Charlie Roberts, the San Diego Comic-Con and the Legendary Comix Connection T-shirt

I opened a package the other day from my dear old friend Charlie Roberts, the noted comic and comic strip art collector and comics historian and... Lo! and Behold!, inside was a series of photographs in which Charlie foisted one of our Comix Connection T-shirts upon some comic luminary at the San Diego Comic-Con and snapped their picture!


This first one is a snapshot of Jerry Robinson, artist on BATMAN in the 1940s and the man who came up with the character The Joker among other noted achievements! (Click on his name to read more about his life and career via Wikipedia.)

Charlie, these photos are just too cool... thank you! I'll be putting the others up for all to see in the coming days!

Oh, and thanks Mr. Robinson!

Reader Art #6!

I recently got this submission of reader art by Paul Hair of Dillsburg... check it out:


Looks great! Thanks, Paul, and keep sending in your art, everybody!

The Weekend Comics Chat Open Thread - the Cooking For The Whole Picnic Crowd Edition!

Well, here we are again. Get comfy. Tell us what you read this week good, bad or indifferent. I read 52 Week 12 (good as usual), BATMAN #655 (Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert, great story, great events), BLACK PANTHER #18 (Civil War "Cease Fire" wedding issue, cool), and more... including this book:


Written and drawn by award-winning cartoonist Joe Sacco, BUT I LIKE IT (124-page hardcover with bonus music CD, $24.95) follows the travels and travails of an LA-based rock-n-roll band on it's first European tour. Told in Sacco's inimitable visual journalistic style, BUT I LIKE IT is incredibly fun and entertaining. Sacco's layouts wind all over the page, becoming more progressively distorted as things get wilder with the band. This book is NOT FOR KIDS obviously, but it is for us grown-ups. Give it a try if you like GOOD autobigraphical comics, not one of the endless stream of some 20-something's poorly-drawn navel-gazing-while-still-living-in-Mom's-basement offerings... you won't be disappointed.

Bonus: Click HERE to see more of Joe Sacco's books, ALL of which are great... trust me on this one.

So what did you read?

My favorite comic book convention

is of course, my old pal Marc Nathan's BALTIMORE COMIC-CON! I love the city of Baltimore more that any other major city I've been in, mostly because of how easy it is to get around Baltimore's Inner Harbor and environs... I really love the Fells Point neighborhood for great spots like Bertha's (renowned for their mussels) and always make a side trip to the Little Italy section to visit Vaccaro's Italian Bakery for some yummy Pignoli and Amaretti cookies, plus the cannoli is incredibly good. That being said, the reason I really like the Baltimore Comic-Con is that Marc makes sure that the focus is always on COMIC BOOKS, by inviting a slew of current and classic comic book creators like Kurt Buseik, Dick Ayers, Joe Linsner and many many more... check out the full guest list HERE! (Last year, John Romita, Sr. was set up across the aisle from us the entire show... we'd say "Good Morning, Mr. Romita!" when he came in in the morning and he would reply "Good Morning, fellas!" Too cool.) As a special bonus starting this year, the Baltimore Comic-Con will host the Harvey Awards, a prestigeous award for comics' greats! I can't wait to see this!

Mark your calendar NOW... this great convention is only an hour's drive from York, and an hour and a half from Harrisburg... DON'T MISS IT!


Oooh, and I always tour the U.S.S. Torsk, a WWII-era attack submarine that's parked in Baltimore's Inner Harbor...

Clowes' "Death Ray" to be a movie

Once again, I pulled this news item from the ICV2 website. Looks like Jack Black's production company is getting set to do a film adaptation of one of the greatest single-issue comics ever... Daniel Clowes' "Death Ray" story from EIGHTBALL #23. Previous adaptations of Clowes' works include Ghost World and Art School Confidential, both great non-mainstream films. (You've seen them, right? Right?)

I was blown away (heh) by this story... it's absolutely compelling and really highlights what comic book storytelling can be... a unique voice best portrayed by this specific artform - comics.

