My 'Take' On:  Spectra #1 As Seen at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con International!      -------------- Above Top Photo: (L-R) Rebecca Thompson-Flagg and Kerry G Johnson at the 2010 SDCC! At the Top Left: The Front Cover to Spectra #1 The Original Laser Superhero! At the Bottom Left: The Logo for the Comic Con International: San Diego - a.k.a. San Diego Comic Con 2010.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3214:

One of the great pleasures I receive at visiting comic-cons, no matter what the size of them, is visiting the sections named 'Artists Alley', and 'Small Press' or 'Indy Aisles'.

I usually end up with several new publications to read and possibly review in this blog, after striking up conversations with the creators of the comics or graphic novels, due to this blog being the #1 'Followed' blog on Facebook for 'comics', 'comic books', and 'graphic novels' per the NetworkedBlogs app, as seen here.

So as usual I left with multiple new publications to read after this year's SDCC...

One that jumped right up at me out of the stack to read was a 'promotional' comic title 'Spectra' #1 - The Original Laser Superhero, from the APS.org, (American Physical Society). Cover dated May of 2010, I had not seen this comic book before or even heard about it.  And it's on its 5th Printing!

I met the creators, Rebecca Thompson-Flagg & Kerry G Johnson at the Comic-Con, and they were kind enough to explain the premise, and to pose for pics.

Just briefly, here is a little bit what the comic character is about in Rebecca's own words: "Spectra is a laser superhero,” Thompson-Flagg said. “Anything a laser can do, she can do. Anything light can do, she can do.” Throughout the course of the story, Spectra uses her powers to save her kidnapped friends from the clutches of the evil Miss Alignment. She can travel at the speed of light, change color, cut through solid metal, pass through windows, reflect off of mirrors and diffract into multiple copies of herself".

Here's 'My Take' on the #1 issue:

Front cover - Great introductory scene of Spectra appearing on the cover.  Plus even the casual browser can see that it is being presented by 'The American Physical Society', so that should bring some credence to the credibility of what appears to be a superhero.

Inside front cover - blank...Which you would think would at least have some promotional blurb about the APS?

Splash Page - Not used as a splash page, it is a story page. Not the most exciting way to start off a comic book, after the great cover...

Interior pages - which number 12 in total.  The storyline is well presented.  The characters are introduced in an orderly fashion, and for an 'origin story' it is pretty darn good!

Inside back cover - blank again.  The two inside covers are the only detraction I can see for the promotional comic book presentation.

The Back Cover - Now THAT's a great back cover for a 'promotional comic book'!  It has the name of the sponsor, the web site address, and the physical address of the APS, as well as credits to the creators of the comic book.

The storyline -  Even though it is aimed at pre-teens, I found myself enjoying the storyline!  It was a fun read!  The language sounds like kids talking and the adults are shown to be regular people except for the villainess of course!

The artwork - I liked this artwork!  It really fit the genre of this promotional comic book very well.  The colors fit the style as well, and the lettering was placed properly and did not interfere with the artwork or bog down the storyline.

In final summation, I found this promotional comic book to be well written and illustrated to fit the genre.  The only detraction was the two inside covers which could have had some inside scoop on the characters, how lasers work, or more about APS.

Thus I give this publication a NEAR MINT MINUS (NM-) 9.2, and recommend it as a good gift to give to those pre-teens that have an interest in science, or that you would like to expose to more science subjects using a superhero as a character based on science fact to read about.

The APS web site is at:  APS.org for more info. Just type in 'Spectra comic' in the search bar on the portal page to see what links they have to stories about the creators and the comic book.

Again, my thanks to Rebecca Thompson-Flagg and Kerry G Johnson for introducing this promotional comic book to me at this year's San Diego Comic Con International!

Oh...AND You can purchase this and others published by APS at this web site.

PLUS...My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,210 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.  

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

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"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"       Note: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email 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     ComicBooksCircus.com - It's Under The Big Top Of Comics! Click the Above Circus Tent to See Our Current Listings!

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today... I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others 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.

 

Vinnie's Take On: The Clutch Cargo Volume 7 DVD       Above: The Front Cover to The Clutch Cargo Vol 7 DVD from EastWestDVD.com!  At The Top Left: An example of the Syncro-Vox style of cartooning with real lips voicing the character! At the Bottom Left: Vinnie - Today's Guest Blogger!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3212:

Today I'm pleased once again to have as guest blogger, Vinnie, who is writing 'His Take' on the Clutch Cargo Vol 7 DVD and the cartoon in general:

[SPOILER ALERT: This whole blog post is a 'Spoiler Alert', but that is because Vinnie goes into some detail in his review blogs. This is more of a review of the collection from a tween's POV.]

My Take On: 

The Clutch Cargo Volume 7 on DVD from EastWestDVD!

Yesterday, my dad and I went to a collectible store and bought multiple DVDs, but the only one he opened for us to view was the Clutch Cargo DVD. So, Tina, dad, and I watched the DVD. He told me that he used to watch a few chapters of this cartoon as a child, and 50 years later, I am doing the same thing. This is why he picked this up, and opened it to share with us. Below are my thoughts on the Clutch Cargo Volume 7 DVD. 

