Jon's Random Acts of Geekery is your five days a week destination for old-school geekery!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Fandom Library: Batmania #1!
An extra-special treat for you this week, I think: Batmania #1, the famous Batman fanzine!
Give-A-Show Fridays: 1962 - The Whirlybirds and The Kenner Kids!
Next week: Starting a break from Give-A-Show stuff, as I feature videos based on Remco's Ugly Mugly Projector (a variation on the Give-A-Show Projector). First up: An adaptation of Doctor Dolittle!
By the 10s: Black Cat/Black Cat Mystery!
Ah, here's a fondly-remembered title... probably the best of Harvey Comics' original superheroes, it's Linda Turner, AKA the Black Cat! Sadly, the tide turned quickly for the Black Cat, as it turned into.. well, you'll see! This is another title you can find selected issues of at the Comic Reading Library.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
The Way of the Geek #9: Rob Kelly!
This week's featured geek, Rob Kelly, is the man responsible for The Aquaman Shrine, which seems to be recognized as the site for Aquaman enthusiasts! In addition, Rob also has two other sites, www.namtab.com and robkellyillustration.blogspot.com. The Aquaman Shrine has ensured Rob's place in geek history, I think... and I'm not just saying that because I'm an official F.O.A.M. (Friends Of AquaMan) member, either!
Rob was born in Philadelphia, “during the dark days of the Nixon Administration,” he said. He's the youngest of his siblings. His girlfriend and he have a pet, Johnny, whom they refer to as their “little furry daughter.” He hopes to someday “have enough land to take in as many animals who need a good home that cross our path.”
Rob was born in Philadelphia, “during the dark days of the Nixon Administration,” he said. He's the youngest of his siblings. His girlfriend and he have a pet, Johnny, whom they refer to as their “little furry daughter.” He hopes to someday “have enough land to take in as many animals who need a good home that cross our path.”
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Comic Book Advertisements!
Something a little different for this installment... I'm going to be looking at -- and writing about -- a two-page spread for CBS' Saturday Morning line-up from 1974! These pages appeared in the November 1974 cover-dated DC books. There'll be quite a bit to cover, so I'll put it all after the jump.
Dog of the Geek: The Colonel (Montgomery J. Klaxon)!
Breed: FoxOriginal Appearance: “Calvin and the Colonel” animated television series, 1961.
Other Appearances: Two issues of a Dell Comic, the first of which was the last issue of Four Color Comics.
Biography: The Colonel, a shrewd fox, lives with his wife Maggie Belle and her sister, Sue. The Colonel was in the real estate business, but always tried get-rich-quick schemes with the help of his best friend, Calvin T. Burnside, a dumb bear, sometimes involving their lawyer, Oliver Wendell Clutch, a weasel.
Powers: None
Group Affiliation: None
Miscellaneous: An animated remake of Amos 'n' Andy, using the voices from the radio series, as well as reusing some of the scripts. The idea was that using animals would avoid the racial issues that led to the downfall of Amos 'n' Andy, although low ratings cancelled the show after two months (although it returned two months later to fulfill contractural requirements). Several episodes of this show can be found on low-budget, low-quality DVD sets of public-domain cartoons.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Cool Stuff: Yes, More Batman Stuff!
Any of you get these goodies under your Christmas tree two days ago?
Catwoman Pepsi figure from Argentina!
Catwoman Pepsi figure from Argentina!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Retro-Review: Daredevil #9, Part 4!
Next, London in “The Boar Returns,” pencils by Frank Volp. Like the Daredevil story that led off this issue, the first page of this story is a huge splash that just introduces the tale. The hero of the story, London (in case you can't see from the reduced splash here) wears a blue suit with a blue skullcap mask and green cape.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
By the 10s: Billy the Kid!
Billy the Kid was probably Charlton's longest-lasting Western title... probably the longest-lasting non-horror title for that matter! I've enjoyed reading every issue of this one I've been able to get my hands on so far, and you can read some of these for yourself over at the Comic Reading Library! I don't believe this is supposed to be the historical Billy the Kid, but rather another gunslinger who went by the same name (although at least one story identifies his last name as "Bonney," so who knows?).
Friday, December 24, 2010
Original Comic Art!
Time for another parade of original comic art pages, and were starting off with a page from Superman Family! Here's page 13 from Superman Family #188, by Kurt Schaffenberger!
Original Comic Art!
Time for another parade of original comic art pages, and were starting off with a page from Superman Family! Here's page 13 from Superman Family #188, by Kurt Schaffenberger!
Fandom Library: Atom Ant #1!
I told you there'd be an occasional comic book showing up here, didn't I? Here's the first-and-only issue of Atom Ant!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Comic Book Advertisements!
We're still looking at ads from the November, 1974 cover-dated DC books, although the ad above has appeared in various forms over quite a long period of time! I'm sure that you're all thinking the same thing I am about the ad: "What the heck is so authentic about this Superman costume?" Let's start from the top and work our way down... first of all, there's that mask. Does Superman have a mask? Noooooooo! Moving down, I won't disparage the fact that the cape is tied on... I can't expect complete accuracy, even for an "authentic" costume... but then there's the short sleeves! I'm pretty sure we all know that Superman did not have short sleeves. If the "s-shield" looks like the one in this ad, then I definitely have issues with that, too, but it could be an artist rendering issue (after all, it is a tricky insignia to draw correctly). The next problem is the trunks... or rather, the lack of same. If we're going to put up with decades of people making jokes about superheroes wearing their underwear on the outside, then dammit, make it accurate on the costumes!
