Vinnie's Take On: The Ultimate Underdog Collection Volume 1 On DVD!       Above: The Front Cover to the Ultimate Underdog Collection Volume 1!  At The Top Left: The Star of The Underdog Show! At the Bottom Left: Vinnie- Today's Guest Blogger!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3169:

Today I'm pleased once again to have as guest blogger, Vinnie, who is writing 'His Take' on the The Ultimate Underdog Collection - Volume 1 on DVD that we bought yesterday to view:

[SPOILER ALERT: This whole blog post is a 'Spoiler Alert', but with all the millions of people that have watched Underdog on TV...This is more of a review of the collection from a tween's POV.]

My Take On: 

The ULTIMATE Underdog Collection on DVD - Volume 1 (only)!

This is the Volume 1 of the 3 Volume set of The Ultimate Underdog Collection which has 6 complete episodes, with 4 parts each. In between the main parts are Mini-Cartoons, such as Hunter, Go Go Gophers, Klondike Kat, Tennessee Tuxedo, Tooter Turtle, and several others.

The main themes which cover 2 episodes are, "The Big Dipper," "The Gold Bricks," and, "Fearo The Ferocious." These were made during the 60's which is why there are flaws in animation and the old style of animation.

"The Big Dipper" is about when Simon Barsinister invented a machine to dry up all the water in the world.  "The Gold Bricks" is about when Underdog was asked to drive an armored truck carrying one billion dollars worth of gold from one bank to another. Riff Raff steals the gold and paints it to look as though it were red bricks, so he could sneak them across the border to sell. "Fearo The Ferocious" is a take-off of King Kong. Polly's network needs rating so they plan to film a show of an exciting adventure with a giant ape creature called Fearo.

In the Bonus Features there is a special interview with Joe Harris, the co-creator of Underdog. In that interview, you find out that Polly Purebred was based off of Marylin Monroe, and he says the reason for that was because during that time, everyone just loved her. He also modeled Riff Raff's character after George Raft, and Simon Barsinister was influenced by Lionel Barrymore's voice.

I really liked the Mini-Cartoons, for they added a bit of spice to everything. They would come between the main features and would start right after a suspensful part in the real episode. This would have made it so you had to watch through all those in order to see what would happen. I liked the Special Features because you can watch them how they originally were shown, with just the Underdog cartoons, or just the Mini-Cartoons, so you can pick what exactly to watch.

What I didn't like were the cut-offs. After a couple of episodes, I started to notice it appeared as though it ended where it hadn't originally ended. It was kind of as though we paid to get something and paid the full price to only get part of the object we paid for.

As for who this is recommended for, it still applies the same as it did in the 1960's both kids and adults will love it. There is of course a fair amount of guns, but every scene where people were firing, you couldn't even see anything coming from the gun. But, with Underdog, they were shown, but just shown as bouncing off for he has invincibility.

I would recommend this for any kid or adult I know, that has seen, heard about, or loves Underdog on a casual viewer basis. For the 'Ultimate' Underdog Collector, this isn't the 'Ultimate' Collection due to the splicing.  However, using the comic book grading scale I would give this a Very Fine Minus (VF-) 7.5 out of a 10.0 grading scale.

That's the end of today's guest blog by Vinnie...My thanks to him for sharing here today what we watched this weekend!

If YOU liked his review on this DVD, you may enjoy reading his reviews on: Planet Hulk, Coraline, Ponyo, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Sonic the Hedgehog TPB Vol 1, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, just to name a recent few!   

AND My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,165 total posts in number!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Our online comic book store carries many different genres of comics, magazines, and graphic novels, including Funnybooks, Sci-Fi, and MoNSTer Comics at:

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

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"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

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today...I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- 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   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that!   The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768. NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners. is blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently. The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768. NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

 

'My Take' On: the BEAN #1 By Travis Hanson From BeanLeaf Press! -------------- Above Photo: The Front Cover to The Bean #1 - the Back Cover is part of a 'wrap-around' cover presentation. At the Left: The creator of the Bean, Travis Hanson at his booth at the 2009 Comic Con International: San Diego!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3168:

Today I am blogging a review on a publication that was sent to me by Amy Ratcliffe, on behalf of Travis Hanson of BeanLeaf Press.

That would be the 1st issue of 'the Bean'.  I was not familar with this publication or the project itself before receiving this copy, even though it would appear that BeanLeaf Press had a booth at the 2009 San Diego Comic Con, (SDCC), as pictured at the above left.  (Hey! I can't see all of the Con, you know how large it is?!  LOL.)

