Michael D Hamersky On Comics Reviews: Children of the Yellow Kid By Robert C Harvey     - Photos: (Above) The front cover to 'Children of the Yellow Kid' hardcover book. (Above top left) An early photo of the Yellow Kid.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3449:

I enjoy reading books about comic books, comic strips, comic book movies, etc. Especially when they are 'done right'!

This book starts way back when the comic strip first started... And no, I wasn't there at that time, LOL!

I always enjoyed reading certain comic strips in the newspapers that my folks bought when I was a kid.  I continued reading them through my young adult life, and until just recently, when I stopped buying the Sunday newspaper.

You see, just like the subtitle of this book, 'The Evolution of the American Comic Strip', I've also 'evolved' into some of the ways of the 2010s.

My wife and I no longer 'need' to buy the Sunday newspaper, which basically we were doing to have a 'hard copy' of the TV listings for the upcoming week. Now, we just look at an app on our 'Droid' for that!

So I haven't read a newspaper in several months, other than the 'free' local papers that you would find on a rack outside of a store, and that don't carry any comic strips. 

Yeah, it has come to that!  When someone my age stops buying newspapers, you know that the comic strip needs to evolve even more in the 2nd 100 years.

That being said... I found this book more than just nostalgia for me.  As it does cover 'The Yellow Kid', and so many other strips that I was already familiar with, and several that I wasn't, including those that started in the 1980s and later, that weren't carried in any newspapers that I was buying at the times.

Several of the choices included in this book got me to wondering why, and some that weren't included made me wonder why as well...?

Robert's intro set the pace for the book. The Chapters, called 'Movement(s)',were indeed about the moving of the comic strips into different genres during the years. This was well thought out by writer!

A special note before I go further. This book actually documents an exhibition that was held at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, Washington, during Sept 19th - November 8th of 1998. Plus when it was moved to the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francsico, California, from November 21st, 1998 - February 21st of 1999. Not being able to attend those exhibitions, it was pretty cool to see this book documenting them!

Yes, there were some older strips that I just haven't cared for in the past, including 'The Katzenjammer Kids' for example.  Any book that includes multiple samples of a topic can't help but include some of those that individual readers wouldn't like.

But for the most part, this book really has a lot that most persons that like or love comic strips could get into.

Especially for the original art that is pictured! Beautiful examples of the art behind the strip, with all of the notes, pencil markings, etc., that go into making a comic strip. Similiar to what you can see on original art for comic books, where the penciler writes on the margins for the writer to see for dialogue, etc.

'Movement' 1 had the really old strips being showcased.  I was familiar with most of them. 

'Movement' 2 had additional strips, such as 'Gasoline Alley' that had built upon the foundations of the earlier strips. Also included were 'Blondie' and 'Nancy', so by page 59 of this book, more familiar strips, and ones that are currently still be published today were shown.

'Movement' 3 'showed the advent of continuity strips... Mainly 'Soap Opera' and 'Adventure' strips. Some shown were 'Mary Worth', 'Brenda Starr', 'Apartment 3-G' 'Tarzan', 'Flash Gordon', 'Prince Valiant', 'Dick Tracy', 'Terry and the Pirates', and more.  All that I was already familiar with, but each sample included the creator's brief bio, and a quick history of the strip. 

'Movement' 4 showed that the comic strips had competition from TV and other media formats, so the comic strips started evolving to a 'gag-a-day' style. Samples presented were 'Peanuts', 'Beetle Bailey', 'B.C.', 'Tumbleweeds', 'Hagar the Horrible', and more.

'Movement' 5 presented "Comics with a conscience: Satire and social commentary".  Including 'Lil Abner', 'Little Orphan Annie', 'Pogo', 'Wee Pals', 'Dilbert', and others of that genre.

The book wraps ups with a bibliography and an afteword.

The samples of the strips, the brief bios of the creators and the strips, and the cultural and social events happening during the creation and print runs of these strips made for very interesting reading!