I don't have much of a problem, really, with the boots being represented as just boot tops, expecting kids to wear their own red shoes (although how often did anyone make boys' shoes in red?). I'm not happy with the boots being represented as being completely flat on the top, though... there is a distinctive line to the top of the boots!
This item from the same comics page is just plain silly... but I suppose if a child is so obnoxious that nobody would even "Indian wrestle" with them, this could serve a vital purpose in their life.
I think this ad came from the same page, too... and it's just one of the (what feels like) millions of ads that have been running in comic books for decades promising to teach you martial arts via mail order. Because, you know, if you're going to learn martial arts, there's no point in going to a local instructor and actually training with real people, is there? Obviously, you can learn it through mail order... just like you can learn to swim on the internet!
Just as I don't believe you can learn martial arts via mail order, so don't I believe that anyone ever "made money fast" with this kind of kit where you try to sell your friends and family (and your friends' families) these Social Security plates and metal door plates... well, probably Anchor Specialties did, as did the other companies that sponsored these ads. Those guys made money. The biggest problem with these, of course, is that the only valid Social Security identification is the card that's been issued... copies -- metal or otherwise -- are not valid!
To say nothing of the fact that anyone who actually bought one of these would risk having their SSN available to the company that's making these... nowadays, I can't imagine anyone trying to offer this same "service," because they'd be shut down in a heartbeat with complaints made of identity theft!
Times do change, don't they?
Cool Stuff BONUS! Battlestar Galactica Cards!
Half today, and then the other half on Christmas Day! 44 of the cards had text on the back, and the rest had pieces to two large puzzles, plus there were some stickers. Since my source for these images didn't match up backs with fronts -- and didn't have the puzzle pieces separate -- I'm pretty sure the backs don't match up properly with the fronts. There were 132 cards in this set.
The Way of the Geek #8: Ross Pearsall!
Ross' answers to my questions were very succinct, making this the shortest “Way of the Geek” feature yet!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Cool Stuff BONUS! Six Million Dollar Man Cards!
Sorry, no card backs available for this set... but at least I'm getting all of them posted in a single day!
Cool Stuff: More Bat-Stuff!
Well, I thought I was done with all the Argentinian Batman stuff last time, but here's another Batboat from that country!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Dog of the Geek: Buford!
Breed: BloodhoundOriginal Appearances: “The Buford Files” segment of Yogi's Space Race from September 9, 1989 to January 27, 1979.
Other Appearances: After the cancellation of Yogi's Space Race, it was combined with “The Galloping Ghost” segment as “Buford and the Galloping Ghost”
Biography: Bufurd is a smart but sleepy bloodhound who lives deep in the swamp county of Fenokee. He teams up with two teenagers, Cindy Mae and her older brother Woody, to solve mysteries.
Powers: Buford's ears revolve like radar dishes, and his nose responds to clues like a geiger counter.
Group Affiliation: No formal name to the group.
Miscellaneous: Buford was just one of a long line of Hanna-Barbera dogs whose voice was provided by Frank Welker.
Christmas Countdown: Dell Giant 53, Part 1!
And we're on to the Disney Ducks in the Christmas Comics Countdown!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Comic Book Advertisements!
First up this time around is an ad from the October, 1976 cover-dated Marvels... hard to believe that sports equipment manufacturers advertised in comics, but there you go! The main point of interest here is that the artwork in this ad was by Jack Davis, best known (around here, anyway) for his work at Mad!
From the same month's Marvels comes this ad from Superhero Merchandise! I think I've probably featured every one of these at one time or another in the Cool Stuff postings, but the ads are always interesting to check out. The writing on this ad is particularly good, I think!
We'll close things off with this house ad that appeared in the November 1974 DC books... When I look at ads like this one, where the cover artwork is completely uncolored, I have to think that the main reason for that was to cut down on production costs (can you imagine trying to color eight tiny cover images?), but it definitely works from an attention-getting point of view!
On a barely-related note, you see that DC logo of the era, "The Line of DC Super-Stars"? Kind of interesting story... in my navy days, I had some Damage Control training (ok, it's basically fire-fighting training, but the navy likes to call stuff by different names than the civilian world does). On one of the two ships I served on (forget which one right now), that ship's damage control training used an image of that DC logo on the cover, since damage control tended to be referred to as "DC" on the ships! I always wondered whether or not permission was asked for and given for the use of that DC logo... I suspect not, as there was a definite tendency for Navy ships (especially ones deployed out at sea) to not concern themselves with things like copyright violation. I recall specifically on my first ship that my predecessor as ship's journalist would routinely show movies on the closed-circuit TV station that were expressly forbidden by regulations, such as porno movies and other videotapes that were purchased (and some of those were probably bootleg purchases themselves). Anyway... that's my aside!
Monster Monday!
Let's see what this week brings us, shall we?
Ah, the poster for How to Make a Monster... the sort-of sequel to the Teenage Frankenstein and Teenage Werewolf movies!
Ah, the poster for How to Make a Monster... the sort-of sequel to the Teenage Frankenstein and Teenage Werewolf movies!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