Because I view modern day cartoons, this looks very outdated. I haven't seen any cartoon in modern days that looked as bad as this, but it is only due to the lack of technology they had back then. Whenever the characters were up close, their eyes wouldn't blink, and they had a real mouth.

It seemed a little creepy as it looked as though they were staring at you, and were talking at whatever was looking at it. If I read the credits correctly, this process was called syncro-vox. Whenever they had character talking, but not up close, they would always conveniently have their mouth hidden by something.

On the DVD, there were 3 episodes, with each episode containing 5 four minute chapters, telling that episode's story. They would have a recap of the previous chapter before the clip and I almost felt that half of the chapter was the recap. Along with that, they kept recycling footage, using it whenever they could so they wouldn't have to produce it again. It was actually kind of funny spotting where they had already used that scene from.

What I found to be very funny, was that when it ended the 3rd collection of episodes, it restarted back from 1, meaning, you could possibly have your child sit there watching it all day without them knowing it was the same thing.

And finally, on the Comic Book Grade Scale, I would give it a 5.5 out of a possible 10.0 scale, which is a FINE MINUS (F-) letter grade. 

That's the end of the first part of today's guest blog by Vinnie...My thanks to him for sharing here today what we watched this weekend!

If YOU'd like to start viewing these cartoon episodes, here's a good place to start with on Volume 1: Clutch Cargo - Volume 1 !

Also...If YOU liked his review on this DVD, you may enjoy reading his reviews on: The All New Super Friends Hour Season 1 DVD, The Ultimate Underdog Collection Volume 1, Planet Hulk, Coraline, Ponyo, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Sonic the Hedgehog TPB Vol 1, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, just to name a recent few!   

Here's my own additional thoughts on this DVD, before we close this blog post:

First of all, this DVD contained Episodes:

#40 'The Missing Mermaid' with chapters 196 - 200.

#44 'Water Wizards' with chapters 216 -220.

And Episode #23 'The Midget Submarine' with chapters #111 - 115.

Figuring that this is a 'fair representation' of the TV Cartoon Series, which had a total of 52 episodes, I want to say this:

I never was able to catch all these episodes when I was younger. I might see a chapter or two, but even then it was very strange at that time to see the talking lips in the cartoons!

Which is why I opened this DVD last night to share with Vinnie and Tina!  To let them see what this cartoon series was about.  You see, the cartoon had five chapters.  Each chapter could be aired on a weekday, and then the 5 compiled in a half hour Saturday morning cartoon show in syndication.  It actually makes a lot of sense to recap the previous chapter because a 'real day' would have passed since then.

Not justifying this format, just explaining it to you that haven't viewed this cartoon series before.  The sales clerk told me that it wasn't a modern cartoon series before she rung it up, as the rest of the DVDs were anime DVDs.  I told her that I understood that, and she explained that her kids were a little disappointed in the format when she opened her copy.

What I found in doing a little more research on this series was the following:

The show was written by Clark Haas, and produced by Cambria Productions. The show used the voices of Richard Cotting who was a radio actor and voiced Clutch, Margaret Kerry who voiced Spinner and Paddlefoot (the Daschund), and Hal Smith who voiced Swampy and others.

An interesting note here...Margaret Kerry has her own web site where she sells a Clutch Cargo cartoon photo card. See this link for that!

And Hal Smith is probably better known as 'Otis' on The Andy Griffith Show!

Historical Note: This show was the first TV show to use the syncro-vox optical system.  It had been used for talking animal commercials before that!

As for the 'limited animation' issue.  You have to know that what footage the Disney Studio would produce for $250,000 would be produced for only $18,000 by Cambria Productions! Thus the BIG difference in quality!

As a final historical note...Cambria Studios had 2 other syncro-vox TV series!  Space Angel in 1962 and then Captain Fathom in 1965.  They also had a different type of show in 1965 titled 'The New 3 Stooges Show' without the moving lips feature.

I personally found viewing the DVD a novel yet strange experience.  The bongo beat in the theme music was familar, and the moving lips, but I hadn't seen the Saturday compilation shows, so seeing the 5 chapters in each episode run together was a little repetitious in replaying what had gone on in the previous chapter(s).  But that isn't the way it was originally presented each weekday!

For comic book fans, would you believe Alex Toth had a hand in this show?!  As well as Cambria Productions' Space Angel and Captain Fathom!

I can't end without stating that the syncro-vox was invented by Edwin Gillete, who was a co-partner in the Cambria Productions company. 

Clark Haas went on to be associated with Hanna-Barbera, and worked on a few shows, including Super Friends that Vinnie has already blogged about!

My thanks to Vinnie and Tina who watched this DVD with me last night!

