Is Taking Place On January 11th, 2009!

 My Facebook Friend Vyxsin Fiala,(pictured at the left)... sent me an invite to this Con the same day I received a flyer for it in our PO Box!

Kynt and Vyxsin of the CBS TV Series 'Amazing Race' fame will be at this convention. They will be appearing in the autograph area. If you are a fan of theirs and can't attend, then check out their Facebook pages for additional photos if you are a Facebook member! 

Also there will be Rhona Mitra (pictured at the top left of the blog post in armor), and Kevin Grevioux attending. They are the stars of the Third 'Underworld' Film, 'Rise Of The Lycans', that will be previewed at 12:00 PM on January 11th. I am seeing several commercials on TV for this soon to be released film.

Plus there is the World Premiere Exclusive of 'Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight', which will air on the CW4KIDS Television Network.  Attendees at this con will meet the directors and several of the stars who will be on stage at 2:00 PM. The program is intended to give you a 'behind the scenes look' at the series.

Details for this Con:

Where: SHRINE Auditorium Expo Center, 700 West 32nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007

When: Sunday January 11th, 10am to 5pm

Cost: $8.00, (5 Years and under are Free)

More Details at:  comicbookscifi.com

For those of you that are new to our blog today and can't go to the above Con, we also have an ongoing 'Comic Con and Pop Culture Convention'  here at "Make It So Marketing Inc.", what with our daily blog posts substituting for con programs,  and new listings of items for sale in our online eBay Featured Store! 

But Only In Select Bookstores So Far!

 Griffin Waldau... one of my newest Facebook Friends informs me that the latest issue of Dapper Chap Quarterly was just released!

Griffin states that the 64 page black & white issue, (with a color cover), sports brand new works from Alex Hemming, Mike Freiheit, Raymond Sohn, Jason Estrin, Stefanie Schrank, Tim Sinaguglia, and Neil Iannone and of course Griffin Waldau.

This issue is called "The Music Issue". It is a comics anthology, and there is an opportunity to view a few pages prior to buying it.

You can check out the preview pages at:

www.wondersmitten.com/store_dapper_chap_preview.html 

This issue's cover price is $7.00; if bought online there is an additional $1.50 for handling and shipping.

Comics anthologies are usually a little harder to keep published on an ongoing basis. So I try to encourage more readership to the ones that I am made aware and find of interest.

Ask about this issue at your LCBS, or you can purchase it online from Griffin. The distribution is not yet nation-wide, so far only in NYC and Brooklyn and also in Asheville, North Carolina, thus online ordering may be your best opportunity to obtain a copy. The preview page has a link to online ordering using PayPal.

Reissued By Author Thomas G Lammers!

 One of the best references I have seen regarding the Atlas Comics 'Implosion'... was an article that originally appeared in Alter Ego #49 (June 2005)!

Why do I bring this up in our Blog? Because the mainstream public that also reads this Blog doesn't really know that much about 'Atlas Comics', even though 'Easter Eggs' like the issue of Mystery Tales #40 seen above, was placed in an episode of last season's 'Lost' TV Show. (Click here for that blog post.)

With all the 'Marvel' Films now being released, most mainstream viewers are thinking that 'Marvel' is basically a superheroes publishing company.  Well, years before Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four and others were created in the Marvel Universe, the company was known as 'Atlas Comics'.

Among the Atlas Comic Books that hit the newstands from Publisher Martin Goodman and Editor Stan Lee were: Strange Tales, Dippy Duck, Patsy and Hedy, Yellow Claw, Homer the Happy Ghost, Sherry The Showgirl and many more. What happened to make "Atlas Comics", a publisher with scores of titles in all types of comics genres, into what is known as 'Marvel Comics' today?

The answers were printed in a privately published book, "Tales of the Implosion: A History of the 1957 Atlas Implosion". The book was a revised and expanded version of the printed article, "Atlas shrugged. A detailed look at the 1957 'Atlas Implosion' and its effect on comics," which appeared in the magazine Alter Ego (vol. 3) 49: 45-67  in June of 2005.

This book was originally published in 2005, went OOP, and is now re-issued and available once again at the original price, $12 postpaid to any USA or Canada mailing address.  To order this book, e-mail Tom Lammers at tlammers @ new.rr.com if you cannot find it at your usual sources.

Some reference materials never go out of date, but they do sometimes go out of print (OOP)... so this re-issue is a blessing for those that want to know more about the mid-decade of what is now known as 'Marvel Comics'!

January 23rd thru 25th, 2009!

 For those of you that haven't seen Erin Gray before... and live within driving of the Phoenix ComiCon, this may be your opportunity!

I would say that most of the readers of this blog would best know of Erin as a star from a popular TV Show from the late 1970's...

Erin's role as the sleek sophisticated "Colonel Wilma" in the "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" made her name a household word at that time, which continues to this day!

As a brief bio:  

Erin Gray was born January 7th, 1950 in Honolulu. She later moved with her family from Hawaii to California when she was eight years old and stayed in the area graduating from Pacific Palisades High School.

When she was fifteen she had a chance meeting with Nina Blanchard, who was then head of one of Hollywood's top model agencies.  

Seeking to make it in modeling, she moved to New York, where she became one of the town's most sought-after models.  She was in a tier of models who were on TV like Farrah Fawcett, Veronica Hamel and Susan Blakely. I definitely remember her from the 'English Leather cologne ads' where she would declare: "My men wear English Leather--or they wear nothing at all!" .

With that commercial and others for Breck, Clairol, and RC Cola, it was only a matter of time before movie-TV offers came in. She had studied acting with well-known coach Warren Robertson while doing TV commericals.

Universal signed her to a seven-year contract based on her initial performances on TV. She was then cast as a tough-minded newspaper reporter in Irwin Shaw's 'Evening in Byzantium' in 1978. Her performance in that role scored with both critics and audiences, and that led directly to her role in "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" starting in 1979.

Buck Rogers has been on screen and in print during the many decades since his creation. Buck Rogers has also been the subject of a few comic book stories.

I blogged about the TV Show,  "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century", being printed in comic book format a while back. Click here to view that archived blog post!

Erin Gray has gone on to do other projects since the TV Show ened, but it is because of her role as "Colonel Wilma Deering" that she is at this convention!

For those that may be able to make this con, here are the details for the Phoenix Comic Con:

Where:  Phoenix Comicon 2009 is being held at the Mesa Convention Center. The Mesa Convention Center is a full-service event facility located in the heart of downtown Mesa, Arizona. The Center is conveniently located just 20 minutes from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, and is easily accessed via the Loop 202, Loop 101, and US 60.

When: January 23rd thru 25th

Cost:

Full 3 Day Membership Purchased At The Door $35

Friday Single Day Membership $20
Saturday Single Day Membership $25
Sunday Single Day Membership $15

For additional details:  phoenixcomicon.com

There are also others who will be present at the Phoenix Comic Con, including Jeff Mariotte (click here for our blog about Jeff), and Noel Neill, (click here for our blog about Noel)!

As Mentioned By Bob Eubanks During The Rose Parade January 1st, 2009!

Yes, that is one of our traditions... that Tina and I see one of the repeated showings on New Year's Day of the Rose Parade from Pasadena!

I personally enjoy watching the equestrian units go by, as quite often there is some famous cowboy or cowgirl riding in the parade.

This year, according to Bob Eubanks, who once again was co-host of KTLA's coverage of The Rose Parade, (the 120th Anniverary of the Parade this year!), Monte Hale is the last remaining cowboy from the Republic Films Cowboys Era, that included:

John Wayne, Rex Allen, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Gabby Hayes, Wild Bill Elliott and several more.