Awesome original Star Trek photos

Check out THIS SET of rare and unseen photos from the original 1960s STAR TREK!

Very cool, and found via Metafilter.

Want to see a bunch of photos

of the places and faces of Comix Connection over the last 22 years? Why then just CLICK HERE and enjoy!

Feel free to comment and fan Comix Connection on Facebook if you haven't already!

Shel Dorf, founder of the San Diego Comic-Con has passed away

I recently got this email from my old pal Charlie Roberts:

As many of you know, Shel Dorf the founder of Comic-Con International (formerly The San Diego Comic-Con), passed away on Tuesday November 3 after a lengthy illness. Shel's brother Michael Dorf has asked Shel's long time friend Michael Towry to set up the "Shel Dorf New Talent Encouragement Fund" in Shel's honor. Michael Towry, along with Richard Alf and several other young comic collectors, were part of the original convention committee and helped Shel with the first several Comic-cons. Richard Alf was Comic-con Chairman in 1971 and Michael was Comic-con Chairman in 1972. If any of you reading this ever went to the San Diego Comic-con/Comic Con International, enjoyed Shel's many columns over the years in "The Comic Buyer's Guide", read the "Steve Canyon" comic strip which Shel lettered for many years, or just plain love comics and the graphics medium this would be a great way to say "Thank You" and help a most worthwhile charity in the process.

Donations may be sent to:

Shel Dorf New Talent Encouragement Fund c/o
Michael Towry
PO Box 232497
San Diego, Ca 92193

You might also enjoy checking out Michael's excellent Shel Dorf Tribute website:

WWW.ShelDorfTribute.com

Thanks for your time and consideration. Respectfully, Charlie Roberts

Sounds like a great idea! Do what you can folks!

lol txtng

3. no omg's

Texting. Seemingly everyone does it. At least I HOPE that's what they're doing. Anyway, I recently ran across THIS and thought it was completely hilarious. GOD TEXTS THE TEN COMMANDMENTS!

Primordial Surfing at Daytona Beach, 1930s

I thought this was a great article in the Daytona Beach News- Journal:

CLICK HERE!

You may now return to your regularly scheduled comic book nerdity.

RIPOVs Invade York!

That's right, our favorite band invades SMALLS in York, PA this Saturday for their Grand Opening! Behold:



RIPOVS myspace page
Small's myspace page
(NOT FOR KIDS, please!)

Be there or be Cher.


Heck, I might even make it out to see Mike and the band...

Recent Arrivals: Silver Age Goodies!

We recently acquired a small pile of tasty Silver Age Marvel and DC goodies in the Mechanicsburg store! Included are short runs of DETECTIVE, BATMAN, IRON MAN, INCREDIBLE HULK, BRAVE & THE BOLD, DEFENDERS and TALES OF SUSPENSE (Featuring Captain America and iron Man)!

Behold:







We should have these available by the end of this week, so dust off your want lists! If anyone at Comix Connection - York would like to see these, let your friendly Comix Connection Counter Monkey know, and we will bring them down for your perusal.

Man, I get all giddy when stuff like this shows up! Great stuff!

Is anyone else as old as me?

Remember this?



Click HERE and HERE and mostly for fun HERE for all your Commodore-64 (and Commodore-128!) goodness. I remember when Ned loaded some game with his CASSETTE DRIVE that took forever and looked like crap. And if it didn't load properly the first time, it took another 20 minutes to try again. Is RUNSTOP magazine still around?

Happy 25th, Commodore-64!

PS: I really like THIS even though it's Apple. It's an amazing example of using 1980s "state of the art" programming technology, that now looks incredibly primitive and dated... here's Jed's Other Poem.

This makes me happy

I loved Scott McCloud's ZOT! when it was coming out in the 1980s... and now there's some great news. According to THIS ARTICLE over at Publisher's Weekly:

Acclaimed comics artist and theoretician Scott McCloud will see his classic comics series, Zot!, republished by HarperCollins as an original trade paperback edition in July 2008. One of McCloud’s earliest extended works of fiction, Zot! is a seminal work that reflects the influence of both manga and the emerging alternative comics scene on McCloud’s comics. The book was also instrumental to the creation of Understanding Comics, his groundbreaking theoretical work on the comics medium.

