Michael D Hamersky On Comics Mentions That... He Wishes He Could Suggest You Celebrate 'Groundhog Day' With A Comic Book On / Or About Groundhog Day... But There Are Less Than A Dozen Comics With Groundhog Day Stories With 'Groundhog Day' Titles... And None With A Groundhog Day Comic Book Cover!*

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3597 -  *I was hoping to present a comic book cover with a 'Groundhog Day' reference on it here at today's blog post... But unfortunately of the nine (9) stories I found with reference to 'Groundhog Day', none of them were cover featured!

Indeed, I find it quite amazing that none of the 'Funnybooks' that have been published over the decades have ever done so!  Plus since the release of 'Groundhog Day' at the Big Screen in 1993, and then on DVD, you would think that someone would have 'tapped into' the topic...

But other than those nine stories... ranging from 1943 to 2007, I don't see any others at the Grand Comics DataBase, (GCD), that I use for a lot of reference material links.

Speaking of the GCD, here is the link to the reference page for 'Groundhog' stories, and here is the link to the reference page for 'Ground Hog' (two words).  For a total of nine stories only.

As for why Groundhog Day is celebrated, here is the Wikipedia link.

And yes... There is a reason that the 'Groundhog Day' DVD is pictured above!  That's because it is my wife's favorite film to watch over and over.  Would you believe that is the only one I've had to watch with her several times since we have been married for ten years?!  Well, other than the Christmas TV cartoon films of 'Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer', and 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas', that is!    And yes, I'm sure she would say I make her watch 'It's A Wonderful Life' each year, but I do have it in both the B&W and colorized versions for variety, LOL!

So... I want to say 'Happy Groundhog Day' to everyone... And hopefully someday, I'll be able to post a comic book cover celebrating (or parodying) 'Groundhog Day'! 

~Michael D Hamersky On Comics! 

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,596 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 2,692 '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!!!

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'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly 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:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

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!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Is Sad To Mention The Passing Of: Alvaro Araújo Lourenço do Rio - Professionally Known As 'Al Rio' (19 May 1962 – 30 January 2012)

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3596 -  The news of Al Rio's passing came in to me via a message from Facebook Friend Jason Scholte, after I had closed down the home office operations yesterday morning.  I had a long day trip to Los Angeles and back, so this is the first time I'm back online at my laptop since then. 

In the meantime others have gone online to mention this sad news. I'm just going to mention Al's passing and a few links where you can see examples of his works.

I don't remember meeting Al Rio in person at any of the comic cons I've attended over the years. Which wouldn't be that unusual as I'm based in Southern California, and Al was a Brazilian artist. 

In addition, Al broke in to American Comics in the 1990s, and his work was published in comics that I didn't normally read.  Indeed, his “big break” came from succeeding J. Scott Campbell on Wildstorm’s Gen 13 series, which I also didn't read. 

However I was aware of his artwork, including his illustrations of Wonder Woman.  Matter of fact, it was only recently that the Marston Family Wonder Woman Museum devoted a wall to Al Rio's Wonder Woman artwork, as seen at the left.  (More on that story at this link.)

Al Rio's comic book credits can be seen at this link to the Grand Comics DataBase (GCD).  Al had contributed artwork to Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Chaos Comics, Crossgen, Image Comics, Zenescope Entertainment, Malibu Comics, and Vertigo, among others during his career.

Hundreds of photos / scans / etc. of Al's artwork can be found at this Google link.  You will notice that Al is best known for his 'good girl' and 'erotic' artwork.

His collaborator, David Campiti, had just started a KickStarter fund raiser a few days ago to publish a print format for their 'Exposure: Volume One' project, which you can see at this link.  I'm understanding that any funds collected above the fund raiser's goal would be donated to Al Rio’s family.

There is a Wikipedia entry for Al Rio, as seen at this link.

There is also an Al Rio Art page at this link.

As I was proofing this blog post, I found another link that I wanted to share with you, that of Al Rio's final interview, that was conducted on January 27th at SANA, a pop culture festival in Brazil. Via this link. .

Al is survived by his three children: Rene, Adrielle, and Isabel, and his wife Zilda.   His funeral is being held today, Wednesday, February 1st, at Cemitério São João Batista, in Fortaleza, Brazil.

My condolences to his family and friends...

~Michael D Hamersky On Comics! 

