Last night Tina and I were among many who attended the fourth film evening of the 2009 Leo Carrillo Film Festival...  

This time it was on a Saturday evening instead of the usual Friday evening.  It happened that since the 2009 Festival had been cancelled earlier this season, that a Friday evening wedding had been scheduled to take over the grounds where the Films are shown.

However, attendance for this film showing was even larger than usual, probably because it was on a Saturday night!  Or perhaps because the featured film for the night was 1943's 'Phantom of the Opera'?!

For those younger persons in the crowd, I was wondering if they would be expecting a 'HoRRoR film' instead of what this turned out to be... which was more of a 'romantic melodrama with comedic flair' instead! 

Here is the trailer to the 1943 film 'Phantom of the Opera': http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi110887193/ 

As you can see by the trailer, Leo Carrrillo had 5th billing in this film, behind Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster, and Claude Rains who were the headliners.

This film was actually a main feature instead of a 'B' movie, which several of the films that Leo played in would be considered to be.  However, even with 5th billing, Leo actually just had approximately 11 lines in the film!  He was Madame DuBois' vocal instructor in this film.

Charles Balteria, (pictured above top left), has been the public 'face' of the Film Festival for at least the two years we have been attending.  Our thanks to him for being a good public speaker and great 'host' each evening!  Last night before starting the main film he told us that Universal Pictures lavished Technicolor on this film, one of the first films to use color.

Even though Leo had only a few lines in the film, I would have to say that the film went over very well with the audience in attendance.  This film was Universal's long-awaited remake of the 1925 Lon Chaney classic!

However, Claude Rains who played the title role and was always a fine character actor, had refused to wear the kind of grotesque makeup that other Universal Pictures actors like Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff were wearing in other Universal films for this movie.  He was very leery of being 'typecasted' in this film, and would only allow makeup wizard Jack Pierce to apply a very moderate non-hideous scar.

Additionally, since it was 1943, the murders that took place were done very quickly and the film pace moved on, not showing every detail. Truly this was done very effectively and without being overly sensationalized.  You would almost think you were watching a romantic comedy / melodrama, especially with the 'Love Triangle' aspect in the film.  Or would that be 'Love Quadrangle' with three main male characters in love with the female lead?!

Tina, my youngest son Vinnie, and I also invited a couple with their young son to join us last night.  Below photos show Vinnie (shown at left in the bottom left photo), Alex (shown at left in the bottom right photo - the boys took turns shooting the photos) and then Michael, Tonya Mantooth, Dale Strack, and Tina.  The right photo also shows Brad Lousberg in the right foreground who was part of the Mens Group that 'sponsored' those from our Church that attended last evening also. 

The below left photo shows Tina LoSasso, Dick Swenson, Tina, and Rev. Diana Swenson who attended also from the Church.  A good time was had by all who came to this second Mens Group sponsored Leo Carrillo Film Festival outing!

At the immediate top right is a photo of Tina LoSasso holding one of four prizes that was awarded by Charles Balteria during the 'Trivia Game' portion of the Film Festival!  This was held during intermission time between the Cisco Kid TV Show episode and the Main Feature Film.

Tina is a very competitive person who loves to play to win, and was very pleased to be the 2nd winner after she answered a very hard trivia question.  She had to name two additional languages that Leo could speak fluently, out of seven total that Leo knew.  This after Charles told the audience three of the seven languages!

Not to be outdone, Michael stood up and waved his hat on the last question; what were the names of The Cisco Kid and Pancho's horses???  And No, Pancho's horse's name in The Cisco Kid TV Show was NOT Conquistador!  

So yeah, as you can tell by the number of blogs I've posted on Leo Carrillo's Ranch & Film Festival, Tina and I know our Leo Carrillo / Cisco Kid trivia, as we took home half of the prizes awarded last night!   As Tina would say "Woo-Hoo"!

There is only One More Night of the 2009 Leo Carrillo Film Festival should you be in the Carlsbad, California area next week.  Next Friday Night... on October 2nd!   However there will be NO Blog afterwards from us, as Tina and I are planning to be at the Long Beach Comic Con (LBCC) Friday and Saturday, and possibly blogging or Facebook Mobile(ing) from there!  So you'll have to look elsewhere for what happened at the Film Festival next week!