The movie should be interesting.

Help an Illusionist out!

I just got the following email from my pal Starr, a professional illusionist:

"For those of you who don't know, I've been busy working on a new Las Vegas show called "Nathan Burton's Comedy Magic" at the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood. I'm the Creative Director, designing and creating the illusions, costuming, advertising, and merchandising for the show, as well several other television projects Nathan has been working on.

Well, Nathan has made it to the Semi-Final Round of NBC's hit show "America's Got Talent". It's the #1 show of the summer, hosted by Regis Philbin. This Wednesday, July 26th at 8:00pm, Nathan will be performing an illusion we created together, and I art directed. If you get a chance check it out, then vote for him right after the show.

JUST ADDED: Nathan will a perform another "Starr" illusion LIVE! on Thursday (the 27th) night's show. It will hopefully feature a BIG SURPRISE!

Thanks,
Starr"

Please everyone, try to watch this and VOTE. It's a real close race, and Nathan has a good chance of winning the whole thing!

GAH, so much great stuff coming out!

I just pulled THIS off of ICV2's website... the great EC horror and science fiction comics are to be reprinted... in COLOR HARDCOVERS! Wooo-HOOOOO! The only thing that makes me a bit nervous is this:

The EC Archives editions will present the original EC stories with all new colors based on the originals, but utilizing new methods of shading and texture to enhance and improve each story's impact.

We'll see. If you've never read any of these truly timeless classic comics, check 'em out... you won't be disappointed!

Finally

This news will thrill all you Original Series STAR TREK geeks out there, myself included. They are finally releasing the complete DVD set of the STAR TREK Animated cartoon series from the mid-1970s...

I have been waiting for this for a long time and eagerly await the arrival of what I tend to think of as "Star Trek Season 4 and 5". These great cartoons had the original cast members doing the voices, and the episodes were written by writers who worked on the original live-action TV series. There's even a sequel to "The Trouble With Tribbles" entitled "More Troubles, More Tribbles", written by original writer David Gerrold.

Whoops, I just drooled. 'Scuse me.

Reader Art #5!

Here's more great reader art from reader Warren Nast. Warren writes: "Here is a drawing of everyone's favorite S.H.I.E.L.D agent for the website. And I don't mean Dum Dum Dugan!"


Very cool! Thanks again, Warren, and c'mon the rest of you with artistic talent... send me your art!

(All artwork is wholly owned and copyright the artist; all characters are copyright their respective owners.)

Guest Review - CASTLE WAITING

by Nicole Wagman, Counter Monkey Number 4


I've been suckered into another purchase at Comix Connection, and since misery--I mean good writing--loves company, I wanted to try and drag some of you along with me! We've had the "Castle Waiting" hardcover collection by Linda Medley in the store for a while, but while it always looked interesting I'd just never gotten around to looking through it before. I had a spare moment the other day and thought I'd flip through a few pages. Then I ended up reading those pages. Then I had to flip back to the beginning and read more. Then I had to take it home with me. Because it was just that wonderful. What's it like? Well, that's difficult to say... It's a medival time period piece, but while people have modern attitudes about many things, and speak in modern language (most of the time), the world itself is time-appropriate. So you can't really say it's modern, but you can't really say it's strictly medieval, either. The best analogy I can come up with is to call it a combination of Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise and Neil Gaiman's Stardust. The book's a nice sized collection--the page size is comparable to a prose novel, and it's quite thick--but you'll finish it far too quickly. It's a very pretty book, too; it's the sort you can put proudly on your bookshelf next to your hardback classic collections. It's a very character-based story. There's no sex, swearing, or violence, but it's the type of story that an adult would be enthralled by as much as they were as a kid reading a "regular" fairy tale (and those are referenced quite a bit). It's the story of the castle, but more so the story of the people that end up making it their home, but there seems to be more to it than that. No way to know what that is yet... we're still meeting the people and enjoying their stories--which are quite good and nicely off-kilter. The castle's origin has the taste of epic to it--but for now, we're stuck waiting.