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,596 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 2,689 '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!!!

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'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly 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:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

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!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Points Out That... The 'Final Journey' Xena Con Took Place This Past Weekend In Burbank, California... And, No He Didn't Attend That One... But He Did Attend The First Year's Hercules AND Xena Con in San Diego, California.  Back On November 2nd of 1997!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3595 -  Yesterday I noticed on Norma Xenawannabe's Facebook profile page, that she was uploading photos from the 14th Annual Xena Con that was held in Burbank, California this past weekend.

I of course clicked the 'Like' on her photo album, and a few photos also.  After doing so, I then took a look at a couple of search engines for links on this latest, and supposed to be 'Final' Xena Con.

The actual event can be seen at this link, as it was hosted by Creation Entertainment.

Which was the same company that hosted the 1997 Hercules and Xena Con that I attended in San Diego, California at the Golden Hall in Downtown San Diego.  

The convention I attended appears to have been the 3rd individual one that was held after Creation Entertainment obtained the license from MCA to hold conventions based on the Hercules / Xena TV shows that were running. 

The 1st one was held during January 11th & 12th of 1997 at the Burbank Hilton Convention Center, with good coverage via this article. 

The 2nd con appears to have been held on May 31st of 1997 at the Sacramento Convention Center in Sacramento.

You might be wondering... Didn't the Xena: Warrior Princess syndicated TV series a while back???

Yes, it did, way back in 2001, as seen here!  But many of the cast and guest stars on the show have attended Xena Cons over the years, and there were several guests at the 2012 con as well.

The photos presented at the top right of this blog show, (L-R), my two oldest sons at the front of the Golden Hall venue in San Diego with the date Nov 2 showing; myself under the sign showing that the Hercules and Xena Con only ran from 1 - 7 PM on that date, and yes I'm wearing a 'Xena' t-shirt; and then a photo with several 'Xenas' on stage. 

The final photo, (not mine), is a promotional shot of the four main characters of the two shows,  'Hercules:  The Legendary Journeys', and ' Xena: Warrior Princess'.  Unfortunately during the 1997 period I did not have a very good camera, thus most of the pics came out dark for this convention.  Plus at that time, I wasn't blogging, social networking, or using those photos for any other purpose other than having them for my own / family viewing.

Anyways, as stated in the header of this blog, I didn't attend this 14th Annual Xena Con, (no longer with the Hercules name listed first, or at all!).

Thus I suggest highly that you check out Norma Xenawannabe's photo album at her Facebook page.  Hopefully you'll be able to view it, as her 'privacy' setting should be set to 'public'.  The title of the album is '2012 Xena Con'.   My thanks to Norma, (shown at the right in the photo to the left), for sharing photos from this past weekend's con!

Again, I find it fascinating that this convention has lasted for 14 years, starting in 1997.  The show itself ran for 6 seasons with 134 total episodes, first aired from 1995 - 2001.  

As for 'Hercules:  The Legendary Journeys', where Xena started as a guest star for two episodes, that show ran for 6 seasons with 111 episodes and 5 TV pilot movies.  Hercules, (the show), ran from 1995 -1999.

Even though this year's con was called the 'Final Journey'... There appears to be a continuation for a 2013 Xena Con... And there is a Facebook Fan Page for it already.  Perhaps I might take that one in...?  If you are a Xena fan, and live out of the area... You might want to 'Like' that page and keep up with it, as well as check out the Xena Con page that Creation Entertainment presents.  Be sure to check the pricing of the event attendance as well as for the fact of all of the additional charges for autographs and photo ops, before you decide to attend...!

My Facebook Fan Page will have a special photo album for photos that I took during the 1997 convention, although I will have to 'Photoshop' them for uploading later.  Those will be seen at the '1997 Hercules And Xena Con' photo album, as time permits.

Another Facebook Fan Page, Xena OnCon, with the tag line:  "The number one place to be during the convention for all those fans who can't make it to Burbank!" can be found by clicking this link.

As one last link, there is a start already for a 20th Anniversary Con. Where?  Where else but in New Zealand, as can be seen at this link, 20TH XENA ANNIVERSARY Fan Convention, 6-7-8 February 2015. "The Ultimate Auckland Convention", which is not run by Creation Entertainment.  For those of you that don't know... Xena was filmed in New Zealand, so it fits that the area would have an anniversary con!