So what's this publication about?  Here is the promo blurb from Amy:

"The Bean comic is about:
The adventure of a young dishwasher named Bean. Kidnapped from the Silver Dagger, by a Troll, known only as the Collector, he is thrust into the hunt of a precious item deep underground.  Meanwhile, his companions from the Silver Dagger, begin their hunt for their young charge."

So what's 'My Take' on this publication?  I keep calling it a publication, because to me it is not a comic book, even though the creator / publisher calls it a "landscaped comic book" in this published format. 

Inside Front Cover:  It's an illustration of the Bean in Black & White.  Still doesn't look like a comic book to me...

Splash Page:  Not a comic book splash page presentation.  More like an illustrated book with this opening page.

The Rest of the Pages: Turning over the 'splash page', there is another page with the credits and publishing info.

The story gets going right away.  I already started liking the art style from the cover itself, which was in color.  The interior pages I find are all in black & white.  But the lack of color does not affect my enjoyment of the story, as I find myself drawn into the storyline right away.

I find the unusual print format to be the size and shape of the web comic, which is where this project started.  Having read web comics before, the odd sized publication doesn't affect my continued reading of the storyline, although I don't 'feel' like I'm reading a 'comic'.

Last Page: Is the first time I feel like I'm reading a comic book, as there is a 'To Be Continued' box! LOL! However, I for one am so caught up in this storyline, I would be more than inclined to seek out issue #2!

Inside Back Cover:  Was left blank...Why, I don't know. Even a 'house ad' could have been used here, to entice me to go immediately to the web comic itself to see the next storyline.  Yeah, the story thus far is on the web, and could be read for free.  But I am a 'tactile' reader, and would prefer to read it in print. 

Back Cover:  Is the second part of the wrap-around cover, with just a little bit of inhouse advertising for the rest of the adventure.  

So, after all of the above...what is 'My Take' on all of this?

Well...First of all, I thought I was receiving a comic book in the mail.  Everything that I ask for from a creator / publisher / publicist as shown at: How to Submit Your Publication for Possible Review link was there. (BTW, Amy, that was a great package you sent me!)

But the odd shaped publication wasn't in the form of what is considered a 'comic book' sized publication by the comic book rading public, nor comics fan base.

I didn't let that stop me from enjoying the issue. 

I definitely found that the B&W illustrated artwork to be perfect for this genre of story.  The storyline itself flowed.  I was drawn into this adventure, and would have been sad to see it end, but for the 'To Be Continued' box.  So there is more to the main character's adventure!

That is good! I look forward to checking this out further, now that I know about it.  In fact, I'll let Vinnie take a look at it, and see if he wants to blog about any future issues. (Click here for Vinnie's guest review blogs.)

I would grade this first issue of 'the Bean #1" as a 'Very Fine / Near Mint' (VF/NM) 9.0 out of the 10.0 Grading Scale. That's because even though I enjoyed the storyline and art, the printed format of this publication is a little tough to 'bag & board' it as a 'comic'.  That is the only thing I believe that the creator / publisher has to deal with here, as the project is an entertaining one!  Matter of fact, take a look at the following bio, where he himself discusses the format publishing problem he has run into.  Still, I believe that this issue, in this format, would be a great introduction to someone that doesn't read comics, and would enjoy it just for the story and art.  It's almost a 'mini-graphic novelette', in this presentation format!

As a Note:  I mentioned that 'the Bean' started as a web comic. Amy tells me the following: "As a webcomic, it is published biweekly (on Mondays and Thursdays), but the printed comic is farther ahead.  For example, though Hanson just sent issue 5 to press, the webcomic is only at Issue 2".

Here's the publisher's site so you can read additional pages and introduce YOUR friends to this project: BeanLeafPress.com

How to purchase:  Readers can keep up with the webcomic and purchase all issues of The Bean (up to 4 issues now, the 5th issue to be released soon) at http://beanleafpress.com.  It is a self published comic, so as of right now, that's the only place to get it, UNLESS you see Travis at a comic con.

Talking about Travis, here is a brief bio / message from him:

I am an artist and storyteller.  I have been illustrating stories for several years now and have finally come back into my own with the comic “the Bean”.

The bean is a story I developed over 12 years ago as a struggling cartoonist. I started posting it as a web comic and was finally convinced to take it to press as a regular comic book. After 2 issue my dream fell apart. So what I do I picked up the pieces and tried again this time as a written illustrated novel, with the help of the very talented Aimee Duncan. It too fell apart before book 3 and so once again I was left with a huge debt and a lot of pieces to pick up. After a year of brooding and a lot of frustration I realized that for this dream to happen I would have to return to my roots.