CLICK HERE for the official website.

Lookie what I got at the Post office!

The new DC Superhero postage stamps are in! Timed to coincide with the San Diego Comic Convention, these awesome First Class stamps are just too cool! The best part is, the Post Office put brief biographies of the characters on the reverse side of the stamp sheet and credited the respective artists. I'll be buying a bunch of these and using them for a long time!

The Weekend Comics Chat Open Thread - the Mixed Messages Edition!

Hey there! Here we are again! What did you enjoy this week? Did everyone read CIVIL WAR #3 yet? WOW. This title just keeps getting better, doesn't it? Way to go Marvel, CIVIL WAR has to be one of the best "major crossover events" I've ever read. Yep. It's that good.


I finally got to read WASTELAND #1, by Antony Johnston and Christopher Mitten, published by ONI PRESS, and enjoyed it immensely... thanks for the tip, shadow!

Woah!

I just got the following email from the folks at DC Comics... read on:

One of the most acclaimed series in comics history will be collected in DC Comics' deluxe Absolute format this November in Vertigo's THE ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOLUME 1 HC.

The first in a four-volume series, THE ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOLUME 1 HC collects issues #1-20 of this enduring series, written by New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Chris Bachalo, Michael Zulli, Steve Parkhouse, Kelley Jones, Charles Vess and Colleen Doran, with cover art by Dave McKean.

In this Absolute edition, issues #1-18 of THE SANDMAN have been completely recolored. Also included in this amazing edition is a host of never before seen material including the complete original Sandman proposal, a gallery of character designs from Gaiman and the artists who originated the look of the Sandman, and the original script for the World Fantasy Award-winning THE SANDMAN #19, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," together with reproductions of the issue's original pencils by Charles Vess. Rounding out the collection are a new introduction by DC Comics President & Publisher Paul Levitz and an afterword by Gaiman.

THE ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOLUME 1 HC (AUG060280) is advance-solicited in the August Previews (Volume XVI #8); it is scheduled to arrive in stores on November 1 with a cover price of $99.00 U.S.

Good Grief, I gotta start filling my "Penny Jar". Because I gotta have this. No question.

Godzilla Model Kit Painting Contest winners announced!

On Sunday, July 16th, the winners of the Comix Connection Godzilla Model Painting Contest were announced at the Godzilla Fan Club Meeting. (The Club meets roughly bi-monthly... if you are interested in attending, see the link to contact Evan at the bottom of this page.)
Here's the First Place winner of the Comix Connection Godzilla Model Kit Painting Contest 2006, as voted on by customers:


Beautifully rendered by Kirby Keefaver, this model is the winner of a $25.00 Comix Connection Gift Certificate... way to go Kirby, nice job!

And here's the Second Place Winner:


Modeled by Bill Hersh...who was the winner of a $15.00 Comix Connection Gift Certificate - congratulations, Bill...

All the other entrants were awarded a surprise $5.00 Comix Connection Gift Certificate for being good sports and entering their model kits! Thanks, guys! (I really liked the Skater Godzilla. And the Dayglow Godzilla. Annd the one with the fire breath...)

The Big Con

Here's something else from the vault... a flyer from York-Con 2. What great graphics, courtesy of Mego Steve Leach. Boy, those conventions were fun! Local, loose and lotsa laffs! I used to keep the mailing list for the con flyers on my COMMODORE-64! That thing rocked!

OK, no it didn't. But it was state-of-the-art technology, and it did the job.

Good times.

From the Vault #874

Check this out! A MARVEL HEROES RETURN foam boomerang flyer:


I remember getting a bag of 12 of these 11-inch foam toys one Wednesday back in 1997 in our comic shipment as a promotional tool to help bring attention to the "patch things back up" Marvel Heroes Return titles. Besides creating mayhem in the store amongst the employees for ten minutes, we were at a loss to understand how to use these to help sell the books. The best we could come up with was whipping them at customers and bonking them on the head with them as they came in the store, and then politely asking them if they had any interest in the upcoming relaunches. Needless to say, we may have inadvertently helped people NOT get that crappy Rob Liefeld Captain America.

