My 'Take' On:  Kick-Ass The Film...As Seen On DVD   Plus Photos From the 2010 Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con!   - Above Top Photo: The Kick-Ass Film Banner As Seen At the 2010 Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con! - At the Top Right: The Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con Logo.  - Second Right - Michael D Hamersky Standing In Front of the Mist Mobile As Seen On the Exhibit Floor of the 2010 Wizard World Anaheim. - Third Right: The Mistmobile In Total! - Fourth Right - Inside the Mist Mobile. - Bottom Right: Just In Case You Were Thinking of Making This Car Your Own...You Notice That It Belongs to the Red Mist!        --- --- ---

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3230:

This is the time of year that the Big Blockbusters of the Summer are over, and we are waiting for our
Favorite TV Shows to return, or waiting for new shows that we previewed at the San Diego Comic Con International to appear on TV.

So we turned to Red Box last night, (yeah, we sold our Blockbuster stock a couple of years ago), and there was nothing there that we really wanted to see other than 'Kick-Ass' that we both knew was on DVD.

I've had the thought of renting this DVD for a while now, but Tina and I have been so busy, that we haven't rented it.  Plus Tina figured it wouldn't be appropriate for when we had Vinnie with us to view this DVD.  So last night was perfect to view it.

Besides, as you can see by the above photos on the right of this blog post, I had some interest in checking out the Mist Mobile in the film, after seeing it in person at the 2010 Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con! 

So here's 'My Take' on the film, after a promo blurb on what the film was about per publicity accounts:

DVD Blurb: “How come nobody’s ever tried to be a superhero?” When Dave Lizewski – ordinary New York teenager and rabid comic-book geek – dons a green-and-yellow Internet-bought wetsuit to become the no-nonsense vigilante Kick-Ass, he soon finds an answer to his own question: because it hurts. But, over coming all the odds, the eager yet inexperienced Dave quickly becomes a phenomenon, capturing the imagination of the public. However, he’s not the only superhero out there – the fearless and highly trained father-daughter crime-fighting duo, Big Daddy and Hit-Girl, have been slowly but surely taking down the criminal empire of local mafioso Frank D’Amico. And, as Kick-Ass gets drawn into their no-holds-barred world of bullets and bloodletting with Frank’s son Chris, now reborn as Kick-Ass’s arch-nemesis Red Mist, the stage is set for a final showdown between the forces of good and evil, in which the DIY hero will have to live up to his name. Or die trying…

So...the above basically tells you what the movie is about. I'm not going to say more about the actual scenes, as it would be giving away the whole film, and I don't want to put a 'Spoiler Alert' here!

Based on the trailers that I saw on the film before it came out on the Big Screen, and by hearing what was being said about it at the 2010 Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con back in April, I knew that this was one film I would probably end up renting on DVD.

I only drag Tina to comic book movies that I know the history of...and 'Kick-Ass' wasn't a series that I read.  Even though I do like John Romita Jr.'s art style in some other comics series.

So other than seeing the car above at Wizard World, and picking up a few Wizard Magazines with Kick-Ass featured on the front cover to resell, as seen in this link to our online store, I waited till a 'slow time' for us to view this.

Yeah, I appreciated seeing all of the comic book references in this film.  To name just a few:

The Spirit 3 Film on the theater marquee - Runaways comic book that is being read - Scott Pilgrim mention - 'Tony Romita' the Crime Boss - X-Men mention - Fantastic Four mention - Sin City mention - and several others that I didn't write down.

I also enjoyed the storyline that the film took. This was a well written and well directed film. 

It kind of reminded me of the Peter Parker Saga in the early days IF Peter took this road to superhero status without super powers.  So for an origin story film, this is the real deal.

The line that Dave says at the beginning: "Like most people my age...I just existed".  That sums it up for Dave's life to that point.

I also liked how Dave mail-ordered his 'superhero' outfit.  Kind of reminded me of the early Marvel Comics days...

However the only problem in the storyline is that the setup of the characters in the film is a little slow in developing.  But that is offset by the language that is used by the characters.

Yeah, 'language'.  That's what kept me from renting this when Vinnie is with us.  I'm okay with 'action films' for the most part, but the 'language' is something I'm not comfortable in sitting with others to listen to.

