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Monday, May 4, 2009
Free Comic Book Day In San Diego Part II
Mood:  d'oh
Topic: Comic Books - New

 

Click here to see all of our NEWLY LISTED illustrated graphic novels, magazines and comics.

Tina With Storm Trooper @ Crazy Fred's, La Mesa

   

Free Comic Book Day In San Diego

Part II

As Seen By ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Click Here To See Our ENDING SOONEST Listings of Comics, Graphic Novels, Promo Comics and other Pop Culture items listed for sale!

Michael With Rob Nazimowitz, Store Owner @ Invincible Ink in San Marcos

This is Part II of our blog post series on FCBD in San Diego metro area... As stated in Part I, I've been blogging about Free Comic Book Day Signings for several weeks that were happening nationwide... 

It was only on last Thursday that I realized there were none listed for the San Diego Metro Area!  As Tina remarked to me when I told her of this... "How ironic considering that San Diego is home to the world renowned Comic Con International held yearly at the San Diego Convention Center".

As mentioned in Part I, San Diego Metro area has 18 Local Comic Book Stores (LCBS).  For those of you familiar with the area, I am including from North County out to East County down to the South Bay as being in the metro area.   BTW, we used to have 20 but the only comic book store 'chain' in San Diego Metro closed their Carlsbad Mall and Escondido Mall stores just recently.

I had called all the stores on last Thursday to find out if they were participating in Saturday's FCBD in some manner.  I was surprised to learn that 5 of the 18 were not, and none had signings planned, although one had scheduled a signing which was now cancelled.

I'm not going to 'rehash' the visits to the five LCBS we visited earlier.  See Part I for that!

So I am going to pick up where we were on our 'road trip' in search of FCBD in San Diego. We were attempting to hit all 13 stores that would be 'participating' in some manner for FCBD. 

Please note:  There was no way that with 130 miles driven and 8 1/2 hrs spent at the LCBS and driving, that we would be at each store at their maximum 'peak' time to see everything.  So the following is just our opinions based on what we saw for FCBD activities only.  Neither Part I or Part II are 'critiques' of the LCBS, just our impressions of how the LCBS presented themselves on FCBD itself. 

Again, "hats off" to the 13 local stores that participated in whatever manner.  At least you tried to make comics known in some fashion to non-comics readers.  For the rest of you five stores that we didn't visit because you stated you weren't going to participate at all,  well... no comment here in Part II either...

After leaving Plaza Bonita Mall in Bonita / Chula Vista, Tina and I continued driving up to National City area again. 

While on the road I called the store owner @ Comic Odyssey on my cell phone asking if his UPS shipment of FCBD special comics had come in yet.  On Friday he stated he had not received his shipment in yet.  I know the owner of this store, have bought his backstock for resale before, so I have no reason not to believe him on the UPS story.  He did state that if they hadn't come in by 4:00PM that he would put out some of his own back issues in lieu of the FCBD special editions.  Tina and I elected not to get off the freeway to travel inland to his store in the East area of National City.

 Click Here To See Our MARVEL SUPERHEROES Comics, Graphic Novels, Promo Comics and other Pop Culture items listed for sale!  Thus we continued on to the city of La Mesa where a 'new store' to me was our next stop.  I had not heard of this store before, although it is now in its' third year of operation.  Before entering the LCBS itself, Tina and I saw the Storm Trooper along with the two gals holding the FCBD Banner outside on the heavily traveled street.  Both Tina and I took pics of each other with the Storm Trooper, but I am just publishing hers at the top left of this blog post.   Upon entering the LCBS, I saw that it was a mixture of gaming and comics, which several LCBS have gone to in recent years to survive.  Crazy Fred actually turned out to be a guy I recognized from a store he used to work at in the Allied Gardens part of San Diego, the old 'Comic City'.  Crazy Fred was very informative and welcomed us to his store.  The FCBD selection was approximately half of the total selection that could be seen on the FCBD web site, which showed 40 different FCBD specially printed comics.  We were told that we could each pick out 5 FCBD comics. We also purchased a couple of other comics, as Tina had not seen the 'Fringe' TV Show Limited Series Comics.  

