Sunday, May 29, 2011

Hey, I Saw the Sun!

     Hey everyone, I just saw the sun in Lake County!  And lately that's something to get excited about with all of the rain coming down this month.  Of course I let all of my thoughts wander to my hobby of comics.
    
     Sunboy of the Legion of Superheroes from Adventure Comics instantly came to mind once I checked out the sky this morning.  He was able to generate both heat and light from his hands and had the symbol of the (what else) sun on his chest.
    
     Sunfire was a mutant that first appeared in X-Men #64 from the late 60's.  He was a Japanese teen whose origin also ties into this weekend since his parents recieved the mutant genes from the A-blast from Hiroshima.  Later Sunfire (whose power was to generate heat) joined the X-Men but only briefly.
    
     I also ran into Batman Annual #8, from 1982.  This had a story entitled, "Messiah of the Crimson Sun."  So yes, I have been trying to think about and enjoy that bright, yellow orb.

     PS: My last blog I talked about storms and comics, but didn't mention Storm of the X-Men.  Just thought it was too much of an easy one so I identified the more obscure Captain Storm.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

The Comic Storm

     With all the rain we've been having lately in the Lake County area, I started thinking about storms in the comics.  Well there was a real gully washer in the second part to the story, "The Laughing Fish."  This was a great Englehart/Rogers work of art that featured Batman and Joker going at it high above the city.  A lightening bolt hit the Joker sending him to his (supposed) doom until DC Comics needed the Clown Prince of Crime to rear his mirthful head again (no doubt for sales reasons) to go up against Batman.

     Batman had another duke out in a pouring storm, this time in the pages of Batman #255, from the early 1970's.  Here the Caped Crusader fought a werewolf atop another Gotham skyscraper while yet another lightning bolt sent a bad guy to his doom.  Believe me, trying to get home from the Great Lakes Mall Wednesday night, I thought I might join the Joker and the werewolf as I dodged bolts of lightning all the way.

     The last storm that comes to mind is not an act of Mother Nature, but a name...Captain Storm who was a WWII Pt boat skipper aboard the PT 73 that was published back in the early 60's.  (Obviously DC was taking advantage of the publicity for the film about then president John Kennedy.)  Captain Storm had a wooden leg, which no doubt came in handy keeping him afloat as many times as he was shown getting washed overboard.

     But with all the bad weather and rain we've been having lately, I wish I had a PT boat to tool around in. I mean it might have helped me get home last night, but don't get me started! 

Monday, May 23, 2011

convention thoughts

      I participated in the Lake Effect Comic Book Convention at the Great Lakes Mall  yesterday, the one I wrote about last week on this same blog.  My artist friends who produced the three comics, which debuted yesterday, attended as well and the producer of the show seated us all together.  We were a hit!  You can never be sure how sales will go but our books were very well received! 

     Tons of people stopped by to chat and I was amazed at all of the new people I met.  My friends Pete and Jeremy are old hands at this convention biz as am I, but my friend, oil painter David, was blown away as this was his first show.  I also got to chat some more with newer friends like Mark Sumerak, a writer from Marvel. 

     I'm already getting e-mails from customers who love the books that they purchased at the show.  Hmmm, speed readers I guess, but on the other hand how long does it take to read a 32 page comic.  Anyway, I had a good time and will tell you more about my good time throughout the week.  Take care and give a comic book a good home this week.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

It's Comic Day!

Hey comic book lovers, today's that day that only means something to us collectors...Wednesday, also known among us afficianados as new comic book day.  So guess where I was today...that's right my comic shop of choice (although I'll be talking about others in the near future) Sports n More.  That's not only where I get my weekly fix, but get to talk to long time friends Matt, Jess and Mrs. C.  Picked up some Archies for the kids next door and Batman for myself.  While I'm on the subject, Batman Beyond is a great book so give it a try.  I've recently celebrated a certain big number as far as times I've visited this particular store, can anybody guess what the big number is?  Next time any of you feel like writing in, take a guess, let's see who comes the closest.  Talk to you very soon about what's right and what's wrong about comics nowadays.  But don't get me started.

PS: I have three new comic magazines debuting this weekend, so if anybody's in the Lake County area of Ohio, stop by the Great Lakes Mall sometime between 10am and 6pm on May 22nd and check out the ccomic conventionask.  See ya.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

back at the news herald

Hey it's me Chris Lambert back at the Herald where I started 20 years ago and guess what?  I'm still talking about comics.  And I guess that's what I'll be doing three or four times a week from now on.  So get ready to hear me rant and rave about all the subjects concerning comics that I'm going to be covering.  So basically, Comics: Don't Get Me Started.  Because I'll talk awhile, I promise.