Thursday, December 24, 2009

Reason for the Season

Here is the cover of Stryper's "Reason for the Season" EP from Enigma Records, 1984. On it you will find the long and short version of the title track along with what is perhaps my favorite Christmas song ever, Stryper's rockin' version of "Winter Wonderland"!

You can check it out with the youtube video below.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Peter Pan Records - Frosty the Snowman

Here is a 45 RPM Extended Play record I found last month. Today I was going to listen to it and I found that the record inside the sleeve was not the correct one. It was instead, a Disneyland Record of Frosty the Snowman, so although it is not the actual correct record, it is at least the correct song. Too bad though, as I was really looking forward to listening to Morris, the Moose.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Coca Cola 2009 Christmas Bottles

I found these cool Coca Cola Christmas bottles at my local Walmart recently. There are two different (plastic) bottles which both look like round Christmas tree ornaments. One has Santa drinking a Coke and the other has a mother and baby polar bear also drinking a Coke. They look pretty small, but are actually 400 ml, making them slightly bigger than a traditional Coca Cola can. People were snapping these up like crazy, and I heard a few of them talking about giving them to family members etc as stocking stuffers. They have certainly made a great addition to my Coke collection.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Little Golden Book Monday #110

I forgot to post last Monday, so I missed the perfect chance to do the 12 Little Golden Books of Christmas on Monday when there was exactly 12 days till Christmas. So instead, since there are 5 days till Christmas, I present to you, The 5 Golden Books of Christmas!

On the Eighth day of Christmas my true love read to me... Santa's Surprise Book from 1966
On the Ninth day of Christmas my true love read to me... Frosty the Snowman from 1950
On the Tenth day of Christmas my true love read to me... Big Bird's Ticklish Christmas from 1997
On the Eleventh day of Christmas my true love read to me... Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: Oh, Nose! from 2001
On the Twelfth day of Christmas my true love read to me... The Night Before Christmas from 1949

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Roy E. Disney Passes Away

Here is a letter written by Bob Iger, Ceo of Disney today (December 16, 2009):

It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of our friend and colleague Roy E. Disney. After a courageous year-long fight with stomach cancer, he passed away peacefully this morning at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, surrounded by his loving family.... See More

Roy played an important role in our lives here at Disney, and in the success of our Company over many years. Along the way, he touched many of us in a personal way. During his 56-year association with the Company, his true passion and focus was preserving and building upon the amazing legacy of Disney animation that was started by his father and uncle. His commitment to the art of animation was unparalleled and will always remain his personal legacy and one of the greatest contributions to Disney's past, present and future.

Roy not only helped to keep the legacy alive, but he also embraced new technologies, and gave the filmmakers the tools they needed to tell their stories in new and exciting ways. He encouraged talent, and loved working with the creative community. And they loved working with him.

Roy was a Disney Legend in every sense of the word, and his contributions to this great company have been profound and will always be remembered. For the next week we will be flying the Disney flag at half mast here at the Studio and at our parks, and I know you join me in sending thoughts and prayers to Roy's wife, Leslie, his four children, and his 16 grandchildren. For those who wish to pay their respects, the family has requested that donations be made in Roy's name to the California International Sailing Association (CISA) to benefit youth sailing.


Shown here is a bumper sticker I received from Roy Disney back in 2005 promoting his Save Disney campaign. The slogan refers to Michael Eisner who at the time was the head of the Disney Company, and Roy E. Disney who had been removed from the Disney company by Eisner's regime (he was asked to come back to Disney after Eisner was removed as head of the company). This sticker has been stuck just above my iMac screen where I can see it every day every since I received it back in 2005. Now it will be just a little more special.SaveDisney.com bumpuer Sticker with Good Bye Michael... Bring Back Roy slogan

Monday, December 14, 2009

Little Golden Book Monday #109

Today's Little Golden Book is The Velveteen Rabbit, adapted from the story by Margery Williams and illustrated by Judith Sutton and published in 1992.
I have never read the story of the Velveteen Rabbit, but could not resist picking it up when I found it at a local thrift shop for just 25 cents. When I flipped though it, this one page stuck out to me. Is it just me or does this scene look like something out of a horror flick?! A couple of clowns, an evil looking flying lion, and one of those mechanical drummer monkeys. The rabbit looks absolutely frozen in fear... or is it just me?

