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Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Jerome 'Jerry' Leiber... 1933-2011
Mood:  sad
Topic: Other Movie Genres

                                        

Jerome 'Jerry' Leiber 

1933 - 2011

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Top Left Photo:  The front cover to the autobiography "Hound Dog" by Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller & David Ritz Copyright © 2009 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
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Above Top Photo:  The front cover to the UK Elvis Presley record... 'Elvis Presley Sings Leiber & Stoller' from 1980, one of the LPs released after Elvis' death. The photo on the cover was taken in 1957 at the MGM Studio!
  

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3491:

Jerome 'Jerry' Leiber passed away yesterday...

I heard this at 1:48 PM on the Sirius Satellite Radio station's Elvis Presley Radio channel as I was driving on an errand, which I found ironic, as Jerry Leiber with his partner, Mike Stoller, had co-written many of my favorite songs that Elvis had recorded...

Jerry was born April 25th of 1933, so he was 78 years old.

Jerry started writing music together with Mike in Los Angeles in 1950, so he was pretty darn young at the time.  Mike was the composer, and Jerry the lyricist. You can find at lot more details about the duo at this Wikipedia link.

For you younger readers, who didn't grow up with the duo's songs being sung by the likes of The Coasters, The Drifters, Jay and the Americans, The Exciters, and Peggy Lee, Jerry & Mike were serious song makers for many years, before going into the production side. Their last major hit was for Stealer's Wheel in 1972, with 'Stuck In The Middle With You'.

However, it was the songs that they wrote and were recorded by Elvis Presley, or ones they wrote specifically for Elvis Presley's films, that were my favorites. Basically because I was a long time Elvis Presley fan & collector. (See this blog #3319 for that info.)

The UK LP shown at the top right of this blog has what the producers thought were the best of Leiber & Stoller songs to present on that collection.  I would have to agree on that as the LP contains:

1. Hound Dog
2. Love Me
3. Loving You
4. Hot Dog
5. I Want To Be Free
6. Jailhouse Rock
7. Treat Me Nice
8. Baby I Don't Care
9. Santa Claus Is Back In Town
10. Don't
11. Trouble
12. King Creole
13. Steadfast, Loyal & True
14. Dirty Dirty Feeling
15. Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello
16. Girls Girls Girls
17. Bossa Nova Baby
18. Little Egypt
19. Fools Fall In Love
20. Saved

So yeah, I would have to agree with those selections.

As for Leiber and Stoller's works... They do continue on in pop culture. One of the more recent episodes of the TV show 'American Idol' had a 'Leiber and Stoller' Night on May 11th of 2011.

It's taken several years for the duo to receive their 'due'.  Awards started being presented to them back in 1969, but the big ones were only presented afterwards, such as:

 1985 – Induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
 1987 – Induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
 1988 – Elvis Presley's recording of “Hound Dog” placed in the Grammy Hall of Fame
 1991 – ASCAP Founders' Award
 1994 – A star placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of 7083 Hollywood Blvd.
 1996 – National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award
 

But as Paul Shaffer said..."Leiber and Stoller?  There would be no 'Rock and Roll' without them!".

Note: There haven't been any comic books that were based on this duo's songs that I am aware of.  However there have been several Elvis Presely comics and a couple of graphic novels printed.  Should there have been any printed on Leiber and Stoller songs I'll do an addendum to this blog.

I never met either of this duo in 'real life', but enjoyed many of their songs in 'reel life' on the screen in Elvis movies.  My thanks to both of them for years of enjoyment.

...And my condolences to Jerry's family and friends.


  

~Michael D Hamersky - who is asking you for your vote in the current voting going on over at The Shel Dorf Awards web site. I was nominated for 'Comic Blogger of the Year' on Monday, August 8th!   

While being honored to be nominated, I'd also like to win! The competition has some other good nominees for the same category I was nominated for, so I'm asking for your help on this!  Voting ends on September 4th!

If you have enjoyed this blog or any of the others in the now over 3,482 blogs in this series of mine, I'd appreciate your vote!

Here is a direct link to the voting page. 'Comic Blogger of the Year' is the category, and 'Michael Hamersky On Comics' is the name I'm listed as to vote for.

Here is a link to blog #3481, where I went more into depth on this topic.

My thanks to any of you that take the time to vote for me!


NOTE FROM THE BLOGGER:

My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,491 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 link!  We currently have over 2,529 '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

Note:  My online 'Local' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!

