Mood:
caffeinatedTopic: Comic Cons
TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3174: This past month I have started to mention the upcoming 2010 Comic-Con International: San Diego by posting comments on my Facebook Group Page, (found at Hamersky.com), and brief mentions in this Blog. As noted yesterday at my Facebook Group Page, I will be starting to blog more about upcoming events, panels, guests, etc., that are scheduled to be at this Comic-Con. Forgive me if I refer to it at the SDCC (San Diego Comic Con), as that is what it was basically called since I started attending it as a dealer back in 1972. Today's blog post is about Gary Friedrich and Otto Binder Who Will Receive the 2010 Bill Finger Award! I am going to center this blog post just on Gary Friedrich, as he is the person whose works I am more familar with, as I was a 'Marvel Maniac' for about two decades starting in the 1960's: This is from the Comic-Con International (CCI) web site itself, about the Award & Why it is given each year: "Comic-Con International is proud to announce that Otto Binder and Gary Friedrich have been selected to receive the 2010 Bill Finger Award for Achievement in Comic Book Writing. The choices made by a blue-ribbon committee chaired by writer-historian Mark Evanier were unanimous. This is an award about excellence and about contributions to the field which have not received the recognition they deserve," Evanier explains. "Bill Finger sure merited more acclaim than he got and in his name, we try to honor others who have been similarly overlooked. Many people know of and love the work of Otto Binder and Gary Friedrich. Not nearly enough know the names of the men who created that work." I remember reading a LOT of Gary's works during the mid 1960's. That's because: "Gary Friedrich was a member of the legendary Marvel Bullpen of the sixties, joining the company in 1967 after a brief stint working for Charlton Comics on strips that included Blue Beetle and The Sentinels. For Marvel, he began with westerns and quickly segued to super-hero features including The X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, and Marvel's version of Captain Marvel. He distinguished himself with a long, memorable run writing Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, and in 1972 he introduced a new, memorable character with the name of Ghost Rider, which has had a successful run in publishing and which in 2007 resulted in a major motion picture bringing Friedrich's fiery hero to the screen." So that's just some of the reasons why Gary Friedrich was selected to be the co-receipient this year! So you ask, what about Bill Finger, whom the Award is named for? Especially if YOU aren't a long time comics reader or collector. Well, the CCI states the following: Bill Finger (1914-1974), the unsung hero and co-creator of Batman, scripted the first and many of the best Batman stories during the Golden Age of comic books. He created many of the series' most notable characters, including the Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, and Two-Face, and he made significant refinements to Batman's concept and persona. Finger wrote the scripts that introduced the Bat Cave, Batmobile, Batplane, and Batsignal. Many terms he created, such as the Dynamic Duo and Gotham City, have become part of our lexicon. Finger was a craftsman, and his Batman's adventures were carefully plotted, as well as being imbued with humor and sprightly repartee. Above all, he was a visual writer-he knew instinctively what the artist could translate into compelling pictures and sequential narrative. Finger's comics writing credits include many other DC characters, including the Green Lantern and Wildcat, and many titles for Quality Comics, Fawcett Publications, and Timely Comics. His television credits include episodes of 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, the animated New Adventures of Superman, and the primetime Batman series." So now you know who Bill Finger was, and why this Award is named after him. Plus this year's receipients. You may be thinking...What about any earlier receipients of this Award? Well those include:
Please Note Date & Time of the Presentation: "The 2010 awards are underwritten by Comic-Con International. DC Comics is the major sponsor; supporting sponsors are Heritage Auctions and Maggie Thompson. The Finger Award is presented under the auspices of Comic-Con International: San Diego and is administered by Jackie Estrada. The awards will be presented during the Eisner Awards ceremony at this summer's Comic-Con on the evening of July 23 at the San Diego Hilton Bayfront." My personal favorite stories written by Gary Friedrich would include several that he wrote at Marvel, including Kid Colt Outlaw, Black Widow stories in Amazing Adventures, The Gunhawks stories in the series of the same name, several Rawhide Kid stories, and of course several Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos! Plus Butch Cassidy stories over at Skywald Comis! The GCD has his credits listed here. My thanks to the folks at Comic Con International: San Diego for posting this special event early! And of course, My Thanks to Gary Friedrich for providing me with hours and hours of fun reading during the years!Plus My Thanks to Bob Bailey who gave me permission to publish the above three photos of Gary Friedrich from the June 2010 HeroesCon in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can find out more about Bob Bailey from his Facebook Member Page, and if you have the same interests, send him a Facebook Friends Request! Bob is a "North Carolina collector, former Kubert student & Disney artist and regular contributor to Alter-Ego"! AND My Thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now totalling over 3,170 posts in number! ~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com
http://www.comicbookscircus.com/
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Note: Comic books like the ones discussed at the group meeting can be found for sale at our own online comic book store at:
Yeah, that's me in the photo shown to the left, taken at the 1973 San Diego Comic Con at the Sheraton Hotel at Harbor Island in San Diego!
Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 
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!
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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. 
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!
Whereas many, (most?), of the Press were centering on Megan Fox, as shown to the left, at the Jonah Hex Film Premiere last week...
