Well, it's another year and another year for me to be disappointed, but less so, as quite a few from my list of 66 two years ago has dwindled down to 49. Here are the remaining cartoons I would like to see on DVD before I die! BTW, if you want to know what IS on Volume 5, check it out on Amazon.
1. The Village Smithy
2. Egghead Rides Again
3. Porky's Hero Agency
4. Cinderella Meets Fella
5. Hamateur Night
6. Porky's Picnic
7. Porky the Giant Killer
8. The Timid Toreador
9. Porky's Cafe
10. Horton Hatches the Egg (I know this is on a Dr. Seuss collection, but I want it on a Looney Tunes collection)
11. Fresh Hare
12. The Impatient Patient
13. Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs
14. Tick Tock Tuckered
15. Daffy Doodles
16. Birth of a Notion
17. Hot Cross Bunny
18. Daffy Dilly
19. A Lad in His Lamp
20. The Bee-Deviled Bruin
21. A Ham in a Role
22. Mutiny on the Bunny
23. It's Hummer Time
24. Hare We Go
25. Rabbit Every Monday
26. Chow Hound
27. Ballot Box Bunny
28. Thumb Fun
29. The Hasty Hare
30. Fool Coverage
31. Hare Trimmed
32. I Gopher You
33. No Parking Hare
34. Beanstalk Bunny
35. Hare Brush
36. This is a Life?
37. Dime to Retire
38. The High and the Flighty
39. Rabbitson Crusoe
40. Bedevilled Rabbit
41. Piker's Peak
42. Ducking the Devil
43. Hareway to the Stars
44. Bonanza Bunny
45. From Hare to Heir
46. Wet Hare
47. Bill of Hare
48. Mad as a Mars Hare
49. Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Casper CD and "Casper Meets Wendy" AGAIN
Of all the Casper kids albums released in the 1960s and 1970s, this one is the best. Originally issued on Golden Records in 1963, this album features the actual voices (Norma MacMillan and Bradley Bolke) who performed on "The New Casper Cartoon Show" in 1963. The CD features an extra treat with the addition of the "Casper, the Friendly Ghost" theme by Mitch Miller and the Sandpipers that was previously released as a single on Golden Records. Other Casper releases were originally on Peter Pan Records and not as good, and at present are not scheduled to be released to CD anytime soon. Later Casper albums were solely music albums, usually a soundtrack to a feature film.
Also, "Casper Meets Wendy" has been reissued to DVD for the third time! Originally released in 1998 as the third Casper feature film (although direct-to-video), the DVD was issued on DVD for the first time in 2002. Then it was reissued on DVD in 2004 to promote Hilary Duff, who had become a big teen star. Now, it has been reissued again as of September 11, and subtitled the "Family Fun Edition". I assume it has some different extras than the previous versions, but maybe not. Does anyone know?
Also, "Casper Meets Wendy" has been reissued to DVD for the third time! Originally released in 1998 as the third Casper feature film (although direct-to-video), the DVD was issued on DVD for the first time in 2002. Then it was reissued on DVD in 2004 to promote Hilary Duff, who had become a big teen star. Now, it has been reissued again as of September 11, and subtitled the "Family Fun Edition". I assume it has some different extras than the previous versions, but maybe not. Does anyone know?
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Little Britain
Ok, ok, I finally watched it...and I loved it! I've had a number of friends recommend this series to me, and I ignored them because usually people don't know or understand my taste in comedy. Also, when someone says something is "just like Monty Python", I hesitate, because usually that means there's just a bunch of men dressed like women and acting really gay.
Sure, Python had its share of cross-dressing, and Graham Chapman was gay, but that wasn't the complete focus of the show. Python hit on a lot of different levels that I cannot begin to elaborate on here.
I am a big fan of British TV, and I have enjoyed "The Goodies", "Paul Hogan" (well he's Australian), "Benny Hill", "Reginald Perrin", even "My Hero", etc. but there have been a lot of attempts recently that...well, were attempts like "The League of Gentlemen" and "French and Saunders".
"Little Britain" is different. The characters are very broad, and a lot of times gay, but also very funny. The skits are usually relatively short so even if you don't like a particular skit, it won't last very long. They also aren't word heavy like "A Bit of Fry and Laurie". In other words, there's a lot of good old slapstick mixed in to the conversation.
The only complaint is perhaps the repetitiveness of the skits, but even I found the cookie-cutter method quite charming in its own way, so that it was fun to expect a particular punchline or outcome.
I understand that David Walliams and Matt Lucas are done with their three season (or series) commitment and have no intentions of doing more for the BBC, and are currently shooting more for HBO. I have only watched Season Two, so I have some catching up to do, but overall I give this show high marks and praise!
Even the outtakes are good!
Sure, Python had its share of cross-dressing, and Graham Chapman was gay, but that wasn't the complete focus of the show. Python hit on a lot of different levels that I cannot begin to elaborate on here.
I am a big fan of British TV, and I have enjoyed "The Goodies", "Paul Hogan" (well he's Australian), "Benny Hill", "Reginald Perrin", even "My Hero", etc. but there have been a lot of attempts recently that...well, were attempts like "The League of Gentlemen" and "French and Saunders".
"Little Britain" is different. The characters are very broad, and a lot of times gay, but also very funny. The skits are usually relatively short so even if you don't like a particular skit, it won't last very long. They also aren't word heavy like "A Bit of Fry and Laurie". In other words, there's a lot of good old slapstick mixed in to the conversation.