~Michael D Hamersky On Comics!

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,595 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 2,689 '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!!!

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'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly 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:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

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!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents... A Fond Farewell To CHUCK! The Morning After Watching The Series Finale (Season 5 Episode 12 - CHUCK versus Sarah & Episode 13 - CHUCK versus the Goodbye )

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3594 -  I knew after attending the FINAL CHUCK Panel at the 2011 Comic-Con International in July of 2011, AND reading Tina LoSasso's blog #3476 dated Thursday, August 4, 2011:  Chuck Says a Teary Farewell to Comic-Con Fans!, that this morning would be coming...

A morning with relief that the CHUCK TV series made it this far on mainstream TV, with five seasons featuring 91 episodes; and a morning with sadness after watching the series finale the night before, that was actually two episodes shown back to back. 

Tina and I discussed the two episodes very briefly last night after the show ended.  She thought the first episode was just a little slow in places, but that the final episode was well written, and a fitting end to the TV series that she has loved to watch for five seasons now.

I found that for a change, that a series finale actually was well written, and wrapped up the series more than satisfactorily, and gave a fresh start to several characters that I had grown to love. Which ones?  Well, I'm not going to say here, but suffice to say that several of the Comic-Con favorite characters / actors go on in style in 'reel life'!

When this Blog was just an eBay platform blog, I posted multiple CHUCK entries.  Since the time that this blog had its own blogging platform, I've posted less on the TV show. 

Not that I didn't like it as much, just that with the name of the blog becoming 'Comic Book Collectors Blog', I centered the blog more on comics, of which the CHUCK TV Show had a mini-series with six issues that started in 2008, and a one-shot issue in 2009.

The writer of the final episode, Chris Fedak, also wrote the Season Finales for Seasons 2-4 before this Series Finale.  Chris wrapped up this series so well, that as I keypunch this blog, I feel the loss of the TV show already.  

That's because it has been part of both Tina and my life for five seasons and several Comic-Cons, which featured CHUCK panels.  Great times!

Not that many TV shows rate that highly in my regard to them, other than TV shows from my childhood... Where there has to be some sort of 'nostalgia factor' for me to remind them so fondly.

This TV Series, although it had its ups and downs over 91 episodes, kept hanging in there, and provided much needed entertainment with nerdy moments, (Comic-Con posters on Chuck's walls, and other pop culture treasures), plus including several of my favorite TV shows actors, (Shout Out to Scott Bakula as Chuck's Dad!).

I could go on and on about this actress or that actor, but it was the combination of good writing, different directions that the series took each season, that kept it in our Top Ten Favorite TV Shows for all five seasons it was on.

This series was a fine one, and all those involved in it, cast, crew, writers, producerts, et. al, have reasons to be proud of their achievements.

Thus... A Fond Farewell to One of Our Favorite Shows for the past five seasons.

Farewell, CHUCK...

~Michael D Hamersky On Comics! 

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,594 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 2,685 '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!!!

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'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly 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:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

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!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics  Wants To Mention That... If eBay 'Free Listing Days' Work For You... Then You Will Want To Take Advantage Of The Last Day Of The Two Days Event!  Today, January 27th!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3593 -   Earlier this week, in blog #3589, I mentioned that I was celebrating my 13th year as an eBay Seller!

Well... I'm sure it isn't because I've been with them for so long... LOL!, but eBay is having a two day Free Listings Sale that ends today!

I was so busy yesterday listing items that I only had time to post a mention of that on my Facebook Fan Page, Michael D Hamersky On Comics, because I had already posted a special blog yesterday morning!

So if you have any items that you want to sell, and have an eBay account already, you might want to squeeze in the time to upload a few auction listings!  As eBay is allowing everyone up to 50,000 Free Auction Listings! 

That's a little out of my scope though!  I usually have approximately 5,000 listings to upload at any one time, so I'll see how many of those I can finish uploading today to take advantage of this 'Free Listing Sale'! 

Here's the direct link for you to click to see how you can take advantage of the sale also!  And now.. it's back to my own listings!

And yes, those listing will be uploaded to my ComicBooksCircus.com domain name, which is my eBay online comic book shop!

Just consider this blog post today to be my PSA (Public Service Announcement) for the day!

~Michael D Hamersky On Comics! 

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,593 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 2,684 '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!!!

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'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly 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:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

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!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

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