Monday, December 07, 2009

Little Golden Book Monday #108

Today's Little Golden Book is a faux Golden Book titled "Take the Banana". It was created by Cale Atkinson for the August 2009 Toronto Fan Expo. Cale created a limited run Sketchbook filled with 28 color pages of Art. He still has some copies leftover from the Con so if any of you are interested feel free to shoot him an email :) The books are $15 (+ Shipping).
I love going on Google and looking for Little Golden Book covers, and I am aways especially interested in faux covers that others have created (to see my faux Little Golden Book cover check out my previous post). Cale decided to put a little of his love for Little Golden Books into his sketch book cover, and I think it turned out awesome!

Along with the actual cover to his book, Cale was nice enough to send along two of the rough sketches he did while designing the cover.Check out his blog Cale's Museum of Delights

Monday, November 30, 2009

Little Golden Book Monday #107

Today we headed out to our favorite thrift store Talize for 30% off seniors night. Simply bringing my mom along saves us 30% off already cheap cheap prices! The store is big! It used to be a Safeway grocery store, and once the Safeway left, Talize moved in. There are no other locations in my area, but from what I understand they have other stores across Canada.
I scored a pile of Little Golden Books, records and other assorted other goodies. Tonight in response to the amazing amount of rain we have been getting here lately, I present Noah's Ark, something we may need very soon!
This book is by Barbara Shook Hazen and Diane Muldrow with illustrations by Mircea Catusanu. This is the first edition from 2003.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Pepsi Twist Ad Campaign Pisses In Your Drink

This is a Pepsi Twist print ad that I pulled from an advertising blog a year or two ago. Unfortunately the blog is gone, so I was not able to see what they had to say about the ad, but a Google search did produce this ad along with a bunch of others in the same ad campaign. Check out this page which has this ad along with a bunch of others that also feature the deviant little lime.
I kind of like the ad, but I'm not sure everyone is going to want to drink a Pepsi Twist after seeing this ad.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Catch the TMNT Turtles Forever this Saturday!

The world premier of the "Turtles Forever" movie took place on SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21 at 10 a.m. on The CW4Kids TV, and although it was being billed as airing on TV ONE TIME ONLY!, that is only partinaly true - it WILL air in its entirety only one time. But starting on Saturday November 28th, you can catch the first 22 minutes of the movie, with the other two parts scheduled for the following two Saturdays. So if you missed it the first time like I did, either get up early like I plan to, or set your DVR's, VCRs etc.

TMNT: Turtles Forever is a made-for-tv animated movie that was produced by 4Kids Entertainment. Produced in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, the movie teams up different incarnations of the titular heroes—chiefly the light-hearted, child-friendly characters from the 1987 animated series and the darker cast of the 4Kids' own 2003 animated series—in an adventure that spans multiple parallel universes.
A rough, nearly finished version of the film premiered at the San Diego Comic Con in July 2009. The movie was to be released in theaters for one night on October 29, 2009 but due to disputes between 4Kids Entertainment and Fathom the event was canceled according to National CineMedia. The movie aired on TV on The CW4Kids station on November 21, after the 25th anniversary Top 10 Countdown.[2] An encore showing will air from Nov 28 to Dec 12, split into three 22-minute episodes. A release date for the movie on DVD has yet to be announced. It has also been announced that the uncut version of film will appear on the CW4kids's website sometime in December that includes 12 minutes of footage cut from the version that aired on TV.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Little Golden Book Monday #106