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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Posted by makeitsomarketing at 6:48 AM PDT
Updated: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 6:58 AM PDT
Post Comment | View Comments (1) | Permalink
Monday, August 22, 2011
Semantink's Comic Savvy Meetup - August 21st of 2011
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: Comic Cons

                                        

A Report On The

August 2011 Semantink's Comic Savvy!

A Meetup Held At The Milano Coffee Co. in the Mission Valley Area of San Diego, CA On August 21st of 2011!

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 -
Top Photo This Column:  Michael Wyatt, The Winner of the Free Gift, (A Copy Of The New Book Published By Archaia Entertainment -  'Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes', Presented By ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com, After All Who Were Present At The Time Were Given Equal Opportunity To Win! 
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  Video Above: Three Minutes Of One Of The Earliest Discussions Held At The August 2011 Comics Savvy... The Topic:  Cowboys & Aliens Film That Had Been Released Since The Last Meetup!
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Top Left Column: Logo for Semantink Publishing, Host Of This Monthly Meetup!
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Middle Left Column:  Just One Of The Many Photos That Will Be Uploaded To The Special Photo Album At: August 2011 Semantink's Comic Savvy!
  

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3490:

This 'report' is on the August 2011 Semantink's Comic Savvy meetup that was held last night at the Milano Coffee Co. in the Mission Valley area of San Diego, California!

Here is the link to the Facebook Comic Savvy 'event page' for this meetup.  Even more attended than had clicked the 'attending' link, which was great! There is no charge to attend... And you have an opportunity to order food and drink from Milano's menu as well!

Chris Henderson moderated the meetup last night, which was a little hard to do, as several persons showed up later.  There were some other activities going on in So Cal affecting the attendance, and we actually had one person drive down after attending the Los Angeles Comic Book & Sci-Fi Convention that also ran on Sunday.  So there were good reasons for the late arriving crowd last night!

Chris started several good conversations, and the above video from my new YouTube Channel, at 'Hamersky On Comics' was just one of them.  This one that I filmed was on the recent movie, 'Cowboys & Aliens'.

Talking about comic book movies... My question last night to all who were present at the time, (20 of the 25 who attended), was also on 'comic book movies'.  There were actually five (5) that had been released since the July 2011 meetup.  I considered the "comic book" movies to be ones that had been based on comic books, OR have had comic books (one shots or series) based on the films. You'll notice that there was mixed reactions to the films:

  Capt. America Cowboys & Aliens Smurfs Rise Of Planet of Apes Conan the Barbarian
Liked 14 2 0 7 0
So-So 0 5 2 0 0
Disliked 0 0 1 0 0
Did Not See 6 13 17 13 20
Total 20 20 20 20 20

After the tallying, I then got up and mentioned that I was passing out post card sized prints of a new illustration by one of my newest clients, 'Barbara Marker Artist, whose new Facebook Fan Page I had built and promoted just before the San Diego Comic Con International took place.  You can find the print at this link, and I encourage you to 'LIKE' that Facebook Fan Page while you are there!

On the back of one of the prints was a yellow dot, which indicated that person won the free prize I was giving away last night... The review copy of the new 'Conquest of the Planet of the Apes' hard cover book from Archaia Entertainment that Tina LoSasso had recently review blogged in blog #3485.  There was a lot of oohs & aahs on this prize, as the new 'Apes' film is out in theaters, and as you cans see by the chart above, the 7 who had seen it, had all liked it!  So 'Apes' is 'Hot' right now with those attending!

There were additional topics brought up, and several persons had their own projects to discuss.  I'll be mentioning those persons later as those projects are closer to completion.

There is a contest happening right now for the cover of the special Zombie Kill Squad.  I'm suggesting you vote for both Rich Kuhaupt, and Daniel Touchet's entries!

One person, Joel Elad, who is the co-promoter of the upcoming So Cal Comic Con that Tina & I will be setting up at NEXT Saturday, also arrived to this meetup for the first time.  He had just driven back from the Los Angeles Comic Book & Sci-Fi Con, where he was passing out flyers for his con.  I introduced him, and he passed out flyers for his upcoming show.  If you are in the Southern California area this upcoming Saturday, August 27th... Check out this link for the So Cal Comic Con event page and then join us!