My only, and main concern of reading this book, was the fact that the font size of the text is just too darn small for me!  Plus the font color of the text in several area was a strange color, very 'light' on the page, in contrast to other pages that had the 'normal' black font color.

That is the only detraction to this book, in my opinion, when I was reading it.

Thus, my comic book grade for this hardcover book is a VERY FINE PLUS (VF+) 8.5 out of a possible 10.0 grading scale.  If the materials presented for viewing weren't so darn good, my grade would have been lower due to the size and colors of the font... 

Here's the info for identifying the book that I read.  Please note - I read the hardcover book format, which is OOP and considered collectible. Thus the below is for the softcover format, which is also OOP, but a lot less in cost for a copy:

Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: University of Washington Press (March 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0295977787
ISBN-13: 978-0295977782
Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.1 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
 

Here's the link where YOU possibly can buy it online, as I don't have it listed for sale in my online comic book shop:    Children of the Yellow Kid: The Evolution of the American Comic Strip     

~Michael D Hamersky

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  We currently have over 2,470 '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:  As of Monday, June 27th, 2011, I'll be using my new laptop, where the default resolution is 'higher', so there may be some temporary glitches until I am used to the new resolution.

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: Greg and Tim Hildebrandt The Tolkien Years     - Photos: (topmost above) The front cover to 'Greg and Tim Hildebrandt - The Tolkien Years'. (Above top left) A photo of the Hildebrandt Brothers, (L-R) Tim and Greg, as of the book being published.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3448:

I have known more of Greg and Time Hildebrandt works after they started illustrating comic books characters, so this book about their efforts to create calendars back in the past opened a whole new world to me.

Not that I didn't know about Tolkien in the mid 1970s, but when I read the books even earlier than that, there weren't many images that I was aware of. Yeah, I'm that old, LOL!

So I've read this book after viewing Peter Jackson's POV of what 'The Lord of the Rings' should look like, which I'm sure a lot of potential readers for this book now would be coming from...

Here's what the publisher had as a promo for this book:

"Author Greg Hildebrandt, Jr., son and nephew of the internationally renowned fantasy artists, witnessed the making of the paintings for the best selling Tolkien calendars.

In this lavishly illustrated book, he shares his recollections of their creation, from idyllic Hobbiton to fearsome Mordor.

Includes a uniqaue collection of original sketches and photographs for the paintings.

Filled with commentary by the Hildebrandt Brothers

Features a pull-out poster of an original painting, created especially for this book."

Okay... The above is pretty much what I found to be in this book.

That's because the presentation of this book is very orderly.  It is more of a 'coffee table book' in style, yet hard hitting with all of the illustrations presented.  Plus the text on where and how and why the calendars for those years were created. A really nice behind the scenes account by a person who was there, as a young child. And who was one of the several real life persons who were the models for the illustrations!

I found that even though I was reading an account of what happened almost forty years ago... That it was 'fresh' in the mind of the author, and very strikingly presented! Not dry at all, and indeed, giving an insight to the way the Brothers worked!  As well as an insight to how the younger Hildebrandt grew up!

Did I mention how lavishly an illustrated book this is?! The painted illustrations were created for what became the popular J. R. R. Tolkien calendars of the mid 1970s, whic became world-wide bestsellers!

The vivid color pictures of those paintings illustrate how fantastic those early concepts were in bringing to life the characters and locations of Tolkien's Middle-Earth.

The  story that the son/nephew gives to the readers is more than just an inside peek at the creative team's work. It also presents their methodology in creating the fantasy paintings for the calendars.

Coming into the Hildebrandt Brothers creations so many years later, it is cool to see how these calendars came into being! 

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

Here's the only problem I can find about the book, (not with the book!).

That's because the book is Out of Print, (OOP).

Which definitely says something about this book, 'Sold Out'!

I found a copy of the hardback with pullout poster to be listed for $470 as of this morning when this blog is being written!

The softcover versions are also a little pricey, (mid one-hundreds!).  But for those of you that are really into Tolkien and / or the Hildebrandt Brothers artwork... This book would have to be a 'Must Have'!  And I notice there are other reprints with different ISBN numbers!