Today's Little Golden Book is Who Comes To Your House? by Margaret Hillert and illustrated by Tom O'Sullivan. This copy is the third printing from 1976, with the original being printed in 1973.
In this book we are introduced to all the people we can expect to show up at our homes. There is The Delivery Man, The Milk Man, Letter Carrier, The Carpenter, The Window Washer, The TV Repairman, Florist Delivery, The Moving Man, The Ice-Cream Truck, The Meter Reader, The Baby-Sitter, The Visiting Nurse, The Paper Boy, The Rubbish Collector, The Bookmobile, The Pet Helper, The Plumber and the Painter.
I gotta go, it looks like its gonna be busy around here tomorrow!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Little Golden Book Monday #105

Today's Little Golden Book is Walt Disney's Scamp's Adventures from 1958. By Annie North Bedford, with pictures by the Walt Disney Studio. Adapted by Joe Rinaldi and Neil Boyle.
From the inside front cover: This is a brand-new book, written and illustrated especially for Golden Books. This Little Golden Book was produced under the supervision of The Walt Disney Studio. Scamp, the puppy, is one of Walt Disney's most endearing characters. Lady is his mother, Tramp is his father. This is Scamp's second appearance in a Little Golden Book.

Friday, November 06, 2009

7-11 Presents FOX-O-RAMA


A while back I posted some photos of the 3D glasses and Smell-O-Vision cards from the 1994 Fox television Fox-O-Rama, and that post has received the most email of any of my posts. For those fans of Fox-O-Rama, I present two of the ads from the Sunday, May 8th, 1994 TV Guide that promoted the event. First is the ad for the horror! The shock! The Bundy's in 3D (3D glasses not required for viewing pleasure). The second ad is for The George Carlin Show presented in Grumble-Vision. What was Grumble-Vision? Nothing... really. It was a regular episode in which George did some extra grumbling, thus making it Grumble-Vision. I am sure there were those who turned in expecting something extra ordinary. What they got was a mediocre half hour comedy with a great tag line. Pretty lame really, but genius advertising!

Monday, November 02, 2009

Little Golden Book Monday #104

Today's Little Golden Book is Walt Disney Productions Robin Hood and the Daring Mouse from 1974. It's been a while since I have watched the Robin Hood film, and I am little woozy from the flue today, but I do not remember a mouse named Oliver in the film, and a quick look though the book Disney A to Z didn't provide any info, so I am going to guess that this book which came out a year after the original Robin Hood film, was cashing in on the name Robin Hood with a new story. If anyone has more info on this book/story, let me know.
And check out that price sticker on the front of the book... just 46 cents, 2 cents less than the price printed on the book... what a deal!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Little Golden Book Monday #103


Today's Little Golden Book is The Wizard of Oz, retold by Mary Carey, and illustrated by Don Turner / Jason Studios, 1975.
I was never a fan of the wizard of Oz, and I can remember being, like so many other kids, scared by the flying monkeys. Its kinda funny that as an adult, I used the phrase "flying monkeys" a heck of a lot for a guy who was afraid of them as a kid!
I got the chance to see the film at my local movie theater with my girlfriend (now wife) way back in the late 80's or early 90's. She wanted to see it on the big screen and it seemed like it might be fun. I fell asleep somewhere after the film turned to color.
I'm not sure why, but for some reason, I am now interested in seeing the new musical Wicked. I would hope though, with the ticket prices of the show I would not fall asleep during this one!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Saturn Shirt Inspectors


With GM casting off Saturn, their website www.SaturnCollection.com is having a big 50-80% off sale on all merchandise, so I ordered a pile of shirts for just $5 each including one with the Rethink logo which I talked about a few posts back. I wore it the other day and while I was out, I started to feel something itching my back. I found something stuck to the inside of the shirt, and when I pulled it out, I found it was an "inspected by" sticker. When I got home and took the shirt off, I found it had 3 more of them stuck inside all with different names. So, turns out this shirt was inspected by not one, not two, not three, but four different shirt inspectors. Wow, this ought to be one problem free shirt!

