My 'Take' On: The Further Adventures Of D.B. Cooper As Seen at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International!     - Above Photo:  Michael Heffron, EIC of Law Dog Comics, as seen holding the graphic novel during the 2010 SDCC! - At the Top Left: The Law Dog Comics Logo! - At the Bottom Left: The Logo for the Comic Con International: San Diego - a.k.a. San Diego Comic Con 2010.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3227:

Today's post is another publication that I 'found' at the recent SDCCI, at a booth in the 'Small Press' section.

After talking with the Editor-In-Chief of Law Dog Comics about the banner that caught my eyes, (see top right photo of this blog), he gave me a copy of this publication for possible review in this Blog.

I'm probably a little older than most of you reading this, so I remember at least some of the true life D.B. Cooper Adventure as it unfolded back then.  For those of You that don't remember, or don't know the story, here's a brief paragraph or two about him:

Actually the D.B. Cooper name  is the name attributed to the man who hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft in the United States on November 24th of 1971! He received $200,000 in ransom money, and then parachuted from the plane!

Earlier, when he boarded the plane, he was first known as Dan Cooper, but through a later press error, he became known as "D. B. Cooper".  Since 1971 there have been hundreds of leads through the years, but no conclusive evidence has ever surfaced regarding Cooper's true identity or whereabouts. Strangely though some of the money has surfaced, but the bulk of the money has never been recovered!

Naturally, several theories were offered up with competing explanations of what happened after his famed jump. However, the F.B.I. believes he did not survive.

Today the Cooper case (code-named "Norjak" by the F.B.I.) is the only unsolved U.S. aircraft hijacking!  

Here is what the publisher used as a back cover blurb about this book:

I hadn't run across this company before at any comic cons I've been to.  Here is a little about the publisher and the company:

I don't see where Law Dog Comics has a Facebook Fan Page, so there isn't a link provided here.

Law Dog Comics has what appears to be its web site with a different title for sale, but no info on any other titles are found there including this one I reviewed today, which I find strange.  There is also a blog for the company, but it doesn't seem to be updated...  

We don't have any xtra copies of this publication for sale. And after checking my usual sources to refer potential buyers of the reviewed publication today, I find none to refer you to?!  There isn't an ISBN number on the publication either.  So if you are interested in reading this storyline, I suggest checking on the web site link provided in the above paragraph as to where you can obtain a copy. Don't let the current portal page on the web site throw you off.  It's the same publishing company, but with a different genre of story. 

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Thanks again, Michael Heffron, for sharing your time with me at the recent San Diego Comic Con International and introducing me to this series!

PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 3,225 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.  

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

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"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"       Note: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:   Make It So Marketing Inc. PO Box 130653 Carlsbad, CA 92013     ComicBooksCircus.com - It's Under The Big Top Of Comics! Click the Above Circus Tent to See Our Current Listings!

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today... I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that! The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer. NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

 

My 'Take' On: Ragged Capes Volume 1 As Seen at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International!     - Above Photo:  Ralph Ellis Miley at the CCAS Booth during the 2010 SDCC! - At the Top Left: A Closeup of the Front Cover to Volume 1 of Ragged Capes! - At the Bottom Left: The Logo for the Comic Con International: San Diego - a.k.a. San Diego Comic Con 2010.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3226:

Today's post is another publication that I 'found' at the recent SDCCI.

This time I was at the CCAS (Christian Comic Arts Society) Booth, where Ralph Ellis Miley showed me one of his works.

So, after talking him and others at this booth, I expressed my interest in seeing more of this publication with a Christian based storyline.

Here is what the publication is about per their promotional literature:

Judgment, hatred, doubt, and redemption. "Ragged Capes" is a superhero anthology exploring how both villains and heroes respond when they are confronted with the darker side of human nature. Join in the journey of Grip, Lioness, Excelsior, and Virtue as they cope with a world crying out with injustice -- and where even the most righteous deeds can be dirty rags.

Stories by  Warren Fitzpatrick, Bud Rogers, Kevin Yong and Ralph Ellis Miley, with art by Dan Barlow, Antonio Bifulco, Wayne Cash, Cassie Fuertez, Lisa Hutchinson, Eric Jansen, Bill Maus, Mark Melton, Montos, and Geoff Strout.