The only complaint is perhaps the repetitiveness of the skits, but even I found the cookie-cutter method quite charming in its own way, so that it was fun to expect a particular punchline or outcome.
I understand that David Walliams and Matt Lucas are done with their three season (or series) commitment and have no intentions of doing more for the BBC, and are currently shooting more for HBO. I have only watched Season Two, so I have some catching up to do, but overall I give this show high marks and praise!
Even the outtakes are good!
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Harveyville 2008 Calendars are Here!!
Hey! You know you've always wanted a "Harveyville Fun Times!" calendar and now you can. Click on 2008 calendar as I made one up this year featuring some of the best covers or you can get a vertical calendar at 2008 vertical calendar or you can buy other "Harveyville Fun Times!" merchandise at Cafe Press.
Check it out!
-Moderator Mark.
Check it out!
-Moderator Mark.
Harveyville 2008 Calendars are Here!!
Hey! You know you've always wanted a "Harveyville Fun Times!" calendar and now you can. Click on 2008 calendar as I made one up this year featuring some of the best covers or you can get a vertical calendar at 2008 vertical calendar or you can buy other "Harveyville Fun Times!" merchandise at Cafe Press.
Check it out!
-Moderator Mark.
Check it out!
-Moderator Mark.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Bela Lugosi
I recently purchased "The Bela Lugosi Box" and have started watching the films. I own about 30 of his films and this set has 15 of them. Lugosi has been revered as a good actor, but I don't know. If you gave him better films, he would still come off as sort of campy. Even his best known film "Dracula" from 1931 has its campy moments.
Don't get me wrong. I like the guy. Why would I buy a box set of his films if I didn't? It's just for acting chops Boris Karloff and Vincent Price have better skills. Even Christopher Lee is better.
Anyway, this set is fun for quite a few laughs and it has three of those dreaded Ed Wood films which I think are great in their campiness, so watch and enjoy or bevare!!
Don't get me wrong. I like the guy. Why would I buy a box set of his films if I didn't? It's just for acting chops Boris Karloff and Vincent Price have better skills. Even Christopher Lee is better.
Anyway, this set is fun for quite a few laughs and it has three of those dreaded Ed Wood films which I think are great in their campiness, so watch and enjoy or bevare!!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Red Skelton
I'm watching some DVD's of old Red Skelton shows. Now, he seems to be somewhat funny and this isn't my first introduction to him. What's amazing to me is that his show was on for 20 years and yet no one really ever talks about it. They talk a lot about "The Simpsons" going into its 19th year and "Gunsmoke" ran for 20 and praise is heaped upon "Walt Disney" and "Ed Sullivan", but "The Red Skelton Show" is virtually ignored. It aired from 1951-1971.
Perhaps it is because Skelton's type of humor was really sort of cornball. In fact, when I used to watch Skelton on TV when he appeared occasionally up until his death in 1997, I noticed his propensity to laugh at his own jokes that weren't very funny to begin with.
Skelton was also an anomaly in the movies as well. Whereas other stars of his caliber such as Bob Hope or Jack Benny transcended the "compilation" type feature like "Big Broadcast of 1938", Skelton happily immersed himself in those type of pictures, so that there isn't one defining moment of Skelton genius.
I guess that's what made him unique, but also very puzzling to me.
Perhaps it is because Skelton's type of humor was really sort of cornball. In fact, when I used to watch Skelton on TV when he appeared occasionally up until his death in 1997, I noticed his propensity to laugh at his own jokes that weren't very funny to begin with.
Skelton was also an anomaly in the movies as well. Whereas other stars of his caliber such as Bob Hope or Jack Benny transcended the "compilation" type feature like "Big Broadcast of 1938", Skelton happily immersed himself in those type of pictures, so that there isn't one defining moment of Skelton genius.
I guess that's what made him unique, but also very puzzling to me.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Stardust Review
I had extreme reservations about seeing this film, mainly due to the nonexistent or negative publicity surrounding it mainly due to the fact that there have been a number of fairy tale movie disappointments in recent times like "Chronicles of Narnia" or "Polar Express". It didn't matter that Neil Gaiman wrote it, because I wasn't sure if he could write the type of movie I would like anyway. (Actually, Jane Goldman and Director Matthew Vaughn wrote the screenplay.)
Anyway, I am happy to say, and with Lee's encouragement to go see it, that "Stardust" is the surprise movie of the year and ranks up there with "Grindhouse" as my two favorite movies of 2007 and is a contender for one of my favorite movies of all time.
It has in its cast some of my favorite actors of all time like Robert DeNiro (in one of his best roles) and Peter O'Toole, and others that I respect very well like Michelle Pfeifer and Claire Danes. But good actors do not necessarily make a good movie, nor does good directing alone, which is done by Matthew Vaughn, who has only directed "Layer Cake", previously, but is in line to direct the upcoming "Thor". Good writing does! If you don't have a good script in the first place, the old "you can't polish a turd" phrase applies.
Speaking of casting choices, Lee asked me once what woman is my type. I have never heard of or seen Kate Magowan before, but I was immediately entranced by her appearance and her performance, and she isn't even the main star. And of course, there's good eye candy with Sienna Miller and even Claire Danes, who doesn't come off as plain as she usually does.