But this makes me sad: I already own the first three of four ZOT! hardcovers... and it looks like they are never gonna publish the fourth and final one. Boo on that. (And you know what? It's high time I re-read this!)

Anyway, CLICK HERE to the Wiki for ZOT!

Guess who's the featured retailer at Rude Dude Productions?

That's right, Comix Connection is the featured retailer this month at Steve Rude's website. (Click HERE to view.) Steve Rude is of course the creator of the comic book NEXUS, along with writer Mike Baron. Nexus is back and it's like he never left the racks.

And all of you are reading NEXUS, right? Well, here's a handy-dandy summary from the Rude Dude Production's website:

The year is 2841. On the distant moon of Ylum, an enigmatic man is plagued by nightmares. He is forced to dream of the past. He dreams of real-life butchers and tyrants, and what they have done.

And then he finds them, and kills
them.

Thanks for the honor, Steve!

I met Al Feldstein today

Yep, I met the legendary Al Feldstein ytoday (Saturday) and had him autograph my battered copy of SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES #7 (cover by Al Feldstein!)


and my similarly-battered copy of the 1970's oversized hardcover book HORROR COMICS OF THE 1950s, right beside the autographs of Johnny Crag and George Evans. Click HERE for some background on Al Feldstein. I'm too tired to post anything else. What a great day to be a comic book geek! Back to Baltimore tomorrow!

Baltimore Comic-Con Updates!

Just a few short days until the coolest comic book convention on the East Coast... the Baltimore Comic-Con! If you haven't already, check out the amazing Guest List ... and also make sure you take a look at the Updated Programming Schedule for all the cool panel discussions, like chats with Jim Lee and Mike Mignola! Of course we will also be set up there in our usual booth, handing out crisp new one dollar bills to all who show up wearing their Comix Connection T-shirts! Stop by and receive the Über-Secret Comix Connection Convention Coupon!


THIS JUST IN:


Local fave artist and all-around swell guy Mike Hawthorne sent me this:

Just a quick note. I'll be at this year's Baltimore Comicon.
 I'm unveiling a new series of prints I'm working on called
 "the Sweet Science", which is a series of boxing related
pin-up art. Check out the blog for some pictures of the prints.
I'll also have original art on sale, as well as taking orders
for commissions during the con. You can also see previews
of upcoming issues of Un-men.
In addition to that, UMBRA writer Steve Murphy will be at
the booth signing copies of our book UMBRA. You may remember
that UMBRA is up for a Harvey Award this year, and the
actual awards ceremony will be held at the con this weekend!
links:
Photos of the prints on my blog-
http://mikehawthorne.blogspot.com/
The convention's homepage-
http://www.comicon.com/baltimore/
The Harvey Awards-
http://harveyawards.org/

Stop by and say hi!

Best,
mike

Well there you go! Another great reason to go to the Baltimore Con! See you there!

Get your Comix Connection Geek Chic™ wear!

That's right, we just received a limited number of the new ultra-hip "Ramones-style" Comix Connection T-shirts, and boy are they swell! Available in any color as long as it's black, these newly -arrived shirts are sure to raise your "cool level" in even the eyes of the most discriminating of comic geeks. If you are interested in owning one of these great shirts for a measly ten bucks a pop, ask your friendly Comix Connection Counter Monkey™ to reserve one for you today!

(T-shirt design courtesy of Michael Moppin of Art Boy Products! You've helped me fulfill a long-held dream of mine, Mike... our very own mashing-together of the Ramones and Comix Connection! Brings a tear to this old punk's eye.)

Remember these ads?

Pretty accurate on the predictions. Hard to believe they were from fourteen years ago, isn't it? I think I was online with my SCREAMING 1440K modem in 1993. Seems like a whole 'nother world.

Just thirteen days!

Until the ultra-cool Baltimore Comic-con! Click HERE for more info!