This is what the publisher, New Creation Now is all about: New Creation Now creates Christian comic books and faith based webcomics that are ethnically diverse and denominationally open. We produces and promote God honoring themes through the medium of web comics, comic books, graphic novels and anthologies, tracts,  and other cool stuff. NCN also functions as a publisher, and promoter of Christian creative work as it relates to the comic book genre and other related mediums. “Walk In The Newness of Life”.

Here is 'My Take' on the Volume 1 of Ragged Capes:

Front Cover - Possibly the usual superhero fare inside? As only the title 'Ragged Capes' and the four individuals are shown there.

Inside Front Cover - Blank..No Intro.. Nothing, just blank...So it is in the format of a graphic novel.

1st Page - Can't call it a 'Splash page' as it starts right in with Chapter One: Grip.

The 1st story / chapter: 8 pages - Turns out that this story has some good dialogue and storyline to it.  A lot was covered in the 8 pages without it seeming to be 'squeezed' in.  This was based on a story by Warren Fitzpatrick, and adapted well into sequential art by Dan Barlow and Montos.

The 2nd story - 'Lioness' - 7 pages - I liked the way this story was presented...with no dialogue.  Just being told in a narrative by 'Lioness'. With script and layouts by Ralph Ellis MIley.  The artwork by Wayne Cash and Antonio Bifulco really added to this story.

(BTW, each chapter is separated by a page with a gospel quote.)

Chapter 3 - 'Excelsior' - Another 7 pager - The coloring immediately stood out in this story for me! The colorist was Lisa Hutchinson.  Which emphasized the artwork by Bill Maus.

Chapter 4 - 'Virtue' - 8 pages - To go from a brightly colored story in Chapter 3 to a darker story reminded me that this publication was an 'anthology'.  With different teams of creators, you get different styles and presentations.  However the final page really ended this publication on a high note. The art and coloring on that final page really stood out. Layouts by Eric Jansen, with finishing and coloring by Geoff Strout.

The final section was a 6 page 'Behind the Capes' text piece. It told in an interview format the story as to how this publication came about.  The interview was on the Editors of this publication, Ralph Ellis Miley and Kevin Yong. This interview really put the background as to how this anthology came into being and why. I almost wish it had been placed at the front of the publication instead of the back.  As there was no intro to these characters or that this was an anthology except on the back cover.

It was the Back Cover that was the only place that you can find what this publication was about.  However, how many potential readers / buyers would start there?  If you were casually thumbing through it at a LCBS or a book store you could.  But odds are, many wouldn't do so.

As with most anthologies, 'grading' this publication is a little harder to do than other genres of graphic novels or comic books for that matter.

I found overall that this graphic novel was not overly preachy, and each chapter came through pretty well in presentation. I believe the lack of an 'intro' setting up what the reader was going to be reading was the only detraction in this graphic novel.  As again, I want to emphasize that there wasn't anything on the front cover, inside cover, or the first page to give a potential reader an idea what was contained in the rest of the publication.

Other than that, this was good reading, and the 'Behind the Capes' Feature was appreciated in tying this anthology together! 

My comic book grade for this publication is a VERY FINE PLUS, (VF+) 8.5 on a 10.0 grading scale.

The Christian Comic Arts Society has a Facebook Fan Page, which can be found here.

New Creation Now has its own web site, as found here.

We don't have any xtra copies of this publication for sale. Thus, I'm suggesting that if YOU would like to read it, here's a link to another quality online site:  Ragged Capes (Volume 1) that has at least one copy for sale at the time of this blog posting!

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Thanks again, Ralph, for sharing your time with me and my son at the recent San Diego Comic Con International!

PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 3,225 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.  

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

---

 

"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"       Note: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:   Make It So Marketing Inc. PO Box 130653 Carlsbad, CA 92013     ComicBooksCircus.com - It's Under The Big Top Of Comics! Click the Above Circus Tent to See Our Current Listings!