Here's the info for identifying the book that I read:

Hardcover: 132 pages
Publisher:  Watson-Guptill Publications (2001)
Language: English
ISBN: 0-8230-5124-2
 

Here's the link where YOU possibly can buy it online, as I don't have it listed for sale in my online comic book shop: Greg and Tim Hildebrandt: The Tolkien Years

Again, please remember that you will probably only see reseller / collector prices for this OOP book, unless you find a reprinted paperback copy for sale!

~Michael D Hamersky

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  We currently have over 2,469 '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:  As of Monday, June 27th, 2011, I'll be using my new laptop, where the default resolution is 'higher', so there may be some temporary glitches until I am used to the new resolution.

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: Charley's  WAR! Volume 1  of 7 (so far) Published by Titan Books     - Photos: (topmost above) The front cover to Volume One of Charley's WAR by Pat Mills & Joe Colquhoun from Titan Books. (Above top left) A photo of my grandfather, who though not a 'tommy', was a 'yank' who went 'over there' in World War I.  This book made me think of what he must have went through during that time, as he was also gassed.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3447:

As you can tell from the top left photo of this blog post... I have a 'personal' interest in this book about World War I.  Even though my grandfather, Aloyisus 'Ollie' Hamersky was not a 'tommy', he was one of many 'yanks' who was sent 'over there' in the 'Great War'.  But enough about my family... What's this book about?

Here's what the publisher has as a promo for this book:

"From renowned UK comics writer Pat Mills (Marshal Law, Sláine) and legendary artist Joe Colquhoun (Johnny Red) comes a truly classic piece of British comics history, by turns thrilling, humorous and horrifying.

In 1916, Charley Bourne lies about his age to enlist and fight on the battlefields of France. But thoughts of glory and patriotism are swept aside by bloody horror and needless sacrifice as artillery rains down on the trenches of the First World War.

Rich in the detailed minutiae of the terror-punctuated existence of a ‘Tommy’, Charley’s War features a brand new introduction and ‘director’s commentary’ by Pat Mills, a cultural history of the comic, and an essay on the Battle of the Somme."

Okay... The above is pretty much what I read in this book.

You see... Charley's War is mostly about the story of a 'simple-minded', yet quick-witted teenager named Charley Bourne. Like so many during those days, Charley lied about his age and signed up in 1916 to "fight the Hun for King and Country".

So like many other 'tommys', he found himself in what many called "Hell" in the trenches of France.  During the period that this book covers, he makes slowly makes friends, yet struggles to survive the living hell amid a company of strange persons of the same rank. And stranger yet, all of them are under orders from ranking officers, many whom come across as either simpletons, psychopaths, or out and out uncaring career military men out to make a name for themselves!

I found this story to be bleak and terrible at times, which the black & white artwork just reinforces!  There is also the overwhelming cynicism and negativity througout the story presented here.  It just permeates the trenches the men are in, almost as much as the posion gas does... Talk about grim n' gritty comics today... This story makes those look tame in comparsion!

The writer of this story uses what could be called a 'gimmick' in that there are Charley's letters to his parents in his own way of spelling, and the return letters from his family and other family members.

Yet, I found myself engaged in reading each of the chapters presented, as this was originally a comic book feature during the 1980s. So there are multiple chapters with breaks and partial recaps. 

I found this book to very well researched, very well written, and the artwork is fantastic, even though it is in black & white, which was just fine for me!

Again, although my grandfather was a 'yank' I could just imagine a 'little taste' of what he must have gone through as well.

My comic book grade for this hardcover book is a NEAR MINT MINUS (NM-) 9.2 out of a possible 10.0 grading scale.  The reason being, when the book was first brought to my attention, I had no idea there were seven volumes already in this series! I thought there was just the one book, and maybe he died?  That fact there are already 7 of them since 2005 is maybe a bit much for me to think about purchasing all of them... Although I wouldn't mind reading more of them!  The 8th volume is being released this upcoming October... Maybe I should ask a local library to buy 'em all?  This first one was that good!