So I picked up my pencil and re-scripted the books into the format that I had originally envisioned so many years ago. I am now on issue 4 and going very strong. There are some minor changes since the comics are an adaptation of my novels, but the story is still very much the same.  Of the major differences is the format, which is a landscaped comic book (I know an uphill battle) but I have a vision and I know it will work.

I am also posting it online as a comic, for the world to see. I felt this was needed, in part, for all those that were expecting book 3. I apologize for the novel being shelved, sometimes things do not work the way you planned. Yet, I believe in my story and I want to get it out and so this is the format that it will be in. I will finish it in this format as well and one day I will revisit the novels, but honestly my passion has always been and always will be comic books.

It has been a story that has stuck with me for many years and changed very little. I am already finishing issue 4 (meaning I better pay attention to this blog and update the issues as I move along) and have started issue 5. The web comic is far behind yet updates twice a week. So please sit back and enjoy.

thanks

trav

The above is pretty straight forward.  I like that in this creator. I will be sure to stop and say hello to him when I see him at any upcoming comic cons that we are attending. I urge you to stop at his booth at any comic con you are attending to check this out in person!

Until then the publisher also has a Facebook Group Page, which I am suggesting YOU click on and 'join' as a member.  I just did! 

My thanks to Amy Ratcliffe, who's also known as "geek with curves" as seen at: http://geekfemme.blogspot.com.  

She can be followed at Twitter at: http://twitter.com/amy_geek!

Amy is shown to the left with Travis Hanson at the BeanLeaf Press booth during the 2009 Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC / CCI)!

AND My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,165 total posts in number!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Our online comic book store carries many different genres of comics, magazines and graphic novels 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

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today...I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- 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   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that!   The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.   NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

 

-------------- 'My Take' On the 2009 Film: 'SHERLOCK HOLMES' PLUS: Tina LoSasso's 'Mini-Take' on the Film! Above Photo: One of the Film's Many Posters! At the Top Left: Film Poster of Lord Blackwood - Played by Mark Strong At Middle Left: Film Poster of Adler - Played by Rachel McAdams At the Bottom Left: Film Poster of Watson - Played by Jude Law

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3167:

Last night we rented the DVD version of the Sherlock Holmes Film that was shown in theaters starting last Christmas Day of 2009.

I had some thoughts back then to see this film, because of the trailers, and TV commercials, but my wife Tina, who is a much bigger fan of Sherlock Holmes just didn't want to see it on the Big Screen.

Which was strange IMO, because she 'loves' Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr, and they were together in this film?!

Well, the Holiday Season went over pretty fast for us, and I never made the time to go see this at the Big Screen alone...

So when we had an opportunity to rent a film last night, after exhausting the last of the taped TV shows from this past season, I suggested she choose something from the Redbox kiosk while we were out picking a card for someone.

She didn't come up with anything, and I had in the back of mind this Sherlock Holmes film on DVD.  So that's what we went home with.

So what is this film about? Below are two promo blurbs from the time of this film being released:

"The game is afoot – and astounding! Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law put memorable imprints on the roles of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in a bold reimagining that makes the famed sleuth a daring man of action as well as a peerless man of intellect. Guy Ritchie directs this dazzling adventure."

And: 

"Set in 1891, the film revolves around Holmes and Watson as they try to stop a conspiracy that could destroy Britain, opening with Holmes apprehending cult leader ‘Lord Blackwood’ (Mark Strong), who promises he will return from the dead and exact his revenge, while being led to the gallows."

So...What's 'My Take' on this Film?

Well, the actual film itself was NOT as action packed and as exciting as the trailers and TV commercials made it out to be, at least for me.

The actual 'Sherlock Holmes' property has been around for what seems forever, and I have over my many years of going to movies, and reading the books, and even the comic books on Sherlock Holmes was both intrigued by the re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes and yet not thrilled by total package.

Here's why: 

Sherlock Holmes, played by Robert Downey Jr., was just a little too different at times portraying Sherlock Holmes during the film. 

I was surprised at Sherlock's actions during the 'action' scenes, yet during the slower scenes I couldn't always make out what he was saying.

I enjoy Robert Downey Jr., as 'Iron Man' in those recent Marvel Films, he has the character 'Tony Stark' down pat.  Perfect, period. 