This film is definitely aimed at a target market other than myself.  If it hadn't been so heavily promoted and showing its comic book roots, I probably wouldn't have made the effort to see it, great looking car or not!

Talking about the car...I teased you with the photos I took at the Wizard World Anaheim in the top portion of this blog. 

To the left are Kick-Ass and Red Mist inside the Mist Mobile in a scene from the film. I understand that the car features a Rich Evans Design Body Kit, a 550 hp Supercharged 4.6L Motor, with Scissor doors, and custom rims. Plus it also features two nitrous oxide tanks with remote capabilities which actually purge from the hood to create a smoke-filled ambiance for 'Red Mist.'  Great Car, Great Character...that's for sure!

Back now to my 'take' on the film...Every character in the film had a good to great origin story.  Especially Big Daddy and Hit Girl.  I appreciated that the film was placed in a 'real city', that of New York City. Made the film more 'real' for me.

One more quote from the film, as it was so good...Kick-Ass says: "With No Power comes No Reponsibility.  But That wasn't true". Great changing of the world famous line written by Stan Lee for Spider-Man.

Now here's where it gets a little rougher.  I've already mentioned the 'language' used in the film.  I don't get it...maybe it's my age...Maybe it's my upbringing.  But I just don't need that kind of language in the films I want to watch and then buy for my collection to replay later.  I just don't need that, nor want that.

The storyline was really good without all that language.  I would have rated this film much higher than I will post here in a little bit...

And the last thing that bothered me in this film.  It's Hit Girl, who is all of 11 years old, talking the way she does in the film, and being the most violent of all the characters in the film.  Yeah, I understand...she's 'Hit Girl'.  So she's a badass...Well I can see why some groups protested this film because of this role.  Not the best role model in the world for younger children to watch and possibly emulate.  And I saw several younger children wanting 'Kick-Ass' stuff at the Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con before the film even came out...

Other than those two points, and they are 'Major' points to me, the storyline, character development, and the directing were pretty darn good.  Again, I would have rated this film much higher if not for those two 'major' points for me.  

I'm giving this a Very Fine / Very Fine Plus (VF/VF+) 8.25 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grading scale.  Plus suggesting highly that this is definitely NOT for the younger people.  It is rated 'R' for a reason, folks!

BTW, I was interested in what my wife, Tina, thought about this film.  When we go to comic book movies at the Big Screen, we usually both have separate blog posts on our POVs of the film.

So, since it's a review of the film on DVD, I asked her last night to write just a paragraph on her 'take' on the film, and for a comic book grade.  Please note that she is NOT a comic book fanatic like myself.  Other than being associated with me, and attending many comic cons and pop culture cons, she usually doesn't read comic books unless a creator personally asks her to, or she reads a good review elsewhere about a series or graphic novel.  Here's Tina's 'Take':

"Kick-Ass is not your typical super-hero movie. This one actually 'kicks ass'. If Spider-Man existed in a wild alternative universe - this would be it. 

A fun, wild, crazy ride with a great soundtrack, hysterical comics and pop culture references, ( I love a movie that references both Ugly Betty and LOST!), and surprising story.  Loved it!  Near Mint (NM) 9.4 comic book rating."

Whew!  Tina says a lot of what I thought about this film, but goes away with giving it a different grade, and a much better grade at that!  However she doesn't agree on my take on the language / kid violence.  She said afterward as we were shutting down for the night, that it's an "Adult Teen Movie"...Okay...There is a small age difference between us. She's at the tail end of the Baby Boomers birth years...

Thanks Tina for your input!  So that about sums it up here for this blog post!

Oh...We don't have any Kick-Ass DVDs for sale in our own online store, but here's a link to where we suggest YOU get a copy if you are wanting to purchase one! Kick-Ass the DVD!  

PLUS...My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,225 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

BTW, You can 'follow' this Blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app! 

I would appreciate that!

Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.  

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   ComicBooksCircus.com - It's Under The Big Top Of Comics! Click the Above Circus Tent to See Our Current Listings!

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.

