Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents His Take On:  Mythology! The DC Comics Art Of Alex Ross By Chip Kidd & Geoff Spear

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3609 -  I came across this book that was first published in November of 2005.  It's called 'Mythology' The DC Comics Art Of Alex Ross - by Chip Kidd & Geoff Spear.

So, what is the book about?  Here's the promotional blurb about it:

"Mythology brings together the best loved comic characters in the world, brought to life by Alex Ross, one of the most astonishing young artists working in the medium today. The award-winning designer/writer Chip Kidd and photographer Geoff Spear have teamed up to create a book like no other, with an introduction by M. Night Shyamalan, the acclaimed director of The Village and The Sixth Sense."

I found this book to be one of those 'coffee table books' that you would see laying around.

The layout of the book is kind of strange to me.  The artwork is fine, but the organization of it is a little off, in my opinion.

I would give it a Very Fine / Very Fine Plus (VF/VF+) 8.25 out of a 10.0 comic book grading scale. 

Here is the ordering info for this book:

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Pantheon (November 8, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375714626
ISBN-13: 978-0375714627
Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.7 x 12 inches  

You can order it here:  Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross ! 

~Michael D Hamersky

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,609 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 2,708 '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 His Take On:  Shazam! The Golden Age Of The World's Mightiest Mortal

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3607 -  I came across this book that was first published in December of 2010.  It's called Shazam - The Golden Age Of The World's Mightiest Mortal - by Chip Kidd & Geoff Spear.

So, what is the book about?  Here's the promotional blurb about it:

"Shazam made his debut in Whiz Comics in 1940, and outsold his biggest competitor, Superman, by 14 million copies a month. It wasn’t long before a variety of merchandise was licensed—secret decoders, figurines, buttons, paper rockets, tin toys, puzzles, costumes—and a fan club was created to keep up with the demand. These collectibles now sell for outrageous prices on eBay or in comic book stores and conventions. Seventy years later, an unprecedented assortment of these collectibles are gathered together by award-winning writer/designer Chip Kidd and photographer Geoff Spear. Join Kidd, Spear, and the World’s Mightiest Mortal in this first, fully authorized celebration of ephemera, artwork, and rare, one-of-a-kind toys, and recapture the magic that was Shazam!"

I found that inside this book, there were multiple pages of closely shot photographs, and scans of papers. The comic book characters included many from Fawcett, including Captain Marvel (Shazam), Captain Marvel Junior, Hoppy the Marvel Bunny, and several more.

What gets me is that this Captain Marvel and his family outsold National's Superman Family of comics!

The slightly cartoony style of art that Captain Marvel consisted of, made me wonder why the comic book character just didn't win his court case against National's Superman entry...

This book is another 'coffee table' book, in that it is for the coffee table in your home.  Not that it is bad or anything... Just that there is very little in the way of text in the total number of pages, other than the letters that were written for those that signed up for the Captain Marvel fan club!

I would give it a Very Fine / Near Mint (VF/NM) 9.0 out of a 10.0 comic book grading scale, for those that really dig on Captain Marvel. 

Here is the ordering info:

Authors: By Chip Kidd with photography by Geoff Spear
Imprint: Abrams ComicArts
ISBN: 0-8109-9596-4
EAN: 9780810995963
Availability: In Stock
Publishing Date: 12/1/2010
Trim Size: 9 x 12
Page Count: 246
Cover: Hardcover
Illustrations: 300 full-color illustrations; gatefold

You can order it here: Shazam!: The Golden Age of the World's Mightiest Mortal! 

~Michael D Hamersky

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,607 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 2,706 '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:  Marvel Chronicle A Year By Year History 1939 - 2008

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3606 -  I came across this book that was first published in 2008.  It's called 'Marvel Chronicle', A Year By Year History of Marvel Comics.

I've been around Marvel Comics since the 'Beginning of Marvel Comics' in 1961. I've also had some experience on Atlas Comics, the forerunner of Marvel Comics.

The pages look similiar to this one dating from 1952:

You can see the year at the top left of the page, with a little bit of history for the year, and then siginificant months in the year to the right.  This is a copy of the two page spread.

