TODAY'S 'MAIN FEATURE':

February 1940 was the first issue of Whiz Comics, even though it says #2 on the cover...

I won't go into the background of why it says #2, but this issue is very important because of the introduction of the original Captain Marvel!

Yes, he received his own title very quickly, in [March] 1941, which lasted until November of 1953. 

The total number of issues published for that title "Captain Marvel Adventures" was: 150.

Although this Captain Marvel was one of the best selling comics in the 1940's, I don't really remember reading many if any of these super-hero Fawcett Comics when I was growing up on the West Coast. Nor did I really see them when we visited my folks relatives in the Midwest areas.

You see, I grew up in the late 1950's reading funny books as a young kid. So when I first came across "Captain Marvel", it was one of the "strange" Captain Marvel Comics, pictured to the left. (It ran for four issues.)

I thought it was "strange" because there was already a comics group called 'Marvel Comics', and thought why wasn't this 'Captain Marvel' not one of their titles...???

This Captain Marvel's background is the following:

"Roger Winkle, professor of archaeology at Dartmoor College and a robot, has but to utter the word "Split" and his various body parts separate.

Roger was sent to Earth to promote and preserve peace. When Roger becomes Captain Marvel by saying "Split", his various body parts dis-joint but are still under his mental control. When Captain Marvel says "Xam" the various body parts re-link. As Captain Marvel, Roger wears a uniform that includes jet boots and an amulet which energizes him. If his amulet is removed, he becomes immobile after a short while. His other weakness is that he cannot control his other body parts if glass comes between them and his head.  

Roger takes young Billy Baxton as his ward and confidant. Roger's platonic girlfriend is Linda Knowles, daughter of the president of the college."

Man, that sure didn't sound like any Stan Lee written comic! But I recognized the name of "Carl Burgos" as being one of the creators of this "Captain Marvel".  Hadn't he been credited as to creating the "Original Human Torch" for Timely / Marvel Comics that were being reprinted in Marvel's "Fantasy Masterpieces"?  So again I asked, where is Marvel's "Captain Marvel" at?

Well, that was soon answered in December of 1967 by the 12th issue of 'Marvel Super-Heroes' with artwork by Gene Colan!  (Who by the way, is the topic of this blog's "Featurette" section at the bottom right of this blog post!)

If it hadn't been for Stan Lee's Soapbox at the time, I might have missed this issue at the 7-11, as 'new' Marvel titles at the time were not stocked in depth on the spinner racks.

Plus this really wasn't a #12 issue of "Marvel Super-Heroes", as it was continued from "Fantasy Masterpieces" #11! 

This Captain Marvel was definitely more in the manner of a Stan Lee presentation... and I found myself buying his comic book title shortly after he received his own series.  Unfortunately, the title just never caught on... and stopped and started sporadically it seemed to me at the time! 

It was only much later that DC started publishing their own Captain Marvel, but with the title Shazam because of legal issues!  This series ran from February 1973 - May-June 1978!

You gotta remember that in the 'Old Days' there weren't many comic book shops, and most of my comics were bought off spinner racks at the 7-11s in the South Bay at the time.

There was this great book store in Downtown San Diego that had coverless comics from the 1940's - 1950's for sale... but I had no reference as to what issues they were from quite often, as the splash page would not have the info as to where the comic book was published from, if the info was printed on the bottom of the inside cover.

When I started buying from mail order dealers, I wasn't into Fawcett Comics, as I was a 'Marvel Zombie'.  It wasn't until later, when I first started selling at the San Diego Comic Con that I broadened the scope of my reading of comic books.

Thus, although the original Captain Marvel was never one of my favorites, I can appreciate what he did for comics in general.

Today, the histories of the different "Captain Marvels" is a little convoluted, what with all of those different persons that have taken the name "Captain Marvel" since the 'Death' of Marvel's 1st 'Captain Marvel'.  I'm not even going there for this blog..., as I haven't read most of those versions in their entirety in print.

Instead, I'll just give Kudos to the creators and the publisher of the Original Captain Marvel.  70 Years is a Long Time for a Creation to continue to entertain!