 

The 2nd Night of the 2010 Leo Carrillo Film Festival... September 3rd! At The Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park In Carlsbad, California!   It's Running For Three More Consecutive Friday Nights At: 6200 Flying LC Lane  Above Top Photo: Michael D Hamersky & Tina LoSasso Enjoying the 2nd Night of the Festival! - At the Top Right: The Film Nights Marquee Seen On the Online Site.  - Second Right - The Look On the Way Down to the Hacienda. Cart Rides Are Available. - Third Right: (L-R) Just a Few of Our Neigbors -Mary Lou Smith, Tina, Vikki Walker & Joe McPadden! - Fourth Right - The Lobby Card to Last Night's Film. - Bottom Right: One of the great scenes starring Edith Fellows & Leo Carrillo in 'City Streets'!        --- --- ---

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3229:

Last night Tina and I joined a few of our neighbors at the 2nd Night of the 2010 Leo Carrillo Film Festival.

This is the same Film Festival I blogged about a couple of weeks ago, (see here for full film schedule in my earlier post). Yep...It's THAT TIME of Year Again for those that are relatively close to Coastal North San Diego County to attend!

Because I have taken on a project that is keeping me away from the home office during the day for a another month, Tina arrived early with the neighbors to save us a spot in the main section of the film area! It's first come...first takers of the grounds area.  They arrived at 5:15 PM and were able to take their pick of area. Note: Only low back chairs are permitted up in front.  So get there early if you don't have those size of chairs!  There is a separate back area for those that arrive later with high back chairs, so even you arrive late, there is still room!

Last week we went with our church group, and staked out a larger claim on the ground, as there would be later arrivals.  We didn't have this time, as it was just the five of us to picnic and have some bottles of wine... 

Tina packed us a bottle of wine, cheese and salami plus great sandwiches, so I only stopped at the Cabana to see what the Opportunity Drawing Prizes were for this week.  However, as you can see by the photo to the left, they have several good choices for a picnic dinner!  Next week is 'Hot Dog Week', so we may try those for a change, especially since they were mentioning possibly having 'chili dogs'!  .

Last week there wasn't a 'Trivia Game', just a new 'Opportunity Drawing', which I played with 3 tickets and won 2nd Prize!  (See last week's blog for details.)  This week there was a Trivia Game in addition to the Opportunity Drawing!  Tina and I had already decided not to play the Trivia Game that is usually played at these film dates, as we have won prizes repeatedly in the past, so thought we should give others a chance to win...Which was good, because the questions were a LOT harder this time!

The three 'Opportunity Drawing' prizes looked pretty good last night, so I bought a few tickets to help support the Festival as this Film Festival is 'Free' to attend.   

Tina is shown at the left holding the 3rd prize...A Peacock Hand Puppet.

Tina loves to look for the white peacock that roams the grounds with the other peacocks.  You can walk the grounds befor the film starts if you arrive early enough, or take a shortened docent tour. 

If YOU haven't taken in a docent tour of the grounds on Saturday or Sunday...You are missing a great tour!

Oh, and here was last night's Grand Prize...A $112 value gift basket! 

Anyways, for those of YOU that haven't been to this Leo Carrillo Film Festival, here's what happens:

Nostalgic entertainment under the stars at a real movie star retreat.  Admission is free.  Movies start promptly at sunset.  Grounds open at 5 p.m. for picnics and tours.  Complementary tour of the hacienda is offered one hour before sunset.

Guests should bring low-back chairs, blankets, and a flashlight.  Warm clothes and appropriate shoes are recommended for uneven terrain throughout the park.  An episode of “The Cisco Kid” precedes the film screening.  Films are not rated.  Parental discretion is advised.  Closed captioning is not available unless otherwise indicated.

And what would the Leo Carrillo Film Festival be without an episode of The Cisco Kid from the TV Series that had an original run from September 5, 1950 – March 22, 1956?! 

As stated above and in my earlier blogs; an epsiode from the TV Series is played first, then it's intermission time, and then on to the main feature film... 

FYI: At the start of this TV series, Leo was 70 years old and Duncan Renaldo was 46!  BTW, Leo and Duncan are considered to be the first regular TV series Hispanic Stars, as Desi Arnaz Jr didn't start until the following year with his wife Lucille Ball with their show...Just a little bit of trivia for you!   

The episode last night was 'Water Rights'.  This episode came across to the several in the audience as 'campy', as there were several laughs at the forced action scenes.  Not one of the better episodes that we have seen at the Film Festival, or online watching the TV Series.