The movie is at once very fantastical and is paced very well. There is a lot of humor and at once reminds me of "The Princess Bride", but unlike that film's jarring returns to Peter Falk and Fred Savage, this movie stays in its fairy tale setting the entire time. It also reminds me of two other films that I enjoyed very much, "Time Bandits" and the recent "Nanny McPhee". "Stardust" is better and is a definite must see that should be seen on the big screen to be fully enjoyed. The visual effects, though plentiful, do not burden down the proceedings as the story is consistently the main focus, not the effects.
Without spoiling anything, there are three storylines going on that actually tie up very nicely by the end of the film. One is of a dying king (O'Toole) telling his surviving sons what they need to do to become the next heir to the throne; a second is of three witches (the main one being Pfeiffer) who need to find another solution to help refresh their lost beauty; and the final one is the story of Tristan (Charlie Cox) who wants to marry the beautiful Victoria (Sienna). She concedes to do so if he can fulfill this one task. Through a number of twists and turns, it is accomplished with great satisfaction and with some surprising results. Ian McKellan handles the narration chores throughout and although I am usually against excessive narration in a movie, this is done very well.
Despite some violence, this is really a movie that the entire family can enjoy and be entertained. They don't make movies like this very often. I'm glad they did this time out.
Anyway, I am happy to say, and with Lee's encouragement to go see it, that "Stardust" is the surprise movie of the year and ranks up there with "Grindhouse" as my two favorite movies of 2007 and is a contender for one of my favorite movies of all time.
It has in its cast some of my favorite actors of all time like Robert DeNiro (in one of his best roles) and Peter O'Toole, and others that I respect very well like Michelle Pfeifer and Claire Danes. But good actors do not necessarily make a good movie, nor does good directing alone, which is done by Matthew Vaughn, who has only directed "Layer Cake", previously, but is in line to direct the upcoming "Thor". Good writing does! If you don't have a good script in the first place, the old "you can't polish a turd" phrase applies.
Speaking of casting choices, Lee asked me once what woman is my type. I have never heard of or seen Kate Magowan before, but I was immediately entranced by her appearance and her performance, and she isn't even the main star. And of course, there's good eye candy with Sienna Miller and even Claire Danes, who doesn't come off as plain as she usually does.
The movie is at once very fantastical and is paced very well. There is a lot of humor and at once reminds me of "The Princess Bride", but unlike that film's jarring returns to Peter Falk and Fred Savage, this movie stays in its fairy tale setting the entire time. It also reminds me of two other films that I enjoyed very much, "Time Bandits" and the recent "Nanny McPhee". "Stardust" is better and is a definite must see that should be seen on the big screen to be fully enjoyed. The visual effects, though plentiful, do not burden down the proceedings as the story is consistently the main focus, not the effects.
Without spoiling anything, there are three storylines going on that actually tie up very nicely by the end of the film. One is of a dying king (O'Toole) telling his surviving sons what they need to do to become the next heir to the throne; a second is of three witches (the main one being Pfeiffer) who need to find another solution to help refresh their lost beauty; and the final one is the story of Tristan (Charlie Cox) who wants to marry the beautiful Victoria (Sienna). She concedes to do so if he can fulfill this one task. Through a number of twists and turns, it is accomplished with great satisfaction and with some surprising results. Ian McKellan handles the narration chores throughout and although I am usually against excessive narration in a movie, this is done very well.
Despite some violence, this is really a movie that the entire family can enjoy and be entertained. They don't make movies like this very often. I'm glad they did this time out.
Stuff I Don't "Get"
I feel that I'm a fairly intelligent person, but there's a number of things in this day and age that I truly don't get that other people love or at the very least accept blindly. The following is a list of those things. Some of them are obvious, others not so much. This list is not necessarily complete, just some ideas that came to mind:
1. Lenny Bruce
2. Jacques Tati films
3. Will Farrell movies
4. Julia Roberts' beauty
5. Bush's high approval ratings in 2007
6. Bob Dylan's singing (except maybe on "Lay Lady Lay")
7. The "9/10" on gasoline prices
8. Sales tax is separate in the US
9. Daylight savings time
10. People who don't remember their own childhood
11. People who don't let you merge when you are signaling on time and then change to the lane you were in when you finally do merge
12. Pretentious people
13. Vitamins and "Ask your doctor if it's right for you" medications
14. Discounts on stamps for two ounce letters
15. Islamic extremists
16. Non-Islamic extremists
17. Multiple logos on TV screens
18. Scrolling text and moving graphics on TV screens
19. The high praise for TV shows like "Arrested Development" and "The Office"
20. Dane Cook's comedy
21. The US boycott of Cuba in 2007
22. "Matrix" movies
23. "Lord of the Rings" movies
24. Chris Tucker
25. Martin Lawrence
26. Bernie Mac
27. Iphones
28. Apple-only fanatics
29. Scooby-Doo
30. Hedwig
31. Standing in line for movies or products that are commonly available
32. Brad Pitt
33. Tony Danza (except on "Taxi")
34. People who have no knowledge or interest in anything that came out before they were born
35. "Reality" shows
36. "Entertainment Tonight" and those type of shows
37. Eddie Izzard
38. Whoopi Goldberg
39. Rachael Ray
40. Dr. Phil
41. Tyra Banks
42. Oprah Winfrey
43. David Letterman's show ever since he moved to CBS
44. "The Family Guy"
45. "American Dad"
46. Carl's Jr. commercials