So, in a way, it worked.


But, hey, at least they're not X-ZYLOs!


Heh heh heh.

The March of the Sinister Ducks

Here's an oddity from Way Back When: CRITTERS #23 (Fantagraphics, April 1988). This comic is an anthology of anthropomorphic (funny animal) comics, and features the work of guys like Stan Sakai (USAGI YOJIMBO), Sam Kieth (the MAXX), J.P. Morgan (FISSION CHICKEN), and... ALAN MOORE!

That's right, there's a story in this comic about a (fictional) band by perhaps comics greatest writer, Alan Moore. The band? The Sinister Ducks. In the comic, Moore relates the "Never-Before-Told True Story of the Sinister Ducks' Hatching, Brief Flirtation With Glory, and Subsequent Retirement."

It's pretty clever, but the REAL reason I wanted this comic when it came out: it has a "flexidisc" of a song by Alan Moore and David J. (bassist of the proto-Goth band BAUHAUS and the bands TONES ON TAIL and LOVE & ROCKETS) called "The March of the Sinister Ducks!"... CLICK HERE to hear it... it's a hoot!

So, now all you Alan Moore completeists have something to scrounge the back issuue bins for... Happy Hunting!

Manager Ken plays the role of a lunchtime in area commercial

(No, that's not Manager Ken, keep reading.)

Manager Ken of the Mechanicsburg store recently participated in the filming of a commercial for Hole In The Ground Productions, a local firm which "specializes in prop, costume, and set design for the film and video industry, as well as providing video production services." Manager Ken played the role of an irate comic book shop manager, which is quite a stretch for him!

*rimshot* Hey-OH!

I'd say that uses up about a minute and a half of Ken's Fifteen Minutes of Fame. (If they put the video up, I will provide a link...)

Check out Hole In The Ground's website of cool props and such, plus you really gotta see the hero of tomorrow... SPORKMAN!

(Guys, I want one of those shirts!)

The Weekend Comics Chat Open Thread - the Apples and Oranges Edition!

Hey everyone! How's it going? What did you get to read this week? Did you finally get to watch SUPERMAN RETURNS? Tell us!


I read the new GHOST RIDER #1 by Daniel Way (writer), Javier Saltares (breakdowns) and Mark Texiera (finishes) with a cool cover by Mark Texiera. It's a good start, I guess, but it seems lately that new Marvel Comics series only give you half a story in their first issues - or is that just me? Sorta comparing apples and oranges, but last week's ATOM #1 had tons of background, great characters and a interesting and intriguing story crammed into the first issue and just seemed to give more "bang for the buck" as it were. Of course, Ghost Rider is a very cool character visually, but Marvel just seems not to know what exactly to do with him or where to take him...

And was that DOOP?

Discuss.
-

Marvel's CIVIL WAR FYI!

Just in case you've been in a cave the last month or two, you may have missed the big crossover event that's tearing apart the Marvel Universe - CIVIL WAR! This great series has even captured the attention of this DC-leaning fan... it's that compelling. See, due to a horrific super-hero related catastrophe, the US government has decided to implement the Superhero Registration Act, and not everyone wants to play along. This pits friend against friend, hero against hero and foe against foe. Whose side are you on?

For more info and a synopsis of events (BEWARE SPOILERS!), go to the Wikipedia entry HERE!

To read about everything CIVIL WAR-related on the Marvel website, click HERE!

In the wake of this incredible company-wide event, some of the initial tie-in books sold out rapidly... but we reacted immediately and made sure we had enough copies of the subsequent tie-ins.