Best PC Upgrades

Photo of a grocery store magazine rack back in 2006. That's both funny, and true!

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Hide-A-Pod

OK, here is something I saw a while ago and made me giggle. I own an iPod, and I love it and take it everywhere, and with a $10 cord, I can now crank my tunes in my new Saturn Vue as well! The idea of owning a Microsoft Zune makes me laugh. The idea of someone paying money to make their iPod look like a Zune, makes me question their sanity. But that is exactly what the people at hide-a-pod want you to do. For just $29.95 you can disguise your cool looking iPod to look just like one of those awful looking Zunes. I guess their strategy is a good one though... nobody is gonna try to seal your iPod when they think its a Zune!

Monday, October 12, 2009

Little Golden Book Monday #102

I found a surprise at the drug store today while looking though the magazines and books. I was looking for the upcoming "Princess and the Frog" Little Golden Book, but what I found instead was a new Toy Story book that I didn't even know about. I guess it makes sense with all the hype around Toy Story right now. I didn't manage to get out to the theater to see Toy Story and toy Story 2 in 3D recently, mostly because I didn't think my 4 year old could sit though 2 movies back to back without going totally squirrely.
I have to say that I have noticed that the quality of the newer books seems to be getting pretty poor. This one that I picked up today, the front cover panel is shorter than the back panel, and all of the pages are longer than both and stick out. And many of the recent books I have purchased, I find that within a few months, the gold foil on the spine starts to peel up by itself.
That being said, this is still a fun addition to my Disney - Little Golden Books collection.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Little Golden Book Monday #101

Just a quick one today. Here is the cover artwork to the Princess and the Frog Little Golden Book which will be released on October 13th.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Little Golden Book Monday #100

Today's Little Golden Book is the 100th LGB I have posted here since I started Little Golden Book Mondays. I wanted something special for the 100th book post, so I dug though my collection and found this one, The Happy Little Whale from 1973 (originally printed in 1960). What's so special about this book is that I believe that it is my first Little Golden Book as a child back in the early 70's. When I found it, I quickly opened the front cover hoping to find my young signature scrawled on the inside front page in the "This little Golden Book belong to" box, but alas, it was blank. Which doesn't really surprise me as even as a child I would have been thinking about how writing in the book would destroy its 'mintness'!
After 30 years or so, I had pretty much forgotten about this book, and the story of a little whale that gets separated from his pod and ends up at an aquarium where he makes friends with a dolphin and a female whale, but as soon as I opened it and started flipping though the pages the story quickly came back to me as if I had just read it yesterday!

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Explanation

I have an explanation for the lack of a Little Golden Book Monday yesterday. I forgot. The darn Labor Day holiday got me all confused and I thought yesterday was Sunday... Won't happen again... until next time I forget!

Monday, September 07, 2009

TV Week 2009 Fall Preview Issue

TV Week magazine 2009 Fall Preview issueI picked up the TV Week 2009 Fall Preview issue tonight at the grocery store. As I have said in previous posts, TV Guide is no longer sold in Canada, so this is what we have in its place. I have already checked out the TVGuide.com web site and seen that they also have their Fall Preview issue on stands, so I emailed my pal to see if he could pick up a copy for me.
I used to buy TV Guide on a semi regular basis (I even had a subscription for a few years), but I did find I was buying it less once I got digital cable and it included onscreen TV guide info. As for TV Week magazine, I pretty much buy one issue a year. I love checking out all the upcoming new shows, and always have a large slate of shows I want to check out.
This issue of TV Week lists 41 new shows. Here is a list of the eleven the shows I will be tuning in to and checking out this fall (I'll give each show a rating out of 5 for how much I am looking forward to it - 5 being the ones I am most excited about):

GLENN MARTIN DDS (3) - a stop motion animated comedy that follows the road-tripping adventures of a beleaguered dentists and his family after they ditch their suburban home and hit the highway in a tripped-out Winnebago, encountering an eclectic array of humanity - ranging from slick mobsters to Amish farmers - along the way.