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today... I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that! The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer. NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

 

My 'Take' On: The New Adventures Of Shaloman #8     - Above Photo:  Al and Rita Wiesner in Artists Alley at the 2010 SDCC! - At the Top Left: A Closeup of Issue #8 that Al Gave Me for Possible Review In This Blog! - At the Bottom Left: The Logo for the Comic Con International: San Diego - a.k.a. San Diego Comic Con 2010.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3225:

With today's post I'm going to take a sample issue of a comic book series and after checking out the history of this series, attempt to extrapolate what has been going!

Which may be a little hard to do in just one blog post, as Al Wiesner has been at this since 1985! 

However, my first brush with 'Shaloman' was at this recent 2010 SDCC.  Here's what I make of the series as far as prelim research goes:

Definitely 'Shaloman' is a Jewish Super-hero! And as with a much earlier created superhero, (that of 'Superman'}, he has many nicknames associated with him. Some are "The Man of Stone," "Defender of the Downtrodden," and the "Kosher Crusader,"!  Okay...that's a different name!

From what I can discern, Al created Shaloman because he felt that there were very few Jewish super-heroes that were positive role models in comics.  Although many (most?) of the earliest comics creators were Jewish, the characters that were created were considered not to be Jewish by the readership.  Superman from DC Comics is a prime example in point.

Again, I was not knowledgeable about this superhero before meeting Al & Rita at their table.  So when I was given issue #8 of a series to read and possibly review, you must understand that I came in on a series that had been around for a while.

So here's 'My Take' just on this one issue:

Front Cover -  States it's Shaloman AND the Y-Guys.  Okay, looks like I'm in time for a possible team-up issue?

Inside Front Cover - Is a 'House Ad' for the issues that were available during the printing of this comic book, which by the way was copyrighted in 1996.  So I don't know if this is a reprint, 2nd Edition, etc.

Splash Page -  I notice right away that the comic book is published with black and white interior pages, although the cover was in color.  The splash page set up the stage for the story, and invites me to turn the page...

Interior Pages - I continue reading the storyline, and end up at the Inside Back Cover - which turns out to be page 33 of the story.  

Back Cover - Another 'House Ad', but this one tells you where back issues of Shaloman could be purchased at in person, from Portland, Oregon to Cherry Hill, NJ.  Which I pointed out to my wife, Tina, who comes from Cherry Hill.

Okay...Now that the issue is covered by details, what did I think of this storyline, character, and supporting characters?

I enjoyed the usage of Jewish backgrounds interspersed throughout the story.  It would appear that 'Shaloman' is normally in a state of being an inanimate rock (?) before the words 'Oy vey!' are said somewhere in the world.  Those words then transform the rock into the muscular superhero known as 'Shaloman'.

Okay...That's fine...However he does seem to have similar problems that Superman did over the early years.  Possibly too powerful as a superhero.  But I would have to read more back issues to fully understand this.

There is another similarity, that of the metal 'Shin-ite' that was used in the early pages of this comic book to disable Shaloman...

This is where the Y-Guys come into being.  And an adventure awaits both the team and the reader as the story progresses.

I found the storyline and artwork to be reminiscient of the 'Golden Age of Comics'.  Not saying this in a derogatory way, but the art / story / dialogue is kind of 'retro' in its presentation. Because it really captures the essence of an earlier time. Possibly the same reason why I like 'Silver Comics' so much, because those comics are drawn 1960's Silver Age Style.

I for one enjoyed that for this one issue.  The house style fit fine with the storyline, and I for one was pleased to have read it. 

It is one of the few comics that I've read lately that is for a general audience and a wider age group target market. There is a need for comics like this. I for one am pleased to have received it, and found it blog-worthy.

My comic book grade for this publication is a VERY FINE / NEAR MINT (VF/NM) 9.0 on a 10.0 grading scale.

To see more of this comic book series, you would have to either stop in at one of the stores listed on the back of the comic book, or check out Al Wiesner's Mark I Comics via mail order, as there is no web site. 

The address is: Mark I Comics, PO Box 5097, Philadelphia, Pa 19111.

The only other place I've found that has the 20th Anniversary Special Edition is shown at this link:  The Saga of Shaloman the Man of Stone: 20th Anniversary Edition (Shaloman Comic Strip Series)!

---------------------------

Thanks again, Al & Rita, for sharing your time with me and my son at the recent San Diego Comic Con International!

PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 3,220 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.  

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

---

 

"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"       Note: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:   Make It So Marketing Inc. PO Box 130653 Carlsbad, CA 92013     ComicBooksCircus.com - It's Under The Big Top Of Comics! Click the Above Circus Tent to See Our Current Listings!

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today... I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that! The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer. NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

 

The 2010 Leo Carrillo Film Festival Started Last Night... August 27th! At The Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park In Carlsbad, California! It's Running For Five Consecutive Friday Nights At: 6200 Flying LC Lane  Above Top Photo: Michael Won One of the Three Opportunity Drawings Last Night During Intermission! - At the Top Right: The Film Nights Preview Online Sign.  - Second Right - Thanks to Dick & Rev. Diana Swenson For Staking Out The Church Group's Area Claim! - Third Right: (L-R) Back Row - Tina, Michael, Diana, Front Row - Tina & Ron - Just a Few of the Early Arrivals! - Fourth Right - The Cabana Crew Getting Ready for the Crowd. - Bottom Right: The Andrews Sisters Were the Main Attraction in the Film Last Night Along With Carrillo Carrillo!        --- --- ---

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3224:

I was going to take a weekend off from blogging, but Tina and I had so much fun last night at the Opening Night of the 2010 Leo Carrillo Film Festival...That I just had to blog about it this morning before leaving to run errands!

Yes...As I blogged about on Thursday, (see here for full schedule in my earlier post), It's THAT TIME of Year Again!

Because I have taken on a project that is keeping me away from the home office during the day for a few weeks more, Tina and I were not able to arrive early and stake out a 'claim' to an area at the Ranch grounds for our little church group to sit upon.

So kudos to Dick and Rev. Diana Swenson of Crossroads Spiritual Center in Carlsbad, (pictured at top right of post), who arrived in time to save us all space in the main section of the film area! They arrived at 5:45 PM and it was already full for those who have high back chairs. Note: Only low back chairs are permitted up in front.  So get there early if you don't have those size of chairs!

The rest of the church group came in as the evening wore on, before an episode of the Cisco Kid was shown.  Some of the earlier arrivals are shown at the top right also.

Tina packed us a bottle of wine and great sandwiches, so I only stopped at the Cabana to see what the Opportunity Drawing Prizes were.  However, as you can see by the photo to the left, they have several good choices for a picnic dinner!  Several of the other church members attending bought food items as the evening continued.

Tina and I had already decided not to play the Trivia Game that is usually played at these film dates, as we have won prizes repeatedly in the past, so thought we should give others a chance to win...

However since it was an 'opportunity' drawing, a game of chance, not knowledge of Leo Carrillo or his ranch, I bought 3 tickets to help support the Festival and 'gamble' just a bit.  A 'litle voice' told me to do so, and I came away last night with one of the three opportunity prizes! 

The photo to the top left of this post is me during the intermission with my prize, and to the left of this paragraph is what it comprised of for a better view after we arrived home. I had seen the three prizes, and lusted for the cornbread mix and goodies prize, which is what I ended up winning!  Thanks to the folks that put this Cheri's Desert Harvest basket together!  I'm going to enjoy it soon, probably this weekend with the syrup!

Anyways, for those of YOU that haven't been to this Film Festival, here's what happens:

Nostalgic entertainment under the stars at a real movie star retreat.  Admission is free.  Movies start promptly at sunset.  Grounds open at 5 p.m. for picnics and tours.  Complementary tour of the hacienda is offered one hour before sunset.

Guests should bring low-back chairs, blankets, and a flashlight.  Warm clothes and appropriate shoes are recommended for uneven terrain throughout the park.  An episode of “The Cisco Kid” precedes the film screening.  Films are not rated.  Parental discretion is advised.  Closed captioning is not available unless otherwise indicated.

Of course, what would the Leo Carrillo Film Festival be without an episode of The Cisco Kid from the TV Series that had an original run from September 5, 1950 – March 22, 1956?! 

As stated above, an epsiode from the TV Series is played first, then it's intermission time, and then on to the main feature... 

