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!

---------------            

      

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 Mentions That...   It Is His Birthday Today!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #4040 -   That's right!  Today is my Birthday!

It seems that I'm usually celebrating the special day at Comic-Con International: San Diego, or at least it seems that way... As I did it in 2014, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2004 in recent years.

This year however, the Comic-Con ran July 9th thru 12th, so I find myself here at home, without a convention to attend...

I did view the new comic book film, Ant-Man, as reviewed in blog #4035, this past Sunday.  That was a very good birthday present to myself I might say!

Which got me to thinking this morning as I got up.   I was reading Animation Magazine, the July 2015 issue that I picked up at the Animation Magazine booth at the 2015 Comic-Con last night... The article on pages 30 thru 33 must have stuck in my head while I was sleeping.

The title of the article was 'Page to Screen: Upcoming Comic-Book Movies'.  Now that was a good article to read! You see, when I was younger, I dreamed of seeing my favorite comic book characters on the Big Screen. 

There weren't many of them... Batman in 1966 was the biggie!  But Marvel Comics was more my reading pleasure and collecting bug.

Nowadays there are usually three big films each year with a comic book character.  Click this link for the comic book movies I have reviewed the past few years in my blog.  Just keep clicking the last blog shown for 'Older' to see the next five films reviewed.   The link goes back several years, but you can just go back as far as you'd like.

This morning I wish there was a 'Future' link, as in the Animation Magazine article there are several I'd like to see.  Now if only I live that long! 

Here are the ones mentioned in the article, and my thoughts on them.  Hey, it's My Birthday you know!

2015:

Ant-Man - July 17th.  You know my thoughts on that one.

Attack on titan - August 1 (Japan) -  No thoughts on this. I didn't know it was even coming out.

Fantastic Four - August 7th -  From the trailers I've seen so far, I don't have any interest in this.  And this from a guy who has stated that Fantastic Four was his favorite comic book series!

Bakuman - October 3 (Japan) - What the heck is this?!

2016:

Deadpool - February 12 - I'm not gaga over Deadpool.  He wasn't created until 1991 by Faian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld.   I'll wait to see how I feel about going in February of next year.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice - March 25 -  This could be good. And hey!  It has the first live-action theatrical feature appearance of Wonder Woman!  That would do it for me!

Captain America: Civil War -  May 6th -  I've liked the Cap films so far.  The topic doesn't excite me much though.

X-Men: Apocalypse - May 27th - The X-Men set in the year 1983. Ehhh... This is a maybe to see.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Half Shell - June 3rd -  I've had enough of Turtles films...

Suicide Squad - August 5th - I didn't read this series from DC.  Don't have any thoughts on this one.

Gambit - October 7th - No thoughts on this... Gambit is not a character that I'm that interested in.

Doctor Strange - November 4th -  I need to see more on what the film is about, but this could be of interest.

2017:

Untitled Wolverine - March 3rd -  I believe this is to be Hugh Jackman's last time as Wolverine. I like Hugh Jackman.  This will be on my list to see.

Ghost in the Shell - March 31st -  Haven't read this series.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - May 5th - Definitely on my 'Must See' list.  I enjoyed the first film in this trilogy.

Fantastic Four Sequel - June 9th - You gotta be kidding me! 

Wonder Woman - June 23rd - All I can say is... Its about time for a Wonder Woman film!

Untitled Spider-Man - July 28th - Right after my projected Birthday... Don't know if I will take this one in or not.  The first Spidey Trilogy was damn good to me.  The second one... Not.

Thor: Ragnorak - November 3rd -  Hey its got Chris Hemsworth as Thor.  He is the embodiment of Marvel's Thor to me, so I'm hoping to see this one.

The Justice League: Part One -  November 17th - This could be good...

2018:

The Flash - March 23rd - Starring Ezra Miller, Jordan Flash Rose... Who??

Avengers - Infinity War - Part 1 - May 4th -   Should be one I would be interested in...

Black Panther - July 6th - I've read this character's appearances since he was introduced in Fantastic Four.  I should be going to this one...

Untitled X-Men - July 13th -  I'm kind of tired of X-Men films...Probably will be even more so in 2018.

Aquaman - July 27th - Haven't read his series for decades...

Captain Marvel -  November 2nd - Hmmm... A female Captain Marvel...

2019:

Shazam -  April 5th - DC's Captain Marvel... Starring Dwayne Johnson...No thoughts on this one.

Avengers - Infinity War - Part II - May 3rd - Long time to wait...

The Justice League: Part Two - Same thoughts on this one... A long time to wait.

Inhumans - July 12th-  Could be interesting.

2020:

Cyborg - April 3rd - From DC... Have not read this character's appearances.

Green Lantern - June 19th - I enjoyed the recent Green Lantern film, but this one is probably not a continuation.

