Pop Culture Chronicles

Free Comic Book Day 2011

Saturday, May 7 was this year's annual Free Comic Book Day. Publishers provide dealers with free promotional comics to give away. This allows readers to sample various companies, characters, and titles before deciding where to invest their entertainment dollars.

Some of the free books offered are simply glorified commercials without any real story or just a partial story that is continued to the regular comic series. But each year there are a few books that provide a decent self-contained story along with the commercial. This year's Captain America/Thor team-up was especially good as the two were thrown back in time to Camelot. I wonder why Marvel chose Captain America and Thor? Could that have anything to do with this year's movie offerings? Marvel is still the greatest when it comes to All Ages stories that are really for all ages and not simply juvenile. DC's Young Justice/Batman: Brave and the Bold also had some decent self-contained stories. The Batman story was a good short story teaming Batman with Flash as the opinions of society's upper crust are contrasted with the real Bruce Wayne.

The comic shop we patronized for FCBD this year really went all out. There were people in costume (most notably Green Lantern & Batwoman), a sketch artist, and photographs with the life-size Spiderman statue. A long table with free super-hero buttons and numerous FCBD offerings allowed patrons to choose up to five titles each. And this comic shop did not stamp the covers with their store name, although there is a place for it. I love it when the covers aren't stamped. Every serious collector knows better than to desecrate a comic in that manner. This shop even had a sidewalk sale with dollar comics and free coffee. I'm impressed! It was like a mini-convention.

In addition to my five free titles (which also included Green Lantern, The Misadventures of Adam West, and Amazing Spiderman) I also had to raid the dollar boxes resulting in a fairly good stack. These included one-shots of Batman and Captain America, the Superman: Last Family of Krypton series, and the Amazing Spiderman issues with the "One Moment in Time" story arc. So FCBD was a real event for our family this year. Thanks to those comic shop proprietors who go the extra mile.       

Free Comic Book Day

I'm writing this post on the first Saturday of May. Our family has awakened on this date over the last several years in anticipation of the annual Free Comic Book Day. This "holiday" is celebrated by comic shops and bookstores around the country. Samples of offerings from various publishers are offered free of charge.

To demonstrate the variety and the broad appeal of each year's Free Comic Book Day, I will now give the break down of what my kids and I got this year:

12-year old son:

• Ironman / Thor (Marvel)
• Ironman / Nova (Marvel)
• G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero # 155 1/2 (IDW)
• Toy Story (Boom Studios)
• Shrek / Penguins of Madagascar (Ape Entertainment) 

10-year-old daughter:

• Archie (Archie Comics)
• Owly & Friends (Top Shelf)
• DC Kids (DC Comics) 
• Toy Story (Boom Studios)
• Shrek / Penguins of Madagascar (Ape Entertainment)

40-something-year-old dad (that would be me):

• Ironman / Thor (Marvel)
• Green Hornet (Dynamite)
• G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero 155 1/2 (IDW)
• War of the Supermen # 0 (DC Comics)
• Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom / Magnus: Robot Fighter (Dark Horse)

I'll let you know how some of these titles were after I've read them. So how was your Free Comic Book Day? Hope it was happy.

Screaming Tiki Pop Culture Con 08

Our family attended the Comic and Pop Culture Screaming TikiCon in Niles, Ohio this past weekend. Now this was more than a comic show. This was a true convention! Fans in costume were prevalent and more than willing to pose for photographs. There was also a costume contest and a panel composed of members of the Society of Secret Identities (costume enthusiasts). 

Celebrities were on hand for autographs, photos, and meet & greet. Most celebrities charge for photos and autographs these days. But Yvonne Craig, TV's 1960s Batgirl, was gracious enough to pose for a snapshot with my children. Since she was not able to stand due to a broken foot, she invited the kids to crawl under the table and join her where she was seated. She also gave the kids bat stickers.  

Craig is a sweet person and a sparkling conversationalist who loves her fans. We discussed her work with Lee Majors and Elvis Presley. I could easily become this lady's biggest fan. She is quite down to earth in spite of her fame. As I later learned from her website, a percentage of proceeds from her autographed glossies goes to charity. If I had known that I might have bought one, but I may still order a picture sometime. 

Noel Neill, Superman's Lois Lane in the adventure serial and the original TV series, was also very cordial and down to earth.  She has also appeared in Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve and Brandon Routh. 

We also enjoyed meeting Jeremy Bulloch, Bobba Fett on the Star Wars films Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He posed for as snapshot with my son, a huge Bobba Fett fan. Bulloch was likewise a most personable and down to earth individual. Visiting with him was very easy. 

I also met Malachi Thorne, the villain False Face on the Batman TV series. A truly nice guy. Also on hand were Margot Kidder and Sarah Douglas of Superman. And there was former Miss America and movie Catwoman Lee Meriwether, whose latest projects include an outstanding movie with James Garner called The Ultimate Gift. 