FYI: At the start of this TV series, Leo was 70 years old and Duncan Renaldo was 46!  BTW, Leo and Duncan are considered to be the first regular TV series Hispanic Stars, as Desi Arnaz Jr didn't start until the following year with his wife Lucille Ball with their show...Just a little bit of trivia for you today!   

The episode last night had a really young looking actor that I couldn't remember his name until the ending credits ran. It was Denver Pyle as one of the bad guys! He actually played bad guys twice during the 1954 Cisco Kid TV Season. Younger blog readers will remember him as Uncle Jesse Duke on the Dukes of Hazzard TV Series.

And of course the ending of the episode had the usual "Ohhh, Ceesco!" by Pancho, with the rejoinder from Cisco Kid..."Oh, Pancho!". Tina was glad this season didn't start with the episode that had the elephant, as we have already seen it played twice there at the Film Festival in two different years. 

Oh...This is the 6th Season of the Leo Carrillo Film Festival! And with the largest crowd there I have seen since we started attending...it's off to a great start! 

Which is why I better post this here also.  Yesterday, I was contacted by a Facebook Friend, Gerry Streff, an archivist with th the City of Carlsbad, who after seeing my Thursday blog post about this year's Film Season, sent me the following link.  There will be a Special Exhibit that opens to the general public on the Friday Night of September 10th, which coincides with that night's Film Festival.  You should plan accordingly and get there early to take this new exibit in, plus 'claim' your space to catch that night's Cisco Kid episode and the film that plays after intermission!  Thanks, Gerry for the heads up on this!

So to finish up blogging about last night's Opening Night of the Film Festival...The audience was large in numbers, the staff working the event were friendly as always, and the Cisco Kid episode was a good one!  Add to that the Opportunity Drawing Prizes given away at intermission, and the nostalgic main film that was shown...It was a Great Opening Night! Thanks again to all of those involved with having this Film Season kick off with a bang!

BTW, I blog about this Film Festival every year because there is a comic book connection as well! 

There were 40 issues of the Cisco Kid comic book title from Dell Comics, starting in January of 1951 and ending with the Oct/Dec 1958 issue!  Here's a link to all of those covers!

PLUS: Here's a link to the blog posts that we've blogged about in the past to show you what's at the Leo Carrillo Ranch, as well as what fun we had at the Leo Carrillo Film Festival in recent years:  Click here for the link!

Thanks again to the City of Carlsbad, and to the LeoCarrilloRanch.org people, and the Friends Of CarrilloRanch.org folks for making the Ranch Docent Tours and the Film Festival possible this year!

Oh, and if YOU are attending and see Tina and myself there...Stop by and say hello!  I'm usually wearing my straw hat and wearing one of my 'Comic Book Collectors Blog.com' indigo colored polo shirts to these events!

Oh...We don't have any Cisco Kid DVDs for sale, (we are keeping ours for our own collection!), but here's a link to one of the better Cisco Kid Collections! Best of The Cisco Kid (35 Episodes)

PLUS...My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,220 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

BTW, You can 'follow' this Blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  I would appreciate that!

Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.  

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

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"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"       Note: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:   Make It So Marketing Inc. PO Box 130653 Carlsbad, CA 92013   ComicBooksCircus.com - It's Under The Big Top Of Comics! Click the Above Circus Tent to See Our Current Listings!

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today... I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that! The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer. NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

 

My 'Take' On: Strangler Bros. #1 The Graphic Novel As Seen at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International!       -------------- Above Photo:  The Front Cover to the Strangler Brothers #1 Graphic Novel! - At the Top Left: Judge Leverich and Josh Frankovich at their booth in the Small Press Section of the 2010 SDCC! At the Bottom Left: The Logo for the Comic Con International: San Diego - a.k.a. San Diego Comic Con 2010.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3223:

As already mentioned before in this blog...One of the great pleasures in attending comic-cons, no matter what the size of them, is visiting the sections named 'Artists Alley, and 'Small Press' sections.

I usually end up with several new publications to read and possibly review in this blog, after striking up conversations with the creators of the comics or GNs, due to this blog being the #1 'Followed' blog on Facebook for 'comics', 'comic books', and 'graphic novels. per the NetworkedBlogs app, as seen here.

Today, I'm going to post 'My Take' on another GN, (Graphic Novel), picked up at the 2010 SDCC.

