The past few weeks have seen the passing of several persons including Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.  Overlooked by many was the death of Gale Storm on June 27th...  

My thanks to Glenn Walker for bringing this to my attention.  He blogged about it yesterday, and referenced it on his personal Facebook Wall.

The reason I am bringing this to the attention of my Blog readers, is that many will not know that Gale Storm had a comic book connection among many other achievements during her long life.

When Gale was the star on the TV Show 'My Little Margie', she was on many covers of the Charlton Comics comic book series of the same name. Matter of fact, Charlton Comics published the title series 'My Little Margie' from July 1954 to November 1964 for a total of 54 issues!

In addition, just like in today's comics world, where if one title succeeds, add another, Charlton had two other titles based on the TV Show!  My Little Margie's Boyfriends ran for 11 issues from August 1955 to April 1958.  Plus My Little Margie's Fashions for 5 issues, from February 1959 to November 1959!

And... like other stars of that era, she even had a promotional comic book based on her 'My Little Margie' series.  This one from Blue Bird Shoe Company Presents: My Little Margie in 1963!

Like many other TV and Film Stars of the era, Gale Storm was not her original name.  She was born Josephine Owaissa Cottle in Bloomington, Texas.

She was a star in Film (1940 - 1952), TV (1952 - 1960), Radio (1952 - 1955) and Music (1956 - 1960). 

But I'll only mention the TV years here.   It was the years 1952 to 1955 that her television career first skyrocketed!  That was due to her starring role in 'My Little Margie'.  The show was originally a summer replacement for the 'I Love Lucy' TV Show on CBS.  That show went on to run for 126 episodes on both the NBC and CBS networks.

When that series ended, Gale's personal popularity was capitalized upon when she briefly served as 'hostess' on the NBC Comedy Hour in the Winter of 1956.

The rating from that stint showed that she had personal popularity still, so she was placed in another situation comedy, logically called 'The Gale Storm Show'!  This series ran for a total of 143 episodes between the years of 1956 and 1960.

Gale of course appeared  on other television programs in the 1950's and 1960's as well.  Although Gale had been out of the limelight since 1989 when she stopped working actively, (her last role was an episode on 'Murder She Wrote'), her works in TV, Music, Film, Radio, and Comics live on.  She actually has 3 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame... For Recording, Radio and Television!  Thanks Gale for the memories!

Here at Make It So Marketing's Blog, we blog daily on comics and pop culture news and events.  Check out our daily blog posts, new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale including TV Show Comics in our online eBay Featured Store! 

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

Bob Bretall, Podcaster at 'Comic Book Page', tells me that there will be a 4th Annual 'Comics Podcasters Panel' at the 2009 SDCC / CCI Comic Con!  

Bob asked me if I would mention it since I enjoyed the earlier panel from the 2008 SDCC. (Click here for my Blog on that panel.) Which I am glad to do here in my Blog!  John Mayo of Comic Book Page will be there also, but this year there is only supposed to be one spokesperson for each podcaster on the actual platform. 

Here are the listed representatives from the podcasters at this time. (Schedules and persons are subject to change.): 

Comic Book Page: Bob Bretall
Comic Geek Speak: Brian "Pants" Christman
Comics News Insider: Jimmy Aquino
iFanboy: Ron Richards !

If you haven't checked out the above podcasts, I urge you to do so, even if you aren't checking out the Panel at the SDCC!  My thanks to Ron Richards of iFanboy for setting up this year's panel!

Bob won't be on any other panels or programs during the Con, so this may be the only chance to see him!

BTW, although John Mayo won't be 'on stage' for the panel, you will want to find him in the panel room, as he will be distributing FREE Comics for those that attended this panel!   

Also, when I am wrapping / shipping our packages for shipment out to our buyers I listen to podcasts.  When not listening to eBay Radio archived podcasts for up to date news, I listen to John & Bob at: http://www.comicbookpage.com  

BTW, we don't podcast here at Make It So Marketing's Blog, but we do blog daily on comics and pop culture news and events.  Check out our daily blog posts, new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale including ARCHIE Comics in our online eBay Featured Store! 

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

Joe Pepitone, (a.k.a. JoepeP), Art Director at Archie Comics, has asked me to publicize the fact that Archie Comics has a New Fan Page!    