BTW...The first story of the Original Captain Marvel has been reprinted a few times since then, and some of the reprints are found in the following:

•in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-4
•in Millennium Edition: Whiz Comics 2 (DC, 2000 series) #[nn]
•in Shazam! Archives, The (DC, 1992 series) #1

--------------------------- 

Join us again soon, as we publish another 'Main Feature'.  And don't forget to check out the 'Featurette' shown below this article!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Comic books / graphic novels like the ones shown above can be found at our own web site:  http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com 

 

"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"     Note: If you are breaking into or already 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 possible review, send to: Make It So Marketing PO Box 130653 Carlsbad, CA 92013     We also have an on-line exhi bitor table at the virtual Facebook Comic Con. You can view the table by clicking this link.  If you are a Facebook member, please join our Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, and other wall posts!     If you are a Facebook member and would like to join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'.

TODAY'S FEATURETTE: My Thanks to Jay E Fife, who sent me an update about the upcoming 2010 Pittsburgh Comic Con this past Saturday. For those of you who have not been to this Con, here is the link to their Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pittsburgh.comicon?ref=ts If you even think you may be attending this Con, feel free to 'join' that Fan Page!  We aren't going to be able to make this Con, but I wanted to receive updates and comment on wall posts, so I 'joined' it already! Let me get the 'business' part of this Featurette out of the way first.  Here's the details for the upcoming Pittsburgh Comic Con: Monroeville Convention Center 209 Mall Boulevard Monroeville, Pennsylvania 15146 April 23, 24 & 25 2010 Friday 1pm-7pm Saturday 10am-6pm Sunday 10am-5pm: Now for the FUN STUFF! Well at least for me! ;-)  Pictured below is a photo that I took at another Con, of the SPECIAL GUEST that will be attending all three days of this Pittsburgh Comic Con 2010: Yep, that's Gene (The Dean) Colan standing in the middle of the photo!  He's pictured above after blowing out the candles on his birthday cake at the 2001 San Diego Comic Con! This was a special event at one of Mark Evanier's programs, who is pictured to the right. He's expected to be there all 3 days of this Pittsuburgh Comic Con, so stop by and say hello to him AND his lovely wife Adrienne! BTW, I recently blogged about the upcoming book on Gene; Click here to view the post on "The Invincible Gene Colan". My thanks again to Jay for sending me the special guest info! Jay will be set up at table #___, so stop by and say hello to him too! Have Sum Fun all of YOU lucky enough to attend this Con!  For those blog readers who do stop in for one or all three days of this con, feel free to message me about your visit there, and share a photo or two! --------------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed, which could either be published in the 'Main Feature' or 'Featurette' sections. ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. 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.

 

TODAY'S 'MAIN FEATURE':

Yes, I know... I had previously posted on my Facebook Wall that I wouldn't be blogging this weekend, in preparation for the upcoming Super Bowl Sunday tomorrow...

But... I did have to stop for a late lunch today after catching up on several projects on and off-line.

And when I did, I was watching the cable news networks, and saw that I had missed the 99th Celebration of Ronald Reagan's Birth, being held up in Simi Valley, California.

Yeah, I know... I don't usually blog on politics here in my Blog.  But this post is actually about how Ronald Reagan was the 'Star' of a really curious comic book series from SolSon Publications.

Yes, Ronald had been shown on comic book covers before, after all he was a Movie and TV Star... but it was the SolSon Publications' Limited Series (Mini-Series?), titled "Reagan's Raiders" that a LOT of people don't know about.

That's Right!

The Ultimate Patriotic Super Heroes Team 'Reagan's Raiders' Existed Back In the 1980's!

Actually published in 1986-87, there were three issues of this title of 'Reagan's Raiders'.

Created by artist Rich (Deathlok / Black Panther) Buckler and actor Monroe (Alice's Restaurant / Goodbye Columbus) Arnold, this was part of the black and white comic book explosion when hundreds of new comics were published by many publishers now defunct!

How did this happen??  Well their secret origin is as follows:

Using a 'physo-nuclear conversion process', Project Alpha Soldier staff scientist Professor Cashchaser transformed President Ronald Reagan, Vice President George Bush Sr., Secretary Of Defense Casper W. Weinberger,  and Secretary of State George P. Shultz into the patriotic super-team known as Reagans Raiders!

Oddball as it may seem, this series was actually a good read, and not derogatory to the then President as you may think it would be!

I keep coming accross issues of this comic book here and there, and usually pick them up for resale, because of the 'cross-over effect' between comic book collectors, political items collectors, and Hollywood memorabilia collectors.

I believe that with next year's Celebration of Ronald Reagan's 100th Birthday, that it will be a really big boost to items that feature him.  So if you have one of these comic books... save it for next year to show everyone!