And once again, here is the AMAZING Guest list:

SERGIO ARAGONES | Dick Ayers | Kyle Baker | Tom Brevoort | Kurt Busiek | Jim Calafiore | Jerry Carr | Tommy Castillo | C.B. Cebulski | Bernard Chang | Howard Chaykin | Sean Chen | Mark Chiarello | FRANK CHO | Steve Conley | Amanda Conner | Todd Dezago | Dan DiDio | Tommy Lee Edwards | Rich Faber | Al Feldstein | DAVID FINCH | John Gallagher | Ron Garney | MICHAEL GOLDEN| Jimmy Gownley | Randy Green | Cully Hamner | Dean Haspiel | Tariq Hasson | Marc Hempel | Adam Hughes | Chris Ivy| James Jean | Georges Jeanty | J.G. Jones | Joe Jusko | Ken Kelly | Leonard Kirk | Barry Kitson | Rich Koslowski | Adam Kubert | Andy Kubert | JOE KUBERT | Scott Kurtz | Greg LaRocque | Eric Larson | JIM LEE (Sunday only) | Norman Lee | John Paul Leon | John Lucas | Ron Marz | Sean McKeever | Mark McKenna | Bob McLeod | Pop Mhan | MIKE MIGNOLA | Mark Morales | Doug Murray | Scott Neely | Steve Niles | Phil Noto | Mike Oeming | Jimmy Palmiotti | Andrew Pepoy | David Petersen | Brandon Peterson | Keith Pollard | Paul Pope | Eric Powell | Tom Raney | JOHN ROMITA JR. | JOHN ROMITA SR. | Don Rosa | Craig Rousseau | Stephane Roux | Andy Runton | Alex Saviuk | JIM SHOOTER | Louise Simonson | Walter Simonson | Andy Smith | John K Snyder III| Chris Sprouse | Jim Starlin | Brian Stelfreeze | Paul D. Storrie | Karl Story | Mark Texeira | Herb Trimpe | Dean Trippe| Tim Truman | Billy Tucci | Tim Vigil | Dexter Vines | Neil Vokes | Mark Waid | Mark Wheatley | Ron Wilson | Kelly Yates | and many many more!!!

We will be set up in out usual booth there, wallowing in funnybook goodness! Join the party, Baltimore is just an hour away from York, an hour and 20 minutes from Harrisburg! We will gladly stow your stuff under the tables of our booth so you can walk the convention hands-free!

(My swell pal Marc Nathan, con organizer extraordinaire!)

And ask me about the awesome Light Rail!

The End of an Era

R.I.P. Dragon Magazine. And Dungeon Magazine for that matter. I guess they finally missed that last Saving Throw.

It's been a LONG time since I played D&D, but still, there's something sad about the end of Dragon Magazine. There was a time when I read it cover to cover, just to get ideas for campaigns. A lot of issues also had neat inserts like player aids for playing D&D or a stand-alone mini-game. Oh well. It will still be available online. So it goes.

Only 35 days until my favorite Comic Convention!

That's right, it's only 35 more days until the BALTIMORE COMIC-CON 2007!

WOOO HOOOOO!

I love the Baltimore Comic-Con. It's in one of my favorite cities, it's easy to get to, and show promoter Marc Nathan keeps the focus on comic books and comic artists. Check out this year's guest list:

SERGIO ARAGONES | Dick Ayers | Kyle Baker | Tom Brevoort | Jim Calafiore | Tommy Castillo | C.B. Cebulski | Bernard Chang | Howard Chaykin | Sean Chen | Mark Chiarello | FRANK CHO | Steve Conley | Amanda Conner | Todd Dezago | Dan DiDio | Tommy Lee Edwards | Rich Faber | Al Feldstein | DAVID FINCH | John Gallagher | Ron Garney | Michael Golden | Jimmy Gownley | Cully Hamner | Dean Haspiel | Tarig Hasson | Adam Hughes | Chris Ivy| James Jean | Georges Jeanty | J.G. Jones | Joe Jusko | Ken Kelly | Leonard Kirk | Barry Kitson | Rich Koslowski | Adam Kubert | JOE KUBERT | Scott Kurtz | JIM LEE | Norman Lee | John Paul Leon | John Lucas | Ron Marz | Sean McKeever | Mark McKenna | Bob McLeod | Pop Mhan | MIKE MIGNOLA | Doug Murray | Phil Noto | Mike Oeming | Jimmy Palmiotti | David Petersen | Brandon Peterson | Keith Pollard | Paul Pope | Eric Powell | Tom Raney | JOHN ROMITA JR. | JOHN ROMITA SR. | Don Rosa | Craig Rousseau | Stephane Roux | Andy Runton | Alex Saviuk | Andy Smith | Louise Simonson | Walter Simonson | Chris Sprouse | Jim Starlin | Brian Stelfreeze | Karl Story | Herb Trimpe | Tim Truman | Billy Tucci | Tim Vigil | Dexter Vines | Neil Vokes | Mark Waid | Mike Wieringo | Ron Wilson and many many more!!!