My thanks to Vinnie and Alex who helped me take photos at the Film Festival, (49 of them, so they can't be all used here!).  Plus our conversations with those we have met before at the Festival or just last night, like Denise, Anna, Sheila, Dee, Tina, Tonya, Dale, Dana and Greg.  Plus others from our Church who attended including Dick, Diana, Brad, and Debbie.  We've enjoyed the four films we've seen at the Film Festival this year and are sorry we won't be able to attend the fifth and final one next Friday...

Which reminds me... For more info on the Film Festival or just to learn about the ranch, check out the web site at:  http://www.leocarrilloranch.org/ 

Plus, if You would like to belong to the 'Friends Of Leo Carrillo Ranch', please check out their web site at: http://www.carrillo-ranch.org/ 

Continuing My Series On Creators that I met at the Comic Con International: San Diego 2009 and received at least one issue of their works for possible review...

Is Manuel Ríos Sarabia of Sadhaka Studio.  Manuel's Company is actually nearby in San Diego which I wasn't aware of at the time when I met him at the Con.  

This is what Manuel's advertising blurb about this comic says:

"The Fearless Zombie Hunters 1

Writer/Creator Manuel Rios Sarabia
 Art Gared Campos

Standard Comic
Black & White
Page Count: 28
Cover price $3.99

With his dying breath, El Angel Exterminador thrusts his legacy upon his hopeless son, Angel. Angel decides he is not really cut for the job of being the new Angel but fate puts him in front of a horde of zombies that might just make him change his mind. The appearance of Abronsius, Zombie Hunter, will help Angel to make his final decision.

The Fearless Zombie Hunters is… well, basically a tale about fearless zombie hunters. Imagine a black comedy starring Johnny Depp as the wise, middle aged and only living doctor in bio-thanathology, Professor Abronsius; an overweight Diego Luna (Y tu mama también) as the incompetent and disgraceful Angel, Son of El Angel, the greatest wrestler ever in Mexican history and Ana de la Reguera (Nacho Libre) as Candy, the sassy, sexy, retro aesthtete and extremely feminine balance between those two complete opposites. Now picture the three of them (in comic book form) fighting zombies for the sake of the world. There you have it. The Fearless Zombie Hunters.

You can find more about this comic book at Manuel's web site at: http://www.sadhakastudio.com/ which appears to be under a revision at this time.   Until then it appears with additional info, this one is still current: http://www.lapaella.com.mx/etogawa/sadhaka/inicio.html

~ Michael @  ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Yesterday I brought to my blog readers attention that the 1st Annual Long Beach Comic Con will be upon us very shortly...

That's because it starts at the beginning of October; running from October 2nd thru the 4th!

When I was checking the guests lists, both comics creators and media guests, a couple of names jumped out at me.  That's because I haven't seen them at a con for a while.  Those would be:

Melody Mooney (Hygena on Stan Lee's Who Wants To Be A Superhero? WWTBAS) and Trisha Paytas, (Ms. Limelight also on Stan Lee's WWTBAS)!

I have kept up with blogging about another contestant from Stan's show, 'Fat Momma' a.k.a. Nell Wilson, who I have seen a few times at other cons.  She is also fun to meet, that's for sure!  (Click here for a recent post.)

Also, back at the end of July I saw Tonya Kay (a.k.a. 'Creature' in the 1st Season of WWTBAS), at Jim Balent & Holly Golightly's booth at the SDCC. (Click here for that post.) 

But Hygena and Ms. Limelight haven't been seen in the SoCal area that much, so those of you that are fans of the show will want to stop in and see them both, PLUS their mentor, Stan (The Man) Lee himself who is Master of Ceremonies at this con!

I have blogged several times about Stan's series, and gotta admit that I have a fondness for keeping track of several of the contestants. After all, I keep running into several of them! 

So anyways I thought I would point these two fan faves out to you today. Who else is scheduled to be there?  Well, here is the link to the full comics creators and media guests schedule: http://www.longbeachcomiccon.com/guests.html  - Please note, appearances and times are always subject to possible change, just like at any other convention.  Plus there is probably an additional charge for autographs.

