Michael D Hamersky On Comics Reports On:   Semantink's Comic Savvy June 19th, 2011 Meet-up (Yes, On Fathers Day in San Diego, California!)        - - Top Photo: The June 2011 Semantink's Comic Savvy was held once again in the outside porch area of Milano Coffee Company in the Mission Valley Area of San Diego, California. Vinne & Michael are shown near the end of the meetup, Vinnie's 1st to attend.  Where else to spend Fathers Day, right?!! Thanks, Vinnie! - Lower Photo:  (L-R) Francis (Jay) Bautista - Winner of 'The Brain Eater's Bible: Sound Advice for the Newly Reanimated Zombie' hard cover book for the Surprise Drawing,  and Benjamin Glibert - moderator of the Meetup & Publisher of Semantink Publishing. -  Note:  The additional pics from last night will be posted in the special photo album: June 2011 Semantink's Comic Savvy Meet-Up at my Facebook Fan Page, Michael D Hamersky On Comics.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3441:

Last night, (June 19th), was the June 2011 meetup of Semantink's Comic Savvy at the Milano Coffee Company, in the Mission Valley area of San Diego, California.

And no, this isn't a brand new series of meetups going on in the San Diego Metro Area... Here's the link to the February 20th, 2011 Meet-Up, the April 2011 meetup , and the May 2011 meetup that I attended.  (I did miss the March 2011 meetup due to family members going to the hospital during that time.)

As stated in those prior blogs on this meetup... The 'official hours' of the meet-up are from 5PM to 7PM, on the 3rd Sunday of every month, but several persons, including my wife Tina, my youngest son Vinnie, and myself  were having so much fun attending that we were there till the tables and chairs were being returned to their usual places! 

I've included a couple of pics at the top right of this post, with names of those in attendance shown in the photos, (Sorry, not all are pictured here...)  Because of the limitations of this blog format, I've built a 'special photo album' titled 'June 2011 Semantink's Comic Savvy Meet-Up' at my Facebook Fan Page for you to see all that were in attendance, if YOU weren't there!  And  please.. Feel free to 'tag' yourself if you attended this meetup!

Ben Glibert, Director of Publishing at Semantink Publishing, was once again the 'moderator' of the meetup.

First came the introductions going round the tables, and what the person was currently reading, whether comic book, graphic novel, or TPB.  The group once again had some new attendees, (all are welcome!), and some of the items being read were: Ben - Fear Itself, Frank - Powers, Tiffany - Uncanny X-Men, Michael - Stan Lee's How To Draw Comics, Tina - Pride Predjudice & Zombies, Matt - Conan the Barbarian, James (the new) X-Force.

Ben figured that I would have my usual question of the month to ask, as I had a tote bag that was stuffed with goodies... So he called upon me to ask it right after the introductions were made...

Two months ago, (in Blog #3392),  I asked the question of the group, 'What upcoming comic book movie are YOU most interested in seeing?'.  The 3rd most popular that the group wanted to see was the THOR film, with 12% having that as 1st choice, out of THOR, GREEN LANTERN, CAPTAIN AMERICA, and X-MEN.  (PRIEST, based on the Korean comic book series, was not included in this topic at that time.)

For how those who attended the May 2011 Comic Savvy meetup thought of the THOR Film by comic book grading standards, please see this link.

Since then the X-Men First Class had come out earlier in the month of June, and on this past Friday, the Green Lantern film had been released.

So what did this group of 15 attendees think of these two films after seeing them? (Note: 4 more attendees came after the question was asked and their results are not tallied here.)

First was the X-Men First Class 'grades'.  I'm including both the numerical (out of a possible 10.0), and the Comic Book Grade that corresponds with it:

9.4  / NM    = 1

9.2 / NM-    = 1

9.0 / VF/NM = 4

8.5 / VF+     = 2

8.0 / VF      = 2

7.5 / VF-     = 1

2.0 / G(ood)  = 1

Not Seen      = 3  (Grand Total of 15 attending / grading)

Each person added a comment or two on this film, and also on the next film they graded.  Most were surprised how good X-Men First Class was!  Just like myself!

BTW, here's 'My Take' on this film, and here is Tina's Take from a Woman's POV on the same film.