And of course the day would not have been complete without meeting Adam West. Here is his picture with my children and me- -Dr. Retro unmasked. I told West that I had been his fan for 42 years. He told me that he was only fifty, but if that were true he would have been playing Batman when he was eight-years-old. I don't think so. I spent a great deal of my childhood pretending to be the Adam West Batman and I was thrilled when he returned to the part in cartoon voice overs. His voice is how Batman is supposed to sound--unlike the robotic voice of Dark Knight. It was the Batman TV show that got me into comics. The ringtone on my cell phone is the Batman theme.

Celebrity panels included a session with West and Julie Newmar (TV's Catwoman). On her way out, Newmar stopped and took notice of my daughter. Newmar bent down and hugged this eight-year-old exclaiming, "Hello beautiful. Thanks for coming." I always knew that my little girl was beautiful, but when Julie Newmar tells you that you're beautiful, it's official. Both West and Newmar commented on what a nice family I have. Of course I already knew that, but I sure appreciate the reminders just so I don't take them for granted. 

As with most conventions, some comic creators were on hand including Gary Friedrich, co-creator of the Ghost Rider character which has become a feature film.  The creative team of Tiny Titans were happy to autograph comics for my kids and artist, Baltazar, drew a sketch of Robin for my daughter and Cyborg for my son. The husband and wife creative team of Patrick and Shelly Block autographed copies of Uncle Scrooge for my kids. 

On display were the 1966 Batmobile, Bat-cycle, and Bat-copter (rides were fifty dollars so I passed, but we did see it airborne). Other vehicles included Kitt from Knight Rider and Speed Racer's Mach V. 

The shopping was fantastic with numerous vendors offering comics, movies, and toys--including many antiques. I was able to fill in several gaps in my collection completing runs of several series and for very cheap prices. The kids bought action figures and my daughter found some Barbies. My wife wore my Batman t-shirt with a picture of the cover from Batman # 20. She received so many compliments you'd think she was wearing the latest fashion from Paris. But this was Geekdom, not Paris. We had a blast! (at least the kids and I did).  

My First Comics Convention (Sort of)

Our family was privileged to attend our first comiccon one day this past weekend. Well, at least the kids and I felt privileged. My wife came along to watch the kids since she knew my head would be in boxes the whole time. Having been raised by a red neck who would drag his whole family to gun and knife shows, I can imagine how boring this must have been to the love of my life.  

And they did call it a comiccon. But I'm sure it was small potatoes compared to the cons at San Diego, New York, or Chicago. There were no celebrity guests, although some local artists came demonstrating their talents and hawking their wares. Not only were there no celebrity guests, but no fans showed up in costume, and there were no panels with comics creators or movie stars. I would say this was more of a comic "show." 

I hope to make it to a big convention some day, but that doesn't mean I was disappointed with this event. It was awesome for what it was. My schedule would not allow me to stay beyond two and half hours (A very long time for my wife and a very short time for me). There were dealers from at least as far away as a two-hour radius all in a giant room with tables upon tables of boxes upon boxes of comics, old and new. There were trades and graphic novels, toys, t-shirts, all kinds of stuff.

I had a great time finding great deals to fill in some gaps in some very long runs of my collection. I bought Legends of the Dark Knight 100, which completes my first 100 issue run of that series. I love the Alex Ross painted cover. Batman 407 completed Frank Miller's Batman Year One story arc in my collection. I picked up Justice Society Secret Files and Origins #1, which I somehow missed back when they revived the JSA. And Legends# 6 completes my collection of that 80s mini-series. 

My most significant purchase was of a 1960s TV western comic with photo cover. I'll be sharing the cover image in a near-future post. 

But one of the most exciting things that happened to us is that we were door prize winners. My eight-year-old daughter actually had the winning ticket. The door prize included three comics signed by artists or creative teams with certificates of authenticity. Two Batman titles and Supergirl #1 from 1994. My daughter called dibs on Supergirl, which is who she was for Halloween. 

The door prize also included several first issues of recent series. Included were Bat Lash, Batman and the Outsiders, Green Arrow and Black Canary, Ultimate Iron Man II, X-Men: Kitty Pryde: Shadow and Flame, Death of the New Gods, and Salvation Run. This gives me a chance to sample some of what's been going on in comics lately since my pull list only consists of one ongoing title and five limited series. I read Green Arrow and Black Canary and Bat Lash last night. I really liked Bat Lash. I think I'll eventually get the rest of the series or the trade. 

Other winnings included X-Men:198 5, World War Hulk 3, Teen Titans 50, and some freebie sketch books. We also got a collected addition of Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four, which my eleven year old son is enjoying. Oh, and a Venom paperweight (just what everyone needs). 

So needless to say, I left feeling pretty good with all that free stuff. It was one of those weeks when I really needed something good to happen. 

My son bought a die cast Wolverine figure he had searched for quite a while and also picked up some cheap classic Star Wars back issues. My daughter got a Disney comic for 50 cents and both my kids impressed the vendors and artists with their vast knowledge of comic book super heroes. That's what happens when your dad is a pop culture geek.