47. People who get upset at the things people like Anne Coulter says
48. Terminally flaky people
49. The fact that there seems to be an endless supply of ammunition in Iraq, so much so that people can randomly shoot their guns off into the air when their soccer team wins
50. Why we don't have Social Security taken out of our checks all year long and then the SS administration complaining that they don't have enough funds to pay everyone
51. No socialized medicine in the US
52. The fact that socialism is considered a dirty word in the US
53. Jackson Pollack paintings
54. Robin Williams being compared to Jonathan Winters
55. Humorless superhero movies
56. Excessive use of penguins in animated films
57. Why I don't make more money
58. Taking your shoes off at the airport
59. The uproar about Janet Jackson's tit on the Superbowl
60. The fact that making lists like this does absolutely nothing to change these things
1. Lenny Bruce
2. Jacques Tati films
3. Will Farrell movies
4. Julia Roberts' beauty
5. Bush's high approval ratings in 2007
6. Bob Dylan's singing (except maybe on "Lay Lady Lay")
7. The "9/10" on gasoline prices
8. Sales tax is separate in the US
9. Daylight savings time
10. People who don't remember their own childhood
11. People who don't let you merge when you are signaling on time and then change to the lane you were in when you finally do merge
12. Pretentious people
13. Vitamins and "Ask your doctor if it's right for you" medications
14. Discounts on stamps for two ounce letters
15. Islamic extremists
16. Non-Islamic extremists
17. Multiple logos on TV screens
18. Scrolling text and moving graphics on TV screens
19. The high praise for TV shows like "Arrested Development" and "The Office"
20. Dane Cook's comedy
21. The US boycott of Cuba in 2007
22. "Matrix" movies
23. "Lord of the Rings" movies
24. Chris Tucker
25. Martin Lawrence
26. Bernie Mac
27. Iphones
28. Apple-only fanatics
29. Scooby-Doo
30. Hedwig
31. Standing in line for movies or products that are commonly available
32. Brad Pitt
33. Tony Danza (except on "Taxi")
34. People who have no knowledge or interest in anything that came out before they were born
35. "Reality" shows
36. "Entertainment Tonight" and those type of shows
37. Eddie Izzard
38. Whoopi Goldberg
39. Rachael Ray
40. Dr. Phil
41. Tyra Banks
42. Oprah Winfrey
43. David Letterman's show ever since he moved to CBS
44. "The Family Guy"
45. "American Dad"
46. Carl's Jr. commercials
47. People who get upset at the things people like Anne Coulter says
48. Terminally flaky people
49. The fact that there seems to be an endless supply of ammunition in Iraq, so much so that people can randomly shoot their guns off into the air when their soccer team wins
50. Why we don't have Social Security taken out of our checks all year long and then the SS administration complaining that they don't have enough funds to pay everyone
51. No socialized medicine in the US
52. The fact that socialism is considered a dirty word in the US
53. Jackson Pollack paintings
54. Robin Williams being compared to Jonathan Winters
55. Humorless superhero movies
56. Excessive use of penguins in animated films
57. Why I don't make more money
58. Taking your shoes off at the airport
59. The uproar about Janet Jackson's tit on the Superbowl
60. The fact that making lists like this does absolutely nothing to change these things
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Stupid Google!
Stupid Google dropped my Mark's Rare Comics website from their listings on July 31, making my number of views plummet. My dad contacted Google to get it reinstated, but the damage has been done. Mark's Rare Comics used to rank at the top (or in the top 3) if one typed "rare comics" in the Google search. No more. For those wanting to see my site, it's at http://rarecomics.home.att.net
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Sicko Review
As with all Michael Moore projects, I loved "Sicko". What's interesting about Moore, is that I don't always agree with his politics and also I know sometimes he manipulates his facts somewhat to prove a point. What he does do with this and all of his films is to make his films entertaining and to make you think. "Sicko" was at once very funny and also very depressing. The best part was when Moore mentioned the word "socialism" and visions of old USSR stock footage appeared in the background while he revealed that the US has socialized schools, libraries, firefighters and police. We're just idiots about this stupid health care issue. We could easily adjust to a universal healthcare model if our politicians would stop being bought off. And what are they being bought off for anyway, they already do and will continue to have free healthcare and if done right, the taxes won't go up. Of course, us being the US, we won't do it right, and taxes will soar.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Freelance Writing and Other Jobs
Hey Everyone reading this. I am looking for a freelance writing job writing about the entertainment industry. My interests include movies, TV, animation, comic books, etc. Also, if you have any full time (or even part time positions) in your entertainment-based company, please let me know. Drop me an email at thft@att.net with what you can offer.
Freelance Writing and Other Jobs
Hey Everyone reading this. I am looking for a freelance writing job writing about the entertainment industry. My interests include movies, TV, animation, comic books, etc. Also, if you have any full time (or even part time positions) in your entertainment-based company, please let me know. Drop me an email at thft@att.net with what you can offer.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Superior Casper Volume From Beck and Cabarga!
If you've seen my review of Sid Jacobson's book "Ultimate Casper", this book is even better. In fact, if I could give it six stars, I would. This is the best treatment of a Harvey character that I have seen. This time the book presents Casper in a truly historical perspective, giving a brief history and also reprinting stories from not only the Harvey days, but the prior St. John days, including Casper's first appearance in comic books.
