Well, It Could Be...  If You pre-ordered the upcoming Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 'Winking' Variant Deluxe Action Figure from Monstarz!

Those that have been reading my Blog for a while will know that I have fondness for Elvira.  Heck I blog about her at least every Halloween Season if not more!

So when this upcoming product was just introduced to me this week, I had to mention it!   It is an all-new 7" collector's action figure which features the "Spooky Seductress" with a dungeon display base and skull.   The action figure is enclosed in a blister card packaging.

This item is due to ship by late July, 2009.

MSRP is $26.99 

  I've been watching Elvira ever since she was 'working nights', as seen by the TV advertisement shown just above.  I 'paid my dues' in Los Angeles during her early years there and was pleased to see her introduce so many films that wouldn't be shown otherwise. 

  It was great when DC gave her a shot at comics, thus helping build her brand.  Of course it didn't hurt when artists like Dave Stevens did great covers like the one shown here!  This is one of the easier series to collect with only 11 regular issues and one special issue from DC Comics starting in 1986! 

  Elvira went on to her comic book series with Claypool Comics, lasting for 175 issues.  The Final Issue is shown here! This is a little harder series to collect, as there are more issues and less distribution. The series started in 1993.  

  Today you can find her at several comic cons, which is what I did, seeing her at the SDCC / Comic Con International San Diego in 2008.

So I'm taking the time to blog about this so you can know what to get your friends that are fans of Elvira and are hard to shop for.  I usually don't get into 'toys' unless they are really different.  This 'winking' action figure is that fer sure!  

Last night Tina and I went to see Terminator: Salvation film...  Which the special Terminator program that both of us saw at the San Diego Comic Con International last July whetted our appetite for.  Just one word for the film from me.... Riveting!

  Which would have to be because the storyline was non-stop thrill a minute... well until the very end that is!   Which I am going to credit the Director, McG for starters.  What he promised back at the SDCC / CCI 2008, (where almost all these photos are from), is what he delivered and more! 

  Secondly, I would have to say that the role of Marcus Wright, played by Sam Worthington was one that really kept me in suspense the whole film!  This was an excellent portrayal by Sam IMHO!  Plus for me, it was the KEY role in the film.  

  And Yeah... Moon Bloodgood as 'Blair Williams' was even better than what I had hoped for!  I've been kinda kidding that I was going to see the film because of her being in it, but she really came through in her role!  Ever since her role in Journeyman the TV Series, I've been looking forward to seeing her in this film.

Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese was an interesting character, who we all know would become John Connor's father in the past.  This angle made the storyline even better.

Bryce Dallas Howard as Kate Connor was underexposed in the film, possibly due to too many main characters.  Nothing stand out there.

Common (Common Sense the rapper), was almost used as a cameo in most of the film, having only one main scene.

Christian Bale as John Connor just didn't come across as good in the film even though he had most of the film time.  Originally he was considered for the role that Sam Worthington had, that of Marcus Wright.   For me, Connor's role was kind of 'wooden', even though his was the starring character. Most of the story would take place around or about him, but I wasn't as involved as much personally with his character. 

That aside though, this film was non-stop action that kept my eyes glued to the Big Screen. Definitely worth the price of admission!  I'm not as big of a fan of the franchise as my wife Tina is.  She's seen all the films at the Big Screen and I'm interested to see her POV in an upcoming blog post.

Plus, I didn't view the earlier films again before seeing this film.  Yet I wasn't lost in this storyline.  There was enough lines giving homage to the earlier films giving it a tie-in to the franchise, but not 'continuity heavy' where a new viewer was totally lost with the time travel sequences.

BTW, the CGI is not overplayed in this film.  Even though it is grim and gritty in the future, all is not bleak.  There was a good mix of live action shots along with the CGI.  I would definitely give this film a Near Mint (NM 9.4) grade!

As I have stated before here in my Blog...  Reviewing an anthology comic book is harder than reviewing an issue with just one long feature length story!

Usually those anthologies comics contain stories with different writer and artist teams, or a creator that does both functions for just one story, with other teams contributing additional stories.

It is the Editor's task or the Publisher's responsibility to compile issues that will have at least one or more stories that the reader will enjoy enough to want to pick up future issues.

So what happens if a creator decides to put together thier own anthology comic book?  Well it may turn out to be a one-shot if the the creator doesn't see immediate success, or the first issue may find an audience, no matter what size, and build from there.

Noah Van Sciver's Blammo is now up to issue #4 in print, with plans for #5 to start featuring a series of stories on his hero Abe Lincoln.  Blammo is a semi-quarterly self published comic book by Noah.

Noah recently sent me a copy for review, along with a great promotion letter handwritten to me.  Besides promoting his latest issue, he also explained the concept to me.  He calls his 4th issue a "sort of a mix of short stories and funny, wacky stuff".