So, just to let everyone know, we now have in stock at both stores:

WOLVERINE #43
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #533
FANTASTIC FOUR #538
NEW AVENGERS #21
CIVIL WAR: FRONTLINE #2
NEW THUNDERBOLTS #104
CIVIL WAR #2
CIVIL WAR #2 2ND PRINT Spidey Reveals All cover
CIVIL WAR: FRONTLINE #3
and CIVIL WAR DIRECTOR'S CUT (reprints #1, plus a bunch of cool extras)

And, within a week, we will be receiving the following second printings of the first wave of crossovers:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #432 (2nd)
SHE-HULK #8 (2nd)
WOLVERINE #42 (2nd)
NEW THUNDERBOLTS #103 (2nd)
NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI (2nd)

If you aren't reading this crossover event, give it a try... it's incredibly exciting even for this jaded comic reader...

Manager Josh is FEARLESS!

Josh, the manager of the York Comix Connection has done something we all mumble out loud that we want to do but are secretly horrified to even consider actually attempting... he went SKYDIVING! (Yeah, that would be cool to do... I -um- was gonna do it once, but -uh- I hurt... MY LEG. Or something. Yep. Heh. *gulp*)

And not only that, but he went skydiving for the first time WEARING A COMIX CONNECTION t-shirt, thus qualifying for a COMIX CONNECTION NO(YES)-PRIZE! Check it out:




Wow! Way to go, you brave, brave man!


Level of difficulty: 8/10

Creativity and imagination: 6/10

Being stoopid enought to jump out of a perfectly good airplane: +10 points


Your NO(YES)-PRIZE:

a FIFTEEN DOLLAR GIFT CERTIFICATE!

Top THAT, y'all!

Knights of the Dinner Table mini-movies!

KNIGHTS of the DINNER TABLE one of the most consisitently funny comics out there, and now there's more funny goodness! Click HERE to watch short Flash-Animation movies of the Knights in action! Some of the voices didn't quite ring true for me, but that's a very minor quibble... these are hilarious!

Here's the last two parts of the "Fanboy Interviews"

Continuing the series, here's Part Four of MTVs interview with local York area Super-collector Steve Leach and others...

And here's Part Five ...

Congrats, Steve, on being the collector that MTV comes to when they need the expert! Dont forget to check out Steve's SuperBlog HERE!

York has a new Drive-In Theatre!

(Photo copyright 2006 York Daily Record)

Local businessman Ron Vastola has succeeded in resurrecting a piece of our past... he has brought the thrill of the Drive-In Movie back to York! Using state-of-the-art technology and a huge 36' X 60' inflatable screen, drive-in movies are now being shown at the York Expo Center (the York Fairgrounds to you oldsters), and it sure looks like fun!

Click HERE and HERE to read two articles in the York Daily Record about the Drive-In's arrival and then click HERE to read how it went on opening night! Pretty cool.

I personally loved the drive-ins and will be checking this out soon!

Reader Art #4!

Check out these two great pieces of art from long-time York customer and all-around swell guy Steve Sagar:




(All artwork is wholly owned and copyright the artist; all characters are copyright their respective owners.)

Those are awesome! Very cool! Thanks, Steve!

C'mon everybody, send me your art! I will put your drawings up on the website so we can all see them... bring it on!

The Weekend Comics Chat Open Thread - the Indiana Jones and the Price of Gas Edition!

Hey! What did you read this week? Anything?

I read THIS:


Peter Bagge's HATE ANNUAL #6, published by Fantagraphics. I really love this comic, but it comes out waaaay too little... once a year is not even close to being enough. That being said, I only enjoy about half of the comic anyway... Bagge's Buddy Bradley stuff is hilarious and always a fun read (see Stinky on the cover there), but the "The Adventures of Bat Boy" backups just don't do anything for me. I read them and think "Meh." Literally.

Meh.

So what's good on your shelf?

THIS WEEK'S COMICS

ARE IN TODAY!

YAY! Lots of good stuff to check out INCLUDING reorders on CIVIL WAR TIE-INS, so come on in!