Click Here To See Our DC SUPERHERO Comics, Graphic Novels, Promo Comics and other Pop Culture items listed for sale!  After leaving La Mesa, we headed East toward El Cajon.  Off of I-8 in a huge warehouse type of building was the 'Flagship'  of the Comic n' Stuff chain.  I wanted to stop here, altho we already had limited success at finding FCBD comics at the other stores in this chain.  Here there was again no outside mention of FCBD, and inside the store the FCBD Special Edition Comics were nowhere to be found, even behind the sales counter like the others stores in this chain!  OK, we then saw a customer looking at a notebook binder, flipping vinyl pages that held comics.  Oh, those were the FCBD Comics you could choose from!  And yeah, just like the others in this LCBS Chain, you were limited to 1 comic.  Funny thing is, the notebook binder held FCBD Special Edition comics going back to at least 2005 that I recognized!   Well I still bought some bargain bin back issues for resale to make the trip here worthwhile, and stood and made my choice of FCBD comic.   BTW, I know the owner of this LCBS chain, and he is a nice guy.  I always buy boxes of comics from his booths at the SDCC each year. Again this blog post is just about the FCBD event at each of the stores in his chain that we visited. And again, this was a very limited participation for what is now a 5 store chain. 

Click Here To See Our CGC GRADED Comics, Graphic Novels, Promo Comics and other Pop Culture items listed for sale!  By now it was late afternoon.  I had left SoCal Comics for the end of the day in San Diego itself before seeing the last two on our list on the way back home.  This store was the only one that had mentioned having a 'signing' but when I called on Friday to confirm, Jamie, the store owner, had told me it had been cancelled.  Having seen several successful FCBD events here in the past few years, I decided to check out the further South LCBS first, before heading here.  Tina and I walked up to the outside FCBD table to discover that almost all of the FCBD editions were already gone!  Matter of fact, there were several back issues of comics that had been pulled from store stock to make the table look fuller!   What had happened was that the FCBD event here was the most successful one yet in this LCBS's history, and that there was even a signer there earlier!  Mark Irwin, inker on the Dark Horse 'Aliens' series had been there for a few hours, much to the pleasure of the crowd that had been there.  Also there was a table with a collector's personal collection of G.I. Joe action figures, which had added to the event.  Sorry to say, Tina and I had missed the Event, and indeed almost all of the FCBD comics!  However, I was pleased to hear this, because Jamie's store is where I buy most of my comics supplies for rebagging and reboarding collections that we buy from other collectors.  Although Tina and I did not personally see all of what happened earlier in the day at this LCBS, I would believe what Jamie told us, due to our years of purchasing at his store.    

Click Here To See Our JUNGLE AND ADVENTURE Comics, Graphic Novels, Promo Comics and other Pop Culture items listed for sale!  It was now close to 5:15 PM when we got back on the road.  I knew that the next two stores were open till 7 and 8PM respectively.   We pulled into the parking lot in Mira Mesa where Artifex was located.  I have been there before, and already knew it was basically a 'gaming store'.  Indeed their store sign lists Games then Cards, and Comics last.  Tina had never been to this store on the weekend.  Both sections of the store were full to capacity with gamers playing in tournaments.   There was a table at the side of the cash register where only 1 FCBD special edition was at.  Of course it would have to been the FCBD Wolverine issue!   At the same time we were there, a father and his young son were there for comics.  The young son was disappointed in that there was only Wolverine, and only 3 copies of that left on the table.   I showed Tina how the back issues of comics that are normally on the gaming tables were taken off and piled up along the side of the store.  That was where Tina found a box full of FCBD Wolverine comics that had not been placed on the table near the cash register.  Of course this was late in the day, and gaming had completely taken over the store.  Tina commented to me that this store reminded her of the gambling tables we have seen at several casinos, what with all the noise and activities going on, the most gamers she had ever seen at any store...

Click Here To See Our HoRRoR and MoNSTer Comics, Graphic Novels, Promo Comics and other Pop Culture items listed for sale!  The next store was one that Tina and I had seen a flyer for at the Movie Theater Complex we normally see first run movies at.  This LCBS had a great flyer promoting the Watchmen GN and other comics at their store, but we had not gotten around to driving over there since seeing the Watchmen film on March 6th.  So here we both were, looking for this LCBS for the first time.  The store signage was very visible along the very busy street in San Marcos, and in a great shopping center!  Very easy to find, with the word 'Comics' in plain view. (See photo.)  Again this was very late in the day, yet there were still customers coming in for the FCBD comics!  Rob, the LCBS owner, had retained the services of his friend Matt to help him during this special day, and both of them helped us and the other customers at this store.  The only thing was, that even though this was the end of FCBD 2009, Rob still had his '5 only' FCBD comics limit, which was surprising to me because of the late hour.  However this store is so clean and so organized that it could be a store that Tina and I would frequent just to pick up the new issues of comic book series that Tina got turned on to during this FCBD, ( those being EuREKA and Fringe).  Tina even commented that this LCBS was just like a 'boutique' which would be inviting to women as well as men.  

