Michael D Hamersky On Comics Poses A Question... What To Buy At The 2011 SDCC / Comic-Con International For Myself...? Why, The Jack Kirby Collector Magazine, Of Course! As Sold At The TwoMorrows Booth! -  - Top Photo: John Morrow helping a customer at his TwoMorrows Booth at the 2011 Comic-Con International: San Diego, (aka SDCC). - Bottom Photo:  Michael D Hamersky holding his yearly purchase of a handfull of 'The Jack Kirby Collector' published by TwoMorrows, (with John Morrow in the background, along with well known 'Jack Kirby Tribute' attendee, David  Siegel, wearing a red shirt). -

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3478:

I recently ran a series of blogs, (twelve in total!) about the then upcoming 2011 Comic-Con International: San Diego, aka the San Diego Comic Con, or SDCC for short.

Including what I considered to be the 'Hi-lites' of each day's programs / panels to attend for those going to attend the SDCC for the first time, (newbies!).

One of those panels was the annual Jack Kirby Tribute, moderated by Mark Evanier, who has hosted those each year since Jack's passing in 1994. 

I also mentioned that I haven't missed a one, and that it is a 'must see' for me, period... I don't care what else is programmed up against it, and I have missed some real good programs because of this!

Well, the TwoMorrows co-owner, John Morrow, and some of his company's freelancers / staff usually attend this panel also, and then later report on it, after taping it, transcribing it, and then editing it.  And that is quite a job in itself, as there is a lot of conversations going on during this usual one hour long panel!

At the same time of the panel, I make sure that I have either already purchased the issues of 'The Jack Kirby Collector' since the previous year's SDCC at the TwoMorrows booth downstairs in the exhibit hall, or I go immediately afterwards to pick the issues up before they sell out!

I used to have a subscription to this fine publication, when it was published in a smaller sized format, but found that my postmaster's staff had a bad habit of bending it to fit either my PO Box or the larger temporary holding box that it could be placed in.   I treasured each of the issues too much to have my own personal copy be treated in such a way!

So each year I pick up all the oversized tabloid sized issues that have been published since the previous Comic-Con and immediately walk them out to my car in the underground parking structure, so as to keep them Near Mint for my own collection!

So what did I miss this past year by not buying them direct from John's company, or buying them from my LCBS?   Here's a run down of the three issues printed since the 2010 SDCC:

Summer 2011 - 84 pages - Tabloid Format
JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #57 (84 tabloid-size pages, $10.95) focuses on “Legendary Kirby”—spotlighting Jack's use of the stuff of legend in his work! From angels and devils to Demons and demi-gods, we'll examine how Kirby put his own spin on classic folklore to immortalize it in the comics realm. There's TONY ISABELLA on SATAN'S SIX (with Kirby's unseen layouts for the series), the Biblical inspirations behind DEVIL DINOSAUR, THOR as viewed through the eyes of mythologist JOSEPH CAMPBELL, and how the legendary JFK Conspiracy affected Jack! We’ll also present a complete Golden Age Kirby story, a rare Kirby interview, plus MARK EVANIER and our other regular columnists, pencil art galleries showing uninked pencils from ETERNALS, the DEMON, NEW GODS, THOR, and more! All behind two Kirby covers (Jack's original ATLAS presentation inked by D. BRUCE BERRY, and a breathtaking fully-painted DEMON back cover by GIORGIO COMOLO)! Edited by John Morrow.

'My Take' On Issue #57?  This is the issue I chose to read first... Why? Well the earlier promo for this issue was that it was to be on the 'immortals' or 'gods' that Jack Kirby started and possibly didn't have a chance to finish writing about. I enjoyed reading several of these series or one-shots when they came out, and wanted to know more about them. I found the issue to be mostly satisifying, and enjoyed the 'takes' of the different authors who wrote the articles. There seemed to be a lot of full page artwork pages, which is why John went to the oversized tabloid format to begin with.  Which is good if you are into the artwork of those titles.  I'm more of a reader of the articles usually... My comic book grade for this issue: VERY FINE PLUS (VF+) 8.5 out of a possible 10.0 grading scale.