Some may quibble about the black and white artwork, but Leslie Cabarga explains it well in his editor's notes that the original artwork and silver prints were used for this high quality production. Jerry Beck informed me that this volume should be compared to the likes of the "Marvel Essentials" or "DC Showcase" series than the "Marvel Masterpieces" or "DC Archives". In fact this book has much better paper and reproduction than the black and white Marvel and DC volumes and it is a miracle that this was even produced.
I am looking forward to future volumes of this series. Richie Rich is next and Hot Stuff is scheduled to be third. If proven successful, Dark Horse should continue to re-present every major and minor Harvey character over the next few years and the possibility of a new comic book line may develop.
For those looking to investigate the history of Harvey in greater detail, I'd recommend "The Best of The Harveyville Fun Times!"
Some may quibble about the black and white artwork, but Leslie Cabarga explains it well in his editor's notes that the original artwork and silver prints were used for this high quality production. Jerry Beck informed me that this volume should be compared to the likes of the "Marvel Essentials" or "DC Showcase" series than the "Marvel Masterpieces" or "DC Archives". In fact this book has much better paper and reproduction than the black and white Marvel and DC volumes and it is a miracle that this was even produced.
I am looking forward to future volumes of this series. Richie Rich is next and Hot Stuff is scheduled to be third. If proven successful, Dark Horse should continue to re-present every major and minor Harvey character over the next few years and the possibility of a new comic book line may develop.
For those looking to investigate the history of Harvey in greater detail, I'd recommend "The Best of The Harveyville Fun Times!"
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
San Diego Comic Convention 2007
I know you are all probably waiting for my response regarding SD Con. I just got home last night and didn't want to write anything of great detail until today (Tuesday). I'll go with the plusses first (there are a few).
First of all, as many of you may or may not know, San Diego became impossible even for me to go after 2002 as the hugeness of it all cost wise and otherwise kept me from going. I said silently to myself that year, "I won't go again unless everything is paid for." My meaning behind this statement is that I would not go again unless I was considered a professional in the eyes of the industry and under that guise may have my trip paid for in some way so that I would no longer have to finance it myself. (I found out recently from Scott Shaw! that even high profile celebrities are not usually paid to attend this, but that's another story.)
Anyway, in recent years through my newspaper advertising sales work, I became good friends with Lee Hester, the owner of Lee's Comics for the past 25(!) years. He has stores in Mountain View and San Mateo, CA, and has done the San Diego Con now for 20 years straight. Up through 2005, he used his regular employees to staff his booth, but in 2006, Lee asked me if I wanted to man the booth during the show. In exchange I would have all my meals, transportation and hotel accommodations paid for, and also would be given a small salary on top of that. I immediately seized the chance and Lee and I did the 2006 show.
Everything went so smoothly, that Lee asked me to be his semi-permanent convention staff and we went on to do the Los Angeles Comic Book Convention, San Jose Toy Show, Wondercon, the APE, and I sold the bargain comics when Lee had various sales at his Mountain View location.
Of course I was asked to do San Diego again, and I readily agreed. Now, as previously stated, I would probably never attend San Diego again due to its size and lack of finding the remaining Harvey Comics I need to complete my sets for under $10 each (or any Harvey Comics at all for that matter. I now have better luck on the Internet). A strange thing happened between last year and this year. Because I published my book ("The Best of The Harveyville Fun Times!"), I am starting to get recognized within the industry. So being sort of a minor celebrity has encouraged me to continue going under this "new phase".
Lee had excellent sales this year, but NOT of old comics. In fact, after the 2006 show, I recommended that he not bring so many of his 15 long boxes of moderately-priced Silver Age books due to the lack of sales. These boxes are heavy and if you don't sell them, lugging them back onto the truck on Sunday evening is painful. Lee not only heeded my advice of not bringing so many, he actually didn't bring ANY of his moderately-priced books. He did bring the expensive wall books (which I sold the most expensive one being a NM copy of "Giant Size X-Men" #1 for approximately $850!) and he brought his $2 bargains, which generally sell well.
A few years ago, Lee obtained one of those old "Hey Kids Comics" spinner racks and he decided to put random selection of comics from the 50s to the 80s on these racks for $2 each! Some of these in Mint condition. (Not everything mind you, but for the persistent, you could actually walk away with a number of books worth $20 or more for only $2 each.) Lee has taught me a lot about marketing and sales that I didn't know and it has helped me with my other careers and with the marketing of my book.
Other dealers think Lee is insane, but what Lee does (and it is no secret) is buy up collections for cheap, but instead of meticulously going through the Price Guide with each book and bagging and boarding them and jacking the price up to the Guide price, he sifts through and takes out the really good stuff (like a "Giant Size X-Men" #1) and sells the rest for cheap. It gives the fans something to look through, and the ability for them to buy older books at affordable prices.
However, this year a strange thing occurred: the $2 books didn't sell as well as last year. The novelty had worn off. To boost sales, Lee did something even I thought was crazy, reduce them to $1 each!! That worked and we had steady crowds for those books all week long, while the other Gold and Silver Age dealers just sat on their hands for virtually the entire weekend.