This ends Part II of my Blog post series of FCBD in San Diego 2009. Again, these two blog posts are our Opinions of the FCBD events held at each LCBS.  Final tally, of the 13 'participating' LCBS, we physically saw 9, plus 1 that we couldn't find a parking space to enter the mall, and 2 others in the Chain we deemed not worth while driving to for 1 FCBD comic.  Plus 1 that didn't get their FCBD comics shipment in.   We leave it up to you, our Blog Readers to draw whatever conclusions you wish about what FCBD was all about in San Diego...

As for us, we may possibly continue this series in a Part III of this Blog post series tentatively titled...  "The State of the Comics Industry In San Diego"...

For those of you that are new to our blog today, we also have an ongoing 'Comic Con and Pop Culture Convention'  here at "Make It So Marketing Inc.", what with our daily blog posts,  and new listings of items for sale in our online eBay Featured StoreThanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!
 
~ Michael  (and Tina)

 

Now Celebrating the 10th Year On The Web!

"Hammering Out the Web
For You Since May 12th, 1998!"

Click Here to see our Reviews on Comics, TPBs, Graphic Novels, & DVDs! 

Note: If you work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!

To mail printed items to us for review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc
PO Box 130653
Carlsbad, CA 92013

   
     

 

 

Thank You For Being One Of This Blog's

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

Michael is shown below in a photo from the 1973 San Diego Comic Con held at the Sheraton Hotel on Harbor Island in San Diego, California.

Click Here to see 'My World at eBay!

If you are a Facebook member and want to join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'.

 


Posted by makeitsomarketing at 1:42 PM PDT
Updated: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 3:59 PM PDT
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Sunday, May 3, 2009
Free Comic Book Day In San Diego - Part 1
Mood:  d'oh
Topic: Comic Books - New

 

Click here to see all of our NEWLY LISTED illustrated graphic novels, magazines and comics.

Tina & Michael @ ComicKaze, San Diego

   

Free Comic Book Day In San Diego

Part I

As Seen By ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Click Here To See Our ENDING SOONEST Listings of Comics, Graphic Novels, Promo Comics and other Pop Culture items listed for sale!

Tina & Michael @ Comic Gallery, Claremont area, San Diego

I've been blogging about Free Comic Book Day Signings for several weeks... On Thursday I realized there were none listed for the San Diego Metro Area!  How ironic considering that San Diego is home to the world renowned Comic Con International held yearly at the San Diego Convention Center.

San Diego Metro currently has 18 Local Comic Book Stores (LCBS).  For those of you familiar with the area, I am including from North County to East County down to the South Bay in the area. BTW, we used to have 20 but one in Carlsbad and one in Escondido have closed down recently.

I called all the stores on Thursday to find out if they were participating in Saturday's FCBD. I was surprised to learn that five were not, and none had signings planned. 

With Comic Con less than three months away and 4-day passes already sold out, I was amazed that so few stores were taking advantage of the publicity for FCBD. Coming on the heels of the first big summer movie opening for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, you'd think retailers would be anxious to capitalize on the the public's interest in comics.

Okay, so I crossed those 5 off the go-to list for Saturday.  That left 13 LCBS to visit... Tina rolled her eyes at me when I suggested that we attempt to hit all 13 stores. 

We hit the road at 10:30 AM Saturday. 130 miles and 8 1/2 hrs later, here's our report on Free Comic Book Day in San Diego:

First, "hats off" to the 13 local stores that participated in some way for FCBD.   For the rest of you, all I can say is ... "What's Up Doc?"! 

 Click Here To See Our TV and Movie Comics, Graphic Novels, Promo Comics and other Pop Culture items listed for sale!  We started at Comic Gallery in Claremont which has been opened for 26 continous years.  It also turned out to be the BEST participation in our opinion.  Everyone visiting the store had an opportunity for ONE EACH of the FCBD special editions, except for about ten issues which you could pick up five of the ten.  This was the most liberal FCBD policy we saw at the 9 stores we visited.  Plus, Comic Gallery took smart advantage of the high-volume traffic.  Tina is a Marketing Consultant whereas my forte is in Comics.  That being said, Tina was very impressed with how the store owner, Steve, had a 30% off sale going on for many items in the store.  I was pleased that this LCBS had a bargain bin, which I've never seen there before.  