That's about it for today's blog... I'm no longer posting multiple pics here at the the blog from the meetups that I attend.  Instead, I'm now posting most of those pics taken at special albums at my own Facebook Fan Page.  This month's meetup pics can be found here when uploaded:  August 2011 Semantink's Comic Savvy. If you attended or know of those pictured and are Facebook Friends with them... Feel free to 'tag' yourself or them!  Plus, my thanks to Andrew Rakestraw for taking additional photos for me, so that I could be included in the photo album!

Again, my thanks to the hosts of this monthly meetup, Semantink Publishing, who have several online comic book series that you should be checking out if you enjoy reading online / downloadable comic books!

  

~Michael D Hamersky - who is asking you for your vote in the current voting going on over at The Shel Dorf Awards web site. I was nominated for 'Comic Blogger of the Year' on Monday, August 8th!   While being honored to be nominated, I'd also like to win! The competition has some other good nominees for the same category I was nominated for, so I'm asking for your help on this!

Voting online ends September 4th... And there are several categories to vote in... I'm only mentioning the 'Comic Blogger of the Year' here, so as not to play 'favorites' with the others nominated in the other categories!

If you have enjoyed this blog or any of the others in the now over 3,489 blogs in this series of mine, I'd appreciate your vote!

Here is a direct link to the voting page. 'Comic Blogger of the Year' is the category, and 'Michael Hamersky On Comics' is the name I'm listed as to vote for.

Here is a link to blog #3481, where I went more into depth on this topic.

My thanks to any of you that take the time to vote for me!


NOTE FROM THE BLOGGER:

My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,490 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 link!  We currently have over 2,529 '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

Note:  My online 'Local' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!

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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Posted by makeitsomarketing at 5:26 AM PDT
Updated: Monday, August 22, 2011 7:11 AM PDT
Post Comment | Permalink
Sunday, August 21, 2011
It's Tina's Take... On... Eat That Frog!
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: Comic Books - New

                                        

Tina LoSasso's Take On...

Eat That Frog!

By Brian Tracy / Illustrated By Paul Maybury / Published by SmarterComics!

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Left Column Top Photo: The Front Cover to 'Eat That Frog', Published by Smarter Comics!
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Topmost Photo This Column:  The SmarterComics Logo
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  Video:  Author Brian Tracy introducing this latest version of his best selling book... Available in comic book format via eBook & hard copy from SmarterComics!
  

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3489:

Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy
Illustrations by Paul Maybury

Smarter Comics turns its business book/comics fusion magic to Brian Tracy's time-management classic Eat That Frog!

This is the perfect book and the ideal presentation for anyone overwhelmed by today's fast-paced world.

If you:

-- can't seem to carve out time to start that big project your boss gave you;
-- have an in-box that's never empty
-- come home from work exhausted only to start your second job of cooking, washing, cleaning and running errands;
-- tackle the small, easy stuff just so you can feel like you got something done;

... then "Eat That Frog!" is for you. No, you won't be required to down any amphibians - cooked or otherwise. But, you will be challenged to stop procrastinating and get on with what you need to do to have the life you desire.

As Tracy explains early on, 'eat that frog' is an analogy for how you want to manage your day. Mark Twain said if you eat a frog first thing in the morning that will probably be the worst thing you do all day. This is the basis of Tracy's teaching, and the reason for some very interesting illustrations of really big, and really ugly, frogs!

Tracy narrates the book which is filled with humorous illustrations of people tackling their challenges, eating really big, ugly frogs, and visualizing their success. I particularly appreciated what Tracy said about creating a 'positive addiction' by completing tasks. That feeling of accomplishment becomes addictive urging us on to attack the tasks before us.

For some, the practices outlined in the book may seem overwhelming - writing to do lists and goals by year, month, week and day! My suggestion is just get started doing one thing, then another, and let the 'positive addiction' take over.

Smarter Comics version of "Eat That Frog!" is like Cliff Notes for the harried. You can easily read the book, and absorb the principles, in an hour. Plus, you'll find a quick-reference summary of rules and principles to keep you on track each day.

I give "Eat That Frog!" a VERY FINE PLUS (VF+) 8.5 on a comic book grading scale of 10.

~Tina Lo Sasso


 

Here's the Publisher's Info on this book: 

Publisher's Info:   Eat that Frog!

Author: Brian Tracy

Procrastinators, be advised: Success is not a magical combination of genetics and fashion sense. Rather, it is a series of time management behaviors which must be practiced on a regular basis. Luckily, “EAT THAT FROG!” will show you how to deal with those challenging tasks you keep putting off in an accessible comic book format. Instead of slowing you down, completing these hard jobs only empowers you to tackle the rest of your day.