Here's the info for purchasing the book:

Hardcover: 112 pages
Publisher: Titan Books (October 1, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1840239298
ISBN-13: 978-1840239294
Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 9 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds 

Here's the link where YOU can buy it online, as I don't have it listed for sale in my online comic book shop:  Charley's War (Vol. 1): 2 June - 1 August 1916

Again, this book is a great start for compiling into hardcover format what was printed years ago in UK Comic Book format!

~Michael D Hamersky

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  We currently have over 2,466 '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:  As of Monday, June 27th, 2011, I'll be using my new laptop, where the default resolution is 'higher', so there may be some temporary glitches until I am used to the new resolution.

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: The First Of A Series Of Free Reports At 'Hamersky On Comics' The Facebook Fan Page!     - Photos: (Above) Michael D Hamersky at the 2010 Free Comic Book Day event he blogged and mobile Facebooked from!  And no, those two comics weren't part of the 'free comics' being given away, LOL!  BTW, you can click on the photo and be taken to the Facebook Fan Page where, after clicking the 'LIKE' button, you will be able to click on the link to read / download the first free report!                         - (Above top left) Michael selling at the second comic book convention he sold at, back in 1973 at the Sheraton Hotel on Harbor Island in San Diego.  Michael started selling in the basement of the El Cortez Hotel in 1972 when the con was known as 'San Diego's West Coast Comic Convention'.  The San Diego Comic Con is now known as Comic-Con International: San Diego. Michael still attends the Comic-Con, but as a blogger / mobile Facebooker, not as a comic book dealer!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3446:

I've mentioned before in this Blog, that I have a few pages going on at Facebook!

As well as being an 'admin' at several Fan Pages for Tina's and / or my clients, I also have a Facebook profile, group, and fan page!

That's because I maxed out my 'personal' profile page with over 5,000 Facebook Friends Plus others Fan Pages being 'Liked' back in early 2009.

So, because having a 'fan page' for myself sounded somewhat 'vain' at the time, I instead joined with the Facebook Comic Con (FBCC) folks, and started a Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing group page, that is affiliated with the FBCC folks.  The 'Make It So Marketing' is the name of Tina's business.

However, I could see before the recent change on groups / group pages at Facebook, that I also needed another page, due to maxing out my 'profile' page with the 5,000 imposed limit. 

So I finally decided that it wouldn't be that 'vain' to start up a 'fan page' about what I am most involved in nowadays, and took the plunge!  Which ended up with the 'Michael D Hamersky On Comics' Facebook Fan Page, which I have been promoting a little more, what with the changes at Facebook with the group pages.

Well, yesterday I woke up at 1 AM with the solution to one of Tina's clients questions on how to present a 'free chapter' of their new book, as a 'gift' to 'fans' of their own author fan page at Facebook.

Well, I don't like to experiment on clients fan pages, without trying them on either my profile, fan or group pages first!

So I ended up with compiling a 'free report' on a subject that I re-blogged on back in 2009, when I still had an eBay blog, (before eBay closed 'their' blogging platform').  At that time I had re-presented a series of four blogs on 'How To Protect And Store Your Paper Collectibles', with an emphasis on 'comics'.

That's because you wouldn't believe the condition of comics that came in to me after buying them on eBay from non-comics dealers!  Sheesh!  No bags, no boards, and no protective envelopes when shipping the comics to me!   No wonder other eBayers weren't bidding on these sellers listings!  And I learned soon enough that only really low bids on their listings would be profitable enough for me to buy to resale from them! 

But I started feeling bad about this, as some comics would have been really 'something' to place in my own personal collection if only they had been stored properly... What a shame...

So that's why I blogged this series of four blogs separately. at my eBay blog.

Yesterday morning, while it was still dark(!), I compiled those four blogs into a pretty good draft as a 'free report' for those that would take the time to click the 'LIKE' button on my Facebook Fan Page, Michael D Hamersky On Comics!