Click Here To See Our CARTOON Comics, Graphic Novels, Promo Comics and other Pop Culture items listed for sale!  ComicKaze in San Diego was our next stop.  There we were 'greeted' by a large line of patrons standing in line with their FCBD comics.  However there was a limit to FIVE ONLY of the FCBD special editions.  It looked to Tina like most of the people standing in the long line were just there for the FCBD comics.  However, as the line progressed, a few of the 'patrons' decided to pick up something that was close to them in line, possibly to make it 'worth their while' standing in line.  This was a far cry from the previous store we visited, where those 'patrons' actually had multiple comics to purchase, and / or action figures, graphic novels or character busts.  When we finally reached the counter, we learned the long line was due to the fact that the store was scanning the 'SKU' number of each FCBD comic book for tracking purposes.  This was the only store we visited that did so. Thanks to Robert, the store owner, this store did have the BEST FCBD signage though, (see photo). The great signage coupled with its location in a popular strip mall, brought in high numbers for the FCBD comics.

Click Here To See Our SIGNED Comics, Graphic Novels, Promo Comics and other Pop Culture items listed for sale!  I used to shop this next LCBS a lot years ago when it was known as Comic Kingdom.  This store is located in the Hillcrest section of San Diego.   Marilyn has been there for many years, and is knowledgeable about the comics displayed for sale.  Unfortunately, there was minimal signage for FCBD, and this now tiny store front had a small handful of patrons when we arrived mid-morning.  There was a limit to number of current FCBD offerings, (Five only), but Marilyn did have some other FCBD editions from previous years that she offered to us.  Also, the store's bargain bin had some interesting items I don't normally see, even at Cons.   

Click Here To See Our WESTERNS Comics, Graphic Novels, Promo Comics and other Pop Culture items listed for sale!  The next store we visited was the Comics 'N Stuff in National City.  There was no FCBD mention on the storefront that we could see, and indeed I couldn't find the FCBD comics anywhere until I talked to store manager, Rita, and saw the FCBD issues on the wall behind her.  Each 'patron' could ask for ONE issue... This was a definite 'turn-off' for Tina, although I did get her OK to go to the next Comics 'N Stuff located at Plaza Bonita Mall in the Bonita area of Chula Vista. 

Again, it just wasn't the day for this largest (and only LCBS) chain in the San Diego area.  There was NO parking to be had at the South End of this giant mall, so, realizing there was only one FCBD comic to be had there anyway... we decided to move on.  The next location was another store in this comics chain, and neither Tina nor myself wanted to drive into the heart of Chula Vista to check out the other Mall location.

(To Be Continued in Part 2 of this Blog post...)

For those of you that are new to our blog today, we also have an ongoing 'Comic Con and Pop Culture Convention'  here at "Make It So Marketing Inc.", what with our daily blog posts,  and new listings of items for sale in our online eBay Featured StoreThanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts, and be sure to be here later for Part 2 Of this Series!
 
~ Michael  (and Tina)

 

Now Celebrating the 10th Year On The Web!

"Hammering Out the Web
For You Since May 12th, 1998!"

Click Here to see our Reviews on Comics, TPBs, Graphic Novels, & DVDs! 

Note: If you work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!

To mail printed items to us for review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc
PO Box 130653
Carlsbad, CA 92013

   

Digg! 

     

 

 

Thank You For Being One Of This Blog's

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NOTE:  This Blog Post May Not Be Viewed Properly On YOUR Screen Due To the Changes eBay is Making on the Blog Format At this time OR in the Future!
Additionally, this blog post is written for IE Browsers. Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently. The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768.

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

Michael is shown below in a photo from the 1973 San Diego Comic Con held at the Sheraton Hotel on Harbor Island in San Diego, California.

Click Here to see 'My World at eBay!

If you are a Facebook member and want to join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'.

 


Posted by makeitsomarketing at 12:28 PM PDT
Updated: Monday, May 4, 2009 12:18 PM PDT
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Saturday, May 2, 2009
Did You Know Of The Undersea Adventures Of...
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: TV Shows

 

Click here to see all of our currently listed CARTOON graphic novels, magazines and comics!

 

   

Did You Know Of The Undersea Adventures Of...

Captain Nemo?

Click Here To See Our Current Listings of Comics, Graphic Novels, Promo Comics and other Pop Culture items listed for sale!

A Cartoon Series From 1975!

I ran across some DVD closeouts recently, and picked them up to view later... when my youngest child would be visiting with us.  I like to mix up genres of shows and films that we watch with him, and I was intrigued by the cover of the DVD, which didn't indicate where this cartoon was first shown.

After the three of us watched the episodes, which all appeared to be approximately five minutes long, including the 30 second intro, I had to find out more about the series, because I had never heard of it!  