Unfortunately, the usual ending of the episode didn't have the usual "Ohhh, Ceesco!" by Pancho, with the rejoinder from Cisco Kid..."Oh, Pancho!". This was noticed by Mary Lou, who joined us for the first time, and who had watched several of the TV episodes when she was a child. 

As mentioned in last week's blog...This is the 6th Season of the Leo Carrillo Film Festival!  The crowd attending wasn't as large as the 1st Night's crowd, but next Friday's attendance will probably be a lot larger in size, as the brand new exhibit at the Ranch will be unveiled the night before at a private party, and opened for those attending the Friday night's Film Festival! 

I posted a note about this in last week's blog, but want to metnion it again, as it Big News for the Ranch.  Last week, I was contacted by a Facebook Friend, Gerry Streff, an archivist with the the City of Carlsbad, who after seeing my earlier Thursday blog post about this year's Film Season, sent me the following link.  There will be a Special Exhibit that opens to the general public on the Friday Night of September 10th, which coincides with that night's Film Festival. 

You should plan accordingly and get there early to take this new exibit in, plus 'claim' your space to catch that night's Cisco Kid episode and the film that plays after intermission!  Thanks, Gerry for the heads up on this!

So to finish up blogging about last night's 2nd Night of the 2010 Leo Carrillo Film Festival...The audience was still large in numbers although down from Opening Night.  The staff working the event were friendly as always, and I'm looking forward to chili-dogs!  The Cisco Kid episode was OK, and gave those who were new to the Festival a taste of that series.

Add to that the Opportunity Drawing Prizes given away at intermission were good prizes! And the nostalgic main film that was shown...Made it a Great 2nd Night at this year's Film Festival! My thanks again to all of those involved with having this Film Season continue.  There were a couple hundred folks there last night that appreciated it!

BTW, I blog about this Film Festival every year because there is a comic book connection as well! 

There were 40 issues of the Cisco Kid comic book title from Dell Comics, starting in January of 1951 and ending with the Oct/Dec 1958 issue!  Here's a link to all of those covers!

PLUS: Here's a link to the blog posts that we've blogged about in the past to show you what's at the Leo Carrillo Ranch, as well as what fun we had at the Leo Carrillo Film Festival in recent years:  Click here for the link!

Thanks again to the City of Carlsbad, and to the LeoCarrilloRanch.org people, and the Friends Of CarrilloRanch.org folks for making the Ranch Docent Tours and the Film Festival possible this year!

Oh...We don't have any Cisco Kid DVDs for sale in our online store, (we are keeping ours for our own collection!), but here's a link to one of the better Cisco Kid Collections! Best of The Cisco Kid (35 Episodes)

And if YOU are attending and see Tina and myself there...Stop by and say hello!  I'm usually wearing my straw hat and wearing one of my 'Comic Book Collectors Blog.com' indigo colored polo shirts to these events, (as seen at the top left photo of this post)!

PLUS...My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,225 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

BTW, You can 'follow' this Blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  I would appreciate that!

Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.  

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   ComicBooksCircus.com - It's Under The Big Top Of Comics! Click the Above Circus Tent to See Our Current Listings!

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: Crying Macho Man #4 As Seen at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International!     - Above Photo:  Jose Cabrera at the Small Press section during the 2010 SDCC! - At the Top Left: A Closeup of the Front Cover to Crying Macho Man No. 4! - At the Bottom Left: The Logo for the Comic Con International: San Diego - a.k.a. San Diego Comic Con 2010.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3228:

Today's post is about yet another publication that I 'found' at the recent SDCCI.

This time I was back in the Small Press Section of the Comic-Con, going down the aisles and saw this striking banner, as shown at the top right photo.  Again, for those of YOU that are setting up at a comic con, whether in a Small Press or Artists Alley Table...Having a eye catching banner is great advertising!

Jose and I talked for a while, and after looking at his publications I chose the No 4 issue to read and possibly review.

Here is what the the creator of Crying Macho Man says about his cartoon's origin:

"Crying Macho Man was born on the mean streets of New York City and has been bringing you the funny on a weekly basis for the last 5 years. Wow, now that's a lot of cartoons. We're talking hundreds of strips that were born out of love and sweat.