THE JAY LENO SHOW (4) - Jay's new five-nights-a-week 10 pm talk show filled with his signature bits such as "Jaywlking", "Headlines" and "99-Cent Store". Sounds good. all the fun stuff without the dull interviews!

ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE (1) - I like Jenna Elfman so I will give this a look, but sounds like its going to be too much of a romantic comedy for my liking.

V (2) - Based on the iconic 1980's mini-series, starships loaded with seemingly benign aliens visit Earth, supposedly here to co-exist in peace with humanity while gifting us with planet-saving technology. I like Sci-fi but hated the original V, but I will still check it out.

HANK (1) - I like half hour comedy shows, and this in one of those. For that reason along I will check this out. I'm not expecting much though, as I am not a fan of Kelsey Grammer, and his last show (a half hour comedy) Back To You was pretty lame.

THE MIDDLE (4) - Another half hour comedy, this one actually looks promising. Patricia Heaton stars in this single-camera comedy set in the American heartland (aka "the middle"), focusing on the comedic struggles of harried working mom Frankie, her wisecracking-but-supportive husband and their kids at they struggle with what's left of the American dream in a small Indiana town. TV Week says its clearly going for a Malcolm in the Middle vibe. Sounds good to me.

MODERN FAMILY (4) - Another half hour comedy which also looks like it could be funny. It stars Ed O'Neill (Married with Children), and is done in a mockumentary style. That's enough to get me to tune in.

COUGAR TOWN (3) - Love the title and Courteney Cox is hot. If I can get past the dating / relationships part of the show, it might be good.

EASTWICK (.5) - Yes that's a point 5. Not sure why I will give this a look, but for some reason I feel compelled to check it out. I'm guessing I won't make it though the full episode before I change the channel over to watch a Seinfeld rerun.

FLASHFORWARD (5) - A mysterious worldwide event causes every human on the planet to black out for two minutes and 14 seconds, during which time each person experiences a vision of what he or she is doing at a specific time and date six months in the future. While the FBI tries to unravel the mystery, some people must come to grips with the seemingly shocking turns their lives will take - and whether it's possible to alter the future they've seen. This COULD be the one really awesome show this season... IF it doesn't end up sucking!

COMMUNITY (5) - the most promising of the half hour comedies this season. In this single-camera comedy, The Soup's McHale is in full-on wiseass mode as a disbarred lawyer forced to go back to school when it's discovered his law degree from Columbia is from the country, not the university. Finding himself an unmotivated student in a third-rate community college, he tries to pick u a fetching co-ed (Jacobs) by tricking her into attending his bogus study group,but the joke's on him when she invites a group of her misfit classmates.

There are also a few Midseason shows that look interesting: DAY ONE - A 13 episode series that follows the survivors of a global catastrophe that has destroyed the entire infrastructure of modern civilization as they try to decipher the mystery of what happened and why, all while trying to rebuild society. THE DEEP END - A quirky legal comedy/drama that follows the adventures of a group of sexy young lawyers, both in and out of the courtroom. HAPPY TOWN - In this mystery series, a deputy sheriff tries to unravel the unsolved kidnappings of a half-dozen children over the past decade in a small Minnesota town. SONS OF TUCSON - When their wealthy Wall Street dad is imprisoned for financial fraud, three young brothers hire a goofball slacker to impersonate their father so they won't be split up and send into foster care.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Little Golden Book Monday #99

Little Golden Book The Very Best Home For Me!Today's Little Golden Book is The Very Best Home For Me! from 1982. The book was originally published in 1953 with the title Animal Friends.
The writer is Jane Werner Watson, who has written many Golden Books. Among them are Whales, Dinosaurs, and a series of read-together books for parents and children that includes My Friend the Babysitter, My Friend the Doctor, and Sometimes I'm Afraid.
The artist is Garth Williams, who's endearing art work has enhanced many popular Golden Books, including such favorites as the The Friendly Book, Home for a Bunny, The Sailor Dog, and Three Bedtime Stories.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Apple & Saturn both like to Rethink