The Green Lantern film had opened on Friday.  For a group of 15 attendees, who are interested in comics / graphic novels, etc., it was a little surprising that 9 out of 15 had NOT yet seen it!  Here's the tabulations on the grading:

8.5 / VF+  = 1

6.5 / F+    = 1 (Note: Seen in 3-D, o/w would be a '4.0')

6.0 / F     = 1

5.0 / VG/F = 1

4.0 / VG    = 1

2.0 / G      = 1

Not Seen    = 9 

I've got to add that the top grade given was mine, and I was the oldest person there, (while Vinnie was the youngest, and he had not seen it).  You can see that the 'grades' reflected how poor of a reception this film had with those who had seen it!

Here is 'My Take' on the Green Lantern film, and Tina did not want to see it, as the trailers had shown too much CGI for her to want to attend.  This is the first comic book film in a long time she did not attend with me at the Big Screen!  After the 'grades' given at the meetup last night, she knew she had made a wise choice, at least in her opinion!  Vinnie didn't come with us until Sunday, so he did not see the film on Friday when I did.

Also, as customary, I brought a 'freebie' for those kind enough to answer my the question(s) for this Blog.  Two months it was a movie poster for the Priest in 3D Film that was being released on May 13th in the USA and Canada.

And for the month of May give-away I had run across a marketing intern, Jennell, who was kind enough to provide a 'Priest' t-shirt for both my Facebook Fan Page 'drawing' to be held after Opening Weekend for the film, and one t-shirt for this Comic Savvy meetup as a 'thank you' for answering my survey questions!  So that was the giveaway for the month of May!  See this link for the winner's reaction!

So for this month of June, I brought in a book that I mentioned last month at the meetup, that I was reading for a review blog.  Titled:  The Brain Eater's Bible: Sound Advice for the Newly Reanimated Zombie! By author J.D. McGhoul with Pat Kilbane.  Yeah, it not my 'normal fare' for reading, but I could see from the expressions and comments from those in attendance at the May meetup, that it would be received very well here!

So I had Vinnie pass out copies of the intro issue of the 'IZombie' comic book to all those in attendance first, while I passed out copies of the intro issue of 'Human Target', which the TV Show was based on.  Yeah, 'brains' & 'humans'... What a choice this month, LOL!

So... once the copies of the two different comics had been passed out, I asked those holding the comics to check to see if they were the 'winner'... (there was a sticky note with the word 'winner' on the splash page!).

It turned out that Francis (Jay) Bautista, (see 2nd top right photo), was the winner!  And he was pleased to say the least!  Plus it turned out, after I took his photo, so were many others who had the opportunity to see the book close up, thumbing through it.  Francis had started passing the book around the table. Several persons called it 'totally rad', and many are going to check it out for purchase!  Like you can by clicking this link! 

There were more topics brought up at this meetup, but once again, as the meetup is held outside in a porch area, and nine-teen ending up attending last night, there were some sub-discussions that I didn't quite hear, and have decided not list more topics here, as this blog is getting a long in length.

So... My thanks once again to Semantink Publishing sponsoring this monthly meet-up!  Here's the Facebook link to the event that just occurred, and here's the link to Semantink Publishing's Facebook Fan Page, which I encourage YOU to 'Like'!  Plus check out their several comic book series that are online.  When they publish hard copies of those in TPBs, I'll be sure to review blog them here!

Again, Semantink's Comic Savvy is normally the 3rd Sunday of every month, which has been held at the Milano Coffee Company in Mission Valley.  There is also another weekday meetup on a monthly basis that is sponsored by this same publisher, but I've not attended it, due to the traffic that hits on weeknights in the San Diego Metro Area.  (I live in North San Diego County.)

I'll mention the upcoming July Sunday evening meetup in an upcoming wall post at my own Facebook Fan Page, 'Michael D Hamersky On Comics', after the event page for July is created.  That one should be extra 'special', as it is being held the Sunday evening before the Comic-Con International / San Diego Comic Con kicks off on that week's Wednesday evening!  So there should be extra people in town that would enjoy a meetup of like minded individuals, and they are invited also!  This is a 'free' meetup to attend, and Milano Coffee Co has great coffee and eats! 

