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caffeinatedTopic: Comic Books - New
TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3201: Those that have been reading this blog for the last two weeks will know that I was very enthusiastic about the 41st Comic-Con International: San Diego that ended on Sunday, July 25th! Because I have done nothing but blog about what to expect there, what panels / programs to see, and what I picked up there to read! Today will be no different! That's because we picked up a lot of back issues from TwoMorrow Publishing at this Comic-Con! I always see John Morrow at least at the Annual Jack Kirby Tribute that Mark Evanier moderates, if not also at his Exhibit Floor Booth. This year was no different! I was introduced to John's "Jack Kirby Collector" years ago and at one time had a subscription to that fine magazine. It was only after he increased the size of the mag to oversized that I stopped subscribing...Only due to the USPS not properly placing it in my PO Box, and opted to buy the issues direct at the San Diego Comic Con each year at the TwoMorrows booth! Besides 'The Jack Kirby Collector', John also publishes other magazines under the TwoMorrows banner. One that I enjoy a lot is Roy Thomas' Comics Fanzine, Alter Ego! This blog will review the latest issue that we picked up at the Comic-Con. This particular issue and back issues of this magazine can be found for sale in our online store, ComicBooksCircus.com! So what's this issue about? Here's the promo blurb about this issue:
July 2010 - 84 pages Now featuring a 16-page FULL-COLOR section each issue! In ALTER EGO #95 (84 pages, $7.95): Who says a comic book has to be good? NOT BRAND ECHH, from 1967-69! Behind a fabulous cover by MARIE SEVERIN, we feature a look at Marvel’s madcap parody mag, with rare art and artifacts by ROSS ANDRU, GENE COLAN, JOHN BUSCEMA, STAN DRAKE, BILL EVERETT, GARY FRIEDRICH, JACK KIRBY, STAN LEE, the SEVERIN siblings, FRANK SPRINGER, TOM SUTTON, ROY THOMAS, HERB TRIMPE, and more! Plus the conclusion of our cataclysmic GEORGE KASHDAN interview—FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) with C.C. BECK and MARC SWAYZE, and spotlighting Mary Marvel on TV—MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER’s COMIC CRYPT, and more! Edited by Roy Thomas.
I found her to be very charming, witty and a lot of fun to talk with. I appreciated meeting her, especially as I enjoyed her superhero work when I was younger, and yes, especially her work in NOT Brand Echh! So this section on NOT Brand Echh! was a familar read to me. The first article was "Echh" Marks The Spot! by Roy Thomas. Excellent review of the 13 issues of this series. Basically because Roy Thomas would know the history of this series very well, because as he stated, it was he "Who Was There!". For those of YOU that have a fondness for this series, this article is an excellent read. Plus there are photos of the covers, and of the comics people who contributed so much to this short lived series. Plus Roy adds on a few pages on "Beyond Not Brand Echh", including Crazy the comic, Crazy the Magazine, and Arrgh! which were published in similar veins of this Not Brand Echh comic book. Then there is the interview with Marie Severin conducted and transcribed by Bernie Hogya back in 1977. A really good interview, and well illustrated in the four pages allocated to this feature. I really enjoyed both articles that made up the cover feature. The next article was "The DC Editors Got Into Arguments, Part III". Which was on George Kashdan On Editing and Writing Comics In the Golden Age. Conducted by Jim Amash, and transcribed by Brian K Morris. Even though it was Part III, and I not yet read Parts I & II, the interview was one I picked up on right away. George Kashdan spoke up right away, and spoke freely, and frankly. Matter of fact, more frankly than most comics people when being interviewed. Almost reminded me of Gil Kane who when I saw him on panels at comic cons, who would speak his mind clearly and frankly. This article would be of interest to those interested in those DC days that George Kashdan was on the scene. Mr. Monster's Comic Crypt section was next. This is by Michael T Gilbert. This section is always illustrated profusely and ties in very well with the text. This issue's feature was no different. A good read once again. The next article was on 'Crudzine: Steve Gerber's Fanzine That Couldn't Shoot Straight'. I had not known about this one shot publication from years ago. The article was 'An Appreciation of Sorts by Roy Thomas', presented by CFA Editor Bill Schelly. Interesting reading. 'Shel Dorf (1933-2009) "The Supreme Fan of Comics" by Mark Evanier' was the next article, (one page). I read this after reading Mark's earlier mentions of Shel's passing in his on POV column online. Another one page In Memoriam article was printed next. Jim Harmon (1933-2010) "Mr. Radio" by Don Glut. I've read articles by Don before, but did not know of Jim Harmon. P.C. Hamerlinck's FCA section was the last section in this issue. FCA stands for 'Fawcett Collectors of America". This section is considered to be "Issue #154" of FCA. Which is printed as a type of 'insert' in the Alter Ego now. You know...I never was a big Captain Marvel Fan (Fawcett's original Captain Marvel - Not Marvel Comics' Captain Marvel), but I usually find some good reading in this section. Whew! That's a lot of reading in 84 pages! Of course there are some ads, and also in-house ads, but the vast majority of this issue's pages are of historical content. Once again a Good Read! My comic book grade for this issue #95 of Alter Ego is a NEAR MINT (NM) 9.4 grade out of a 10.0 grading scale. Once again worth the time reading and money invested in buying this title. BTW, We have a baker's dozen of this title's back issues for sale as this blog 'goes to print', and will be listing a couple hundred more in the days to follow. You can find those issues of 'Alter Ego' listed here. --------------------------- Again, my thanks to John Morrow of TwoMorrows Publishing for publishing his line of magazines. Plus it was great to see you at the San Diego Comic-Con again this year! PLUS...My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at the 3,200 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog! ~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com
http://www.comicbookscircus.com/
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Quite honestly I've got to tell you that I have met Marie Severin a few times before at this Comic-Con in San Diego. I haven't seen her there in a few years, so the photo here and at the top left is from 2001, which happens to be the same time period of the self caricature she illustrated that was used for this issue's cover.
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