First, here is what the GN's web site says it is about:

Strangler Brothers Automotive is about 2 brothers, Josh and Judge Strangler, and their journey to find out the mystery of their small town of Salem Hills.

About the Creators: 

Strangler Brothers Automotive is created by Crowbar Media. We specialize in webcomics and a number of other ventures and oddities. Judge Leverich: Creator, Writer.  Josh Frankovich: Creator, Writer. Melinda Davidson: Co-Creator, Artist.

The Main Characters are:

Josh Strangler - The tech geek of the Strangler Brothers. He acts like a goof, but is an inventor, avid comic book collector, and horror film fanantic.

Judge Strangler - The more level headed of the two brothers.  He is veryu business oriented and like to run things by the book.

Mel - Not much is known about her yet. (Note from Michael: Matter of fact, she doesn't show up in Part 1, and I missed seeing 'her' at the SDCC booth!)

The Graphic Novel - Strangler Brothers Origins: Part 1 was a 'Limited Edition' with 56 pages including exclusive artwork and creator bios.

Now that the promo info is shown above, here's 'My Take' on the Graphic Novel.

First, the cover struck me as something I would be interested in reading, due to the great logo and the main characters surrounded by shadowy figures.

I was not aware that those shadowy figures were 'zombies'. Those who have read several of my review blogs will know that I've been flooded with zombie material to possibly be read and then reviewed in this blog.

Quite honestly, I find that zombies have been overdone as of late... However I didn't notice that 'zombie influence'at the booth or on the front cover of this GN.

If I had bothered to look at the back cover first, I would have seen that the Strangler Brothers "battle zombies, vampires, werewolves, ghosts and all other things that go bump in the night!", so yeah I missed that warning...

So I read further into it, and found that I really liked the artwork.  The lack of full color actually added to the artwork, and I found that I liked the main characters as the story went on.

Additionally I liked the other characters as they were introduced into the storyline.  And I found that although there were zombies in this 'Origins' story, it wasn't the usual zombie story.  Actually I found myself not wanting to put it down...

My only disappointment in the storyline was that at the end it was "To Be Continued".  I like my graphic novels, if they are presented as a 'graphic novel' to be self contained.  However, since this story is also being presented as a web comic, there is a possibility of seeing additional pages of story as the storyline progresses?  Not for sure on that, as the web site only has the first pages of this GN online at this time.

So, I'm not going to review this GN like I would a comic book, with the analysis on the Front Cover, Inside Front Cover, Splash Page, tetc., etc., as it doesn't pertain here.

Just let me say that I for one enjoyed the characters, (appearing to be based on the creators, (wink), and especially enjoyed the artwork by Melinda Davidson, who I did not meet at the Comic-Con.

Indeed, I also enjoyed seeing the sound effects that were placed very well, and the right sound for the panel!  The lettering was also placed well, and the coloring accentuated the mood of the story.  Very well done, and looking at the credits page, I find this was all done by Melinda.  Although I missed see her in the GN and at the booth, her presence in this GN is very noticed!

This feature has something going for it, and hopefully the zombies part will finish up, and the other things that go bump in the night will be brought in as the tales continue.

I enjoyed this issue, (zombies & all), enough to give this publication a VERY FINE / NEAR MINT (VF/NM) 9.0 on a 10.0 grading scale, due to the fact that although the story was a good one for an 'Origin' story, and the artwork / sound effects / colors were cool...I would have preferred to have a 'complete story' when published in a 'graphic novel' format.  Otherwise the term 'trade paperback compilation' of the web comic could have been a better descriptive word for this publication. Again, it may just be me, but a 'graphic novel' means 'done in one' to me.

To see more on the "Strangler Brothers" series, check out this link!

If YOU are on Facebook check out their Strangler Brothers Fan Page!

My personal thanks to Judge and Josh for introducing me to their series!

PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,220 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.  

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

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"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"       Note: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:   Make It So Marketing Inc. PO Box 130653 Carlsbad, CA 92013     ComicBooksCircus.com - It's Under The Big Top Of Comics! Click the Above Circus Tent to See Our Current Listings!

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today... I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that! The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer. NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.