I'll leave you with this shot of the ultra-cool cover of NICK FURY: AGENT OF... S.H.I.E.L.D. #5, personally signed "To Bill - Best Wishes - STERANKO"


Man, that guy can draw.

Sea Monkeys

The Myth:



The Truth:




You're welcome.

Happy Birthday, America!

1976. The Two-hundreth anniversary of the founding of our nation. I can't believe it's been THIRTY YEARS since the American Bicentennial in 1976! This was one of the big events of my teenage years (I was 15) and the memories seem like it happened just yesterday.


I remember vividly the TALL SHIPS celebration, where they gathered as many tall sailing ships from around the world as they could find and sailed them to visit various American ports... we saw a couple of them in Baltimore, and they were very grand.


And then we visited Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell up close and personal.


And then there was the merchandising... there was Bicentennial stuff EVERYWHERE, long before there was that type of "product saturation" in America... everything was Red, White and Blue and we all felt very proud to be part of this momentous national celebration... so naturally, we bought the stuff.

There were Bicentennial versions of those newfangled pocket calculators, though at $99 a pop, these were not toys!:

T-shirts were quickly becoming the nation's casual wear of choice:

You could even trick out your Mustang II (ugh!) or Pinto (double ugh!) with "Special Accent Kits":

And for the burgeoning Craft market, for that "Betsy Ross" look:

Uh... I never saw one of these, but I do remember a train engine painted up like this:

How about this cool Bicentennial Muscle Bike for some groovy chick:

And we can't forget how Disney almost co-opted the Bicentennial by flooding the country with stuff like this:


There were even some cool comic books out like this Kirby-filled Treasury Edition:


Even the fire hydrants and public mailboxes got painted up like Revolutionary heroes or covered with patriotic themes...


And there were lots of parades and speeches, and the largest fireworks displays ever were held all around the country as communities tried to outdo each other in patriotic fervor... we were America and it was our 200th birthday! Here's to our 230th!

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y,
A M E R I C A!

SPECIAL EXTRA CREDIT BONUS: HERE'S a link to the full text of the Declaration of Independence, with an audio link to it being read by various correspondents at NPR... this document still resonates today, doesn't it?

Bill's Fan Fascination #7

Yes, it's that time again... time for Bill's Fan Fascination!

This time around we have this classic DENNIS THE MENACE cover from issue number 86, September 1966... behold the genius that is... Dennis!


Beats the heck out of a lemonade stand when things are REALLY hot, dontcha think? Just the right thing for these humid July days...

(And I'm assuming that Dennis has the fan hooked up to Mr. Wilson's electric, right?)

For whenever the weather around here gets you down

Go HERE to see truly nasty weather. Mt Washington Weather Obsevatory is located on the highest peak on the East Coast of the US... a very bleak place. It always brightens my day, Summer or Winter, to see what Nature is throwing at Mt. Washington... because I'm NOT THERE.

My favorite Archie comic book of all time

... is actually JUGHEAD #135.


Why you ask? Well, lemme tell you.
It was Halloween 2000 and we were handing out comic books as we usually do here at Chez Wahl on Halloween. My son Max was a year and a half old and during a lull in the Trick-Or-Treat phase of the evening, I noticed that he was unusually quiet... and then I saw why: He was completely absorbed in a small pile of Archie comics that I was giving out. He looked so intent reading there that I just had to take his picture. As it turned out, in the same comic that Max was studying was a notice about the Archie Photo Contests that run sporadically through Archie comics during the year, and I thought "Why not?" and sent his picture in...


A few weeks later we got a letter from "Archie Andrews" that thanked us for the photo and they informed us that they were going to run it in an upcoming issue... all I had to do was sign a release for the photo! We did, and two months later received a package in the mail with two copies of the comic and a Thank You letter from Archie Andrews!


MY son was in a comic book! Well, for this dad, that was the coolest thing I had ever seen... and I still think it's incredibly cool! Thanks, Archie!