Saturn & Apple Rethnink adsI became a Saturn owner today! We purchased the 2009 Saturn Vue Hybrid and I absolutely love the car and the experience of buying it. I remember all those ads on TV years ago telling us that each Saturn owner was a part of the family, and showed them all attending the big Saturn Family Picnic.
There were some that questioned our judgement of buying a Saturn now, with all the stuff going on with Saturn and parent company General Motors. But after test driving well over a half dozen SUV crossovers, the Saturn Vue Hybrid was by far our favorite, and with all kinds of incentives and loyalty discounts, the price could not be beat.
The other day while out driving with my wife, she mentioned that while driving around she had been looking at all the other cars on the road and had not seen very many Saturns. I told her that I really didn't care if there were not that many, and then went on to tell her how I thought that the Saturn brand was much like the Apple brand. I have always been a huge Apple fan and although I have been using them for over 20 years, its only recently that they have started to become mainstream. So Saturn being the small company making great cars was fine with me.
The next day I was at the library checking out the magazines, and I noticed a two page Ad for the Saturn Vue on the inside front two pages of a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine. I found that interesting, as I collect Apple ads, and they love to put their ads on the inside front two pages of magazines such as Entertainment Weekly.
I decided to scan in the ad for my collection of ads on my computer. While scanning it, I noticed the Rethink logo in the ad and remembered an Apple poster I have up on my wall at work that I received from Apple about 3 or 4 years ago. The poster is a simple black poster with the word Rethink spelled out upside down in the center and the slogan "Rethink the Possibilities" at the bottom. I quickly opened up iPhoto and looked for a photo of the poster on my wall at work, and I managed to find a photo that showed the poster.
Above you can see the recent two page Saturn ad along with the older Apple poster which I have added to the top left of the Saturn ad. It would seem the two companies have more in common than I would have ever guessed. Those Rethink logos are extremely similar. Just click on the above ad to make it larger and see for yourself.
I can't wait to head out to the garage tomorrow to slap an Apple sicker on the back window of my new Saturn!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Little Golden Book Monday #98

I picked up today's Little Golden Book while I was out shopping earlier today at my local Wal-Mart. I knew that this book (Sponge Bob Squarepants - Mr. Fancypants!) was supposed to have been released a few months ago, but I had not seen it anywhere until today. I actually really like Sponge Bob Squarepants, so this is a great addition to the collection, and I look forward to reading it to my son who also likes Sponge Bob and his pal Patrick. Sponge Bob is one of those cartoons that is enjoyable for kids, but is also a lot of fun for adults as well. Thankfully Kaden prefers the same high brow entertainment that I do, such as Sponge Bob, Batman, Scooby Doo, The Secret Saturdays and Bugs Bunny.
I am still looking for the Veggie Tales Little Joe book that was released back in June, and I am looking forward to Disney's Princess and the Frog that is slated to be released in October of 2009.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Caroline's Party & at the Seaside

Piere Probst's Caroline At the SeasideA few weeks ago I found two more of these wonderful Caroline books (by Pierre Probst) at a used book shop. Each book was $4, which is slightly more than I like to pay for used books, but I liked the artwork so much that I was willing to pay the $8 to add these two new books to my collection. First off if Caroline's Party originally from 1953, this printing is from 1972. The second book is Caroline At the Seaside, originally from 1965, this printing is also from 1972. The illustrations are absulutly whimsical. I decided to take a few photos (the pages were much too big for my scanner) to share here on my blog. Hope you enjoy!