Spring 2011 - 84 pages - Tabloid Format
JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #56 (84 tabloid-size pages, $10.95) focuses on “Unfinished Sagas”—series, stories, and arcs Jack never got to properly finish, and concepts that never got off the ground. From TRUE DIVORCE CASES and RAAM to KOBRA and DINGBATS, there’ll be gobs of unused art and text, including a complete story from SOUL LOVE! We’ll also present the rarely-seen 1946 Boy Explorers story “Trip to the Moon”, two Kirby Tribute Panels, interviews with MICHAEL NETZER and PAUL KUPPERBERG, KURT BUSIEK and ALEX ROSS on their new series Kirby: Genesis, plus MARK EVANIER and our other regular columnists, pencil art galleries, and more! All behind two Kirby covers (the "Galaxy Green" presentation, inked by MIKE ROYER, and the unseen cover for SOUL LOVE)! Edited by John Morrow.

My 'Take' on issue #56?  Those who read this Blog on a regular basis will know that my favorite series that Jack worked on was the 'Fantastic Four'. When he left Marvel for DC I picked up his new series, but it just didn't have the same 'feel' for me. However, his efforts at DC were just about the only titles I picked up at the newstand to read for pleasure from that Company. So this area that issue #56 covered was one that I didn't know that much about, and in hindsight is of valuable knowledge that has been shared by the authors of the articles that are published in this issue.  Good reading! My comic book grade for this issue: VERY FINE / NEAR MINT (VF/NM) 9.0 out of a possible 10.0 grading scale.

Fall 2010 - 84 pages - Tabloid Format
In JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #55 (84 tabloid-size pages, $10.95), "Kirby Goes To Hollywood!" as we examine the King's forays in and out of Tinseltown! Inside you'll find: Sergio Aragonés and Mell Lazarus recall appearing with Kirby on an episode of Bob Newhart's BOB! television show! A comparison of three most recent STAR WARS films to Jack's "The Pact" and "Himon" Fourth World issues! The King's time at Ruby-Spears animation as a designer on Thundarr the Barbarian examined, plus an interview with Joe Ruby and Ken Spears! How Kirby inspired Hollywood productions from 1940s serials and cartoon shows, to TV series and big screen blockbusters—plus how Jack worked films and TV into his own comics stories! Heretofore unknown tidbits about Jack's encounters with Frank Zappa, Paul McCartney... and John Lennon?! All this, plus Mark Evanier's regular column, a Kirby pencil art gallery, a Golden Age Kirby story, and more, behind a color Kirby cover inked by PAUL SMITH! Edited by John Morrow.

My 'Take' on this issue?  Contrary to what you may think... I'm not really that big of a fan of 'Wonder Woman' in the comics.  Even though I have a special photo album of Wonder Woman cosplayers, with and without me, at my Facebook Fan Page... I've never found the title(s) to be worthy of collecting.  Sure, some story arcs in the past were worth buying to read, but overall... I just never 'collected' Wonder Woman comics.   So that is why I left this issue to be the last of the three I purchased at the 2011 Comic-Con to be read. However, just like on several comic book covers of the past... This cover didn't really show what the contents of this issue were about!  The articles on 'Jack Goes to Hollywood' were great! The best issue for me of the three! My comic book grade, a NEAR MINT MINUS (NM-) 9.2 out of a 10.0 possible comic book grading scale. A more obvious 'theme related' cover would have been nice, as I didn't 'get' the connection of the cover to the issue's theme that easily, if at all...

So, that's another 'year' in publishing on the Jack Kirby Collector! You would think that after 57 total issues that there wouldn't be much more to publish in The Jack Kirby Collector, but you would be wrong! I'm personally looking forward to issue #58 which is to be:

(Jack Kirby Collector #58)
128 page tabloid-size Trade Paperback - Written by Mark Alexander

Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Fantastic Four #1 with this special squarebound edition (#58) of The Jack Kirby Collector, about the two pop-culture visionaries who created the Fantastic Four, and a decade in comics that was more tumultuous and awe-inspiring than any before or since. Calling on his years of research, plus new interviews conducted just for this book (with Stan Lee, Flo Steinberg, Mark Evanier, Joe Sinnott, and others), regular Jack Kirby Collector magazine contributor Mark Alexander traces both Lee and Kirby's history at Marvel Comics, and the remarkable series of events and career choices that led them to converge in 1961 to conceive the Fantastic Four. It also documents the evolution of the FF throughout the 1960s, with previously unknown details about Lee and Kirby's working relationship, and their eventual parting of ways in 1970. With a wealth of of historical information and amazing Kirby artwork, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby: THE WONDER YEARS beautifully examines the first decade of the FF, and the events that put into motion the 1960s era that came to be known as the Marvel Age of Comics!