“EAT THAT FROG!” is a vivid metaphor for conquering your most difficult tasks first. By ‘eating that frog’ during the first part of the morning, successful people know that the hardest part of the day is behind them. This allows them to plow through the rest of their business with relative cheer, and get more done on a daily basis. Plus, challenging tasks tend to be associated with the greatest personal and professional rewards. Once you learn how to develop habits that will allow you to perform at a consistently high level, the type of work you do becomes far more interesting.

Bestselling author Brian Tracy cuts to the core of what is vital to effective time management: decision, discipline, and determination. While the pace of modern life can sometimes be overwhelming, “EAT THAT FROG!” will teach you 21 time-tested habits that will not only help you get a grip on your life, but boost your productivity. By making to-do lists and then confronting the most heinous task first, successful people make the best use of their energy. Based on the international best-seller, this comic book version pairs illustrated panels with the original text. These illustrations will show you in only a few minutes how to avoid the time-trap pitfalls of technology while making the most of its efficiency.

Remember: While nobody can do absolutely everything, everybody can do a little something. By prioritizing your critical tasks, you can stop procrastinating and start accomplishing today!

NOTE:  The publisher has multiple ways you can purchase this book! Here is the link to where you can purchase it direct from them at SmarterComics!  Either ebook via iPhone, Android, online, iPad, android tablet, or hard copy!


 

Thanks, Tina, for the above review!   

This is the SmarterComics web site, with the link to this individual book listing.

SmarterComics also has a Facebook Fan Page, that I suggest you 'LIKE'.

  

~Michael D Hamersky - who is asking you for your vote in the current voting going on over at The Shel Dorf Awards web site. I was nominated for 'Comic Blogger of the Year' on Monday, August 8th!   While being honored to be nominated, I'd also like to win! The competition has some other good nominees for the same category I was nominated for, so I'm asking for your help on this!

If you have enjoyed this blog or any of the others in the now over 3,482 blogs in this series of mine, I'd appreciate your vote!

Here is a direct link to the voting page. 'Comic Blogger of the Year' is the category, and 'Michael Hamersky On Comics' is the name I'm listed as to vote for.

Here is a link to blog #3481, where I went more into depth on this topic.

My thanks to any of you that take the time to vote for me!


NOTE FROM THE BLOGGER:

My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,489 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 link!  We currently have over 2,529 '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

Note:  My online 'Local' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!

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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Posted by makeitsomarketing at 6:34 AM PDT
Updated: Sunday, August 21, 2011 7:27 AM PDT
Post Comment | Permalink
Friday, August 19, 2011
Vinnie's Take On: True Grit - The 2010 Film (And A Comic Book Connection!)
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: Other Movie Genres

                                        

Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents... 

Vinnie's Take On:

True Grit - The 2010 Film

(And A 'Comic Book' Connection!) 

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Click here to see the WESTERNS COMICS we have in our online store for sale!

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Click here to see the TV & MOVIE COMICS we have in our online store for sale!
-
Top Photo:  A scene from the 2010 remake of 'True Grit' featuring the actors Hailee Steinfeld & Jeff Bridges.
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Bottom Photo:  A scene from the original 1969 'True Grit' with Kim Darby & John Wayne.
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Far Left Top Photo:  The 2010 True Grit film poster.
  

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3488:

(Vinnie)  This past Saturday, my dad and I picked up the 2010 movie "True Grit" from Redbox.
  
Later that night we watched it, as well as Tina. I hadn't known what it as about, but after reading the information in the Redbox description at the kiosk, I found it to sound fairly interesting, versus the other choices at Redbox...
  
However, it was a lot better than I thought it would ber. The storyline was amazing, and the acting was even better. It all flowed well and I felt the story kept the goal or purpose always on the topmost matter. It was an interesting story that I was yet to hear or see. The acting was great, and the characters interacted well. It was all very realiastic and believeable, despite the time period of which such violence was common.
 