My theory about all this is plentiful. Younger readers are not buying the Gold and Silver Age books for many reasons: 1) Usually the prices are higher than most people want to pay; 2) Most collectors usually are nostalgic for items from their youth. Items from the youth of 20 and 30 year olds are items originally issued in the late 80s to early 90s, which is well after the Silver Age. (When you get to be 40 as I am, you start to realize that things are starting to make a comeback that you weren't interested in originally, like the Transformers. I thought they were interesting toys for about 30 seconds and that's where my interest ended because I was 16 and more interested in wanting to get laid than toys. So when they issued a movie this year, all of my 25-35 year old co-workers were all excited. I wasn't.) 3) As Marvel and DC and others have put out pristine versions of their older books, the need to have it on the original newsprint has diminished greatly except for the hard core collectors, of which there are not so many as they are getting older and older and older and not spending so much on old comics anymore either because they have them already or they can no longer afford them, or by natural attrition (i.e. death).
On a happier note, Lee did bring a current shipment of this week's new comics as a test, and those sold exceptionally well!!
This was Lee's most successful year at the Con, so what did he sell? He sold the remaining stock of the PureHero sports shirts. For comic book shows, Lee has ventured further and further away from comic books and more and more towards toys and clothing and other items, and these things are highly successful (and would be considered a disgrace for this email group). So there you are.
For me, I sold two copies of my book at the show and signed them. I bought exactly 8 Harvey Comics from Graham Crackers (about the only reasonably priced comic book dealer other than Lee that had books that I wanted). I saw, met and/or spoke with Scott Shaw!, Lou Ferrigno, Ray Bradbury, Peter Kuper, Pat Block, Rafael Navarro, George Gladir, Maggie Thompson, Bill Morrison, Peter David, Roy Thomas, Sergio Aragones, Mark Evanier, Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, Paul Dini, Renee French, Neil Gaiman, Rick Geary, Mike Ploog, Gary Carter, Ian Boothby, Bruce Schwartz, Paul Merolle, Matt Brody, Mary Fleener, Brent Frankenhoff, Dominic Prestera, Mitch O'Connell, Greg Evans, Robert Steven Rhine, Joe Ferrara, Michael Bennett, Brett Warnock, among others. I wanted to talk to a few people like Jerry Beck and Leslie Carbarga, but time didn't permit. Apparently Sid Jacobson was on the floor as was Gary Owens, but I didn't see either of them. And, some people I expected to show up, didn't.
I made a lot of good contacts and was trying to line up some more freelance work and to that end considering my time constraints, I was very successful.
On another positive note (and Joe Torcivia would like this one should he ever come back to San Diego), a couple of years ago, the Gaslamp area fixed up the Little Italy section of the downtown and made it really nice. It's slightly north of the convention. We stayed at a very nice but small hotel called La Pensione and ate almost every night at this great and cheap Italian restaurant called Filipe's that has a huge lasagna with a huge meatball for only $6 and it is filling!! Our bill for six people one night was $38!! Fortunately, this is sort of a chain and although most of the locations are in Southern California, there is one in Northern California, so I may make the pilgrimage sometime this year to that one.
Now, the negatives. As it has been said endlessly, this con is TOO BIG!! It's really a movie studio promotion show with a small Gold and Silver Age section and some artists that was the backbone of the original show. That Lee had to switch to selling other merchandise besides comics had to do more with economics and practicality rather than Lee's love of old comic books. Our friend Ron Murray (who shares Lee's booth with us) actually declared a loss this year as he only carried Gold and Silver Age books. In fact on Saturday, traditionally the busiest day at the Con, Ron had zero sales to show for the entire day!!
Also, it is VERY difficult to get around. I do not attend any panels anymore and rely on people coming up to Lee's booth or making deliberate pilgrimages to speak with the people I want and need to speak with. It took me forever to get to Artist's Alley which was on the completely opposite end of the show from Lee's (Lee's is booth #1100; Artist's Alley was around #5400). Coming back, I walked behind Ray Bradbury in his wheelchair as they were clearing the aisle for him and that helped me get back to the Lee's booth in a reasonable amount of time.
Prices are insane for accommodations, especially since the closer hotels are booked so far in advance and not just for the Con, but for those *&%@$*& Padres games as well. Also, the Con does sell out now, something it never did before and they keep people waiting outside for longer and longer periods due to fire constrictions. You can move about pretty well in the comic book area, but if you are in the movie area, forget it. Moooooo! Mooooo!
So, would I recommend San Diego for anyone else in the future. Only if you are trying to make key contacts or are working the show as I am. Otherwise, it's a wash and you'd be better off going to a more moderately priced and sized show, especially if you are interested in old comics.
In fact, Wondercon, even though it is owned by Comic Con International, is more like the San Diego Comic Con of yore and as a result, much more fun. It is in San Francisco each Jan. or Feb. and is highly recommended if everyone wanted to go to a show that was just like the old days and in California. The weather's usually nicer out here during that time too than for the rest of the country.
Anyway, that's my report.
-Mark.
First of all, as many of you may or may not know, San Diego became impossible even for me to go after 2002 as the hugeness of it all cost wise and otherwise kept me from going. I said silently to myself that year, "I won't go again unless everything is paid for." My meaning behind this statement is that I would not go again unless I was considered a professional in the eyes of the industry and under that guise may have my trip paid for in some way so that I would no longer have to finance it myself. (I found out recently from Scott Shaw! that even high profile celebrities are not usually paid to attend this, but that's another story.)