My personal thanks to John Morrow who 'turned me on' to his publication, 'The Jack Kirby Collector' way back in 1994!  I look forward each year to his coming out to San Diego for the Comic-Con International to set up his TwoMorrows booth, so I can buy the JKC & other single issues of his other magazines that I have previously blogged about here!

I would recommend those reading this blog post to follow what else TwoMorrows Publishing is doing by 'Liking' the Facebook Fan Page for the Company as seen here!

Current issues of the publications by TwoMorrows can be found there, and for back issue copies that are OOP (Out of Print), feel free to check out my own online comic book shop at ComicBooksCircus.com!

~Michael D Hamersky 

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,506 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! 

And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:  

http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com/ 

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up differently, sorry about that!

The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.  Note:  As of Monday, June 27th, 2011, I'll be using my new laptop, where the default resolution is 'higher', so there may be some temporary glitches until I am used to the new resolution.

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!

To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Reviews...  If You're CRACKED You're Happy Volume 1: The Early Years! By Mark Arnold! Above Top Photo: Mark Arnold at his booth in the Indy Press Section of the 2011 Comic-Con International! - Left column top photo: A close up of the front cover to Volume 1: The Early Years - If You're Cracked You're Happy. There is a Volume 2, which is not reviewed here!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3477:

I've met Mark Arnold before at earlier comic cons, and have blogged about him and some of his works in this blog before, as seen here.

However, I wasn't aware of his new two volume book series, titled:  If You're Cracked You're Happy Volumes 1 (Won) & 2 (Too), until I saw him at the recent 2011 Comic-Con International: San Diego.   

Mark is pictured at the above right holding a copy of Volume 1, which I am reviewing here today.  Volume 2 has not yet been read as of this blog, as I do get backed up with materials that I pick up at comic cons such as Comic-Con.

But I did want to mention Volume 1, as I just finished it, and found it to be something I believe has been long overdue to be printed...!

You see, 'Cracked' was one of those humor magazines in the vein of 'Mad', 'Sick' and several others during the previous decades when these type of mags were in full bloom. However, unlike 'Mad', 'Cracked' hasn't had a serious study that has been placed in print to my knowledge.  

Mark Arnold has taken care of that! How? Here's the promo for the book:

"Sick beat the pants off Cracked when they were in competition." - Joe Simon,former Editor of Sick magazine and Captain America co-creator

"A book on Cracked; a sure-fire way to land you on the New York Times bestseller list!" - Andy Simmon, former National Lampoon and Cracked Editor

"It sounds like an interesting and formidable journey you've taken on. The Cracked history is worth mining, I imagine, and from my limited knowledge I don't believe anyone has done a complete effort yet. If you need anything I can provide please let me know. My memory is as faded as my jeans but I'll do what I can. Thanks for taking the time to send an email that's not about Debt Relief, Mortgage Rates or Penile Enlargement...." - Kit Lively, former Cracked writer

For over 40 years CRACKED was the best-selling humor magazine in the world... if you don't count MAD! A remarkable and amusing retrospective by author MARK ARNOLD, recounting the secret origins of the magazine, covering its history with former and future MAD and MARVEL Comics contributors JOHN SEVERIN, JACK DAVIS, DON MARTIN, BILL ELDER, JACK KIRBY, STEVE DITKO and AL JAFFEE, along with CRACKED veterans BILL WARD, DON OREHEK, GEORGE GLADIR, as well its responsibility for launching the careers of award-winning alternative cartoonists including DAN CLOWES, PETER BAGGE and BOB FINGERMAN. Crammed with creator interviews, rare photos and art and a complete checklist of every issue! A must for comics fans and purveyors of popular media!

That definitely sets the stage for what is in this book!

Here's why it is in two volumes... The first 161 pages of this first volume are devoted to the first thirty something years of the magazine's history.  Starting on page 163 is the Cracked Magazine Index, which is well laid out and in readable print size!

I found when reading the early history, that it had quite a few comics creators that I would later come to know better in the 'Marvel Age of Comics', as the magazine 'Cracked' came into being in the year 1958, right after the infamous 'Atlas Implosion'! Which is why I recognize so many names of those working at Cracked during its formative years!

Even though some history is shown at websites such as Wikipedia for the Magazine Cracked, and the Wikipedia Entry for Cracked.com, or its own web site, Cracked.com, I've never really known much about the magazine itself.

