Michael D Hamersky On Comics Mentions The Upcoming...       2013 Leo Carrillo Film Festival!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3885 -    I called the City of Carlsbad, Leo Carrillo Ranch, for info on the upcoming 2013 Leo Carrillo Film Festival.   I did this because the current status of the web page is incomplete, as seen here.

In previous years, I have blogged about the Leo Carrillo Film Festival, as well as just walking the Leo Carrillo Ranch, as seen here.

The reason I called, is that the TGIF Concerts in the Park, also being sponsored by the City of Carlsbad, California, usually overlaps the schedule for the Leo Carrillo Film Festival.

This year it again overlaps! 

The TGIF Concerts in the Park run every Friday Night from June 28th thru August 23rd. Here is the link to that concerts schedule.

Please Note:  I have blogged about the TGIF Concert in the Park series for the past several years, as seen here.  You don't have to make a reservation to get in, and it is free to attend.  Tina and I will be attending several of these concerts, and will probably blog about them here in this Blog of mine.

As for the info on the upcoming 2013 Leo Carrillo Film Festival, here's what I was told:

The 'Dinner and a Movie' presentation is on Friday Night, August 16th.  There is a cost to this, as it is the fund raiser for the rest of the five films that will be presented this 2013 Season.

There will be a night, near the end of the season, that will honor Huell Howser, who once broadcasted from Leo Carrillo Ranch. Huell passed away in January of this year.

Probably the last night of the season, or near the end of the season, will be a special 'Cisco Kid' Night.  Leo Carrillo was 'Pancho' in the TV series.  The years we have been attending, there has been an episode shown each night before the film is shown.   So I'm looking forward to this special night!

Again, the above is not set in stone at this time.  When the schedule is printed, I'll be sure to post a copy at my Facebook Fan Page.

I just wanted to tip you all off to this upcoming 2013 Season, as once again the Leo Carrillo Ranch folks are setting a limit of only 150 attendees.  You have to 'reserve' each night and be on their list to get in to the Ranch to view the Film Festival.

Again, the link to the web site for additional info is shown here.

I hope to see some of you at the 2013 Leo Carrillo Film Festival!  For those of you that can't make it... Well, I'll be blogging on those nights for sure!

Oh, and for those of you that don't know the comic book connection with Leo Carrillo... Here's the link to the 40 Cisco Kid comic books that were published from January of 1951 to October/December of 1958!

~ Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,885 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!   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!     

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'!

---

Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents...     Father's Day In Comic Books!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3884 -    Well, leave it to National / DC Comics to be presented in today's blog on Father's Day!  Especially after seeing, and review blogging 'Man of Steel' yesterday after seeing it on the Big Screen!

Above are two comic book covers that although not technically 'Fathers Day' comic books, can be presented as representative in my blog!

First is Action Comics #232 cover dated September of 1957, and then at the top right is World's Finest Comics #157 cover dated May of 1966.

My youngest son is with me today, as Tina and I go down to pick up my own Dad & Mom to go to the San Diego Zoo for a few hours.  There's a new Koala exhibit my Mom wants to see.  Yeah I know, it is Father's Day... But we'll have pizza in the early afternoon at Filippi's afterwards!

Anyways, wishing all of you Dads out there reading this a 'Happy Father's Day'!

Which, BTW, didn't become official until 1972!   See this Wikipedia entry for the history of Father's Day in the USA and worldwide!

~ Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,884 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!   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!     

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'!

---

Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents Our Take On...     Man of Steel!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3883 -    Well.. We are back from our local theater, where my youngest son, Vinnie, and I viewed 'Man of Steel', the Superman film for 2013.

So what's 'Our Take' on this film?

Here's Vinnie's Take:

Two weekends ago, my dad, Tina, and I watched the first two of the four Superman movies from the late 70s to mid 80s in preparation for the "Man of Steel" film that just came out. My dad and I went in to the theaters to see it today, but I have mixed feelings about it.