The 1952 year was picked because this was the year that 'Atlas Conquers All'.  Atlas wasn't "anybody's favorite comic book company necessarily, but just about anybody reading comics books in 1952 was reading Atlas".

The rest of the years from 1939 - 2007 were depicted in this style, along with certain comic book issues that the writers chose to talk about.  Some were good stories, some were okay, and others I wondered why they were chosen to be presented in this book!

Tom DeFalco, Peter Sanderson, Tom Brevoort, and Matthew Manning were the Authors of this book.

I found that the years I definitely knew, (the 1960s & 1970s), were pretty much right on in their presentations.

The book itself is a good 'coffee table' book to have!

I would give it a Near Mint (NM) 9.4 out of a 10.0 comic book grading scale. 

This is where you can purchase Marvel Chronicle for a decent price.

Reading level: Ages 17 and up
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: DK ADULT (November 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0756641233
ISBN-13: 978-0756641238
Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 10.5 x 1.7 inches 

~Michael D Hamersky

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,606 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 2,704 '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   Tina LoSasso's Take On: Kevin Smith on Prozac? For Comic Book Men!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3605 -  Kevin Smith on Prozac? for Comic Book Men

Kevin Smith's new reality tv offering on AMC, Comic Book Men, plays like Pawn Stars meets My Strange Addiction (you know the show where some woman can't stop eating toilet paper and, another - laundry detergent).

Set in Smith's comic book shop, Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash, the show centers around the staff and customers and their strange obsessions. Smith uses the framework of his 'podcast' - which isn't really his podcast - to anchor the show's scenes.

The cast includes hockey jersey-wearing Smith, store manager Walt whose most cherished childhood memory is Steve Austin ripping off Big Foot's arm, staff Michael and Ming, and hanger-on Bryan, better known as the weird dude with the long grey beard. The action captures the inane yet serious conversations that comic book geeks have when they get together. (I've been married to one such geek for so long, that I've witnessed many of these same conversations so it was easy for me to follow along. The unitiated may scratch their heads.) The gang debated the important issues of the day: hottest comic book heroine, how Batman hooked up with Robin,and scariest horror movies.

Our interest in the show perked up when we heard they were going to the Collingswood Flea Market to have a sales contest. I'm from Cherry Hill and was trying to remember where Collingswood would have a Flea Mart (maybe the old Pennsauken Mart?) and why would they go from Red Bank to Collingswood? Alas, it was Collingwood (North Jersey). The unfortunate highlight of the flea market segment was the weird long-bearded guy dissing the customers of the flea market - he thought THEY were weird. Pot...kettle. 'nuf said.

The more interesting segments showed customers trying to sell their collectibles to the store. Like kids on Christmas morning, they were all hope and joy when they arrived, but the light dimmed in their eyes as they learned about things like creases and condition, and the importance of boxes - don't they know about MIB! As mildly entertaining as these segments were, we hope future episodes will show customers actually buying comics or picking up their books on Wednesdays.

If you're looking for Kevin Smith uncensored, you won't find it here. Having heard Kevin Smith at SDCC, I could practically hear him saying what he really wanted to, instead of what he had to say to avoid the censor beep. Ironically, the meanest comments in the show came from weird long grey bearded dude who went ballistic about the poor Chuckie Doll woman and the flea market people.  As smart as he thinks he is, he still managed to miss the fact that the Chuckie Doll woman looked strangely related to her doll.

Comic Book Men is worth a look if only to check out the quirky crazy customers who try to sell their collectibles to the shop. Or maybe I just miss New Jersey.

~Tina LoSasso

(NOTE:  Comic Book Men airs at 10PM on Sundays!)

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,605 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 2,701 '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 Mentions   The Passing Of: John Powers Severin December 26, 1921 – February 12, 2012

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3604 -  Just passing along the mention that John Powers Severin has passed...  He was 90 years old.

John was an American comic book artist, who was most noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat.

I remember him mostly for his Marvel Comics, especially its war and Western comics, as seen by the photos at the top of this blog post at the San Diego Comic Con International in 1993.

He also had a 45-year stint with the satiric magazine Cracked.

He was also one of the founding cartoonists of Mad in 1952.

My condolences to his family and friends.

~Michael D Hamersky

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,604 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 2,701 '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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