That's because like so many others that have purchased this magazine in the past off of newstands, or comic book shops... I bought it because of the John Severin art, and the fact that it was between months that 'Mad' came out.  Hey, I'm being honest!

Additionally, I wasn't aware of the earliest history of the magazine, as the magazines were more money than comic books, and ten cents or twelve cents were about what I had to buy comics.  Humor magazines just weren't affordable, especially since I was an early M.M.M.S. member, and bought every Marvel Comic there was!  Hey, there weren't that many back in the early years of Marvel Comics, but it took all my allowance!

I found that Mark Arnold's multiple interviews with Cracked alumni to be a good basis for presenting the early history, and really enjoyed the first 161 pages of this magazine.  He really put the whole early years into perspective and in a very readable way.  Not cut and dried at all, which was good, becuase it was about a humour magazine after all!

If I was a collector of 'Cracked Magazine', I would have found the Index - Part 1 to Cracked Magazine to be of immense value.  Since I am not a collector of 'Cracked', but instead a reader of it, I found that when using the Index, I made notes to add to my 'want list' for certain issues of Cracked.  

This is what a a history of a magazine should be!  

A living, breathing history, with people's recounts and insertions of what was happening in the 'real world' at the same time.

Plus a handy index to help those wanting certain issues for re-reading stories that they once had as a kid, or for those who enjoy collecting issues done by certain creators, such as Ditko, or Kirby!

I'm going to give this a 'comic book grade' of NEAR MINT (NM) 9.4 out of a possible 10.0 grading scale.   That's because I believe that those that have even a casual interest in 'Cracked' magazine will enjoy the first part of the book immensely, and will find the Index to be of particular value in tracking down what issues they would like to read.  After all, there is a long publishing history presented here for this magazine that started in print in 1958, and survives today in a different format on the web!

Here is the ordering info for the book:

Paperback: 562 pages
Publisher: BearManor Media (June 21, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1593936443
ISBN-13: 978-1593936440
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches

Until recently I would have referred you to Amazon with a link, but with Amazon & the State of California fighting over taxes...and Amazon closing down their affiliates in California... I'm going to refer you directly to the publisher's web site for both volumes:  Bear Manor Media!

Or, if you are attending an upcoming comic convention, check to see Mark Arnold is attending that one also, and buy direct from him! For more info on his upcoming appearances, or where else you can buy this 2 volume set... Go to his Facebook Fan Page for this series, If You're Cracked You're Happy, and 'Like' it!

My thanks to Mark Arnold for bringing his two volume set to my attention at the Comic-Con / SDCC last month!  I look forward to reading the second volume and reporting back on that one in the near future!

~Michael D Hamersky

(Unabashed Plug:  And yes,  I do have issues of Cracked Magazine listed at my online comic book shop, as well as Mad Magazine, and on occasions, Crazy, Sick, etc.)

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,503 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! 

And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:  

http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com/ 

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up differently, sorry about that!

The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.  Note:  As of Monday, June 27th, 2011, I'll be using my new laptop, where the default resolution is 'higher', so there may be some temporary glitches until I am used to the new resolution.

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!

To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents... 'Chuck' Says a Teary Farewell to Comic-Con Fans! As Blogged by Tina LoSasso Who Was There during the FIRST & LAST 'Chuck' Panels at Comic-Con International! Photos: Below: Tina in line for Ballroom 20!  Top Right: Zachary Levi (left) can't keep back the tears. Middle Right: Joshua Gomez does his 'Intersect Trance'. Video Bottom right: The Intros. More Photos at: The LAST Chuck Panel Special Photo Album! -  - -

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3476:

Chuck Says a Teary Farewell to Comic-Con Fans

After five years of love, Zachary Levi bid fans a teary farewell at San Diego Comic-Con. 'Chuck' debuted at Comic-Con in 2007 and has always been one of our favorite panels.

This year it was our camp-out panel. Michael thought I was kidding when I said I was setting the alarm for 4 am so we could wait (and wait and wait) in the Ballroom 20 Line. This was going to be the last 'Chuck' panel and there was no way I was missing it!

Fans were out in force, but we got in. As we entered Ballroom 20 we were handed Comic-Con exclusive 'Chuck' t-shirts complete with Nerd Herd tie, pocket protector, and nun chucks in the back pocket!  Wow - flashbacks of Comic-Cons past where studios gifted us with swag right in the rooms instead of making us schlep to the hotel next door for some trinket!