Till then...Have Some Fun!  Oh, and don't forget to check out the rest of the pics that weren't shown here at the blog, in the special photo album just for THIS June 2011 meet-up!     

~Michael D Hamersky

(And yes... for those keen-eyed individuals out there reading this blog post... That is the first 'official' photo of myself wearing the new 'Navy colored' polo shirts with the 'ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com' name on them!  I needed new shirts for the upcoming Comic-Con in San Diego, and the darker color is what I chose to buy.  So I'll be wearing the Navy colored shirts for the most part from now on at comic cons / sci-fi cons / etc., and using the indigo colored shirts for more 'everyday' wear, should you run into me!)  

BTW, You can 'follow' this Blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  We currently have over 2,461 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky 

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:   ComicBooksCircus.com 

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers 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.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!!  (Note:  I don't list my email address here, due to 'spambots' gathering it and 'spamming' me. 

To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to have sent me a 'Friend Request'.

However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages in my network already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' for myself so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there. 

Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Posts: Sharing Father's Day Via Comic Books! Comic Book Covers Featuring TV Show Dads!    This year I wanted to of course blog about Fathers Day with a comics related theme. Back in 2007, I blogged about my youngest son taking me to see the Fantastic Four 2 Film: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and in subsequent years I've blogged about other topics that were also comics related.  Hey, it's a comic book blog after all isn't it?! LOL. Today I wanted to present comic book covers from the Dell Four Color Comics series that really stand out to me as being representative of Fathers Day. The top photo is Dell FC #1285 from Feb/Apr of 1962. Copyright 1961 by Gomaico Productions, Inc. Based on the 1957-63 "Leave It to Beaver" TV series. That is an early memory for me about fathers. The column to the right are more TV show fathers that made an impression on me.   - - Photos: (topmost above) One of the most understanding fathers on a TV show was of course Ben Cartwright.  Even though he had three wives, he had been widowed twice before... The comic book cover is from Dell FC #1221 from Sept / Nov 1961. Copyright 1961 by National Broadcasting Company. The above photo is from Dell FC #1341 from Apr / Jun 1962. Copyright 1962 by Mayberry Corporation. Based on "The Andy Griffith Show" TV series. Andy Griffith was a heckuva of a TV dad, but Ron Howard, who is famous now in own right as an actor, director, and producer, has nothing but good to say of him. And yes, I know, TV Dads are hard to live up to... God knows I haven't always.  But these are good role models for fathers, even though they may be fictional ones.  Some may even call them sci-fi ones, as they must be living on a different planet to be such great dads!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3440:

I would have to say that the above photos of comic book covers would 'say' what I am thinking about what Father's Day means to me...

I had to go back a ways for those comic book book covers, as today's comics don't really have any examples of Fathers that I'd like to present here.

The TV shows since the early to mid 1960s just haven't presented Fathers in 'good light', IMO. 

I know that I am divorced from my kids mother, so all is not 'rosy' in the 'real world'.  But I'd rather not present here the more 'grim n gritty' comics that present Fathers in a non-flattering way.  And as the main blogger for this Blog, that is my right to do so.

Talking about Fathers, the above photo is from last weekend, when my cousin came out to see his Uncle Francis, (my Dad), for the 1st time. Richard Francis, seen at the far right, had been 'lost' to us for decades, as his father, (my Dad's oldest brother), had died years ago, and his wife had gone back East and re-married.  Richard Francis' step-father had adopted him, and the rest of the family had lost contact with him after that.  It was only last year that my Dad's younger brother, Victor, had located him, and invited out to that year's family reunion.

Richard Francis decided to look up the rest of his biological father's family, including my dad, Francis, to see how the rest of the family were like, as he had not grown up with them around.  The above photo from left to right are: Francis Lewis, Michael D (me), Francis 'Frank', and Richard Francis.  I thought it was timely to present that pic in this blog today.  

And no, my sister, Carolyn Sue, was not able to make it down for the get gogether last weekend.  She is in Juneau, Alaska, which is just a little far aways to come down for everything!