After doing research I found that 'The Undersea Adventures of Captain Nemo' was a series of five minute cartoons produced in Canada in the mid-1970s. This cartoon series told the story of Captain Mark Nemo and his young assistants, Christine and Robbie, (who are pictured at the top right).  The cartoons would show the three characters in their nuclear powered submarine, which of course was named the Nautilus!

It appears that the cartoons were first introduced in the fall of 1975 on TV.  At first the series was only aired in the USA and Canada.

In the USA, Captain Nemo was actually introduced in the CBS kids show 'Captain Kangaroo'!  Whereas in Canada, a five minute Captain Nemo cartoon was aired during each episode of 'Peanuts and Popcorn' a popular show which was shown on the CBC network.

Okay, so I now knew where the show was initially aired at.  So how did it come about?

Well, it was actually created by Al Guest and Jean Mathieson.  Besides being the creators, they also wore the hats of being the producers, the directors and the writers of this cartoon series!  The name of their studio was Rainbow Animation which was based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

For the actual storyline, this cartoon series of course was 'based' on the original Jules Verne character of Captain Nemo, from Verne's book 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'.

But instead of a mysterious and probably dangerous to the whole world type of character,  this time Captain Nemo was actually depicted as a good guy!  This Captain Nemo was an ocean traveling researcher with the first name of 'Mark', which was used a lot more than 'Captain Nemo' in the series.

Of course being shown on TV, you had to have at least one kid sidekick!  There was actually two kids in this show, Christine and Robbie who actually didn't know that much about the ocean, and were learning from 'Mark' the ways of the Sea!

Okay, I realize that these shows were first created in the mid 1970's, and viewing them today wouldn't exactly translate the same today.  Which is why I had my youngest son view this with us.

The cartoons were meant to be 'educational',  but seen in today's times, the 'insight' into what kids were being shown about marine biology or oceanography doesn't come across as well.   I have to remember about the times that 'cartoon violence' caused a lot of adults to be against superheroes cartoons, or that too much sword and sorcery would rot the kids minds.  So what was wanted a nice easy going more educational type of cartoons to balance out kids programming during those times.

Well in this cartoon series we see a 'one world order' and kids that shouldn't have been on such an undersea machine due to their lack of knowledge of their surroundings.  This inexperience caused them to be in danger several times during the series.

The limited animation in the series does affect the storyline, and the re-using of some scenes when the episodes are viewed all at once on a DVD compilation is seen easily.  Of course when originally shown, a young viewer wouldn't have caught such cost saving devices.

Yes, I do realize that the lighthearted style does keep the over the top, (IMHO),  of the environmentalist movement portrayed in this 1970's cartoon from being too 'right on', but the show somehow comes over a little 'cheesy' to me, my wife, and even my 11 year old son when viewed today.

This cartoon series in time was broadcast world wide, and built a fan base in re-runs.  It's a shame I didn't find this sooner than 34 years later.  It could have a good thing for my other children to have watched when they were growing up and not having been exposed yet to Star Wars, etc.  As for today's kids, it would have to be for the really young set to truly enjoy this cartoon series on DVD...

And no, I'm not taking away from those that grew up with this show in the 1970's.  Heck, I too like a cartoon series, this one from the 1960's, which also had limited animation and would be considered 'cheesy' today, that of the Marvel Superheroes cartoons!  

Again, it would appear that each person's 'Golden Age' of cartoons, comics, or TV Shows would be from their own experience, usually around 12-13 years of age.  There are some things that time just doesn't take away from us personally, just that those same things don't always translate well for today's generation...

For those of you that are new to our blog today, my wife and I also have an ongoing online 'Comic Con and Pop Culture Convention'  here at "Make It So Marketing Inc.", what with our daily blog posts, and new listings of items for sale in our online eBay Featured Store

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!!

~ Michael  (and Tina)

 

Now Celebrating the 10th Year On The Web!

"Hammering Out the Web
For You Since May 12th, 1998!"

Click Here to see our Reviews on Comics, TPBs, Graphic Novels, & DVDs! 

Note: If you work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!

To mail printed items to us for review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc
PO Box 130653
Carlsbad, CA 92013

   
     

 

 

Thank You For Being One Of This Blog's

Site Meter
NOTE:  This Blog Post May Not Be Viewed Properly On YOUR Screen Due To the Changes eBay is Making on the Blog Format At this time OR in the Future!
Additionally, this blog post is written for IE Browsers. Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently. The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768.

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

Michael is shown below in a photo from the 2008 San Diego Comic Con International, along with a few other well know characters from Star Wars!

Click Here to see 'My World at eBay!