Not here.  Maybe it's the muttering of the lines, or the strange hat he wears during the film, but it just wasn't the Sherlock Holmes I've been used to during the years of reading & watching Sherlock Holmes...And Yes, I know this film was to be a 'reimagining' of the character.. 

And trust me, I've seen a lot of Sherlock Holmes from British productions since being married to Tina since 2001! 

Jude Law, who plays Watson in this film, came across too different as Watson for me.  Yet playing against Downey's Sherlock Holmes, was a more calming influence in the film. So I'm OK with this portrayal.

What's a film without a villain?  Well, in this case, Mark Strong's portrayal of Lord Blackwood was definitely creepy. Not over the top, yet not too unbelievable for me.

Usually the women in the Sherlock Holmes stories, (what women? LOL), don't really stand out.  In this film, Adler, played by Rachel McAdams, does.  Yet is she really part of the Sherlock Holmes 'Canon', that purists kept blogging about months ago?

I couldn't find a film poster for Inspector Lestrade, played by Eddie Marsan. I found his portrayal to be the most similar to what I've seen on film or TV productions in the past. I was fine with his role in this film.

Overall for this film, I would give it the comic book grade of Fine Plus (F+) 6.5 out of a 10.0 grading scale.  Not because of the film itself, as the film itself is beautiful in the scenery, the mood, the action, and the overall filming...But because it wasn't like the trailers and TV commercials that induced me to possibly want to see it on the Big Screen.  That would have been a lot of money for both of us to go to, AND I would have had to hear about from Tina after dragging her there, who...Well, I'll just post a few of her verbal comments starting here:

"I love Robert Downey Jr., but he wasn't my idea of Sherlock Holmes at all."

"He always uses his brains, not brawn."

"It's punch after punch after punch."

"Sherlock Holmes would take a person down with a punch or with his cane."

"Watson would come in and punch somebody."

"Jude Law as Watson, was NOT Watson."

(Note from Michael:  THAT from a woman who loves Jude Law.  I can't count how many films I've watched with Jude Law in the last few years!)

Tina's comic book grade for this Sherlock Holmes film: Fine (F) 6.0 out of a 10.0 grading scale.

Now that we are near the end of this review blog, I want to mention again the comic book aspect of Sherlock Holmes.

After all, this is 'ComicBookCollectors Blog.com', right?!

Well, believe it or not, there have been 24 different comic book titles, either one-shots or series, with 'Sherlock Holmes' as part of the title during the years, as seen by this link to the GCD web site!

You see...Comic Books are NOT all Zap! Pow! Cronk! type of reading!

The Sherlock Holmes comics with 'Sherlock Holmes' in the title, have been published by different publishers since 1975.  The one-shot to the left is the first with 'Sherlock Holmes' in the title that I could find.  I'm sure there were other series with Sherlock Holmes as a character, but this one was the first as a stand alone comic book title.  After the above reviewed film came out, I haven't been able to keep it in stock for sale, so there has been a renewed interest in this character since the Holiday Season of 2009.

One last thing before I wrap up this blog post:

The film itself is discussed of course at the Wikipedia entry for this film.  Plus the old web site that was originally for the promotion of this Film before and during the Holiday Season, has now gone to basically promoting the film on DVD, so I am providing you a link to that web site here. The old url for the film actually redirects you to the Warner Bros web site, which in turn directs you to the WB web store to purchase the DVD.

AND My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,165 total posts in number!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Our online comic book store carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and even DVDs like this one being blogged about today 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

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today...I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- 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   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that!   The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.   NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

 

-------------- 'My Take' On the Book: 'MY BAT BOY DAYS' By Steve Garvey with Candace Garvery & Ken Gurnik PLUS: My Thoughts on Baseball Cards & Comics! Above Photo: Front Cover to the Book! At the Top Left: Front Cover of Roy Campanella - Baseball Hero from 1950! At Middle Left: Jackie Robinson #2 from 1950 From Fawcett Comics! At the Bottom Left: Mickey Mantle #1 from Magnum Comics in 1991.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3166:

Today I am blogging a review on a book that has NOTHING to do with comics!

What?!  Nothing to do with comics?!  Well, not directly, but indirectly, at least for me!

You see, I used to be a big baseball fan.  Went to a lot of baseball games here in San Diego after moving back here from Los Angeles. 

Actually I moved back to San Diego from the Los Angeles Metro Area the same year that Steve Garvey left the LA Dodgers and played for the San Diego Padres back in 1983!  And then the Padres went to the World Series in 1984 thanks to Garvey and so many others that jelled into a Championship Team!  But I get ahead of my self.