I quite enjoyed the selection of actors chosen for this movie. I felt that Superman's role was filled well, both in terms of his appearance and how he acted. As well, I really thought General Zod lived up to the "legend" as portrayed in the older films. They both played their characters well, and the tension between Superman and Zod was there. I also thought the action scenes and special effects were well done, and they didn't overshadow the story or take away the focus on it.

However, I didn't like some of the changes made to the story. They made mention that every child was bred to specifically fullfill a role on Krypton, and that Kal-El was the first natural birth on Krypton for centuries. Another thing was that when confronted by Lois Lane, he flat out told her his history. Finally, one moderate change that was made to the story was that at the end of this film he goes on to work at the Daily Planet, but in the comics Clark Kent had worked there before he had ever revealed himself as Superman. None of these changes were the case for both the comics, or the Christopher Reeve films. As well, other minor details were changed from the original, but these three were the ones I found to be more major.

In summary, I did actually enjoy the movie. If you plan on seeing it for the new story, or for the action tale, you will most likely thoroughly enjoy it. However, if you are a fan of the Superman comics, you may be disappointed with this rendition and the new direction the movie actually took. I'm going to give it a comic book grade of Very Fine (VF), an 8.0 out of 10.0 grade scale, because while it was an enjoyable viewing, I wanted it to be more closely following the original story.

-------

Okay.... Now here's My Take:   For a Sci-Fi movie... This is a pretty good film.

For a Superman movie... This is NOT my Superman.  At all.  Period.

The origin is not presented in a linear format.   Way too much time spent on Krypton.  I didn't become attached to the characters the way I did in the Christopher Reeve Superman films.

Here's my take on the characters:

Henry Cavill as Clark Kent / Superman / Kal-El:  Not bad casting here.  Just that the writing is so poor I never felt emotionally attached.

Amy Adams as Lois Lane:   This Lois Lane wasn't as good as Margot Kidder in the four Christopher Reeve films.  

Michael Shannon as General Zod:   Although I didn't like the film's storyline, this General Zod came across forcefully.  Well casted role.

Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Jonathan and Martha Kent:  Not bad choices for these two roles.  Diane had extra film time to expand her role.

Laurence Fishburne as Perry White:  No... Not at all Perry White.

Russell Crowe as Jor-El:   Not a bad choice as Jor-El.  Actually pretty good.  Just is hard to picture anyone playing this role other tan Marlon Brando.

Antje Traue as Faora:  Antje played this role pretty darn good. 

Ayelet Zurer as Lara Lor-Van:  Okay portryal for the little bit of screen time she had.

Harry Lennix as General Swanwick:  Did a fine job in this role.

Christopher Meloni as Colonel Hardy:   Another fine job.

Richard Schiff as Dr. Emil Hamilton:   An okay portrayal.

As for the storyline... Yes I'm sure that a few changes had to be made.  Heck, even the comic book characters have been retconned, since they are quite a bit older now.  Superman started 75 years ago.  So 'my' Superman would probably not be my dad's Superman.   I know the Marvel Superheroes have been retconned, which since most of them started in the 1960s... Well okay, I don't have to read them.

But... The ending of this film is one big shocker / disappointment.  I'm talking when it came down to just Superman and General Zod.   The big ending fight.  The final scene.   Just wasn't right.  Not 'my' Superman.   Period.

So... As for my comic book grade for this comic book movie... It's a Fine (F) 6.0 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grade.      If this was a Sci-Fi blog instead of a comic book blog, I believe I would have graded it higher... maybe even much higher.    This just wasn't 'my' Superman, and I've seen all the Superman films that have been produced.

For those of you interested in the history of the Superman Films, here is the Wikipedia link for all of them to date.

Oh, and not to be left out... Here's the Wikipedia link for the Batman Films to date.

~ Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,883 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!   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!     

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'!

---

Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents A Re-Posting Of My Blog From Saturday, December 1, 2007...       The OWL Card!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3882 -    I noticed that the archived blog post of mine from Saturday, December 1st of 2007 was seeing several hits during this week.

The format of the blog was in the eBay blog format, so it doesn't appear too well in this newer Tripod blog format.   So I'm going to re-blog it here, and post a link to where YOU can purchase an OWL Card for a minimal amount!