If you are a Facebook member and want to join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'.

 


Posted by makeitsomarketing at 6:25 AM PDT
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Friday, May 1, 2009
Saturday May 2nd is FCBD 2009....
Mood:  surprised
Topic: Comic Books - New

 

 

Click here to see our current listings of MARVEL SUPERHEROES Graphic Novels, Comics, Toys, and Magazines for Sale!

Marvel Comics Has a 2009 FCBD Comic!

  

FCBD?

That's The Acronym For

"Free Comic Book Day"

And It's Happening May 2nd, 2009*

Oh, And Tell 'Em Wolverine Sent You!

*FCBD is being held In several locales, but not all...  I have been posting here in my Blog that there are several Local Comic Book Stores (LCBS) in parts of the nation that will be having comic book creator signings in conjunction with distribution special printed FCBD Comics!

Those are LCBS that have elected to participate in the Eighth Annual Free Comic Book Day (FCBD), PLUS have comic book creators at their location for signings.  In addition some LCBS are having food, bands, and even parties!

Well, I've been so busy with a couple of projects the past two weeks that I hadn't stopped to check out who was signing in our own San Diego Metro area tomorrow...

Imagine my surprise when I found only ONE creator signing listed in this sprawling metropolis and county of 3,000,000+ persons. And when I called to find out what hours the signing was... I found that the signing was cancelled even though the FCBD comics would be distributed!   Sheesh!

I immediately started calling all the known stores in the area to find out if they had any signing I had missed... no.. nada... none!

And HoRRoRs of it all... several were not even participating in the FCBD event!  And this is the day after the new comic book genre film 'X-Men Origins:  Wolverine' film is opening that brings awareness to mainstream folks that comics actually still do exist!

I find this fascinating folks!   San Diego (currently) hosts the largest Comic Con in North America, and this is the local response to the 2009 FCBD event?!

For Tina and I to even attend a true 'signing', we would have to drive to Orange County, which is about an hour or more away. To attend a 'signing' and a true 'event' with a party and food, we would have to drive to San Bernardino County or Los Angeles County, both at least an hour and half to two hours away depending upon traffic.  I know that San Diego is still considered a 'suburb' of Los Angeles, but this is ridiculous!

Well, Tina and I have decided that we will be driving to several of the LCBS in our area tomorrow and 'report' back here what we find.  So 'toon' back in for that blog post either on Sunday or Monday...

Please Note:  I do realize that each LCBS has the option to participate or not in such an event.  And maybe they have in previous years and it didn't work out for them.  Also there may not be any comic book creators living near their store to put on a 'signing' to go along with distributing 'free' FCBD comic book editions...

And of course each privately owned LCBS has the right to put its' own limit(s) on how many free comics that it will distribute.  (Because it does cost each store owner money to purchase the FCBD comics to distribute for free.) S ome stores will only have some, but not all of the many FCBD comics that have printed for this special day because of that cost to them.

Yes, I know I'm only an 'online dealer', and not a LCBS retailer.  I have looked at getting into the field a few times... and still stop in at the special program held each year at the San Diego Comic Con International (SDCC) titled 'So You Want to Be A Comic Book Store Owner?'.   But still... the FCBD event would seem to be a good way of promoting your own LCBS as a tie-in to this Wolverine movie... And this is San Diego County with 3,000,000+ persons here.  With a World Famous Comic Con that trust me... that is widely known here in the area.  So What Am I Missing Here?  Why isn't there more promotion of this event in what you would think is a 'prime' comic book area??

By the way, speaking of Wolverine...  In the video above at the top right of this blog post, it is Hugh Jackman, star of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" who talks about Free Comic Book Day, and the importance of comics in fighting illiteracy at the beginning of the video. 

Of course since this is a tie-in weekend, the FCBD plug is followed by a theatrical trailer for the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" film. But what the heck, both of those clips are good viewing!  Just ask my wife who is a big Hugh Jackman fan, LOL!   (Video used by permission. Copyright 2009, 20th Century Fox, All Rights Reserved.)

I was going to re-post where several of my Facebook Friends are signing at tomorrow and add more... but this post is getting a little lengthy.  For those signings you could check out our archived blog posts for the month of April if you would.  In addition there are several signings listed at the FCBD web site itself that I have not mentioned.  Maybe you'll be luckier than Tina and me and have one closer to you!  Here is the link to the many signings that are going on:   Click here for FCBD Signings link!

And for those of you that are new to our blog today, we have an ongoing online 'Comic Con and Pop Culture Convention' ourselves here at "Make It So Marketing Inc.", what with our daily blog posts,  and new listings of items for sale in our online Store!

