Michael D Hamersky On Comics Mentions That He Was Quoted In...   A Doctoral Thesis By Caitlin Foster (Titled: Clash of the Industry Titans: Marvel, DC and the Battle for Market Dominance!)

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #4047 -   At the top of this blog post is a scan of the front page of the Doctoral Thesis by Caitlin Foster, at the University of Western Ontario, which was published August of 2013.

The title of the thesis is... Clash of the Industry Titans: Marvel, DC and the Battle for Market Dominance.

I bring this up because on pages 55 & 56 she quotes me from the chapter I wrote in the 'Gotham City 14 Miles' book that was published in 2010.  I was one of the authors of that book that was edited by James Beard. 

I've blogged about the ongoing process of the book being written, printed & promoted over the years that it took to get all of that process completed!  Here are the blog links plus what others wrote about the book and/or me!

So what is this thesis about?  Here's the abstract:

"This thesis examines the corporate structures, marketing strategies and economic shifts that have influenced the recent resurgence of the comic book superhero in popular Hollywood cinema. 

Using their original texts and adaptation films, this study will chronologically examine how each company’s brand identities and corporate structures have reacted to and been shaped by the major cultural and industrial shifts of the past century in its attempt to account for the varying success of these companies throughout their histories. 

Beginning with the superhero’s first appearance on screen in the 1940s, this study traces the development of Marvel and DC’s distinct brand identities through their major franchises including Superman, Batman, Captain America, X-Men, Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and The Avengers. In particular, this thesis links cultural and commercial dominance of Marvel’s independent, vertically integrated corporate structure to its proliferation of blockbuster film adaptations over the past decade."

Ok... Now that is a subject that would interest me!

So I went on to the Table of Contents:

Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. v
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 1 ....................................................................................................................................... 15
Origin Stories: The Birth of the Comic Book Industry in the 1930s-1940s ................................. 15
Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................................................... 32
Super-Seal of Approval:  DC’s Proliferation of Family Values & The Comics Code of America
....................................................................................................................................................... 32
Chapter 3 ....................................................................................................................................... 42
Mighty Marvel: The Emergence of Marvel Comics in the 1960s and 1970s ............................... 42
Chapter 4 ....................................................................................................................................... 58
Marvel Rises, Superman Dies: The Transformation of Comic Book Heroism in the Re
agan/Bush Era ............................................................................................................................... 58
Chapter 5 ....................................................................................................................................... 79
The Battle for Market Dominance: Mergers, Acquisitions and Corporate Rebranding in the
New Millennium ............................................................................................................................. 79
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 100
Curriculum Vitae ........................................................................................................................ 118  

Again, the above chapter titles piqued my interest.

So I read it.  All of it.  Pretty darn good reading!

My compliments to Caitlin Foster for writing this thesis.  And for referencing some of my published material in her thesis!

For those of you that wish to read it also, here is the link to the thesis! 

~ Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 4,000 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 link!   Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Local' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com!     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly 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:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to my blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to me for possible review, just contact me. 

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

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In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents An Update On The...   The Mid 1970s Comic Book Dealers! (As Shown At Various Sources!)

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #4046 -   At the left is an advertisement page from a mid 1977 Marvel Comics book. 

Mid 1970's Comic Books Dealers advertising on this nationwide page were:

Richard Alf of San Diego CA, Robert Bell of Hauppage NY,  Howard Rogofsky of Flushing NY, Discount Comics from Santee CA, American Comic Book Company from Studio City CA, Grand Book Inc from Brooklyn NY, Clint's Comics from Kansas City MO, and Superhero Comics from Weston Canada.

Recently I posted the membership page of the 1973 San Diego Comic Con on my Facebook Page.  As seen at this link.  The page was posted small via the Facebook photo procedure, so I'm going to list here in my blog those names identified as dealers.

Those dealers included:  #6 Larry Bigman, #11 Joe Colabella, #16 Gary Nishimura, #17 Mark Reynolds, #24 Melville C Hill, #25 Lucas Dang, #26 Gary Carter (later the publisher of Comic Book Marketplace!), #29 North County Book Shop, #30 Bob Sidebottom (later an Editor of a few comic books), #40 Tom Heaton, # 42 Joe Kotuna, #43 Tony Raiola, #44 Shane Shellenbarger, #74 Roger C Nelson, #78 David Boring, #91 Lance Casebeer, #93 Jay Knowles, #121 Don Morris, #122 Russ Cochran - (still selling today), #127 Jim Buser, #128 Joe Swan, #129 Will Conine, #136 Marc Zarkarin, #145 Harry A Hopkins, #150 Tom Tallmon, #169 David T Alexander (still a dealer today in 2015), #174 Michael D Haw(m)ersky (that's me!), #188 Terry Stroud (still a comics dealer & was a comic book writer), #195 Arnold Berman, #198 Tom French (SDCC's dealer room organizer - died 1997), & #201 Prince & the Pauper Imported Toys.

If you have been buying comics since the 1970s, you will recognize several of the above names!   Some like myself went on to advertise in The Buyers Guide, as well as other publications.  Some just sold at comic cons that sprang up nationwide during the following years!

Also, the photo to the left is a photo of myself holding the 1973 San Diego Comic Con Souvenir Book, along with a copy of the 2pages showing the 1973 membership list as of date of publication!

BTW before I forget... Richard Alf, named in the first paragraph above, who also had bought many of my duplicates issues before I started dealing myself, went on to sell out to Chuck Rozanski, Owner of Mile High Comics in Colorado, in 1978. Richard had built his mail order business into a going concern, but by then there were some major competitors in mail order including Pacific Comics (also in San Diego), Passaic Book Center and of course Robert Bell.

I will be adding more info to this mini-history in the months to follow...

~ Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 4,000 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 link!   Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Local' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com!     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly 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:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to my blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to me for possible review, just contact me. 

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents An Update On The...   Guiness World Record For The World's Largest Comic Book Collection!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #4045 -   Yesterday I received a notice from Bob Bretall, whom I have blogged about previously on setting the Guiness World Record for the World's Largest Comic Book Collection.

That blog would be #3862, dated May 19th of 2013. I went up to Bob's house and during a public event, I audited his count.   The count was 89,613 individual comics.

Now, August of 2015, Bob's own count is at 101,822 individual and different comics. Now THAT is a lot of comics!

My congrats to Bob for extending his count, and that Guiness has also recorded the change officially. 

See Bob's blog post on more details, at this link!

BTW, There were others that also commented on this accomplishment over the past two years. Here are just a few posts:

Blastr post

Barbican & Community Libraries

The Allspark

Tales of Wonder

~ Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 4,000 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 link!   Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Local' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com!     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly 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:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to my blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to me for possible review, just contact me. 

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Updates On The...   2016 San Diego Comic Fest As Presented At The August 2015 Volunteers Meeting

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #4044 -   Yesterday I attended the August 2015 San Diego Comic Fest Volunteers Meeting at the Serra Mesa Library in San Diego, along with twenty-three other volunteers.  Not all volunteers were able to meet this meeting, but Mike Towry, (founder of San Diego Comic Fest), brought us all up to date on what had happened since the last Volunteers Meeting.

I'm blogging about this meeting so I can bring you up to date also, as well as posting it on the San Diego Comic Fest Facebook Fan Page, which I've been administrator of for the past four years.

The Volunteers Meeting is held once a month at different locations.  It is best to check the Fan Page for news of the next meeting.

Here is what was discussed at the August Meeting:

It is only six months till the 2016 San Diego Comic Fest!  Even though the next Fest is next year, we only have six months left before it starts!   The 2016 Comic Fest runs during Presidents Day Weekend, February 12 - 15th.  That would be Friday Preview Night, Saturday, Sunday & Monday, which is a holiday.

San Diego Comic Fest had tables at:  San Diego Comic-Con International, WesterCon, OzCon, and will have a table at Gaslight Gathering in September.

Those of you that saw Joe Clokey at Comic-Con will be pleased to know he is coming to our 2016 Comic Fest.  Joe is the son of Gumby creator, Art Clokey. Gumby is celebrating his 60th Anniversary th is year.

The Cafe at the 2016 Comic Fest will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Forry Ackerman.

It was announced that we will have Jay Allen Sanford as a guest at the 2016 Comic Fest. Jay is known for his work at Revolutionary Comics, Pacific Comics, Carnal Comics & as a columnist / cartoonist at the San Diego Reader. 

Scott Shaw! plus six or so professional comic book artists are looking in to illustrate the 2016 badges for Comic Fest.  Those of you that went to San Diego Comic Con in the early years will remember those styles of badges!

T-Shirts - Yes there will be a 2016 Comic Fest t-shirt.  Only one style / illustration.  Limited to probably only 150 of them.

Look for an announcement of a one day even in San Diego this October, which is when the San Diego Comic Fest was usually held.   Due to Town & Country being bought out, and the East Side scheduled to be demolished, we will not be having our Comic Fest this October, but instead in February of 2016.

That's it for this month's report!

For more info in the days / weeks to follow... Be sure to 'Like' the Facebook Fan Page for the San Diego Comic Fest!

For photos from the August Volunteer Meeting please see this photo album at my Facebook Fan Page!  

~ Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 4,000 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 link!   Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Local' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com!     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly 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:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to my blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to me for possible review, just contact me. 

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Reflects On...   The Disney-Oz Connection As Presented by Eric Shanower At The 2015 Winkie Con / OzCon

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #4043 -   Yesterday I blogged about my thoughts on the  2015 Winkie Con, (newly renamed to OzCon), which ran this past weekend, July 31st thru August 2nd.  (In blog #4042.)

In the addendum to that blog post, I mentioned I would additionally be blogging about certain panels / programs that I found to be interesting to me, and possibly to readers of this Blog.

The first program I want to blog about is the one on Sunday, presented by Eric Shaower, titled 'The Disney-Oz Connection'.

I saw the Disney film 'Return To Oz' this past weekend at Winkie Con.  Twice.  Once on Friday and then again on Sunday morning with three persons that had been in the film or produced it.  Emma Ridley who played Ozma, Justin Case who played the Scarecrow, and Paul Maslansky who was the producer of the film.

Other than that, I was not aware of any Disney-Oz connections.

Well... Eric's program showed what there was of that connection!  The connection goes way back!

The program ran for about an hour.  I videotaped the first half hour of the talk w/slide show presentation. That video can been seen at this link on my YouTube channel.  My camera ran out of battery power at that point and I decided to not video tape the rest of the presentation.  Photos of the rest of the presentation can be seen in my Sunday photo album from Winkie Con, at this link. 

Eric did a great job in researching this topic and his verbal talk along with the slide show was very interesting, even to someone like myself who is somewhat of a 'newbie' to Oz history.  I did not know of all the history between Disney & the World of Oz, so this was a great presentation for me on Sunday.

My thanks to Eric Shanower for his presentation!

BTW, here are other links from this year's con:

My photos from Friday

My photos from Saturday

My photos from Sunday

Winkie Con / Oz Con Facebook Fan Page

The Winkie Con / Oz Con web site

Oz Con schedule all three days

Here are links to the photo pages from last year's Winkie Con (2014) that I shot:

Days 1 & 2

Days 2 & 3

And again, here is the link to the half hour video on Eric's presentation on my YouTube channel.  

~ Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 4,000 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 link!   Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Local' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com!     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly 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:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to my blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to me for possible review, just contact me. 

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

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