Planet Comicon 2009

I had a great time yesterday at Planet Comicon, Kansas City's biggest and best comic convention. It snowed like crazy in the afternoon but like true comic fans, my buddies and I braved the elements to dig through boxes and get some new sketches. I only got one new sketch in my book but it was a doozy. Celebrated painter Joe Jusko made his first appearance at Planet Comicon and I was fortunate enough to get this cool Captain America.



He also signed a Marvel Masterpieces Thor card. My buddies collected these great cards when they came out in 1992. I don't know why I didn't because they're beautiful. It was cool to get my favorite card in the set signed.



1980's Star Wars artist Cynthia Martin was also there and she signed this cool Star Wars Galaxy card she did a while back.



As is typical for these shows, I spent all my money in the first couple of hours but it was a blast hanging out with my buddies the rest of the day, even through the snow and ice was coming down in sheets. Hopefully the next show will bring better weather.

The Brave And The Bold #149

If ever one comic encapsulates my love of late 70's DC, it's The Brave And The Bold #149. It was cover dated April, 1979, which means it probably came out in late 1978. I remember the cover by the great Jim Aparo jumping out at me when I saw it at the local convenience store my dad bought comics for me at. I was already well aware of Aparo by this time but I think this particular cover cememted my love for his art. The good art continued on the inside, as evidenced by the splash page, which I was lucky enough to have Jim sign for me when I met him in 2002.



In addition to the typically fun Bob Haney story, there were a few other things in the book that my 8 year old self quite enjoyed. I always liked looking at the ads and my favorites were always the Hostess ads featuring my favorite super heroes. This particular issue had the iconic Curt Swan Superman saving a bunch of kids on a planetoid (?) from an ion storm. I can't believe ol' Supes turned down the yummy fruit pies!



About the time this issue came out, Superman The Movie was released in theaters. Like many a kid, I loved the movie and was excited to see all the cool stuff I could get relating to it.



Unfortunately I didn't get any of this stuff at the time but I did manage to get some of it through the intervening years. That Making Of Superman book is really cool. It's very in depth and one of my favorite books. I still need to find that calendar though. Another obsession for me at the time was Battlestar Galactica. I loved Star Wars and anything remotely related to space was cool in my book. I would have loved to have any of these "Galactical Shirts".



Last but not least, after the story ended we had the Brave And Bold mailbag and perhaps my favorite part of late 70's DC books, the Daily Planet, featuring previews of upcoming comics, the ever delightful Answer Man Bob Rozakis, and the awesome Fred Hembeck cartoons. This one is typical wacky Hembeck.



I always enjoy rereading these gems from my childhood. They always put a smile on my face!

Dutch James Bond

I've been in kind of a James Bond phase lately and I was perusing the
Grand Comic Book Database and found some very cool Dutch James Bond covers from the late '60's/early '70's. Unfortunately, there aren't any credits for these books but I dig the cool covers anyway. The early ones were based on the Sean Connery Bond while the later issues feature a more generic version of Ian Fleming's iconic character. They have this paperback book quality to them which I think is neat.





It always amazed me that there was never a successful Bond comic series in the US. The Dr. No issue of Showcase wasn't all that great and I guess DC didn't think it would work. That's too bad. I could imagine somebody like Carmine Infantino or Neal Adams doing Bond. That would have been something to see.

Jonah Hex #16

I was never much into western comics when I was a kid. My dad, who bought my most of my comics, tried to get me into them though. I remember him buying me this particular Jonah Hex issue in 1978. It was one of the few western books out at the time and I remember my dad liking it pretty much although it was a lot different than the comics he grew up reading in the 50's. I like the series much better now than I did then. I really like the Rich Buckler/Frank Giacoia cover. The interior art by Vincente Alcazar was pretty good too. Hopefully there will be more Showcase Presents Jonah Hex volumes. This stuff looks really good in black and white. This particular issue was cover dated September, 1978.

Watchmen Movie

Like many other comic fans this weekend, I went and saw Watchmen Friday night. I left after almost three hours pretty impressed. I didn't think the original comic was as great as a lot of people did at the time it came out. I thought it was a great story and innovative but I thought it was a little overrated. As I reread it last week in preparation for the movie, I found a new appreciation for how groundbreaking it really was.

So I went into the movie with the book freshly read and I was very entertained. Like a lot of adaptations, they left out several sequences from the book but it didn't bother me too much. The characters for the most part were spot on and the action sequences were well done. I wish there would have been more of a score to emphasize the goings on. The rock songs they used didn't work that well for me but I see why they chose them. The lyrics of the songs emphasized what was going on in the film.

Overall, it was a great moviegoing experience and I heartily recommend it to anyone who likes the book and superheroes in general. It's great to see superhero movies being done so well the last couple of years.

Buck Rogers In The 25th Century

I've been looking forward to Planet Comicon, Kansas City's premier comic convention. One of the guests of honor is Erin Gray, who was better known as Col. Wilma Deering on that 70's staple Buck Rogers In The 25th Century. Like a lot of kids at the time, I loved the show and bought the Gold Key adaptation of the pilot/movie. Featuring a typical nice painted cover, the interior art by Frank Bolle and Jose Delbo was pretty good too. The script by Paul Newman followed the pilot fairly well and was an entertaining book. I think I need to break out the DVD now!

Wonder Woman #230

This issue of Wonder Woman from April, 1977 was one of the first comics I ever picked out on my own. My dad liked the TV show and got me watching it and I was familiar with the character from the Super Friends cartoon so I wanted to check out her book. I wasn't disappointed with this issue. Featuring a fantastic cover by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez and Vince Colletta, the inside story was a good one too. Writen by Martin Pasko and with art by Jose Delbo and Vince Colletta, the battle between WW and The Cheetah got me hooked on the book. I bought it regularly for the next year or so. My original copy of this is coverless due to massive amounts of re-reading so it was great to see the cover again.