The panel got off to a rousing start with a video sequence featuring a Jeffster music video of Eye of the Tiger with Ryan McPartlin (Captain Awesome) putting Joshua Gomez (Morgan Grimes) through 'Rocky' style training to be the Intersect. 

Highlights to look for in the final season:

-- Mark Hamill (Star Wars) plays a villain in the season premiere
-- Col Casey gets a love interest in arch enemy Gertrude Verbansky
-- General Beckman will be back
-- The end of Jeffster? There will be a great war between Jeff and Lester

-- Someone will not survive the season...!

The cast had some amusing thoughts about how the show should end. Vik Sahay wants Lester to die a glorious death like William DaFoe in Platoon  in slow-mo; Scott Krinsky thinks there needs to be a Baby Jeffster (which made Vik nervous!); Ryan McPartlin wants a feature trilogy like Lord of the Rings; and Mark Christopher Lawrence (Big Mike) wants it to end as it always has (and as I do): funny.

You can watch the entire Chuck panel including Zachary Levi holding back the tears in his final salute to the fans AND the opening "We're Doomed" video at NBC's site:  Chuck Panel at Comic-Con.

You can score a Comic-Con exclusive Chuck t-shirt with the nun chucks in the back pocket from our ebay store, click here to get yours now!

And, enjoy the final season beginning Friday, October 21 at 8 pm. We will!

~Tina LoSasso!

------------

Thanks, Tina, for guest blogging here today on the 'Chuck' panel!  

For those of you that are wondering why I am posting Tina's blog here in a 'Comic Book Collectors Blog'.... That's because the TV show, besides making all kinds of references to comic books & Comic-Con in the series... Also had two comic book series of its own, as seen here and here!  That qualifies it for inclusion in this Blog of mine!

More on the TV Show at the Wikipedia entry:  Chuck!

For Chuck comics, (when we have them in stock!), see the 'TV & Movie Comics Tent', (store aisle), at my online comic book shop, ComicBooksCircus.com!

Lastly, here are more photos taken at the LAST Chuck Panel, and not used in this blog.

~Michael D Hamersky

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,500 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! 

And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:  

http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com/ 

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up differently, sorry about that!

The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.  Note:  As of Monday, June 27th, 2011, I'll be using my new laptop, where the default resolution is 'higher', so there may be some temporary glitches until I am used to the new resolution.

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!

To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents... On The Red (White & Blue!)Carpet of the... Captain America: The First Avenger Film World Premiere! As told by Allen Bellman!* *Who 'Was There' during the Golden Age Comics Period of Captain America, AND at the Hollywood World Premiere of the Captain America Film! -  - -

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3475:

Please Note:   I want to thank Mr. Allen Bellman for sending me the photos used in this special blog on his experience on the Red (White & Blue!) Carpet at the World Premiere for the Captain America: The First Avenger film at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, California, on Tuesday, July 19th!

Here in Allen's own words to me via email is his experience:

Destination Hollywood!
 
An all night flight from Ft. Lauderdale brought us to the Roosevelt Hotel, on Hollywood Blvd, just about a block away from the El Capitan Theatre where the movie "Captain America" was to premiere.

We arrived a day early before the showing, little did I realize when I joined the bullpen of Timely/Marvel in 1942 to work on Captain America and more than a half a century later I would be here for this occasion.

The next day around 5 pm  we left our hotel room for the one block trek to the theatre.  Fans were lined up on either side of the street and i was sporting a "bum" leg, hobbling along in the hot California sun.

I guess the security people took pity on me and escorted myself and Roz to be the first in the Theatre.  We were seated in a box seat and Chris Evans grandfather asked me who I was to be seated in such an important seat.

Oh well, King for a day! After the movie we attended a party at the Supper Club on Hollywood Blvd with the cast and all those who had any thing to do with the movie.

As my mother once said, "Only in America"!

~Allen Bellman.

(Note on photos used in this blog: Topmost photos  (1)Across the stree from the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, California. (2)Allen walking the Red (White & Blue!) Carpet. (3) The former Nancy Shores and Kevin Feige with Allen.   Smaller inset photos:  (4)Allen walking past the crowd. (5) Two of the actors who played Howling Commandos, Derek Luke as Gabe Jones, (Allen Bellman in the middle), and Neal McDonough as Dum Dum Dugan! 