AND My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,210 total posts in number!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Our online comic book store carries many different genres of comics, magazines, and graphic novels, including Funnybooks, Sci-Fi, and MoNSTer Comics at:

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

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"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"       Note: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email 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

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today...I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that!   The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768. NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners. is blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently. The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768. NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

 

Slum Circus Indy Comic And Art Expo August 28th, 2010   ---------- ------ Above Uppermost Photo: The front poster of the postcard for the Slum Circus Indy Comic And Art Expo! ---------- Above Top Photo: The creative team of Iota_Arcane & D. Castr at the Taco Comics Table at the LBCC! At the Top Left: The back poster of the promotional postcard.  Click it to view it in larger detail! At the Bottom Left: I didn't believe it either when I saw Dale Wilson of DWAP Productions sporting his new hairstyle at the SDCC! Stop in at this Expo to say hello to Dale!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3211:

I've been blogging about the most recent Comic-Con that we've been to during the last few weeks. (The SDCC!)

However, not all comic shows are as large as the one in San Diego. Nor do they all run the same amount of days. But each one has its own distinct flavor.

So I'm always glad to hear of new shows, no matter what size that are starting up!

One that is happening soon is the Expo that is mentioned above.  Please Note:  This Expo is a "Strictly Underground Theme". So please realize that it is probably not suitable for very young kids. That is my take on this, and not from the promoters. It is a brand new show which is being held at:

Chuco's Justice Center - 1137 E. Redondo Blvd, Inglewood, CA 90302.

The Date of this One-Day Expo is August 28th, 2010. Tickets are $8 at the Door, and $5 pre-sale.

Contributing artists and vendors scheduled to exhibit are:

Alex Chili, Donna Letterese, Beee Bello, DCastr, Dwap Productions, Ezra, Dreams by Machine, Taco Comics, Hyperwerks, Brandon Bracamonte, Jimmy Bell, Karl Altstaetter, Crude Dude Comix, Rebornz Art, Splatter Beast, James Riot, Scott Aicher, MIF, Alexnadra Gonzales, Amer Shihab, Tony Acosta, John Tomason, Tom Neely, Yuki Miyazaki, Natures Mistake, and more!

As this is a brand new show, Tina and I have not attended this one before.  Please be advised of the 'Strictly Underground Theme' that this show centers on. We are looking at making arrangements to possibly check this show out. You can do the same by looking at the below links.

For those of YOU that are members of Facebook, feel free to 'like' the Slum Circus Facebook Fan Page and become interactive.

For those of you that aren't Facebook members, or if there are additional questions you may have, feel free to check out their web site at: SlumCircus.org.

Thanks to the good people at Taco Comics for bringing this to my attention!

PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 3,210 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, underground comix, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.  

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

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"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"       Note: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email 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     ComicBooksCircus.com - It's Under The Big Top Of Comics! Click the Above Circus Tent to See Our Current Listings!

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today... I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others 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.

 

Bob Burden's Disorderly House No. 3 As Seen At The San Diego Comic-Con International  2010!     ---------- ---------- Above Uppermost Photo: Tina LoSasso listens to Bob Burden as seen at the Second Annual Captain Rochester Artists Appreciation Dinner! ---------- Above Top Photo: Michael D Hamersky, Tina LoSasso, and Bob Burden at the same Off-Site Comic-Con Party! At the Top Left: Bob Burden holds the 'Disorderly House No. 3' Special Promotional Preview Edition! At the Bottom Left: The Logo for the Comic Con International: San Diego - a.k.a. San Diego Comic Con 2010.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3210:

Today's post is on the Special Promotional Preview Edition that Bob Burden shared with Tina and myself at the Off-Site Comic Party that I blogged about earlier this week, (Second Annual Captain Rochester Artists Appreciation Dinner).

For those of YOU that don't know of Bob's works, he is responsible for: Flaming Carrot, and Mystery Men, among other creations of his.  I'll post the links to them at the end of this blog.

Bob pulled out a promotional preview edition of a future publication of this material when Tina asked him what his most current project was.

Bob explained that the story contained in this Preview Edition would be the additional new feature in the Second Deluxe Flaming Carrot Hard Back Collected Volume titled 'The Wild Shall Wild Remain'.

The actual cover to the hardback volume is printed on the back of this preview edition, but not shown here in this post.

The new story is an 8 pager titled 'Cryptid'. I found it to be as engaging as other stories that Flaming Carrot has been in during previous years. And rather timely in the quips!

There are also five pages of a Flaming Carrot Gallery which rounds out the Preview Edition!

YOU can find out more on what's happening with the Collected Volume at Bob's web site: FlamingCarrot.com.

Plus check out his other works at: MysteryMen.net, DynamiteGirl.net, and MulletForce6.com.

Thanks Bob, for sharing this news via the Special Preview Edition with us at the dinner party.  Looking forward to seeing more in the upcoming months!

PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 3,205 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.  

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

---

 

"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"       Note: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email 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     ComicBooksCircus.com - It's Under The Big Top Of Comics! Click the Above Circus Tent to See Our Current Listings!

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today... I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others 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.