Tomorrow, I'm taking my youngest son, Vinnie, with us to celebrate Fathers Day at my Dad's, where we'll have sandwiches, chips, and cake! Afterwards, Vinnie, Tina & I will be going to attend Semantink's Comic Savvy Meetup in the Mission Valley Area of San Diego, where like minded comics fans will meetup for coffee and conversation at the Milano Coffee House. A great way for us to end Father's Day, doncha think?!

Here's to all of you having a great Fathers Day with your father should he still be with you.  And if not, take a little time to think about him on this special day / weekend.

And a "Happy Father's Day to MY Dad"!

Best,

~Michael D Hamersky

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  We currently have over 2,461 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! 

And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:  

http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com/ 

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers 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.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail 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

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Reviews: The 2011 Green Lantern Film! From A Comic Book Fan's POV!      - Photos: (topmost above) Michael D Hamersky at the Theater's Lobby with the Green Lantern exhibit. (above left top) One of the film posters for the 2011 Green Lantern film.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3439:

Just got back in from an early afternoon matinee showing of the 2011 film... 'Green Lantern'!

So, I'm quickly blogging 'my take' on this film, as there won't be a follow-up blog from my wife, Tina, as she elected not to go to see this film...

With the opening scene I could see why Tina didn't want to go... Too much CGI at the beginning, and I was beginning to wonder myself about the direction that this film was going.

However, once the film's storyline was on Earth, the film picked up for me. 

First I must point out, yes I did read some of the early Green Lanterns with Hal Jordan as GL.  I liked the Gil Kane artwork.  However, as stated before in this blog, Marvel Comics came into being, and I was one of the early 'Marvel maniacs'. 

With my allowance as small as it was, I couldn't afford DCs, Marvels, ACGs, Gold Keys, etc., so I decided early on to 'collect' Marvels, thus not keeping up with Green Lantern from DC Comics. So No, I didn't keep up with Hal Jordan or all of the later Green Lanterns on Earth.

Yet, I found this film well paced, cutting back and forth cleanly between Earth scenes and planet Oa scenes.  Good editing!

Hal Jordan was portrayed pretty well in this film, and Carol Ferris was just a little differently written, probably due to having it occur in the 2010s and not the 1950's - 60's.

I enjoyed some of the updates, such as when Hal tried to get the ring to work with the Lantern, citing: "To Infinity and Beyond!", and something about the "Power of Greyskull". 

The fact that Hal Jordan wasn't cut out to be a 'Green Lantern' because he wasn't fearless, per Sinestro's spoken thoughts, was because of his humanity.

It was the humanity in this film, or rather the interactions of humans with other humans that made this film play better on the Big Screen for me.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER - WARNING WARNING WARNIG! If you don't want to know more about the actual film scenes, then skip the following paragraphs until you reach the end of the SPOILER WARNINGS!

Yes, the CGI was done pretty well, but it was the opening scene of Parallax being found that would have turned my wife, Tina, right off from the beginning.  Indeed, as stated above, that is when I started wondering what I come into...

Yet the interactions between the human characters was done pretty well, IMO. The 'Space Opera' scenes were also okay, except for the part where Parallax was a cloud like space creature.  I was already disappointed in another universe on screen, Marvel's Universe, where Galactus was a 'space cloud'.  Yet I don't know the DC Universe's storyline of Parallax.  Possibly he was a 'cloud like creature'? 

Which brings to mind, that more than just comic book fans are expected to attend this comic book film.  Especially with a budget of $200 million dollar per some estimate.

So why isn't this film written / filmed / edited for a more general film going audience? Because you know, comic book fans from the Silver / Bronze / and Modern Ages of Comics are likely to not agree on the storyline / quality of this film! 

OKAY.... END OF SPOILER WARNING...

END OF SPOILERS WARNING!

I found that Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan / Green Lantern did a fine job, even though the film was updated from its 1950's origins.  He carried the film for me.

Blake Lively as Carol Ferris portrayed a good 'boss role' / 'girlfriend at one time' role.  I liked the interaction between her and Hal / GL.

Peter Sarsgaard as Dr. Hector Hammond was just a little too 'cartoony' for a general film going audience, but I found the actor played the role well as it was probably written.

