5.5" x 8.5", 56 pgs. Following on from SEEDS, we present another anthology of comics about a basic need: SHELTER. From personal meanings of home, to foreclosures, to cooperatively-owned trailer parks, and beyond, this is a collection for any home. 25% of all proceeds from SHELTER go to local shelter organizations.

So again, the above shows that this is also a different type of publication.

So, was this also a FUN READ like 'SEEDS' was? (Click here for my review blog on SEEDS.)

Well, this publication reminded more of the 'Underground Comix' that I've read in the past.  Which always has its' fans and those that don't quite 'get' it.  Again, this is an anthology publication, so this is a mixture of story telling and artwork.

Some of the features in this issue that really jumped out at me were:

A Boy And His Robot by Jesse Durona

Houses & Stuff by Tom Pappalardo

Three Stories by Matt Young

I Set You Free by Marek Bennett

Home by Daniel Barlow and Colin Tedford

Gimmie Shelter by Matt Levin

Nebulous Prime by Bob Oxman & Cayetano Garza

As with 'SEEDS', this is definitely a 'message' publication.  Wether or not you 'get the message' or even care for the 'message', this publication has entertainment value in it as well as educational info.  I for one enjoyed seeing what these creators did with their features that were presented in this publication.

For more info on this publication and others that Trees & Hills sells, please see their web site at:

http://www.treesandhills.org/

AND...My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now almost 3,100 posts in number!!

She sent me the following:

"The Anatomy of a Successful Book Launch

Our latest client, Art Sobczak, launched his new book, Smart Calling, with an online book launch today. It’s already hit #1 in his category of Sales and Selling. Many of Michael’s friends in the comic book industry have asked me how we make this happen.   Here’s how an online book launch works:

Today, dozens of Art’s fellow sales trainers and friends are emailing their readers (over one million business people!) to recommend that they buy his book. We wrote the email message for them to use. The email contains a link to the book’s landing page, which we also wrote the copy for. Check it out here: https://bbp.infusionsoft.com/go/sc/MakeItSo/  

You’ll notice the landing page has several key elements: a strong visual image in the header, compelling marketing copy, a funny video, clear directions to buy (Step 1 and Step 2), endorsements of the book, and a bunch of terrific bonuses that book buyers will receive when they buy.  When you’re getting hundreds of dollars worth of gifts just for buying a $15 book, it’s a no-brainer!

Where did all the bonus gifts come from?  Art’s fellow sales trainers were happy to supply them so they would be seen on the landing page by the people buying the book.  

There are several lessons here for comic book creators and publishers:

1. Create a fun launch event online to generate interest in your publication
2. Give people a compelling reason to buy!
3. Call on your fellow creators to get the word out -- and, give them something in return.
4. Don’t do it all yourself. Art hired Make It So Marketing to manage his launch. While he ran his business, conducted several training seminars, published his weekly newsletter, and everything else he normally does, we managed all the details from securing his partners to testing the landing page.

If you’d like to explore how an online launch could work for you, email me at tina@MarketingTina.com "

Thanks Tina for taking the time tonight to send the above information for this guest blog post!

AND...My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now almost 3,100 total posts in number!!

He told me the following:

"I will be at Wonder Con next weekend at artists alley table AA57, displaying some of my newest art & selling prints of old & new illustrations."

I asked him what publications he would have at his table, as I saw a little of what he had in the above two published photos from the 2009 Wonder Con.  He said:

"No publications, but do still sell some of my Rock posters. I have a Max Rebo Band poster I did for Lucas that I always bring to the comic shows. I think that's behind me in my photos."

So I asked him a little about his background and what he was was doing now.  His reply:

"In the late 80's till around 2001, I worked for Bill Graham's Winterland Productions, designing posters, shirts, all manner of rock & roll & movie merchandising. I've done concept art & storyboarding for CGI animation projects, as well as texture mapping. A lot of different things. Right now I'm designing pin-up girls for Las Vegas Hotels & Casinos."  

I then saw this brief bio on his Facebook Wall also:

"I grew up in Los Angeles & started drawaing & painting at about 11 years old. Spent my early school days being a jock. Then came Rock & Roll High school."

"I've been doing R&R Posters,T-shirts, album covers, & CGI animation work for about 25 years now."

Thanks William for the quick replies to my questions!

For those of you that are interested in seeing William and the hundreds of others that will be exhibiting at the upcoming Wonder Con, here is the info that you would need:

FRIDAY, APR 2
12 Noon - 7 PM*

SATURDAY, APR 3
10 AM - 7 PM*

SUNDAY, APR 4
11 AM - 5 PM

*Additional programming hours on Friday and Saturday nights

MOSCONE CENTER SOUTH
747 Howard Street
San Francisco

Again, there are many other exhibitors there at this convention, as well as programming, but YOU are also invited to stop by William's table in Artists Alley @ AA57! 