If you don't have a copy, well... we have listed four copies in our own online store at: Click here for Ronald Reagan Comics!

PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts! We usually blog on a daily basis during the 'work week' on comic book creators, comic book reviews, comic cons, book signings, and other pop culture news and events, such as the one blogged about here today.

Join us again soon, as we publish another 'Main Feature'.  And don't forget to check out the 'Featurette' shown below this article!

TODAY'S 'MAIN FEATURE':

This week I found myself at a new client, (an ad agency), doing 'Year-End Work'.  That's what we call it in the Accounting Field, when preparing financial statements and backups for review or audit by a company's outside auditors.

Before you get totally bored and click off this blog post... let me say this:  I have met many creative types during my years on the periphery of comics, and all too often, those creators have good to great skills to creating their works, but lack the basics of running a business or promoting their works.

Yeah, that could be You, but hopefully it isn't!

But IF it is... then this book could be just what you needed!

Especially when the book can be yours for FREE!

Yes...FREE!  As in a Free download format!

First, my thanks to the author of this book, David Parrish, who sent me a review copy in hard copy format.  After working on a desktop or laptop all day, my personal preference in reading for 'pleasure' or for a possible 'review' is not on an e-book format.

However, I am bringing this book in e-book format to my blog readers because of its' value. First, the regular cost of the book from the UK is £15 GBP plus shipping.

However the e-Book can be obtained from the following link for FREE:  http://www.davidparrish.com/page.asp?pgid=125&pgsid=33.

Why should YOU take the time to download this book, and most important of all... read it?

Well, even though he is based in the UK, David’s qualifications include experience as business advisor, trainer and management consultant. He draws on his own experiences as a creative entrepreneur and with his knowledge, he works as a professional advisor with creative businesses and the agencies that support them to do business better.

Some of the chapters he covers include:  'Creativity and Business', 'Know Yourself', 'The Magic of Marketing', 'Protecting Your Creativity', 'Counting Your Money', 'Keeping Good Company', and more!

I have taken on some personal projects before and while enjoying doing them, had not seen 'commercial' success.  Instead, it was more of a 'vanity press' type of venture.  I wish this book had been around then, and also the internet for that matter!

My suggestion is that You take the time to check out the link above, download the Free e-Book, and peruse a chapter at a time, digesting what is in those pages, before moving on to the next chapter.

I found this book to have many applications, for both individual creators, as well as those that are running or attempting to run a small creative environment business with just a handful of staff.

My thanks to David Parrish, my new Facebook Friend, for sending this book to me.  AND for sharing it via e-book format!

PLUS: Our thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts! We usually blog on a daily basis during the 'work week' on comic book creators, comic book reviews, comic cons, book signings, and other pop culture news and events or topics, such as the one blogged about here today. 

TODAY'S 'MAIN FEATURE':

Today's Guest Blog is by Tina LoSasso...

Here is what she sent to me about her thoughts on the Season 6 Premiere:

Not much was clear in Tuesday night’s premiere except that the creative team doesn’t give a polar bear’s chance in hell (or against Sawyer) that any new viewers join the show for its final season.

Let’s be candid with ourselves, LOSTIES – did you actually enjoy the show?  Or were you simply confused, baffled and more than slightly annoyed for two hours?  Granted, I’m not to going to give up now.  I’ve got several years and brain power devoted to this series, but I can’t say Tuesday night’s beginning of the end was “fun.”

What was wonderful: how the Alternative Reality scenes mirrored the sweetness, mystery and character-driven story that made us fall in love with LOST in Season One.

What was annoying: The Temple, another whole mess of Others, the Smoke Monster transformed into a quick-acting killing machine (silly), and seeing Ben as weak – Ben’s just not weak – or is he in his own Alternative Reality!

It was cool to see:

The Man in Black morph into old Smokey.  I called that one a few seconds before it happened and got a high-five from Michael.

Sawyer scoping out the lottery winner, eyeing Kate on the plane and enabling her escape from LAX. 

Boone meeting Locke in the alternate reality… and being free of Shannon.

Jack handing Locke his business card; nothing is irreversible; in this Alternative Universe you just know Dr. Jack Shepard gonna work his magic on Locke’s broken back.

Bernard coming back from the airplane restroom…

Hurley as the luckiest person in the world!

Next week’s episode is called “What Kate Does.”  We know what Kate does. She annoys the heck out of most us by vacillating between Jack and Sawyer.

If the premiere is any indication (tending to Sawyer’s head injury-yuck!), we’re in for another frustrating hour!  Stay tuned.