However due to the fact that we are online only, and not a brick & mortar store, we won't be participating in this FCBD event this year other than blogging where you can pick these FCBD comics at, and possibly see a comics creator.  And of course we will be checking out the LCBS in our area on FCBD itself!

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!  If you are a Facebook member, You are invited to 'add' our Blog to your network by checking out this link, (Click here to see Blog Network).  Also we have set up a new Facebook Comic Con Dealers Table, which you can check out by clicking here!


~ Michael (and Tina)

 

Now Celebrating the 10th Year On The Web!

"Hammering Out the Web
For You Since May 12th, 1998!"

Click Here to see our Reviews on Comics, TPBs, Graphic Novels, & DVDs! 

Note: If you work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!

To mail printed items to us for review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc
PO Box 130653
Carlsbad, CA 92013

   
     

 

Thank You For Being One Of This Blog's

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Michael is shown below in a photo from the 1973 San Diego Comic Con held at the Sheraton Hotel on Harbor Island in San Diego, California.

Click Here to see 'My World at eBay!

If you are a Facebook member and want to join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'.

 


Posted by makeitsomarketing at 6:40 AM PDT
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Thursday, April 30, 2009
Gene Day Was The Inspiration For...
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Comic Book Artists

 

 

Click here to see our current listings of MARTIAL ARTS Graphic Novels, Comics, Toys, and Magazines for Sale!

  

Gene Day

Was The Inspiration For Several Artists...

Including David Okum!  Earlier this week I blogged about the new novel by William Patrick Maynard titled "The Terror Of Fu Manchu".  This was the first novel in twenty-two years for that series!  

In the blog itself, I mentioned that Marvel Comics had the comic book rights to the Fu Manchu series  and the TV show 'Kung Fu'.  Instead of using either of those directly for a comic book series, Marvel instead created a new main character, and used a few characters from the novel series.  The title of the comic book series was 'Master Of Kung Fu', (MOKF).

When I posted the blog to my Facebook Wall, I had several comments there about the comic book series from ten of my Facebook Friends!  There is still that much interest in this series that was cancelled so many years ago!

First was mentioned a few of the artists that had worked on the series:  Paul Gulacy, Mike Zeck, and Gene Day.  Then the writing of Doug Moench, who FB Friend Steven Thompson said... "The artists on MOKF were great but credit where credit's due, it was writer Doug Moench who took a potentially flash-in-the-pan, fad-based, politically incorrect even at the time concept and made it the best Bond-style comic ever published and arguably the best Marvel comic of its day. Because of that, Master of Kung-Fu would outlast the martial arts movie craze itself by nearly a decade!"

Yet it was the comment by David Okum that got me to thinking about a possible blog post when he typed in the following: "This is the comic that got me reading comics back in the 70s. I always wanted to draw this comic as a kid, but I was afraid to draw the characters because I didn't want to infringe on any copyrights. I absolutely loved Gene Day's work on this comic. This is why I draw comics today".

Not one to pass up such a great sounding story, I followed up with David and asked him if he wouldn't mind expanding on that comment of his.

Here is David Okum's story on how artist Howard Eugene (Gene) Day, (1951 - 1982) was an inspiration for him:

"Growing up in the 70s my favourite comics were the DC Tarzan and Gold Key Star Trek reprints. It was also a time of immense popularity of the Martial Arts and comics companies scrambled to adapt to a changing market.

I remember reading Master of Kung Fu comics in oversized magazine format and then finding the comics in the spinner rack at the local corner store. I was immediately sucked into the stories of the son of Fu Manchu and the secret societies and spy action. It was great fun.

Looking at Paul Gulacy’s art was like watching a James Bond movie and Mike Zeck introduced a real superhero feel to the comic. I noticed the art was getting progressively darker, more intense and realized that someone named Gene Day was inking the comic. Eventually he took over the art chores and I was stunned.

Gene was able to capture likenesses of the characters that really defined them as people in my imagination. Everything was dramatic and mysterious, like a still from film noir movie with driving rain, blowing leaves and expressionistic angles.

Gene Day was the real reason that I wanted to draw comics. I wanted to draw Master Of Kung Fu. I practiced in my sketchbook, but couldn’t quite get it right. I was also afraid of infringing copyrights so the work never saw the light of day.

I tried to apply his aesthetics to the science fiction comics I drew. I had seen some of Gene’s illustrations in roleplaying books such as Call of Cthulhu, Runequest and Space Opera. I found his graphic novel Future Day and really looked forward to his work on the Marvel Star Wars comic.

