Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thanks/Comics/Friend/Signing

     Hello everyone, hope all is well.  This past week I went to a friend's funeral.  Don Sheppard was a fellow church member of mine, a lunch buddy and the 2nd man across the Remagen Bridge during the Battle of the Bulge.  I asked him the importance of being second, which got him in more than a few papers.


     "I was just trying to duck bullets and stay in one piece." 


     It's a humble line, but many millions like him did more than humble things which allow us 70 years later to enjoy freedom to celebrate holidays like Thanksgiving.  I also give thanks to guys like Don that made this country free enough to enjoy trivial things (but  not to me) like hobbies and collecting and...comic books.


     I will remember Don and already have a picture of him and my wife hanging in my den.  Also, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there reading this and stop by the Great Lakes Mall this Saturday, Nov. 29 at Comics and Friends and chat between Noon and 5 o'clock, say hello and maybe pick up my new book..."My Favorite Super Teams."


     Take care and adopt a comic (and hug and say hello to your own friend,  like my Don) today.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Taste in Comics

     Hi everyone, hope all is well.  This past weekend my brother Terry, stopped by for a two day visit and of course we stayed up late every night looking through...comics.


     I must say that we differ in our tastes, for he still likes the old stuff from when we were kids, as I do.  But he draws the line somewhere around the mid 1980's with his reading habits, while I become more discerning about my comic collecting from that time forward.  As Terry says, "Tastes change."  But I prefer to keep an open mind with my collecting.


     And maybe that's the key to really appreciating all sorts of comics...make sure that you do appreciate all different types of comics.  Not just super hero comics, but try romance, westerns, sci-fi, funny animal comics...all sorts.


     And remember to keep an open mind concerning your reading...tastes.


     Take care and adopt a comic (all different kinds) book today!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Cold Comics a "Haven."

     Hi everyone, hope all is well.  I guess with all of the snow coming down, I should mention a comic about Captain Cold or Mr. Freeze.  Well I'm not.  But I am going to mention a Batman story that takes place in the snow.


     The tale concerns a violent man who had so many urges of anger that he found peace living in the mountains in a cabin by himself near the wildlife that he came to love as friends and soothing medicine to him.  But when crooks (and Batman) enter his domain, violence occurs which sets this man mountain off on a tirade once the bad guys kills one of the small woodland creatures for no reason.


     But the gentle giant goes berserk, hurting most of the bad guys, but dies in the process.  He tells Batman that he is happy to die since his anger will now be gone for good.  He indeed passes away with all of his furry friends surrounding him.  R. L. Stevenson is quoted from his verses about the hunter home from the hill at stories end.


     Writer Len Wein said recently that this was his favorite of all the Batman tales he wrote.  And with one of my favorite Bat-Artists, Don Newton supplying the art, this story of a violent man who took the name "Haven," is indeed a haven for someone who needs the warmth of a good, well-told  story.


     Take care and adopt a copy of Detective #314 (for the story I just described) today!  I have 2 copies myself.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Comic Cramps

     Hi everyone, hope all is well.  I've recently been talking about the large comic book collection I acquired.  Well I've finally sorted through all of them and started selling some, while trading a portion of the rest to friends.  But here's the major problem.  I kept too many for myself!  That's right, my collection just took a major hit...on the plus side!


     But where to put all of these four-color darlings of mine?  I've created new spaces for the brand new boxes.  But where did I create the space?  Straight up baby, it's the only direction left to me in my man cave (really it's the Bat cave).  Yes, I'm getting CRAMPED BY COMICS!


     My advice to everyone out there collecting comics (or anything for that matter) is to make sure you have the space, before you join the race...for completion of a collection that is.  Because remember, it's a jungle out there.  Actually not out there, but in my room where I sometimes feel like I need a machete to hack my way through the comic book jungle undergrowth.


     So yes, my den is so cramped that I can't swing a cat (woman) comic around in my room without hitting a five foot tall stack of comic boxes.  Help!


     Take care and adopt a comic book (but not too many at a time) today!