My thanks to Tina for the above guest blog!

PLUS My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our earler archived blog posts.  We usually blog on a daily basis during the 'work week'. Those blogs consist of posts on comic book creators, comic book revidws, comic cons, book signings, and other pop culture new and events, such as the one blogged about here today!

Join us again soon, as we publish another 'Main Feature'.  And don't forget to check out the 'Featurette' shown below this article!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Comic books / graphic novels like the ones mentioned above can be found at our own web site:  http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com 

 

"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"         Note: If you are breaking into or already 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 possible review, send to: Make It So Marketing PO Box 130653 Carlsbad, CA 92013       We also have an on-line exhibitor table at the virtual Facebook Comic Con. You can view the table by clicking this link.  If you are a Facebook member, please join our Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, and other wall posts!     If you are a Facebook member and would like to join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'.

TODAY'S FEATURETTE: MCBA SpringCon Comic Book Celebration sent me an invite to join their Facebook Event Page and attend the May Con! So, since we can't attend this comic con as it is out of our area to attend... I thought I'd at least mention it and their later in the year comic con show here in my Blog today! Here is the info found at their Facebook Event Page  for the first show: Start Time: Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 10:00am End Time: Sunday, May 16, 2010 at 10:00am Location: Minnesota State Fairgrounds - Grandstand Street: 1265 Snelling Avenue North City/Town: Saint Paul, MN Here are just a few things that are going on there: "The Midwest Comic Book Association respectfully requests the pleasure of your attendance & company at the 2010 MCBA SpringCon Comic Book Celebration on May 15 & 16, 2010 at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in the Grandstand (1265 Snelling Ave, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108) and will be open to the general public both days from 10AM to 4PM. Sponsored by the all volunteer, not-for-profit, Midwest Comic Book Association, SpringCon Continues the tradition of being one of the most unique and fastest growing old school comic book events in America. All 80,000 square feet of FallCon is exclusively dedicated to building our comic book Community and moving toward a new standard for comic book mayhem & pandemonium! FallCon celebrates the ever evolving, expanding and diverse world of comic books and all things comic book related, all of the time! Something for Everyone & Everyone Welcome! Goings on this year will include the usual bits of zaniness and lots of new comic book action. Our foremost agenda is to provide a venue where local, regional & national comic book creators and fans can interact, build and celebrate our unique and growing community. In addition there will be dealers from all over the USA and much more. The MCBA has always been dedicated to promoting the wonderful world of comic books, comic book creators and developing a sense of pride, growth and community in the world that we all love. We sincerely hope that you will be able to attend and join us in our ongoing adventures at the 2010 MCBA SpringCon!" Please Note: I have NOT been to this con before... However, I like to mention cons out of our area for our Blog readers to attend. Below is a copy of the poster for this event and a preview of their later one in October: --------------------------- Talking about comics and comic shows: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review in this Blog! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed, which could either be published in the 'Main Feature' or 'Featurette' sections. ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. 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.

 

TODAY'S 'MAIN FEATURE':

Last Night Tina and I watched the Season Premiere of LOST - the Final Season, after attending a two hour 'Prosperity Group' meeting beforehand...

We don't have a blog post ready today about Tina's thoughts about the 2 hour long show, as it ended at 11PM PST, and she has to go to a client's office first thing this morning. Kudos to Jo Garfein, pictured at the top right of this blog post who posted her own blog post at 3AM this morning! Now THAT's Dedication! Whew! 

So I thought I would re-post what Tina blogged about last Summer after standing in line for many hours at the 2009 San Diego Comic Con International (SDCCI), just to get in to the FINAL Lost panel at the SDCCI: 

Well that's it for now this morning... EXCEPT: Our thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts! We usually blog on a daily basis during the 'work week' on comic book creators, comic book reviews, comic cons, book signings, and other pop culture news and events, such as the one blogged about here today. 

I am expecting to blog Tina's thoughts on the Premiere Show this upcoming Thursday or Friday... Right now Tina is so confused after the Season Premiere, that she needs a day just to unravel everything shown so far! 

I'm looking forward to her guest blog post myself, as I am kind of glad this is the Final Season... and want to see it kick off AND finish up in grand style!  I've also watched it since it first premiered at the San Diego Comic Con International lo so many years ago now!

Join us again soon, as we publish another 'Main Feature'.  And don't forget to check out the 'Featurette' section shown below this article at the right hand side!