Anyway, in recent years through my newspaper advertising sales work, I became good friends with Lee Hester, the owner of Lee's Comics for the past 25(!) years. He has stores in Mountain View and San Mateo, CA, and has done the San Diego Con now for 20 years straight. Up through 2005, he used his regular employees to staff his booth, but in 2006, Lee asked me if I wanted to man the booth during the show. In exchange I would have all my meals, transportation and hotel accommodations paid for, and also would be given a small salary on top of that. I immediately seized the chance and Lee and I did the 2006 show.
Everything went so smoothly, that Lee asked me to be his semi-permanent convention staff and we went on to do the Los Angeles Comic Book Convention, San Jose Toy Show, Wondercon, the APE, and I sold the bargain comics when Lee had various sales at his Mountain View location.
Of course I was asked to do San Diego again, and I readily agreed. Now, as previously stated, I would probably never attend San Diego again due to its size and lack of finding the remaining Harvey Comics I need to complete my sets for under $10 each (or any Harvey Comics at all for that matter. I now have better luck on the Internet). A strange thing happened between last year and this year. Because I published my book ("The Best of The Harveyville Fun Times!"), I am starting to get recognized within the industry. So being sort of a minor celebrity has encouraged me to continue going under this "new phase".
Lee had excellent sales this year, but NOT of old comics. In fact, after the 2006 show, I recommended that he not bring so many of his 15 long boxes of moderately-priced Silver Age books due to the lack of sales. These boxes are heavy and if you don't sell them, lugging them back onto the truck on Sunday evening is painful. Lee not only heeded my advice of not bringing so many, he actually didn't bring ANY of his moderately-priced books. He did bring the expensive wall books (which I sold the most expensive one being a NM copy of "Giant Size X-Men" #1 for approximately $850!) and he brought his $2 bargains, which generally sell well.
A few years ago, Lee obtained one of those old "Hey Kids Comics" spinner racks and he decided to put random selection of comics from the 50s to the 80s on these racks for $2 each! Some of these in Mint condition. (Not everything mind you, but for the persistent, you could actually walk away with a number of books worth $20 or more for only $2 each.) Lee has taught me a lot about marketing and sales that I didn't know and it has helped me with my other careers and with the marketing of my book.
Other dealers think Lee is insane, but what Lee does (and it is no secret) is buy up collections for cheap, but instead of meticulously going through the Price Guide with each book and bagging and boarding them and jacking the price up to the Guide price, he sifts through and takes out the really good stuff (like a "Giant Size X-Men" #1) and sells the rest for cheap. It gives the fans something to look through, and the ability for them to buy older books at affordable prices.
However, this year a strange thing occurred: the $2 books didn't sell as well as last year. The novelty had worn off. To boost sales, Lee did something even I thought was crazy, reduce them to $1 each!! That worked and we had steady crowds for those books all week long, while the other Gold and Silver Age dealers just sat on their hands for virtually the entire weekend.
My theory about all this is plentiful. Younger readers are not buying the Gold and Silver Age books for many reasons: 1) Usually the prices are higher than most people want to pay; 2) Most collectors usually are nostalgic for items from their youth. Items from the youth of 20 and 30 year olds are items originally issued in the late 80s to early 90s, which is well after the Silver Age. (When you get to be 40 as I am, you start to realize that things are starting to make a comeback that you weren't interested in originally, like the Transformers. I thought they were interesting toys for about 30 seconds and that's where my interest ended because I was 16 and more interested in wanting to get laid than toys. So when they issued a movie this year, all of my 25-35 year old co-workers were all excited. I wasn't.) 3) As Marvel and DC and others have put out pristine versions of their older books, the need to have it on the original newsprint has diminished greatly except for the hard core collectors, of which there are not so many as they are getting older and older and older and not spending so much on old comics anymore either because they have them already or they can no longer afford them, or by natural attrition (i.e. death).
On a happier note, Lee did bring a current shipment of this week's new comics as a test, and those sold exceptionally well!!
This was Lee's most successful year at the Con, so what did he sell? He sold the remaining stock of the PureHero sports shirts. For comic book shows, Lee has ventured further and further away from comic books and more and more towards toys and clothing and other items, and these things are highly successful (and would be considered a disgrace for this email group). So there you are.
For me, I sold two copies of my book at the show and signed them. I bought exactly 8 Harvey Comics from Graham Crackers (about the only reasonably priced comic book dealer other than Lee that had books that I wanted). I saw, met and/or spoke with Scott Shaw!, Lou Ferrigno, Ray Bradbury, Peter Kuper, Pat Block, Rafael Navarro, George Gladir, Maggie Thompson, Bill Morrison, Peter David, Roy Thomas, Sergio Aragones, Mark Evanier, Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, Paul Dini, Renee French, Neil Gaiman, Rick Geary, Mike Ploog, Gary Carter, Ian Boothby, Bruce Schwartz, Paul Merolle, Matt Brody, Mary Fleener, Brent Frankenhoff, Dominic Prestera, Mitch O'Connell, Greg Evans, Robert Steven Rhine, Joe Ferrara, Michael Bennett, Brett Warnock, among others. I wanted to talk to a few people like Jerry Beck and Leslie Carbarga, but time didn't permit. Apparently Sid Jacobson was on the floor as was Gary Owens, but I didn't see either of them. And, some people I expected to show up, didn't.