For those of you that would like to know more about Allen Bellman, and why he was invited to attend the World Premiere of this Captain America film... Please see the following websites:

AllenBellman.com

Allen Bellman's Credits per the GCD, (which is incomplete)

Allen Bellman mentions in the ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Thanks, Allen for sending me your photos & story of being on The Red Carpet at the Captain America: The First Avenger Premiere!

More on the film at the Wikipedia entry, Captain America: The First Avenger!

For those of you wondering what Tina & I thought of the comic book film, as we take them all in... Here's 'Our Take' on the film that we just viewed at the Big Screen this past weekend, as we were at Comic-Con International when it first opened nationwide!

~Michael D Hamersky

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,499 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! 

And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:  

http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com/ 

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up differently, sorry about that!

The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.  Note:  As of Monday, June 27th, 2011, I'll be using my new laptop, where the default resolution is 'higher', so there may be some temporary glitches until I am used to the new resolution.

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!

To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents... Our Take On: Cowboys & Aliens! Inspired by the Graphic Novel! Reviewed By Tina LoSasso, Vinnie & Michael D Hamersky! -   Above Top Photo: An earlier version of the Cowboys & Aliens film poster that we saw on the outside of the theater we attended! Left column top photo: The Graphic Novel that inspired the film, published by Platinum Studios in 2006. Creative team: Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Fred Van Lente & Andrew Foley, Dennis Calero & Luciano Lima, J. Wilson & Silvio Spotti & Luciano Kars & Magic Eye Studios!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3474:

Please Note:   This is the comic book film that Tina and I have been seeing trailers of at other movie showings, and been wanting to see.  Tina's interest is because one of her favorite 'James Bond' actors, Daniel Craig, is in it, and mine because it was inspired / 'based' on a graphic novel and looked good in the trailers! 

The film opened on Friday, July 29th even though it premiered at Comic-Con International: San Diego.  Tina and I did not attend the special opening near Comic-Con in Downtown San Diego, as there were limited tickets availability.  Plus we were very busy at the Comic-Con, as you can tell by our earlier blogs!  We thus waited till my youngest son, Vinnie, joined us this weekend to see it together.

Here's the reviews from Vinnie (young comic book reader), Tina (mainstream film goer), & myself (long time comic book dealer & reader):

Vinnie: After watching another alien movie,"Battle: Los Angeles", on the previous Thursday night, my dad, stepmom Tina, and I, decided to watch the movie "Cowboys & Aliens" in theaters. I was expecting it would be good, but it wasn't, sadly.

That's because it was Great! It was a lot more than I thought it would be. I was expecting a movie about cowboys and aliens blowing up they territory and all that, but not much more. This had definitely been more than just that, however.

The story was greatly built up, with flashbacks of an accident that kept on repeating in the main characters mind. You knew something was going to happen but nothing did...

SPOILER WARNING: ...Until out of nowhere, comes the aliens! From that point on it was just about survival. They followed the trail that an alien left, and a woman of an unknown place that wants to follow the cowboy on his journey. We later find that she isn't actually from this planet, and the claims of her people getting taken over by the aliens aren't so true either.

I enjoyed the action, aliens, and technology of this movie. There was just so much fighting between the cowboys and the aliens, and it was just fun to watch. 

They were nearly indestructible, hardly getting hurt by bullets, but only by knives stabbed in a precise area of the abdomen, or their own weaponry. The aliens were just so cool looking. They weren't like any aliens from any other alien movie I've seen. They were green, bug-eyed creatures with two mouths,one of their face, and one on the abdomen, which also had arms tograb the humans and pull them in. However, when that was open, there were more susceptible to getting knived, as there was then even less protection to their necessary internal organs. The aliens technology was just immensely creative, and dangerous. The had made a type of wristwatch which was controlled by the mind, that shot powerful beams of energy that could kill anything- including their own kind. When the main character awoke, he had this wristwatch, and later on when he gets the flashbacks, you will understand why. He uses it as his main weapon to fight off the aliens as his gun hardly damages, but just has a bit of a knockback to them. The aliens also use that same power as surgical equipment, which they use when cutting the humans to view the insides. They then use an overhead beam that works like a scanner, blasting them in a nice, orderly fashion into dust. They also have a machine which melts gold down,( and I will explain why later, by the way,) and then moves it to the location it's needed by the way of some wiring leading to many stations, all the way to one central room.