Harry Kremer told me of his death one day when I went in to buy some comics. He was far too young and had much more work in him. Harry gave me a stack of comics that day, maybe because he felt sorry for me or maybe because he was trying to get rid of them, but I felt a real sense of community in comics that I hadn’t felt before. From that point I knew my career would include art and definitely involve comics in some way.

Reading about Gene later in life I was really impressed with his incredible work ethic, drawing every day. This quote was the inspiration for my drawing a day for 2009. Gene Day continues to be a strong influence on my work and freelance career."


Click Here to see our current listings of  Comics, TPBs, Graphic Novels, & DVDs!  For those of you that don't know of him, David Okum is an artist and teacher from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He has been exhibiting and publishing artwork since 1984.

Since David was kind enough to tell us who his inspiration was by writing the above story, I wanted to tell you a little bit about David here today:

Artwork
David’s artwork is created using traditional and digital methods. Formally trained in painting, drawing and sculpture at the University of Waterloo, David has been using a computer to create art since 1984 when he first used a Commodore 64.  David is a comic book artist and has written and illustrated eight how to draw manga books.

Biography
David was born in 1967 and grew up in Kitchener, Ontario. He attended St. Jerome’s High School and the University of Waterloo. In 1990 he earned his Bachelor of Education at the University of Windsor. In 1991 he returned to Kitchener and began his teaching career. David continues to produce, publish and exhibit his work regularly. In addition, he creates commissioned artwork as well as graphic design work for individuals and organizations.


Published Work
How-To-Draw Books -Writing and Illustration – 2004 – 2008
Manga Martial Arts Madness (2008), Manga Fantasy Madness (2006), Manga Monster Madness (2005), Draw Super Manga (2005), Draw Super Heroes (2005), Draw Super Manga Monsters (2005), Superhero Madness (2004), Manga Madness (2004) – published by F& W Publications

Educational Textbook - Writing and Illustration – 2005
Articles on Manga, comics and the making of manga art.
Inside Track 1 (grade 9 textbook, edited by Robin Pearson and Debbie J. Chambers) Oxford University Press

Comic story on Cryptozoology in Canada – 2008
for yet to be titled Grade 7 Language Arts textbook.
Oxford University Press

Educational Historical Graphic Novels –2006
two titles illustrated for Rubicon/ Scholastic Canada used in schools with reluctant readers.
Napoleon’s Last Stand
The Rebel Prince

Role Playing Game Writing and Illustration – 1999-2003
Illustrations for 6 books for Guardians of Order
Writing and Illustrations for Cold Hands, Dark Hearts Role-playing supplement, Guardians of Order -2003

Mini Meks collectable papercraft miniature game - 2002
Game and Model Design, Writing and Illustrating
Penemue Press

Contraption (Original Steampunk Comic) 1993-1999
Self-published

Freelance writing and art 1984- present
posters, books, articles, t-shirt designs, character design, comics (including work in Ninja High School Annuals by Antarctic Press (1992-1999), games and graphic design created for local and international companies and individuals.


Current Work
Graphic Novels for Rubicon/ Oxford University Press (Boldprint).
Homeplate Heroes (2009)
The Soccer Game (2009)

Paper Miniatures for Penemue Press and a follow up for Mini Meks in late 2009.

For even more on David Okum, you can check out his web site at: http://www.okumarts.com/cv.html

For those of you that are new to our Blog today, we have an ongoing online 'Comic Con and Pop Culture Convention' here at "Make It So Marketing Inc.", what with our daily blog posts,  and new listings of items for sale in our online Store!

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!


~ Michael (and Tina)

 

Now Celebrating the 10th Year On The Web!

"Hammering Out the Web
For You Since May 12th, 1998!"

Click Here to see our Reviews on Comics, TPBs, Graphic Novels, & DVDs! 

Note: If you work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!

To mail printed items to us for review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc
PO Box 130653
Carlsbad, CA 92013

   

Digg! 

     

 

Thank You For Being One Of This Blog's

Site Meter
NOTE:  This Blog Post May Not Be Viewed Properly On YOUR Screen Due To the Changes eBay is Making on the Blog Format At this time OR in the Future! 
Additionally, this blog post is written for IE Browsers. Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently. The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768.

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

Michael is shown below in a photo from the 1973 San Diego Comic Con held at the Sheraton Hotel on Harbor Island in San Diego, California.

Click Here to see 'My World at eBay!

If you are a Facebook member and want to join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'.

 


Posted by makeitsomarketing at 6:46 AM PDT
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2009 6:55 AM PDT
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