So I wanted to bring this to the attention of this blog's readers!

If you would like to know 'How To Protect And Store Your Paper Collectibles' from a guy that first sold at the 1972 San Diego's West Coast Comic Convention, (now known as the Comic-Con International: San Diego), all you have to do is to click this link, Michael D Hamersky On Comics, and then click the 'LIKE' button there!

You'll notice that the photo you see when you first arrive at that page will change to another photo after you click the 'LIKE' button... And just above that is a blue arrow which guides you to the blueish colored link.  Clicking that blueish colored link will open up either a new window  or tab, depending on the browser you are using, where a .pdf copy of the report will appear. You are then encouraged to read and even print a copy of that report for yourself.

Of course, if you have been buying and selling comics or other paper collectibles for a while, you'll probably know most or even all of these tips, but this 'free report' is more to help those that have comics or other paper items in their possession that would like to properly take care of them, either to give to their kids, or maybe resell them sometime in the future, and re-capture some, most, or even more than the cost they paid for them!

Again, this is the just first of a series of 'free reports' that I'll be giving away in the future at that fan page, as a 'Thank You' to those of you that click the 'LIKE' button on my Facebook Fan Page! 

And as a final note... If YOU already have 'LIKED' that Facebook Fan Page of mine, you don't need to 'unlike' it to get the 'free report'.  All you have to do is go to that 'Welcome & Free Report' link at the left side of the Fan Page, and after clicking that link, you'll see a new page which has the same blueish colored link to click on!

~Michael D Hamersky

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  We currently have over 2,464 '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 Reflects On: Gene Colan Comic Book Illustrator and More! 1926 - 2011      - - - Photos: From the panel that Mark Evanier hosted backin 2001 at the Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC). One of the days I'll remember for a long time, because of who attended: John Romita Sr., John Buscema, Gene Colan, Marie Severin, and others.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3445:

I've been up for hours, working on a client's project, and was about ready to go back to bed, when I came across a Facebook Friend, (Holger Haase), 'Liking' my Facebook Fan Page.

I noticed that, because I was also trying out the project I had been working on with my Facebook Fan Page, and was going in to tell Holger 'thanks', when I saw the notice of Gene Colan's passing on Holger's Facebook wall...

Last year at this time, I had blogged about Gene's wife, Adrienne Colan, passing on, in blog #3172.

Today, I'm thinking and blogging about Gene once again, but this time regarding his passing...

As I mentioned in the earlier blog, I had seen both Gene and Adrienne several times at the San Diego Comic Con, and I really enjoyed hearing Adrienne's stories about the 'old days', when she was able to talk freely. 

That's because Gene was always busy illustrating at his table during those times. 

It seems I only got to hear Gene speak for any length at panels, basically the ones that Mark Evanier hosts every year.

The photos at the top right of this blog post are from a special panel during the 2011 SDCC. (There are others from the same con that don't have Gene in them at this special photo album.) 

Gene was honored by his peers with a surprise early birthday cake.  He would be turning 75 years old.

I remember that panel very well, as Gene was really touched by all those that had fond memories of working with him, or around him in comics.  There were a lot of memories shared there... 

He was truly touched, and ended up taking off his cap, which he rarely did on stage, and thanking all that were in attendance.

Yes, I had been a fan of his works, and continued to buy Daredevil comics after John Romita Sr. left that series in 1966.  Gene's comic book art was so cinematic during that series... It was truly a wonder to behold when each issue came out!  I've published a photo of his first Daredevil front cover, from issue #21, from October 1966, although his interior pencils on DD started in #20.

I could on and on about his works on Iron Man, Tomb of Dracula, etc., etc., but today... I just wanted to talk about the man, and let you see on your own, over 3,000 stories credited to him on the Grand Comics Database.

Gene was a true 'Gentleman', both on stage and off, in big crowds and individually one-on-one at his Artist Alley table.

My condolences to his family and friends...

~Michael D Hamersky

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  We currently have over 2,464 '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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