Now that you know that these two special guests will be there... You can buy your tickets online for the LBCC at:

http://www.longbeachcomiccon.com/p-1-long-beach-comic-con-registration.aspx

Also, If you would like to join with over 1,300 other members who have 'joined' the Long Beach Comic Con Facebook Fan Page, feel free to do so at:

http://www.facebook.com/LongBeachComicCon?ref=mf

You'll get more up-to-date information as the Con gets closer to its' opening day by signing up there! 

BTW.... Whereas Tina and I don't publish comics or books (yet?) or set up at comic cons (except at our own Facebook Virtual Comic Con Dealer Table), we do have thousands of indies and mainstream comics in our own online store. Be sure to check out our new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale in our online eBay Featured Store that our blogs are based on!  It's due to sales at this online store that keep us going with the ability to post blogs like the one you have read here today! 

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!  We do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, and other pop culture news and events including some TV shows and theatrical films! 

~ Michael @  ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

I wanted to bring to my blog readers attention that the 1st Annual Long Beach Comic Con will be upon us very shortly...

That's because it starts at the beginning of October; running from October 2nd thru the 4th!

When conventions start at the beginning of the month, it is easy to overlook them until they are right upon you time wise!

So make sure to mark your calendars to attend Today... after purchasing your ticket(s) to this comic convention!  Details will be shown below at the end of this blog post where to buy tickets and get updates before the con.

So what's happening at this comic con?

First I'll just mention a few of the comics creators guests:

Marc Andreyko, Mike Choi, Amanda Conner, Andi Ewington, Ale Garza, Tom Hodges, Scott Koblish, Jim Lee, Stan Lee, Rob Levin, Rob Liefeld, Doug Mahnke, Danny Miki, Chris Moreno, Steve Niles, Jimmy Palmiotti, Dan Panosian, Darick Robertson, Dave Ryan, Richard Starkings, Philip Tan, Mark Waid, Dan Wickline,  David Wohl, among others.

Plus, there's going to be media guests, (please be aware that many of the following may charge additional for autographs):

Crystal Allen (Star Trek), Dian Bachar (Galaxy Quest), Reb Brown (Captain America!), Elisa Donovan (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Richard Eden (RoboCop TV Series), Lou Ferrigno (Incredible Hulk TV), Jenilee Harrison (Three's Company, Dallas), Kynt & Vyxsin (Amazing Race), George Lazenby (James Bond), Melody Mooney (Hygena on Who Wants To Be A Superhero?), Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight), Nick Simmons (Gene Simmons Family Jewels), Trisha (Miss Limelight on Stan Lee's Who Wants... Superhero?), Garrett Wang (Star Trek: Voyager), Adrienne Wilkinson (Xena), and others!

Plus, what's a comic con without programming?  Well, here is the link to the full program schedule: http://www.longbeachcomiccon.com/program.html  which will be featuring several panels and films including these two on Saturday:

3:00-3:45 Selling to Hollywood: The Insider’s Guide
Learn more about how comics are being tapped by Hollywood
to make movies. Darick Robertson (The Boys), Jimmy Palmiotti,
Stephen Christy (Archaia), Matt Hawkins (Top Cow) and Jeff
Katz (Wolverine) talk candidly about their experiences adapting
comics to the silver screen. Hosted by Buddy Scalera.

4:00-4:45 Drawing Comics, Presented by Aspen Comics
Talk with working comic pros about the craft and business of
drawing comics. All-star panel includes Dustin Nguyen, Mike
Choi, Joe Benitez, Ale Garza, and Philip Tan.

Programming continues into Sunday, and for those of you interested in webcomics, this panel could be for you:

3:00-4:45 Webcomics, Lightning Round!
Thinking of starting a webcomic, or just
curious as to how the world of webcomics
differs from print counter-parts? Join
panelists Dave Kellett (SheldonComics.
com), David Malki (Wondermark.com)
and Jeff Zugale (JeffZugale.com) as they
take you through a 25-minute guided tour
of how to make webcomics work as a
hobby, part-time job, or full-time career.
Then the action heats up: 35 minutes
of fast-paced Q&A! Each panelist gets 20 seconds to give
answer audience questions!