My favorite scenes were spread far apart. The first was near the beginning, where we find three men about to say their last words before being hanged. Two white guys say their final statements, and as the last one, an Indian is about to start speaking, they cut him off, put the bag on his head, and instantly pull the lever removing the floor. It was just unreal because of the time, and the likeliness of that unfair treatment actually happening.
My next favorite scene was the climax of the story. Cogburn starts riding in on his horse, holding the reins in his mouth, and wielding dual pistols, shooting at four people at once. It was just incredible, as he was all alone. But one man shoots him down, and as he was about to shoot him dead, the Texas ranger that had accompanied Cogburn from the very beginning... shoots the bad guy from way up high, and the bad guy just falls dead.
 
The most saddening scenes would have to be near the ending, and the actual ending itself. As Matty is riding back with Cogburn back to town, after being bit by a snake, they push the horse to its max, and it just collapsed in tirement, and Cogburn ended up having to shoot it's head to end the misery that it was in. The ending was sad, but I fear telling of it would be too much of a spoiler.
 
The movie was rated PG-13 for Western violence and disturbing images. I already mentioned some of those "images" but some others would be when a man gets his fingers chooped off, and getting left on the table, followed by Cogburn shooting a man straight in the face. Not the back, or side of the head, but right between the eyes.  After awhile, I knew the violence wouldn't end, so I just got used to it and expected it at every corner.
 
Overall, the movie "True Grit" was presented very well. It was a great story, and the actors played their roles very well and convincingly.
  
I give this Western remake a Very Fine/Near Mint (VF/NM), a 9.0 out of a 10.0 grade scale. Honestly, I would recommend it to someone at least 14 or 15, as I think 13 is still too young to view this movie because of the violence and "disturbing images".
 
~Vinnie! 

(Michael)  Thanks, Vinnie, for writing up this blog that I'm posting this Friday morning!

First of all, there is a reason that I asked Vinnie to blog about this rental DVD.

I don't ask him to do that for every movie that we watch together, but I figured there should have been a comic book for the original film that was released back in 1969.

However, there wasn't one! 

Dell's Four Color series, which published 1,331 issues, including a LOT of Movie & TV based comics, had stopped in Apr/June of 1962.  So my memory is failing just a bit!

However, I came across this graphic novel, 'True Grit - Mean Business', when searching for the original John Wayne film!

I had not known about this publication being published, otherwise I would have rented the DVD sooner, when it came out on June 9th of 2011, as this remake of the original film didn't have the 'drawing power' for either Tina or myself to go see it on the 'Big Screen'.

The rental DVD had no additional extras, being a 'rental DVD' from Redbox.

However, this link will take you online to where you can read for 'free', the 27 page 'graphic novel', which is a semi-prequel for the new film. !

After reading this graphic novel, I definitely realize that this was a Coen Brothers movie.  Normally I would not take my youngest son to such a film playing a the 'Big Screen'.  This graphic novel is also 'graphic' in nature, but semi toned down for print.  The interior pages are in black & white, so that the blood n guts are not vividly etched in my mind after reading it.

Our society has come a long ways since 1969 when I first saw the original film with John Wayne, Glen Campbell and Kim Darby in it.  Now over 40 years ago... It seems that more and more 'remakes' are being made, or sequels to original film properties, (i.e. 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes').   Not everything has to be so darn grim n gritty does it?

I found myself missing the original film's actors.  John Wayne's portrayal could not be matched nor surpsassed by Jeff Bridges, nor Glen Campbell's by Matt Damon, IMO.  However Kim Darby's portrayal was matched IMO by Hailee Steinfeld. 

I wouldn't give this remake such a high comic book grade as Vinnie did.  But then again, he hadn't seen the original film before seeing the remake.  Looks like I'll have to rent the original so he can see the comparison between the two.  I think that those of you that have viewed this film either at the Big Screen or on DVD could do the same.  This film was one of John Wayne's biggest film roles.  He actually won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the original film!

Again, thanks to Vinnie for his review... And to the publisher of the graphic novel for making it available online to read

~ Michael


Note: Vinnie makes it to as many comic cons with me as he can. He collects the 'Amazing Spider-Man' comic book series, but is open to read other titles from publishers that print titles that are age appropriate for him.  He also has been attending 'behind the scenes' events, such as the one he blogged about ht here: Vinnie's Special 'Look at The Captain Rochester Party for the Artists' at the recent 2010 Comic-Con International: San Diego! He really had fun meeting and having dinner with Sergio Aragones, Bob Burden, Scott Shaw! and others there at this exclusive after hours Comic-Con Party in San Diego!