I enjoyed the fact that as the movie went on, more and more people were killed off by the aliens. A big team of around 30, ended up with just a few people.  Another thing was that the aliens fuel source was something I haven't heard of in a story as of yet, which was gold. Yes, as explained earlier, it would all lead to one central room- the fuel chamber. The reason they entered this planet was to mine for gold, as their home planet ran out and they needed to bring some back. The mystery woman actually took on the form of a human, although she was from a planet already mined out of gold by the aliens. She ended up sacrificing herself in order to keep the vessel that was sent to the earth, kept from going back home. She used the wristwatch to blow up the furnace room, which in turn, blew the whole thing down to little pieces of nothing.

END OF SPOILER WARNING!

This movie actually was one of my favorites, I'd have to admit. I just enjoyed
it so much, yet I can't just explain it. I have to give this movie, "Cowboys and
Aliens" a Near Mint (NM), a 9.4 out of a 10.0 grade scale.

Tina:  Cowboys & Aliens - the Film

I admit it: I wanted to see "Cowboys & Aliens" because of Daniel Craig. I'm a woman, what did you expect?

Fortunately, Craig is the best thing in the movie so I was not disappointed. Otherwise, I suspect I would have been underwhelmed by "Cowboys & Aliens".

Unlike "Captain America" where the supporting cast is actually better than the star, "Cowboys & Aliens" relies on Craig to carry the load. And, no it's not just Craig in leather chaps and that Indiana Jones hat. It's Craig bringing the same solid physicality to the role of the amnesiac outlaw that he used to revive the Bond franchise. His Jake Lonergan is a believable "Scourge to the Territory" as his Wanted poster claims. When Craig overpowers four or five outlaws at once, there's no stretch of imagination, that's left to the rest of the movie.

The story is as much a mish-mash as the mash-up movie style. Three-parts Western, one-part Alien invasion story, the movie veers into crazyland, but, to their credit, the actors all play it straight.

The action is crisp; the aliens creepy, slimy and terrifying; the scenes with the Indians mainly played for laughs except for Harrison Ford's "adopted" son and guide.

Kudos to Director Jon Favreau for allowing the aliens to whip the humans' asses so thoroughly in the final scenes. Anything less would have been silly and alien to the grittiness of this modern Western/sci-fi hybrid.

Comic book grade: VERY FINE PLUS (VF+) 8.5 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grading scale.

Michael:  I wasn't that 'big' into minor publishers indy comics or graphic novels back in 2006 when the graphic novel that this film is 'inspired' from was published. 

So I haven't yet read the 'Cowboys & Aliens' graphic novel that is shown at the top left of this blog post...

Yet, when seeing the first trailer come out for this then upcoming film, I knew it was one that had to be seen on the BIG SCREEN, and because it was graphic novel (fancy name for a different format of comic book), it was one that should be review blogged here!

Well... As you can see from the above two guest columns from Vinnie and Tina... They had differing points of view.  Here I'm going to state my take on it:

The early part of the film made me think I was watching an 'Outer Limits' TV show program, but in color instead of black & white.  Kind of filling out the hour, but keeping my interest during the build up.

The storyline was fine, and when the aliens first appeared, then all of the background material started making sense.  I'm writing this so I don't have to do a 'spoiler alert' for my section of this blog.

The action scenes were well done, and the filming caught the action that needed to be presented, IMO.

The character roles were well played in my opinion for a western / sci-fi mashup. Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde, who had the main roles, played them well enough for me to want to follow the film further. Yes there were cliches, it's a sci-fi western you know(!), but these roles were well supported by the others in the cast.

The whole storyline was believeable to me, (hey, I read comic books!), and actually was pretty well done for a total package.

The only reason I am giving it a lesser grade than my son did, is that the trailers led me to believe that this would be an even better film than it turned out to be! Sometimes trailers do that... Unfortunately this is one time that the trailers grabbed me visually and didn't totally deliver. Which is probably why Tina graded it a notch less than I am...

My grade for this film 'inspired by a graphic novel' is a VERY FINE / NEAR MINT (VF/NM) 9.0 out of a possible 10.0 scale.

Still I believe...You should see this one at the Big Screen near you to get the full affect of what the total package of this one is...

In conclusion.... Thanks, Tina & Vinnie, for your guest comments today, so that's a 9.4 + 8.5 + 9.0 = average of 8.966 for this film!

~Michael D Hamersky

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