Whew!   That is it for upcoming book films!

As you can see from the above list and my comments, there are a few I'd like to see should I be around that long...

That's the Blog for today... On My Birthday.  Thanks for reading! 

~ 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'!

---

Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents His Take On...   Celebrating 20 Fabulous Years 1995 -2015 Alternate Reality Comics!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #4036 -    Back on December 30th of 2010, I blogged about seeing Alternate Reality Comics in Las Vegas, Nevada. (See this link for Blog #3312.) 

I was in Las Vegas for a holiday, but as usual, I checked out a few comic book stores in the area.

While there I met the co-owner of Alternate Reality Comics, Ralph Mathieu. He was kind enough to show us around his LCBS.  It was a great visit! 

Now, back to the present!   Would you believe... That during the 2015 San Diego Comic Con International... Ralph stopped me and said hello on the massive exhibit floor?! 

During our quick five minute meetup, he mentioned that his LCBS was celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year! 

In fact, he pulled out a promo comic book that he had published honoring that fact of hitting 20 years in business.  The photo of that comic book is shown above.

Ralph gave me that copy, and I have just finished reading it last night.

Here's my thoughts on the promo comic book: 

Of course the front cover is a homage to the Fantastic Four #1 issue from 1961.  The Fantastic Four were my favorite comic book series to collect during the 1960s, and I have picked up many comics that have used that famous cover as a homage.

The character in green with Red Vines is Epstein, the Ska Lizard, who is "The World's Most Beloved Comic Book & Entertainment Store Mascot!".  This promo comic book is "...Published for the first time anywhere! A blatant attempt to cash in on comic sentimentality!".

I had seen Epstein during my visit to the comic book shop in Las Vegas.  This promotional comic book gave the 'Origin' of Epstein.  The first character you meet on the splash page is 'Cosmic Vyne', who looks a lot like 'Galactus', (LOL).  The rest of the story is the true origin and how Epstein got to Earth. Transforming a comic book shop in Las Vegas into 'Alternate Reality Comics'!

Not bad at all!   Cute parody!   And on the inside back cover page, a 'Who's Who' page for Epstein.  With a history of the LCBS.  You see, back in 1987 Steve Marino started 'Dungeon Comics'. P.J. Wahlquist managed the shop from 1987 to 1994.  The ownership changed to Blake Phillips shortly after the shop started.

It wasn't until 1995 that Ralph Mathieu purchased the shop and changed the name to 'Alternate Reality Comics'.  That is what the shop is still named, 20 years afterwards!

The back cover had the only 'ad' in the comic book.  All that you need to find the shop in Las Vegas, with address, store hours, online web site, photo of the store owners, (including Katherine Keller),and their own Facebook Fan Page!

This is a pretty good promotional comic book in my opinion!  It hits on all eight cylinders!

Definitely rates a Near Mint (NM) 9.4 out of a 10.0 comic book grading guide in my estimation!

My thanks to Ralph for bringing this to my attention at the 2015 Comic-Con International.  And Congrats on owning the LCBS for the past 20 years!  Let you hang in there for 20 more should you like to do so!!

~ 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'!

---

Michael D Hamersky On Comics Is Pleased To Mention...   The 'Lost' Comics Documentary of 1978 - As Presented At the 2014 Comic-Con International by John Siuntres!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #4010-    One of the panels / programs at Comic-Con International that I attended this year was the program titled:  "The Lost 1978 Comic Book Documentary" held on Thursday night.  This is what the program was supposed to be about:

John Siuntres (Word Balloon Comics Podcast host) and Mark Waid (Thrillbent Comics) present this rarely seen in the U.S. short film. In 1978 the Canadian TV Show Behind The Scene produced a 20-minute look at the comic book business featuring footage shot at the offices of DC and Marvel Comics. Narrated by comedian Jonathan Winters, the film stands as a time capsule look at how comics were made and marketed in the pre-digital world of the mid-20th century. You'll see footage and comments from Stan Lee, Archie Goodwin, Neal Adams, Julie Schwartz, Denny O'Neil, Jim Steranko, John Romita, and many more! The audience will get the chance to answer trivia questions about the footage they see and win prizes.

Well... The audience and I were captured by this documentary that was aired!  Seriously folks, this was a vintage documentary shot during 1978 and hasn't been shown elsewhere per John Siuntres.

Indeed there were a lot of questions asked after the program was shown.  There was a lot of interest in this documentary, and John is working on how to get this program shown elsewhere legally.

I for one was amazed to see early shots of Jim Steranko, and John Romita Jr., among those pictured in this documentary.  I have seen both of those mentioned recently at comic cons and it is "strange" to see how they looked in 1978.  This is truly an amazing documentary, and I wish John all the luck in getting the film ready for publication world wide!

~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'!

---