Piere Probst's Caroline At the Seaside

Piere Probst's Caroline At the Seaside

Piere Probst's Caroline At the Seaside

Piere Probst's Caroline At the Seaside

Monday, August 17, 2009

Little Golden Book Monday #97

Little Golden Book PocahontasToday's Little Golden Book is Disney's Pocahontas the Voice of the Wind from 1995. Not much to say about his one - I was never much of a fan of this Disney movie. I believe that this is one of only a handful of Disney animated films I don't have in my collection in any format (VHS, or DVD). I picked up the book because it was only 25 cents and I didn't have it already. It was also in really good condition except that it had been written on inside the front cover. Apparently this book used to belong to Mila and Vuk. It must have sucked having to share books etc with a sibling. Luckily for me, my name was the only one written in my books!Little Golden Book Pocahontas

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Batman Circulation Numbers

Batman Detective Comics issue 360I picked up some old Batman and Detective Comics recently. One issue in particular was issue #360 from February 1967. I love the cover on this issue, and the old stories are always lots of fun, but what really interested me was on page 8. It was the Statement of ownership, management and circulation, and in this document are the circulation numbers of Detective Comics along with all kinds of other interesting info.
Batman Detective Comics Direct CurrentsI have always been a bit of a numbers junkie when it comes to minor league hockey attendance, magazine & comic book print numbers, etc. With this 1967 issue, the paid subscribers for Batman's Detective Comics was 2,339. Back in 1999, the paid subscribers for my KISS fanzine, Firehouse Magazine was just over 3,000 paid subscribers. Pretty amazing to think the little magazine I was producing out of my livingroom had more subscribers than Batman - at least compared to the 1967 numbers!Batman Detective Comics Statement of Owenership*As always, click to enlarge*

Thursday, August 06, 2009

My First Two Comic Books

Comic Books Rom Spaceknight and Silver SurferI recently read on another blog that the the writer of the blog was trying to acquire all of the comic books that they had as a young kid. That got me to thinking about how and when I got started collecting comic books. I could remember exactly what two comics were the first comics I bought, they were issue #2 of Rom Spaceknight and issue #2 of Fantasy Masterpieces staring The Silver Surfer, both from January 1980.
There used to be a drug store across the street from where I lived, and I mostly remember heading to the back of the store where they had the toys. I can remember spending a lot of time standing back their staring at all the toys hung on the pegs on the wall - I'm sure there was not that much there, but to a twelve year old in 1979 it seemed like Toys R Us to me! Then one day, for some reason I noticed some comic books on a bottom shelf near the front of the store. They were all packaged two to a bag for one price. I remember sifting though all the packages looking at the amazing covers. I settled on the one with the space robot comic and the space man comic.
Its pretty amazing to see that these two comics are still in amazing shape. I didn't start bagging my comics for about 10 years, so for the first 10 years, these two comics sat along with the rest of my comics in the top drawer of my desk. My favorites being kept in paper bags that I would receive when purchasing comics or magazines at the local drug store.
Shortly after I picked up these two comics, I began to swap comics with the kids in my neighborhood, and I ended up trading for a copy of Captain Canuck issue #6. I liked it so much that I subscribed to Captain Canuck and would run to the mailbox every day hoping for a new issue to arrive!
I also started spending a lot of time at a local book store called the Bookaneer that as well as selling used books, they sold all the new comic book titles. I can remember spending a lot of my free time hanging around that store talking about comics with the shop owner and other kids who would come in.
It was in 1988 that I visited my first real comic book shop. I was a big fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and when I found out they had action figures based on the TMNT, I had to have them. There were not many toy stores in my area, so I didn't have much luck finding them. Someone at one of the small toy shops I visited, told me that I should check out a comic book shop to get these figures. After checking out my phone book, I found a comic book shop in New Westminster called Talking Illustrations, and when I called them, they told me that they did in fact have them in stock, but that they were selling very fast. I jumped into the car and drove the 30 minutes to the store to get my turtle figures. My eyes must have doubled in size as I stared at racks and racks of comic books and all things comic related! I have been making the 30 minute drive on a regular basis to that same shop for the past 20 years!