Also...If YOU liked Vinnie's guest review blog today, you may also enjoy reading Vinnie's other reviews on:  Yets! #2,  The HTHGNP: Red Phones,  The Strand Prophecy by JBB WinnerStuff that Dreams Are Made of - The Mini-Comix,  The Adventures of Faithboy #1Mouse Guard: The Black Axe #2 of 6Yogi Bear Film (DVD), Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock Vol 2 #1 of 3Space Punks #2Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock Vol 2 #2 of 3Kleeman and Mike #1Mortifera #3,  Classics Illustrated #142 Abraham Lincoln - 8th Edition2011 FCBD Edition - Mouse Guard / Dark Crystal Flip BookFraggle Rock Volume 2 #3 of 3Bear and Fox #2Space Punks #1The Daughters of Merlin #1Sea Ghost #1Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard #4 (of 4)Clutch Cargo DVD, The All New Super Friends Hour Season 1 DVDThe Ultimate Underdog Collection Volume 1Planet HulkCoraline, Ponyo, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Sonic the Hedgehog TPB Vol 1, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, The Possum #1 comic book, Vinnie's Take on Berona's War: Field Guide, just to name the recent ones! 


My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and the archived blog posts, now over 3,487 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!  We currently have over 2,528 '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 

Note: My online 'Local' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items.  Possibly even copies of the item that was reviewed here today...!

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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Posted by makeitsomarketing at 12:01 AM PDT
Updated: Friday, August 19, 2011 8:36 AM PDT
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Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Comic-Con and... Cupcake Wars?!
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: TV Shows

                                        

Comic-Con & Cupcake Wars?!

As shown on the Food Network August 16th, 2011!

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Top Two Photos:  Cupcake Wars TV Show As Seen On The 'Food Network' On Tuesday Nights 8PM EST & PST.  With (L-R) Season 3 judges: Florian Bellanger and Candace Nelson. And host: Justin Willman!   (Guest judge David Glanzer not pictured at the web site as this blog went to print!)
  

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3487:

I have to admit... I thought this was a just a little out of the ordinary when I saw it mentioned on the Comic-Con International Facebook Fan Page by Jackie Estrada!

Sure, both Tina & I enjoy attending Comic-Con International each year, (10 straight years for Tina, and 21 straight for me!), and we both enjoy several food related TV shows, (Top Chef on Bravo being our #1 foodie show!), but mixing 'Cupcake Wars' with Comic-Con? This we both had to see last night at 8PM PST!

Yeah, it seemed a little corny, looking at the TV Show listing on our Droids, but still... It was Comic-Con & pop culture mixed together for a 'mainstream' viewing audience. 

So what did the 'Food Network' show for a listing on this Season 3 - Episode 10?  Here's what they listed:  "Four talented bakers will have to use their super powers if they want a chance to have their delicious display take center stage at Comic-Con's exclusive Masquerade Party".

Okay, so besides being a little 'corny', they were probably going to be a little 'campy' also.  Which for me... Isn't necessarily a bad thing!  Oh, and I wondered if the writer of the above promo had ever been to Comic-Con?  As the Masquerade Party is definitely not 'exclusive', as any of the 125,000+ attendees could attend... Of course getting a membership to be one of those 125,000+ is getting harder to obtain every year!

Okay... I'm not going to give last night's episode totally away... As it will be airing again on the Food Network, and there are a few online websites that appear to be also showing it for a charge.

Suffice to say that the premise was that there were four cupcake bakers that were invited to participate in this episode of 'Cupcake Wars', and that the winner would be chosen after three elimination challenges, thus taking up a full hour of network TV!

Of course the bakers had to work with 'super-powered ingredients'!  And some of those ingredients were pretty exotic!

The first commercial after the initial setup of the episode was on the upcoming 'Spy Kids in 4-D / All the Time In The World' on August 19th, which shows you the target market for this TV series, and this episode in particular!

The nice touch of this episode was that the 'guest judge' for this episode was David Glanzer, the Comic-Con Director of Marketing and Publicity. Which made the total number of judges being three.  Tina was wondering about this, as only two judges were first introduced...

The first challenge was quick, a 45 minute challenge. The film used for airing seemed to be a little 'speeded up', not super-powered or anything, but really speeded up / spliced to cut to the elimination of the first of the four bakers.

Not going to 'spoil' it for you here... As to who was eliminated. Plus the fact I can't find any photos online this morning as to the participants of this episode!

