume!
Jon
Classic (?) Toy of the Day!
So, the next few days, I'll be showing you pics of the Remco Mighty Crusaders toy line, which came out (very briefly) in the 1980s, when Archie had briefly revived their super-heroes under the Red Circle imprint.
As you can see from this first figure (the Brain Emperor, the Crusaders' arch-foe... a character that works for me on every level except the name... well, and maybe the costume), there wasn't much articulation on these. I think they were about the size of most modern action figures, but perhaps they were more onscale with the He-Man line from Mattel (the Warlord toys from Remco had this same problem).
The figures all came with a shield that had a built-in whistle.
Jon
As you can see from this first figure (the Brain Emperor, the Crusaders' arch-foe... a character that works for me on every level except the name... well, and maybe the costume), there wasn't much articulation on these. I think they were about the size of most modern action figures, but perhaps they were more onscale with the He-Man line from Mattel (the Warlord toys from Remco had this same problem).
The figures all came with a shield that had a built-in whistle.
Jon
This Just In... or Should That Be "Justin"?
Webmaster Justin, of World Famous Comics, just let me know that episode #102 of Cover Stories is now posted! You can find it at the link to the right.
Jon
Jon
Cover Stories #102
So... some of you may have noticed that there wasn't a new Cover Stories column posted on Sunday at World Famous Comics.
Honestly, it's all my fault. I usually write a bunch of columns up in advance, and when I see there's only one or two left to run, I write up a bunch more and mail them off to webmaster Justin.
However, thanks to a busy schedule around here, between transcriptions, planning for the party, and preparing additional stuff for this blog, I completely forgot to check how far along things were!
As soon as I heard from Justin on Sunday, I wrote up what should've been posted on Sunday and sent it off to him... and I just now finished what should be next week's column (we'll see if Justin can get #102 posted there soon, so my calendar's not going to be off).
Needless to say, I'll be working on a bunch more columns during the coming week.
Man, I hate blowing a deadline like that. I've been doing Cover Stories for nearly two years now, and this is the first week I've missed!
Fortunately, it won't affect my pay on that column... unfortunately, the reason for that is I don't get paid to do it! I just write the thing (like I do with this blog) as a creative outlet!
Jon
Honestly, it's all my fault. I usually write a bunch of columns up in advance, and when I see there's only one or two left to run, I write up a bunch more and mail them off to webmaster Justin.
However, thanks to a busy schedule around here, between transcriptions, planning for the party, and preparing additional stuff for this blog, I completely forgot to check how far along things were!
As soon as I heard from Justin on Sunday, I wrote up what should've been posted on Sunday and sent it off to him... and I just now finished what should be next week's column (we'll see if Justin can get #102 posted there soon, so my calendar's not going to be off).
Needless to say, I'll be working on a bunch more columns during the coming week.
Man, I hate blowing a deadline like that. I've been doing Cover Stories for nearly two years now, and this is the first week I've missed!
Fortunately, it won't affect my pay on that column... unfortunately, the reason for that is I don't get paid to do it! I just write the thing (like I do with this blog) as a creative outlet!
Jon
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Comics Ad of the Day!
This one is from DC's March 1976 cover-dated comics...
Some of you may know that I used to do a website that focused on comic book ads of the 1970s, and these ads were sorted by topic, one of which was called "Get a Job!" This would've been one of the ads in that section.
But seriously, though... did anyone ever actually order this, and expect to make big money on it?
Jon
Genre Image of the Day: The Land Unknown
OK, this is a first for me... posting a genre movie still from a movie that I've never (to the best of my knowledge) ever seen... The Land Unknown!
I don't know if it's out on DVD or not... one would half-expect it'd show up on one of those dollar DVDs, wouldn't one?
Anyway, I'm always a sucker for stop-motion dinosaurs in a movie... so if any of you know where to track down a cheap copy of this, let me know, okay?
Jon
Comic Book Cover of the Day!
Here's another 80-Page Giant, featuring Superman. Just look at the stories cover-featured here!
Is it no wonder that I've advocated a Showcase Presents 80-Page Giant trade? Yes, it would be a reprint of a reprint book, but you know, where else could you get all these wacked-out stories all at once without spending a pretty penny?
Jon
Classic (?) Toys of the Day!
So, here's a couple of the figures from the 1980s Sgt. Rock toy line. It's kind of hard to see with these photos, but the one on the left is supposed to be Sgt. Rock, while the one on the left is "Airman".
Yeah, you remember that guy in Easy Company, right?
Me, neither. Ice Cream Soldier? Wildman? All the rest of the combat-happy Joes? I don't believe any of them were part of the set.
Maybe that's why the line didn't take off?
Jon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