Here's the original post:

'Whiteness'  Guide For Collectors of Comic Books !!

What is the OWL Card and what does it mean to YOU as a collector???

Well, 'OWL Card' stands for 'Overstreet's Whiteness Level Card' which is a very handy card to use when grading comics!

Besides checking for tears, stains, writing, store stamps, fold, and other type of defects, you should also check for the 'whiteness' of the pages!!

Wait a minute!  Weren't the old comic books printed on newspaper type of paper? How could that paper stand the test of time and be white???

Well, that is where this card comes in handy, as when you find a comic book listed with a different level of paper color you now know what it signifies!

For your collecting of comics you should buy an Overstreet Grading Guide, and an OWL Card.  Just check out the eBay auctions for a copy of your own! (Sorry, we are keeping our copies!)

However, after you have checked out your comics with the OWL Card, and find that you want to upgrade to a better grade of the comic book, check out our CGC encapsulated comic books in our eBay Featured Comic Book Store  for high grade collectibles!

Here is a little more history of the card since the above blog was posted:

Originally produced in conjunction with the First Edition of The Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide, the OWL (or "Overstreet's Whiteness Level") Card is a comic book grading tool used to evaluate paper color.

On the reverse side is the ONE (or Overstreet's Numerical Equivalent") Card, which translates the traditional letter grades into their equivalent values on a 100-point numerical grading scale. Predating today's commonly used 10-point numerical grading scale by about 10 years, the 100-point scale was an unsuccessful early attempt to apply a more scientific standard to the comic book grading process.

Okay, so much for the history of the OWL Card... So where do YOU get one? 

Well... the Gemstone Publishing company appears to be selling the card via their web site online.  Here is the link to where you should be able to purchase a card.

Have some fun with the OWL Card!

~ Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,882 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!   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!     

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'!

---

Michael D Hamersky On Comics Thinks About...     Marvel Bullpen Bulletins!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3881 -    I was asked if I had ever been mentioned in a Marvel Bullpen Bulletins page.  Like being named as one of the M.M.M.S. members.

Well... I don't remember being named in one, although I was on a letters page at least once.

The Marvel Bullpen Bulletins page actually started off as a 'Letters Page' in the Fantastic Four comic book.

What was really cool about the letters / Bullpen Bulletins page was that it was all done in a fun style!

The pages were in a format that the reader felt that they were part of a special club, which actually was started later.

The first letters page that I remember was in Fantastic Four #3.  Which consisted of just one page of letters.  But a few months later the 'Letter Page' was expanded to two pages.

Then there was a yellow colored box that contained 'Special Announcements', and that was followed by a 'Mighty Marvel Checklist', also colored in yellow.

The club I was thinking of was the M.M.M.S. - Merry Marvel Marching Society, that I blogged about most recently at this blog post.   That usually took a full or half page of the comic book.

Plus there were pages for Marvel merchandise...

What happened next was these were all combined into a 'Marvel Bullpen Bulletins' page, as seen at the top right of this blog post.  I believe the first one was printed cover dated December of 1965.  The one at the top is from Fantastic Four #45, that was cover dated December of 1965.

From there, the Marvel Bullpen Bulletins page evolved.  It continued for many years and added some additional features, such as Stan's Soapbox in June of 1967. (Photo of Stan Lee in 1968 at the top left of this blog post.)

Stan, although he was older, came across as a 'hip' kind of guy, instead of the stodgy older guys over at National / DC Comics. He was 'Stan' while they were 'Dear Editor' during this time period.

Irving Forbush also became widely known because of this page.  And he went on to star in 'Not Brand Echh' comics!

I enjoyed seeing what was coming out soon, in the Mighty Marvel Checklist.  Quite often a special section of the Bullpen Bulletins page would show a visual of the comic book title, such as for Conan the Barbarian in comics with the cover date of September 1970.

The Marvel Bullpen Bulletins page met its demise in 2001.  It is a shame that such a page was let go... But blogs, websites, and social media sites have kind of taken over what the page once did.

I for one kind of miss it... And look fondly back on it in my memories.

~ Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,881 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!   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!     

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'!

---