The second challenge was the 'sequel', (the host thinking he was using a comic book term), which was going to be based on 'taste & presentation' a 50/50 graded challenge.

Each of the three remaining bakers had to come up with three different cupcakes for this challenge.  Included were 'strawberry shortcake cupake', 'chocolate banana cupcake', 'vanilla bean cupcake', buttermilk chocolate cupcake', 'lime margarita cupcake', and 'red velvet cayenne cupcake'.

Those cupcakes were to represent super-villains, heroes, etc. Keeping with the 'Comic-Con' theme of course!

Very interesting cupcakes were presented. Tina & I enjoyed the judges reactions and comments. Tina did notice that the guest judge's comments appeared to be cut off, probably due to the time limitations. This show seems to 'run faster' than 'Top Chef' on Bravo Network does...  There's a lot of replaying the previous scene just before commercial break on 'Top Chef'.

Challenge #3 was the 'display presentation', where 1,000 cupcakes were to be displayed, and the winning presentation would be the centerpiece of the upcoming Comic-Con International's Masquerade Party. As both Tina and I have attended a few of those in the past, and seen the hordes of con-goers scarfing down any and all food presented... We both looked at each other at the beginning of this challenge. The displays would have to be built pretty sturdy to withstand the crush of con-goers is what we both voiced out loud!

So far, in Challenges 1 & 2, it had been just the four bakers, with an assistant brought in from their bakery.

For Challenge #3, the two remaining bakers & their one assistant each were helped by a craftsman, who would build the display based on the baker's idea, and four additional assistants to bake the 1,000 cupcakes! Now that was going to be a 'super-heroic' feat in itself, as the time limit for this was only two hours!

So far I had been 'amused' by all the usage of the generic 'comic book' terms that had been used in this episode. Of course with the four bakers being 'mainstream', they only knew comic books as 'POW!', 'BIFF!', 'ZAP!', and other cartoony expressions, plus outlandish color schemes representing super hero costumes. Which they had used on their cupcake decorations.

The final two bakers had totally different ideas on what the displays should look like.   However, one of them had a display that wouldn't be so functional on the floor of the San Diego Convention Center, in the 'Under the Sails Pavilion', where the food would be displayed... The other baker had a good idea, but the colors weren't so 'comic-book' friendly in presentation...

Who won? Tune in during the next airing of this 'Cupcake Wars' episode to find out if you didn't last night! Now that's a comic book expression for sure, LOL!

And yeah, I was a little disappointed that the winning display of cupcakes only ran onscreen showing appreciative con-goers eating the cupcakes at Comic-Con for approx 1-2 minutes at the closing credits.  Not enough time to showcase those that were there participating in this display at the Comic-Con's Masquerade Party area!

But... Both Tina & myself are going to check out the next episode of 'Cupcake Wars'... And that is what this special episode was all about... Bringing cupcakes & the 'Cupcake Wars' TV Show to even more viewers!

You can catch this episode next during one of these airings on the 'Food Network':

Aug 20, 2011 - 8:00 PM ET/PT

Aug 21, 2011 - 3:00 AM ET/PT

Aug 21, 2011 - 5:00 PM ET/PT

Here is the link to the Food Network Facebook Fan Page.

Here is the link to the Cupcake Wars Facebook 'Community' Page.

And here is the link to the Comic-Con International Facebook Fan Page!  

Thanks again to Jackie Estrada for bringing this to our attention on the Comic-Con International Facebook Fan Page yesterday afternoon!


  

~Michael D Hamersky - who is asking you for your vote in the current voting going on over at The Shel Dorf Awards web site. I was nominated for 'Comic Blogger of the Year' on Monday, August 8th!   While being honored to be nominated, I'd also like to win! The competition has some other good nominees for the same category I was nominated for, so I'm asking for your help on this!

If you have enjoyed this blog or any of the others in the now over 3,482 blogs in this series of mine, I'd appreciate your vote!

Here is a direct link to the voting page. 'Comic Blogger of the Year' is the category, and 'Michael Hamersky On Comics' is the name I'm listed as to vote for.

Here is a link to blog #3481, where I went more into depth on this topic.

My thanks to any of you that take the time to vote for me!


NOTE FROM THE BLOGGER:

My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,487 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 link!  We currently have over 2,525 '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

Note:  My online 'Local' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!

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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Posted by makeitsomarketing at 5:33 AM PDT
Updated: Wednesday, August 17, 2011 7:22 AM PDT
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