Mood:
caffeinatedTopic: Comic Book History
TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3599 - I just finished reading the book titled 'Taco Titan - The Glenn Bell Story' by Debra Lee Baldwin that was published in 1999, but the paperback edition was first published in 2002. There's a few reasons why I chose to place this book in my 'to read stack'. First, because Tina and I do frequent a Taco Bell in Vista, and that we used to visit 'Bell Gardens' in Valley Center. As a matter of fact, it was at 'Bell Gardens' that I first learned about Glen Bell, who founded Taco Bell in 1962. However, I didnt' know that Glen had started a 'Bell's Hamburgers' place back in 1947, nor that he had started Taco-Tia in 1953, and 'El Taco' in 1957! Glen was a true pioneer in the fast food industry, starting right after the McDonald Brothers did in the same region of Southern California. The book, Taco Titan: The Glen Bell Story I wish that I had had the opportunity to meet him at Bell Gardens, but he wasn't there the times we had driven up there to check out the farm, the produce stand, and take the miniature train ride around the farm. Glen died after this book was published, on January 16th of 2010, at age 86. The book goes into the fact that Glen was a hard worker, a founder of fast food chains, and a friend to those that he helped guide to building their own chains; 'Del Taco' and 'Der Wienerschnitzel' to name a couple. Glen also knew good marketing methods. This was shown at all ot the Grand Openings of the early Taco Bells. He used searchlights, free sombreros, mariachis bands, etc. Glen eventually worked himself out of the day to day operations of the business, and became a member of the Board of Directors, but was always looking for a new start-up venture. I'm sure he would have been pleased with the two sets of promo comics that Taco Bell has promoted recently, the first one in 2009, and the second one in 2011. Here is the link to those promo comic books that were published in conjunction with Marvel Comics. The 2009 set included the Avengers, Captain America, the Fantastic Four, and Thor. The 2011 set included the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and the X-Men. So, it was pretty cool to read this book, about the man who started several fast food chains, and built the 'Bell Gardens' in Valley Center that we enjoyed visiting, (it is closed now), among other ventures. An added bonus was the fact that Taco Bell has promoted comic books twice now, via Marvel Comics! My 'comic book grade' for the book is a NEAR MINT (NM) 9.4 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grading scale. The book was well researched, presented in a very readable format, and had 'lessons' shown after each chapter, encapsulating pearls of wisdom from Glen himself. Add to that the great photos during the decades, and an index... This is a good book to read! And don't forget the comics from Taco Bell / Marvel Comics! ~Michael D Hamersky On Comics!
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, starts with Glen's birth, his parents, and the places where he lived while a child. However it was his start in the fast food industry that grabbed my attention, plus the "Glen's Recipes For Success" that really grabbed my attention.
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