Mark Strong as Thaal Sinestro: this was a good role for Mark!

Angela Bassett as Dr. Amanda Waller:  Good performance in a small role, although I understand that the comic book character was not the same size in physical appearance...

Tim Robbins as U.S. senator Robert Hammond:  Yeah, a typical role that Tim Robbins plays... but he does them so well!

Temuera Morrison as Abin Sur:  I could really believe this role... of an alien crash landing on Earth.  Good job! 

Michael Clarke Duncan as the voice of Kilowog: I really like Michael's voice, as well as acting.  Too bad his character was a CGI character. I've enjoyed seeing and hearing him since 'The Green Mile' back in 1999.  And yeah, I also enjoyed seeing him as The Kingpin in 2003's Daredevil film from Marvel Comics! Even though 'The Kingpin' I grew up with during Romita Sr.'s years was a white guy.

So, as you can see from the above, I believe that the majority of the characters were well cast!

The storyline was pretty smooth in between cutting from Earth to space and back again.

My only disappointments were the very opening scene of the film, and the cartoony climax scene... Which it seems that comic book films can't get rid of, i.e. my same thought on the recent Thor film...!

Is this worth going to see on the Big Screen?

Well... I said at the beginning that I was a Hal Jordan / Green Lantern early reader. Yes, it's been 'updated' to reflect the 2000s... but other than the two scenes mentioned above... It was worth it to me to see at the Big Screen...

But NO, I didn't opt for the 3-D version!

I'm not for certain if a mainstream film going audience is going to find this a film that they are going to 'rave' about... The targeting of the film via trailers turned off my wife, and my youngest son, who will be with on Fathers Day, but opted to not see this film either this weekend.

The marketing of the film made it seem like a 'space opera' or 'cartoony sci-fifilm', which it wasn't.  I believe that this film is going to find it hard gaining traction with the non-comics film going public...!

My comic book grade for this comic book movie is a VERY FINE PLUS (VF+) 8.5 out of a possible 10.0 grading scale.  I had forgiven the film for the terrible beginning of the film, and was ready to give this a Very Fine / Near Mint grade (VF/NM) 9.0, but again here was a comic book movie at the end going with almost all CGI... Sheesh!  Which downgraded it to the VF+.   Thevery ending was good, when back on Earth, and yes, you gotta stay for the end of the BEGINNING of the credits.  A sequel, perhaps?

That's it for me on this one!  And again, NO review on this one from Tina, who will NOT be presenting her review on this film from a woman's POV!

~Michael D Hamersky

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  We currently have over 2,459 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! 

And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:  

http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com/ 

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers 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.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail 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

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents...  Vinnie's Take On: Stuff that DREAMS are made of The Mini-Comix     - Above: The Front Cover to 'Stuff that DREAMS are made of' mini-comix, by Jim Siergey!

(Vinnie) This blog post I'm writing is about a mini comic called "Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of," written and illustrated by Jim Siergey.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

(Michael) Thanks, Vinnie!  

Back in Blog #3421 I blogged about the first of the two mini-comics that Jim Siergey sent in for possible review, as seen here, 'Nart Again'.

I thought that I should 'introduce' Vinnie to a mini-comic that he could blog on, as most of the publications he has blogged on so far have been more for 'mainstream' readers.

Since I enjoyed the earlier mini-comic and this one also, I felt that Jim's sense of humor was fun and not risque for Vinnie's age group, (pre-teen).

I give this minix-comix a VERY FINE / VERY FINE PLUS (VF/VF+) 8.25 out of a 10.0 possible comic book grading scale. The artwork & gags were fun & clean, even though it was titled a 'mini-comix' instead of a 'mini-comic'. 

Again, as stated before, 'anthology' comics like this one are harder to 'review blog', as the multiple stories may or may not 'hit on all 8 cylinders' for the reader / reviewer. It's a matter of 'taste', and anthologies with one page 'stories / art' are a little hader to review / grade.  Thus the difference in 'grading' this publication between Vinnie and myself. 

Also, as Vinnie showed above... The place to order this mini-comix is at the eCrater Store for Weird Muse.