AND...My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now almost 3,100 total posts in number!!

Ponyo DVD

"Ponyo is a little goldfish who was found by a boy name Sosuke, age 5. When they become friends, she wants to become a human because it would be hard to be friends with a human, if you were a fish. Being the daughter of the King of the Ocean makes her different from any other goldfish; she has the magic of the sea at her use. Soon through their friendship, she gets determined  to become a human. Becoming a little girl, ponyo returns to Sosuke's home. With having a magical fish princess out on dry land, the earth becomes unbalanced, causing the moon to come closer to earth making the oceans incredibly high.

The parts I found interesting were the parts where it was making you think, as with in the beginning how Ponyo got caught in a jar while she was dodging other garbage and debris being shuffled up. And also the parts where it would make you dream, as with the water turning to fish, and with Ponyo becoming human.

There were hardly any parts that I disliked, except for when I felt there were too many things going on  at a time that you couldn't focus on everything, later causing confusion. If you could connect the dots on those parts though, you would understand it.

This is very much so a great movie with enough things going on to keep you entertained. It would be enjoyed by all ages, as most Disney movies are, but there was one part that was thrown in that was more adult appropriate. Overall, it was pretty good, and well done."

My thanks to Vinnie for watching the DVD with us, outlining the film, and then blogging about it!

For those of you that read the above review, I just wanted you to know that although we don't have the DVD for sale in our online store, we do have the Comic-Con Edition of the'Animation Magazine' as pictured to the top left of this blog.  Just click on the magazine to be taken to our store, where we have several copies of this issue for sale. 

Please Note:  Although the issue itself does Not have an article on Ponyo inside, the cover itself is suitable for framing as a momento of the film!

My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now almost 3,100 total posts in number!!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Cartoon comic books can be found for sale at our own web site at:

   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 Inc. PO Box 130653 Carlsbad, CA 92013

Check Out More Of Our Own Endeavors: We also have an on-line exhibitor table at the virtual Facebook Comic Con (FBCC)! You can view the table and interact there by clicking this link.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, and other wall comments that we post every day!    Also, 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'.         ------------------- 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. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

 

I've just signed back on a little while ago and was notified by a few of my Facebook Friends, including Stacey Aragon, and Allen Bellman among others, about the passing of Dick Giordano.

Allen stated on my Facebook Wall the following: "Michael, sad to say that Dick Giordano has passed away. Tho' we  met several times at cons we participated, he was a gentleman and above all, a great artist."

I appreciate those that contacted me about this, including others not mentioned here. 

As for myself, I wanted to go through my years worth of photos at comic cons to pick out one that would stand out for me for this blog post... but those unfortunately are only indexed by years, not by comics creators...

So I'll just post these thoughts first, and then a brief bio about Dick Giordano following my thoughts:

My first recollection of Dick's name was during the period of my reading western comics in the late 1950's.  I wasn't a 'Marvel Zombie' at that time, as "Marvel" itself was still in the 'MoNSTers' era at that time.  I was actually reading more genres and accumulating, not really 'collecting' comics then...

So the Cheyenne Kid, Billy the Kid, etc., were the comics that I would have first seen his work.  A couple of covers are represented at the top of this blog post as examples of his works from that 1959 period. 

When going to the GCD a few minutes ago, I found that Dick was listed as 'penciler' for 1,450 comics, and as 'inker' for 3,751 comics.  I am sure there were more that he was involved in the creative process on, but the GCD is a work in process (AND a good one too!)...

Dick went on to do more work at Charlton Comics, and then went to DC Comics, Atlas / Seaboard Comics, and Marvel Comics. I'm sure that others will center their thoughts on his later works including of course his Batman works.

I just wanted to briefly acknowledge the contributions that Dick Giordano made during his career in the comics industry, and how he helped create so many comics that I and others have enjoyed during his tenure at each of the companies mentioned above, and elsewhere.

Here is just a brief bio:

"Dick Giordano (born Richard Joseph Giordano on July 20, 1932[1] – March 27, 2010[2]) was an American comic book artist and editor best known for introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes, and serving as executive editor of then industry-leader DC Comics. As an inker, Giordano is well known for his pairings with penciler Neal Adams in a series of critically acclaimed comics featuring Batman, Green Lantern, and Green Arrow."

And:  "Dick Giordano was born (1932) in New York City, in the borough of Manhattan. Beginning as a freelance artist at Charlton Comics in 1952, Giordano rose to editor-in-chief by 1965. He made his first mark in the industry with Charlton, overseeing the revamping of its few existing superheroes and having his artists and writers create new such characters for what he called the company's "Action Hero" line. (Many of these artists included new talent Giordano brought on board, featuring such names as Jim Aparo, Denny O'Neil, and Steve Skeates.)"

You can read more of his Wikipedia entry at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Giordano 

My condolences to his family and friends....  His works will long be remembered by his fans and future fans.