WOWIE! Sounds like a blast! See you there!

For more info, click HERE!

Get your orders in!

Hey everyone! A while back I posted about a "Ramones-Style" T-shirt that I wanted to get made, produced by the ever-creative Michael Moppin of Art Boy Products fame. Well, it looks like it's a GO! Or a HEY HO, LET'S GO! (I disavow all responsibility for that joke, as I stole it from Michael.) If you are interested in one of these rare, limited, hard-to-find, special-print-run ultra-cool Comix Connection GEEK CHIC WEAR™ Specials, let us know! Either call, email or inform your friendly Comix Connection Counter Monkey and we will fix you up. Available in BLACK TEE only with white logo, in sizes from SMALL to 5XL! Automatically doubles your Personal Cool Factor!

ENOUGH with the cowbell already

OK, here's the Best. Cowbell. Ever. for reasons which will become obvious once you watch...

Now wasn't that fun?

Prototype Comix Connection Geek Chic

So.... what do you think of this design?


(Thanks to T-shirt Man Extraordinaire, Mike M.!)

More importantly, do you want one for (probably) ten bucks?

The Return of the Ripovs!

Warning: Links not for the faint of heart and the young!

This note found it's way into my In-Box recently:

Hey Bill:
Just wanted to let you know that we're playing Smalls on 2nd Street in Harrisburg again on Saturday, June 2. Lots of good old-school garage and punk bands on the bill this time, too, including: The Hall Monitors, Mondo Topless, and The High Tops (from York, PA). We go on last (I think). Should be a wild night!
Best,
Mike
The RIPOVs!

That's my old pal Mike Smith of the Ripovs, one of Charm City's rockingest bands EVER! Don't believe me? Go see for yourself. And tell them Bill sent you.

Iggy is 60

That is all.


OK, no it's not. Here's:


a great video with Iggy and Deborah Harry that pretty much sums it up...

Happy happy Jim. Here we go...

The Weekend Comics Chat Open Thread - The Homer Ramone Edition

So.


Did you read any comic books this week?



Just askin'.

From TODD S's VAULT!

In response to my query from a couple of weeks ago, alert reader Todd S. sent me scans of the fliers from YORK-CON VI and YORK-CON VII:


(Ned and I put on a total of 14 comic book conventions in York back in the late '80s/early '90s!)


YORK-CON VI's featured guest was the legendary George Evans of EC Comics fame. George was one of the nicest people I have ever met, and seemed astonished that anyone would want to come see him. I could be remembering wrong, but I'm pretty sure Ned and I had to convince him to ASK FOR MONEY for his original art pages, rather than GIVE THEM AWAY! I asked him to autograph one of my EC hardcover reprint books, and he insisted on inking a full-sized drawing of my favorite First World War biplane, the SPAD-13. That, and an original SECRET AGENT CORRIGAN daily strip by Mr. Evans are two of my favorite possessions. Good times.


Kim Demulder was the special guest for YORK-CON VII, and he was great to chat with too. His delicate line work would soon be featured in DCs SWAMP THING. I have a wonderful watercolor painting by Kim of a lovely nymph bathing in a waterfall that is one of the keystones of my original comic art "collection". I wish I could post it here for all to see, but she's a bit topless. Ah-OOOO-ga!

Thanks, Todd for the scans, and for stirring the memory pot!

Were any of you at these comic conventions? What do you remember about them?

From the Vault #371 - YorkCon 8

Another blast from the past... this is the flier from the eighth YorkCon that Ned and I put on in the Holiday Inn in York on Sunday, November 10th, 1991:


Pretty cool. This time we had Lee Weeks, the artist on Marvel's DAREDEVIL at the time as our guest. He was great fun and a terrific guy... I have a Daredevil head sketch from him around here somewhere that says "Ned Senft Eats Toenails!" That makes me giggle to this day.

Hard to believe this was over fifteen years ago...

(PS: If any of you have a copy of the YORKCON 7, flier, please contact me. I would love to have a scan of it to put up on the site, and I can't seem to find a copy in my files.)