~ Michael

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BTW, You can 'follow' this Blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  We currently have over 2,457 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky 

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:   ComicBooksCircus.com.

If it isn't available in my online 'Local Comic Book Shop, (LCBS), then you may be able find it in my Amazon affiiate link, as seen here:  Comics & Graphic Novels at Amazon!

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers 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.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!!  (Note:  I don't list my email address here, due to 'spambots' gathering it and 'spamming' me. 

To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to have sent me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages in my network already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' for myself so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Reviews: The Guns of Shadow Valley Convention Preview Edition!      - - Photos: (topmost above) James Andrew Clark introducing me to 'The Guns of Shadow Valley: The Convention Preview Edition' at the 2011 Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con. (above top) A closeup of the comic book preview edition.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3437:

Here's another comic book that I was introduced to at the recent 2011 Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con.  I met James Andrew Clark at 'The Guns of Shadow Valley' booth early in the morning.

James is one of three of the webcomic's creators, but I didn't meet the other two, David Wachter or Thomas Mauer.  However you can see more about all of them at this link.

I have repeatedly stated both here in this Blog, as well as at my own Facebook Fan Page, 'Michael D Hamersky On Comics', that webcomics creators should take the opportunity to 'monetize' their creations via print copies.

Here I found that this trio is doing exactly that!

What I found at the booth was besides a great looking banner, and a friendly booth exhibitor... Was a full color comic book convention preview edition!

Yes, it was a little 'odd-sized', but for a promotional piece that was okay.  It actually was better than okay, because at a convention venue, you would want to 'stand out' from all of the other products that could be found there! 

However, I wouldn't recommend printing a full comic book in that size format.

Here's what this intellectual property, (IP), is all about:

"Somewhere in the mysterious Shadow Valley lies a secret that could forever change the face of the frontier. To protect that secret, a posse of gunmen with special abilities must come together and defend against a tribe of ghostly warriors, an advancing army led by a deranged Colonel, and the perils of the valley itself.

The Guns of Shadow Valley is an exciting new Western adventure series from the creators of Scar Tissue. Set in the 1870s in the Oklahoma Territories, Guns is a tale of intrigue and adventure that puts a new spin on the Old West.

Book One, Chapter One began July 21, 2009. New pages go online every Tuesday."

Okay, the above is exactly what this 'convention preview edition' presents.  Plus an introduction on the inside front cover, and a prologue at the end of the story sampler.  With a couple of illustrations of main characters in the series. There is one page of character sketches, and then a 'commercial' in the same style of the interior pages for the printer of this promotional comic book.  The back cover of this comic appears to be used for some sort of additional promo, which I did not get at the booth, but I was cutting my time short as I was off to meet someone that morning, and was walking by the booth when the banner caught my eyes.

Back in March of 2010, I had decided that I would no long review blog webcomics or .pdfs of comics that were emailed to me... Mainly because I had been flooded with requests to read and hopefully review blog those formats of comics.

At that time I had decided to concentrate on hard copy comics, TPBs, and graphic novels, as when I am online or on my laptop, I need to be either networking, blogging, or listing comics for sale at my own online comic book shop.

Thus I was not aware of this project.  I am really glad to have seen this promotional convention preview edition in person, because it is darn good!

The concept is sound, the writing is captivating, and the artwork is comparable to some of the best westerns I have read.  The colors & letters totally flow with the tone of this storyline.  If the comic book is anything like this convention promo piece, then this is something I would want to read for sure, pardner!

For those of you looking for a good read in this genre... This is it!

I suggest you take a look at the web site for 'The Guns of Shadow Valley', and check it out further!

My comic book grade for this 'Convention Preview Edition' comic book is a NEAR MINT (NM) 9.4 out of a possible 10.0 grading scale.

As for obtaining a copy, I don't see a Facebook Fan Page for this series as of yet, so their web site would probably be the best bet to see how to obtain a copy of it, but then again, you could read the pages that are already online for now, until the hard copy is published.

My thanks again to James for introducing me to this IP.  I'm looking forward to a full sized comic book in the future.  BTW, a funny thing is... I'm Facebook Friends with both David Wachter & Thomas Mauer, but not James, and had not seen this concept before!

~Michael D Hamersky

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