I made a lot of good contacts and was trying to line up some more freelance work and to that end considering my time constraints, I was very successful.
On another positive note (and Joe Torcivia would like this one should he ever come back to San Diego), a couple of years ago, the Gaslamp area fixed up the Little Italy section of the downtown and made it really nice. It's slightly north of the convention. We stayed at a very nice but small hotel called La Pensione and ate almost every night at this great and cheap Italian restaurant called Filipe's that has a huge lasagna with a huge meatball for only $6 and it is filling!! Our bill for six people one night was $38!! Fortunately, this is sort of a chain and although most of the locations are in Southern California, there is one in Northern California, so I may make the pilgrimage sometime this year to that one.
Now, the negatives. As it has been said endlessly, this con is TOO BIG!! It's really a movie studio promotion show with a small Gold and Silver Age section and some artists that was the backbone of the original show. That Lee had to switch to selling other merchandise besides comics had to do more with economics and practicality rather than Lee's love of old comic books. Our friend Ron Murray (who shares Lee's booth with us) actually declared a loss this year as he only carried Gold and Silver Age books. In fact on Saturday, traditionally the busiest day at the Con, Ron had zero sales to show for the entire day!!
Also, it is VERY difficult to get around. I do not attend any panels anymore and rely on people coming up to Lee's booth or making deliberate pilgrimages to speak with the people I want and need to speak with. It took me forever to get to Artist's Alley which was on the completely opposite end of the show from Lee's (Lee's is booth #1100; Artist's Alley was around #5400). Coming back, I walked behind Ray Bradbury in his wheelchair as they were clearing the aisle for him and that helped me get back to the Lee's booth in a reasonable amount of time.
Prices are insane for accommodations, especially since the closer hotels are booked so far in advance and not just for the Con, but for those *&%@$*& Padres games as well. Also, the Con does sell out now, something it never did before and they keep people waiting outside for longer and longer periods due to fire constrictions. You can move about pretty well in the comic book area, but if you are in the movie area, forget it. Moooooo! Mooooo!
So, would I recommend San Diego for anyone else in the future. Only if you are trying to make key contacts or are working the show as I am. Otherwise, it's a wash and you'd be better off going to a more moderately priced and sized show, especially if you are interested in old comics.
In fact, Wondercon, even though it is owned by Comic Con International, is more like the San Diego Comic Con of yore and as a result, much more fun. It is in San Francisco each Jan. or Feb. and is highly recommended if everyone wanted to go to a show that was just like the old days and in California. The weather's usually nicer out here during that time too than for the rest of the country.
Anyway, that's my report.
-Mark.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Ringo News
I found out Ringo re-signed to Capitol Records, making it the first time all four Beatles are back on the same label since 1975 (except that Paul's latest is on that stupid Starbucks label, so this may ruin things). Ringo's next studio album (Liverpool 8) will be out in January 2008 after the greatest hits compilation (Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr 1970-2005) comes out in August 2007.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Blogs Used to Be More Fun
Blogging used to be more fun when I could actually send something to my blog via email. Nowadays, you may have noticed that I don't blog nearly as often as I used to mainly because now I have to log onto the Blogger site and after I type what I am typing here, I have to do a word verification which sometimes doesn't take the first time. Such a drag!!
Anyway, this is my latest blog entry, like it or lump it...
Anyway, this is my latest blog entry, like it or lump it...
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Harry Potter 5
After somewhat of a letdown after the fourth Harry Potter film, I'm happy to say that the fifth Harry Potter film called "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" got everything back on track. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say this, if you haven't seen the other four films, don't bother to see this one as you possibly would be really confused or not fully comprehend what's going on. It's not as dark as everyone claims and there is quite a bit of humor. Overall I was really impressed and I am looking forward to the next two entries.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Superman in "The Adventures of Big Boy"
I brought in the "Superman" issue of "The Adventures of Big Boy" as a gag into Lee's Comics yesterday, and the amazing thing was, the staff was able to identify where Big Boy artist Manny Stallman cribbed his Superman poses to the exact "Superman" issue!!
Incidentally, this issue of "Big Boy" #266 from June 1979 is one of the highest valued issues of the entire series despite the artwork being deplorable. Although this issue was really a plug for the 1978 "Superman The Movie", amazingly "Big Boy" gave absolutely NO credit to DC Comics for this.
Later in the year when Big Boy, Dolly and Nugget reminisce on their recent visits to various celebrities such as the casts of "Little House on the Prairie" and "Sesame Street", the visit to see Superman is strangely absent....
Incidentally, this issue of "Big Boy" #266 from June 1979 is one of the highest valued issues of the entire series despite the artwork being deplorable. Although this issue was really a plug for the 1978 "Superman The Movie", amazingly "Big Boy" gave absolutely NO credit to DC Comics for this.
Later in the year when Big Boy, Dolly and Nugget reminisce on their recent visits to various celebrities such as the casts of "Little House on the Prairie" and "Sesame Street", the visit to see Superman is strangely absent....
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
The Comics Journal Library Vol. 7: Harvey Kurtzman (Comics Journal Library)
This is a great book especially if you are a fan of Kurtzman, which I am. If you don't know who he is, pick up some reprints of the earliest "Mad" issues, when it was a comic book and before it was a magazine and if you don't laugh your ass off, you really don't have a sense of humor.
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