So what is in this issue?  Well in a total of 24 black and white pages you get this Quantity:

3 One page stories

2 Six page stories

1 Four page story

1 Two page story

1 Three page story

So much for quantity of pages... How about Quality?

There's the Question of the Day!  As I stated earlier, when a creator has full control of an anthology issue, where he or she is filling the positions of writer, artist, editor and even publisher, than any 'issues' with the comic book lie with the creator him or herself.

What I've found from reading this issue is a lot of visual ideas that were put down in black & white.  Were the ideas all 'homeruns'?  No.  Were the ideas all 'strikeouts'? No.  I only found one that was unreadable to me out of eight included in this issue.

There was a comment made to Noah when he was starting out that maybe his comic was 'unmarketable'.  Being a comics reader that started out in the late 1950's with 'funnybooks' and growing up as a teenager in the 1960's,  I've read a lot of 'independent' and even 'underground' comics during that time. And yeah, a lot of those were also "funny, wacky stuff".

Noah's stories here are reminiscent of that free-stylin' era. Yes, including the nudity, coarse language, minor obscenities, etc. that are usually found in such publications.

So yeah, this comic would not be for everyone's taste, and definitely not suitable for all ages.

However, you gotta give credit where credit is due.  Noah is attempting to make it in the independent publishing world, where it is hard to make it 'Big'.  He is still in the Denver area of Colorado which is not known as being a 'comics community' yet.  Heck it just had its' first Big Comic Con this year!  His art style has not yet fully formed, and he for one is proud of that on-going development as he looks back on what he has done and what he is currently working on.

So, here's my take on this self-publishing comic book series. It is an on-going self developement work of art.  It is not meant for the mainstream readership, yet attempts to have some sort of 'continuity' in that it is being published on a semi-regular basis.  Not all the stories in each issue will delight you or even make you think.  It is the writer / artist in Noah that is putting down his ideas in black and white, and when having 24 pages of material that he thinks fit to publish... does.  Whether or not it is something you want to read after trying out an issue is your choice.  I'm merely bringing this series to your attention after receiving a copy for review and finding it 'marketable' to a certain sales 'niche'.

He is one heck of a promoter, that is for sure.  Check out his MySpace page, Facebook page, and his own web site at: http://www.noahvansciver.com/ for how you can obtain a copy of this Blammo comic, back issues, and any other works he is working on!  BTW, on his web site You can see some of the pages that I read from issue #4 of Blammo to form your own opinions...

As a collector of comic books...  for many years, I appreciate the mostly unsung work that inkers have been doing during their careers, whether just starting out or as pros for as many years or longer that I have been collecting.

So when Bob Almond sent me the Press Release for the upcoming Inkwell Awards, I wanted to at least mention the start of the process for this year's awards here in my Blog.  Especially since one of my Favorite Inkers of All Time has an Award named after him, The Joe Sinnott Award!

The following contains most of the Press Release news that was sent to me:

THE COMMITTEE

After the results of the first Inkwell Awards much has changed. Two of the founding members, inker Tim Townsend and publisher Bill Nichols, chose to step down. Replacing both men are inker Dave Simons (Ghost Rider, Army Of Darkness) and art representative Bob Shaw (Comic Art House). Both men have brought vision and energy to the Awards.

THE CATEGORIES

After the 2008 Awards it was decided, by committee, that the Awards would be streamlined and no longer career retrospective in theme (except for the Hall of Fame). As such there are new categories for 2009 and they are as follows:

Favorite Inker: favourite inker over another's pencil art from '08 material

Most Adaptable: showing exceptional ink style versatility over other pencil artists in '08

Props Award: inker over others' pencil art deserving of more attention from '08

The SPAMI: favourite Small Press And Mainstream-Independent: '08 cover-dated ink work over another pencil artist (Non-Marvel or DC work)

All In One Award: Favourite artist known for almost-exclusively inking his/her own pencil work and rarely the work of others in '08

The Joe Sinnott Award: Hall Of Fame designation for an inking career of outstanding accomplishment. Lifetime achievement (minimum 15 years) not limited to '08 material.

THE VOTING

The voting process has also been refined. Instead of an open ballot, ala 2008, this year has seen a collection of nominators consisting of notable industry experts, journalists and professionals alike who have elected to vote for artists in those categories. The nominators will elect the artists they believe fit the categories, the committee will validate those choices, and voting will then be open for the general public. The overall winners will be those artists with the most votes at the end of the process. A full list of the nominators can be found at the Inkwell Awards web-site (http://www.inkwellawards.com/friends.html). The nominators will be a rotating list, changing from year to year, to ensure diversity and fairness in both the nominating and voting process.

May 2009 will see the final tallying of the nominations as the ballots are received. The official ballot of nominations will be posted on June 1st and voting will run for the entire month, ending June 30th.