Plus those interested in attending parties at comic cons... Friday night shows two parties, one starting at 5PM and the other at 8:30PM.  Check the program schedule above for more info.   

You can buy your tickets online at:

http://www.longbeachcomiccon.com/p-1-long-beach-comic-con-registration.aspx

If you would like to join with over 1,300 other members who have 'joined' the Long Beach Comic Con Facebook Fan Page, feel free to do so at:

http://www.facebook.com/LongBeachComicCon?ref=mf

You'll get more up-to-date information as the Con gets closer to its' opening day by signing up there! 

BTW.... Whereas Tina and I don't publish comics or books (yet?) or set up at comic cons (except at our own Facebook Virtual Comic Con Dealer Table), we do have thousands of indies and mainstream comics in our own online store. Be sure to check out our new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale in our online eBay Featured Store that our blogs are based on!  It's due to sales at this online store that keep us going with the ability to post blogs like the one you have read here today! 

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!  We do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, and other pop culture news and events including some TV shows and theatrical films! 

~ Michael @  ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

I usually don't blog about events that are coming up very quickly, as there isn't enough time to get the blog post distributed to all the different blog directories and search engines in time...

However the event that the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, (MoCCA) is presenting tomorrow night in New York is one that is of importance to those that can quickly re-arrange their schedules, or if they can't, then they can check out the book being discussed on their own at their usual favorite bookstore.  

Here is the gist of the invite that was sent to members of MoCCA's Facebook Group Page on Tuesday:

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art - MoCCA and Abrams ComicArts invite you to join us for an evening in celebration of the new book, The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics.  Discussion featuring co-author Denis Kitchen and Harvey’s daughter, Nellie Kurtzman; moderated by Abrams ComicArts editor Charles Kochman.

Reception and signing with refreshments to follow.

Additional details on this special event are:

Host: Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art - MoCCA
Type: Music/Arts - Exhibit
Network: Global
Price: Admission is free 
Date: Thursday, September 24, 2009
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art - MoCCA
Street: 594 Broadway - Suite 401 (bewtween Houston & Prince)
City/Town: New York, NY

Like I said at the beginning of this blog post, the event is about the book plus the special speakers that are there that night.  However the book itself can be purchased elsewhere if you are not able to make it in attendance.  Here are details on the book itself:

The Art of Harvey Kurtzman
The Mad Genius of Comics

Authors: Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle Introduction by Harry Shearer
Imprint: Abrams ComicArts
ISBN: 0-8109-7296-4
EAN: 9780810972964
Availability: In Stock
Publishing Date: 6/1/2009
Trim Size: 11 1/4 x 10 1/2
Page Count: 256
Cover: HC-Cloth with Jacket
Illustrations: 200 full-color illustrations

For those of you that are not aware of Harvey Kurtzman's contributions to the industry, here is a very brief bio, (and I mean very brief!):

"Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was a U.S. cartoonist and magazine editor. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure (i.e., H. Kurtz-man).

In 1952, he was the founding editor of the comic book Mad. Kurtzman was also known for the long-running Little Annie Fanny stories in Playboy (1962-88), satirizing the very attitudes that Playboy promoted."

You can find more about this One Night Only special event at MoCCA's event page at:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=136285919982

If you would like to join with over 2,100 other members who have 'joined' the MoCCA Facebook Group Page, feel free to do so at:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=32642984894&ref=ts 

Please Note:  Tina and I will not be there, as we are on the West Coast. However, we both have been to MoCCA and believe the work that they do is very beneficial to the comics and cartooning industry.  Additionally I have not seen a preview copy of this book.  However, Harvey's works are too important not to at least mention this special event and the book to those that can make it to the evening or purchase the book later. Harvey passed away 16 years ago. It is good to see books like this one come out to continue publicizing his works.

BTW.... Whereas Tina and I don't publish comics or books (yet?), we do have thousands of indies and mainstream comics in our own online store. Be sure to check out our new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale in our online eBay Featured Store that our blogs are based on!  It's due to sales at this online store that keep us going with the ability to post blogs like the one you have read here today! 

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!  We do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, and other pop culture news and events including some TV shows and theatrical films! 

~ Michael @  ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com