This is about the time I start to list the prestigious awards Crying Macho Man the cartoon strip has won over the years and how successful and rich I've become as it's creator. But I'm sorry to disappoint you. The cartoon biz is a tough cookie to crack. Newspapers, that were once the main vehicle for the funny's have consistently hacked away the main thing I bought the paper for. The Funny Pages!

The interent seemed to bring the distribution of cartoons on a level playing field, giving budding artists like myself the opportunity to conquer this fickle media. But after 5 years of working the web, I've made about enough money to pay for a tank of gas and dinner for the missus and me. 5 YEARS YO! But I don't want this to be a bitch fest. It has brought something much more valuable. FRIENDS WHO LIKE TO DRAW CARTOONS! And I don't just mean fair weather friends either. I've met some of the best people on the planet. And cartoon peeps are such a dedicated bunch. Their love of the craft is infectuous. I seriously believe I would have dropped out the game if it weren't for their support and enthusiasm.

So here stands Crying Macho Man holding his own after 5 years, passionately getting up in the morning and dipping his proverbial pen in the bottomless inkwell of funny.

Thanks for giving me the chance to make you laugh or at least try!"

Fair enough...Here is 'My Take' on the 4th issue of Crying Macho Man:

Front Cover - After a long week of superheroes at the Comic-Con, I was looking forward to seeing something other than superheroes fare in the Small Press Section.  Seeing Jose hold this publication, I could tell it wasn't that genre.  It looks inviting enough to open the page to check out the inside cover...

Which I did.  The inside cover kind of surprised me, by having nine other issues pictured from 'Cartoon Flophouse'.  So if I liked this sort of humour, I would be sure to take a look at what else had been published so far.  Good marketing!

The first page - Not a 'Splash Page' - It wold appear that the pages in this comic book magazine are from his web comic for the most part?  The first page is a one page cartoon strip with six panels.  The joke sets the stage for the next pages...

More multi-panel one page cartoon stories are shown.  Plus one panel pages...which break up the standard format.

I find myself laughing at some of the cartoons.  It is entertaining at that...

What follows next is a 9 page cartoon story. Not bad... And then another one panel cartoon page, with a parody on Wolverine.

More one panel parody pages follow, with 'Super Duper Man', and what are shown to be 'Batman' and 'Ghost Rider'.  Again, the mix of pages keeps this publication from being routine.  I liked the mix and the jokes.  A good break from superheroes, even though some do make it to the interior pages!

The inside front cover was the Ka-Blam! printers ad.  Which I see a lot...Another good print job from Ka-Blam!  Oh, and the interior pages are black & white, with color covers outside and inside.

The back cover is just a little over the top...which is good that I didn't look at it before reading the interior pages.  I'll let you see that one for yourselves...

I found this comic book magazine to be entertaining and worth the cover price for this type of humor. 

My comic book grade for this publication is a VERY FINE / NEAR MINT, (VF/NM) 9.0 on a 10.0 grading scale.

Here's a little bit more on the creator, with a 'bio' that I found on his blog:

"Jose was born and raised in New York City in the upper part of Manhattan. His community was predominately Dominican and throughout his early school years he was surrounded by friends who loved to draw. His love for art got him accepted to La Guardia H.S. of Music and Art near Lincoln Center were he was exposed to the world of fine art. After graduating from High School, he went to Baltimore and attended the Maryland Institute College of Art. He studied everything from photography to environmental design and got a huge spoonful of Art History. Some of his influences include Henry Moore, Amedeo Modigliani, Lucian Freud, Giacometti, Paul Rand, Ansel Adams, Robert Mapplethorpe, Andy Warhol, R. Crumb, John Romita Jr., Sal Buscema, John Byrne, Jack Davis and the list goes on. This gave him the inspiration and the cojones to create Crying Macho Man."

Crying Macho Man has a Facebook Fan Page, which can be found here.

Crying Macho Man has its own web site, as found here.

We don't have any xtra copies of this publication for sale. Thus, I'm suggesting that if YOU would like to read more of this cartoon series, here's a link to another quality online site:  The Premiere Crying Macho Man Collection: Prime Cut - that has at least one copy for sale at the time of this blog posting!