Back when I was a kid, we moved a lot due to my Dad serving in the US Navy.  So the only 'stable' thing was baseball.  I liked the NY Yankees, who had won the American League Pennant almost every year from 1947 - 1964, with the exceptions of 1948, 1954, & 1959. So 15 out of 18 Seasons wasn't bad at all!

So of course I wanted to 'collect' baseball cards. Unfortunately there wasn't enough allowance to collect both comics and baseball cards, so I ended up 'collecting' the baseball cards off the backs of cereal boxes that my folks bought at the Navy Exchange.  Yeah, really!  I would carefully cut them off of the back of the boxes. Some of them are actually worth a little bit of money today due to kids not cutting most of them carefully!

One of the teams that I also would listen to or follow the scores in the newspaper were the Brooklyn Dodgers, who in 1958 became the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Years later, after I had grown up, I found myself moving to Los Angeles Metro Area to work after college.  I of course found myself listening to the LA Dodgers games, catching them on TV, and several home games in person.  It was just coincidence that Steve Garvey and I left LA the same year to go San Diego, when he went to play for the Padres.

So this book that I found by Steve Garvey, Candace Garvey, and Ken Gurnik caught my attention real quick when I saw it on the shelves!  

Here is the promo blurb about the book:

"An uplifting chronicle of the author's years as a bat boy under such players as Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, and Mickey Mantle imparts the life lessons he learned from them about the virtues of leadership, dignity, fortitude, compassion, faith, and honesty.

60,000 first printing.

Cover Price USA: $21.00  Canada $24.50

Length:     149 pages
Height:     7.8 in.
Width:      5.3 in.
Thickness:  0.5 in.
Weight:     8 oz.

So what's 'My Take' on this book and why am I blogging about this here?

Well, I have been blogging about a recent comic con I attended in Anaheim recently.  That was the Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con. 

That comic con is more like a 'pop culture con', which several conventions have evolved into.  I missed seeing Steve Garvey on Saturday when he was there signing autographs.  I had a couple of these books along with me in case I was there at the same time he was.

So besides all of the Batman TV Show Stars that I've been blogging about here, (Yvonne Craig, Malachi Throne, etc.),plus more to follow, I had hoped to see Steve in person. Why?

Because this book was a Great Read!  Of course I knew that Steve had been a bat boy before breaking into the Big Leagues years later.  But I didn't how or what it did for him in his formative years.

He chose nine baseball stars to talk about. Several of whom have had comic book issues or even comic book series published about them!

I've already posted comic book covers of three of them at the above left of this blog post.

What this book was about Steve's personal experiences knowing these ball players, and what "Lessons I learned from the Boys of Summer".

It was Sandy Koufax's "Faith" that struck Steve as his standout quality.

Steve wrote about Roy Campanella's "Compassion".

He wrote about Jackie Robinson's "Passion". 

It was Mickey Mantle's "Fortitude" that Steve wrote his chapter about this NY Yankee great.

Pee Wee Reese's "Leadership" was what struck Steve the most, and what that chapter was about.

The chapter of Gil Hodges was about "Dignity", which is what I remember of Gil when he was playing.

Carl Erskine's "Honesty" is the topic of the chapter that Steve wrote about him.

Duke Snider's "Persistence" was the topic about Duke.

Al Kaline's "Perfection" was written about.

Hey, it just doesn't get any better than this!  A 'bat boy' who got to know these baseball stars during their playing days, and who then went on to become the 'Iron Man' of Baseball, playing for 1,207 consecutive games in the National League, setting a new record!  (Couldn't resist mentioning the 'Iron Man' connection, LOL!)

Back to the book, I would grade this book as a 'Near Mint' (NM) 9.4 out of a 10.0 grading scale using the Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide.

Normally I would next list the publisher's link for you to obtain this book, but since I purchased several copies for resale, here is the link to where YOU can buy a copy for yourself at our own ComicBooksCircus.com web site for a LOT LESS than the book's cover price!  (Even including the shipping charge!)

My thanks to Steve Garvey who has given me many hours of entertainment when he was playing both for the LA Dodgers, and then later the SD Padres!  And to Candace Garvey and Ken Gurnik for assisting in getting this book written. It was definitely worth the effort!   

AND My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,165 total posts in number!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Our online comic book store carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and even BOOKS like this one being blogged about today at:

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

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"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

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today...I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- 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   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that!   The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.   NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.