Which I am glad to do here in my Blog!  JoepeP tells me that besides Archie Comics just having changed their Company Name to 'Archie Comics', that they also have a new CEO, and recently announced that in the soon to be released Archie #600 that Archie Andrews finally proposes!

Whew!  That's a Lot of Changes all at once for a Company that has been around since 1939!

JoepeP is asking all Fans of Archie Comics to come visit them at their New Fan Page and 'Become A Member' there.   

You can view the Fan Page and 'Become A Member' by checking out the following:  

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ARCHIE-COMICS/91179009524

JoepeP and others at Archie Comics will be adding more content to the Fan Page on a daily basis, including photos of all of their graphic novels, trade paperback compiliations, and more!

Of course there will be discussion threads, trivia questions, and more fun stuff!  So I invite you to follow up on JoepeP's invitation to check out the NEW Archie Comics Fan Page!

I've mentioned before that I started reading comics quite a while ago, (late 1950's), and of course Archie Comics were part of the mix.  My wife Tina grew up around Archie Comics among her friends back in New Jersey.  My daughter enjoyed the Sabrina Comic Series that was published during the Melissa Joan Hart years on the Sabrina TV Show.  My older sons collected the TMNT Archie Adventure Series.  And my youngest son recently blogged about the Sonic the Hedgehog TPB that he read from Archie Comics.  So it's definitely been a 'Family Affair' with Archie Comics during the years here at Make It So Marketing!

BTW, here at Make It So Marketing's Blog, we post daily on comics and pop culture news and events.  Check out our daily blog posts, new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale including ARCHIE Comics in our online eBay Featured Store! 

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

I just had to tell my blog readers about this great looking 'Action Figure' that was just released...   From Jay Piscopo & Nemo Publishing!  Jay Piscopo is a good Facebook Friend of mine, and I have been watching what he has been doing with his creations both in print, video and toys.

And yeah, upon closer look at the 'action figure' above, you'll notice that it really is a  Mego-Style 'doll'... And so what?  I still have my hard to find Mego Mister Fantastic in my collection after all these years, (even tho I've listed it for sale)!

So what exactly is this Commander X Western Knight item?  Well, it  is a limited edition, Mego-style, eight-inch collectible action figure available for sale exclusively on the Nemo Publishing company’s website, http://www.captneli.com/.  Would you believe that the 'Western Knight' is the third variant in the Commander X collection and there are many others in the works?   Must be a heck of a graphic novel series to warrant that much attention!

Okay, so now you ask who is Commander X??  Well, he is an integral character in Jay Piscopo’s all-ages graphic novel series, "The Undersea Adventures of Capt’n Eli," which are written and illustrated by Jay Piscopo and printed by Nemo Publishing.

The character Commander X is really an amnesiac who has been sent from the future to save the earth from inevitable destruction!  No kidding!  He is based on the Depression-era heroes of the comic book and movie serials of the 1930s, and in my opinion he definitely fits that style in looks!  

I mentioned earlier that the action figure is created in a retro-style reminiscent of figures made by the Mego Corporation in the 1970s.  Mego itself has a large cult following that sparked the initial creation of this limited edition collectible series.  There has been an ongoing trend toward nostalgia and a rising interest in old favorites that bring back childhood memories of a simpler time.  Mego itself is one of those old favorites that envoke better times for many collectors.

Jay Piscopo says that "the core concept behind 'The Undersea Adventures of Capt’n El'" series and the Commander X character in particular is to draw from the best elements of traditional Americana and update classic themes of the old adventure comic strips for a new audience".

Now that you know who Commander X is and what he is doing as an action figure the next question question is how do You get one? And for how much?

The  limited edition Commander X eight-inch Mego–style action figures currently available are The Golden Age Commander X and the 1950’s Commander X. Each figure is $19.95 plus shipping.  Photos of those action figures can be viewed at this link: http://www.captneli.com/cmmdrinfo.php

For more info on this graphic novel series created by Jay Piscopo, please see his web site at:  http://www.captneli.com/ 

Here at Make It So Marketing's Blog, we post daily on comics and pop culture news and events.  Check out our daily blog posts, new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale including retro style Graphic Novel and Comics in our online Store! 

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