---------------------------

Thanks again, Jose Cabrera, for sharing your time with me at the recent San Diego Comic Con International!

PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 3,225 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.  

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     ComicBooksCircus.com - It's Under The Big Top Of Comics! Click the Above Circus Tent to See Our Current Listings!

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)! Plus I have a chapter in a new book coming out in December of 2010, that is pictured above, "Gotham City 14 Miles"! 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'. Please Note: I have reached the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so it might be a while before I am able to accept your request. Just send a message along with the invite that you saw my Blog!         ------------------- 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 Further Adventures Of D.B. Cooper As Seen at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International!     - Above Photo:  Michael Heffron, EIC of Law Dog Comics, as seen holding the graphic novel during the 2010 SDCC! - At the Top Left: The Law Dog Comics Logo! - At the Bottom Left: The Logo for the Comic Con International: San Diego - a.k.a. San Diego Comic Con 2010.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3227:

Today's post is another publication that I 'found' at the recent SDCCI, at a booth in the 'Small Press' section.

After talking with the Editor-In-Chief of Law Dog Comics about the banner that caught my eyes, (see top right photo of this blog), he gave me a copy of this publication for possible review in this Blog.

I'm probably a little older than most of you reading this, so I remember at least some of the true life D.B. Cooper Adventure as it unfolded back then.  For those of You that don't remember, or don't know the story, here's a brief paragraph or two about him:

Actually the D.B. Cooper name  is the name attributed to the man who hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft in the United States on November 24th of 1971! He received $200,000 in ransom money, and then parachuted from the plane!

Earlier, when he boarded the plane, he was first known as Dan Cooper, but through a later press error, he became known as "D. B. Cooper".  Since 1971 there have been hundreds of leads through the years, but no conclusive evidence has ever surfaced regarding Cooper's true identity or whereabouts. Strangely though some of the money has surfaced, but the bulk of the money has never been recovered!

Naturally, several theories were offered up with competing explanations of what happened after his famed jump. However, the F.B.I. believes he did not survive.

Today the Cooper case (code-named "Norjak" by the F.B.I.) is the only unsolved U.S. aircraft hijacking!  

Here is what the publisher used as a back cover blurb about this book:

I hadn't run across this company before at any comic cons I've been to.  Here is a little about the publisher and the company:

I don't see where Law Dog Comics has a Facebook Fan Page, so there isn't a link provided here.

Law Dog Comics has what appears to be its web site with a different title for sale, but no info on any other titles are found there including this one I reviewed today, which I find strange.  There is also a blog for the company, but it doesn't seem to be updated...  

We don't have any xtra copies of this publication for sale. And after checking my usual sources to refer potential buyers of the reviewed publication today, I find none to refer you to?!  There isn't an ISBN number on the publication either.  So if you are interested in reading this storyline, I suggest checking on the web site link provided in the above paragraph as to where you can obtain a copy. Don't let the current portal page on the web site throw you off.  It's the same publishing company, but with a different genre of story. 

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Thanks again, Michael Heffron, for sharing your time with me at the recent San Diego Comic Con International and introducing me to this series!

PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 3,225 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.  

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     ComicBooksCircus.com - It's Under The Big Top Of Comics! Click the Above Circus Tent to See Our Current Listings!

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: Ragged Capes Volume 1 As Seen at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International!     - Above Photo:  Ralph Ellis Miley at the CCAS Booth during the 2010 SDCC! - At the Top Left: A Closeup of the Front Cover to Volume 1 of Ragged Capes! - At the Bottom Left: The Logo for the Comic Con International: San Diego - a.k.a. San Diego Comic Con 2010.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3226:

Today's post is another publication that I 'found' at the recent SDCCI.

This time I was at the CCAS (Christian Comic Arts Society) Booth, where Ralph Ellis Miley showed me one of his works.

So, after talking him and others at this booth, I expressed my interest in seeing more of this publication with a Christian based storyline.

Here is what the publication is about per their promotional literature:

Judgment, hatred, doubt, and redemption. "Ragged Capes" is a superhero anthology exploring how both villains and heroes respond when they are confronted with the darker side of human nature. Join in the journey of Grip, Lioness, Excelsior, and Virtue as they cope with a world crying out with injustice -- and where even the most righteous deeds can be dirty rags.

Stories by  Warren Fitzpatrick, Bud Rogers, Kevin Yong and Ralph Ellis Miley, with art by Dan Barlow, Antonio Bifulco, Wayne Cash, Cassie Fuertez, Lisa Hutchinson, Eric Jansen, Bill Maus, Mark Melton, Montos, and Geoff Strout.

This is what the publisher, New Creation Now is all about: New Creation Now creates Christian comic books and faith based webcomics that are ethnically diverse and denominationally open. We produces and promote God honoring themes through the medium of web comics, comic books, graphic novels and anthologies, tracts,  and other cool stuff. NCN also functions as a publisher, and promoter of Christian creative work as it relates to the comic book genre and other related mediums. “Walk In The Newness of Life”.

Here is 'My Take' on the Volume 1 of Ragged Capes:

Front Cover - Possibly the usual superhero fare inside? As only the title 'Ragged Capes' and the four individuals are shown there.

Inside Front Cover - Blank..No Intro.. Nothing, just blank...So it is in the format of a graphic novel.

1st Page - Can't call it a 'Splash page' as it starts right in with Chapter One: Grip.

The 1st story / chapter: 8 pages - Turns out that this story has some good dialogue and storyline to it.  A lot was covered in the 8 pages without it seeming to be 'squeezed' in.  This was based on a story by Warren Fitzpatrick, and adapted well into sequential art by Dan Barlow and Montos.

The 2nd story - 'Lioness' - 7 pages - I liked the way this story was presented...with no dialogue.  Just being told in a narrative by 'Lioness'. With script and layouts by Ralph Ellis MIley.  The artwork by Wayne Cash and Antonio Bifulco really added to this story.

(BTW, each chapter is separated by a page with a gospel quote.)

Chapter 3 - 'Excelsior' - Another 7 pager - The coloring immediately stood out in this story for me! The colorist was Lisa Hutchinson.  Which emphasized the artwork by Bill Maus.

Chapter 4 - 'Virtue' - 8 pages - To go from a brightly colored story in Chapter 3 to a darker story reminded me that this publication was an 'anthology'.  With different teams of creators, you get different styles and presentations.  However the final page really ended this publication on a high note. The art and coloring on that final page really stood out. Layouts by Eric Jansen, with finishing and coloring by Geoff Strout.

The final section was a 6 page 'Behind the Capes' text piece. It told in an interview format the story as to how this publication came about.  The interview was on the Editors of this publication, Ralph Ellis Miley and Kevin Yong. This interview really put the background as to how this anthology came into being and why. I almost wish it had been placed at the front of the publication instead of the back.  As there was no intro to these characters or that this was an anthology except on the back cover.

It was the Back Cover that was the only place that you can find what this publication was about.  However, how many potential readers / buyers would start there?  If you were casually thumbing through it at a LCBS or a book store you could.  But odds are, many wouldn't do so.

As with most anthologies, 'grading' this publication is a little harder to do than other genres of graphic novels or comic books for that matter.

I found overall that this graphic novel was not overly preachy, and each chapter came through pretty well in presentation. I believe the lack of an 'intro' setting up what the reader was going to be reading was the only detraction in this graphic novel.  As again, I want to emphasize that there wasn't anything on the front cover, inside cover, or the first page to give a potential reader an idea what was contained in the rest of the publication.

Other than that, this was good reading, and the 'Behind the Capes' Feature was appreciated in tying this anthology together! 

My comic book grade for this publication is a VERY FINE PLUS, (VF+) 8.5 on a 10.0 grading scale.

The Christian Comic Arts Society has a Facebook Fan Page, which can be found here.

New Creation Now has its own web site, as found here.

We don't have any xtra copies of this publication for sale. Thus, I'm suggesting that if YOU would like to read it, here's a link to another quality online site:  Ragged Capes (Volume 1) that has at least one copy for sale at the time of this blog posting!

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Thanks again, Ralph, for sharing your time with me and my son at the recent San Diego Comic Con International!

PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 3,225 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.  

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     ComicBooksCircus.com - It's Under The Big Top Of Comics! Click the Above Circus Tent to See Our Current Listings!

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.