Beautiful Balloons with Maggie Thompson

It's Bob, Bob, Bob and Ray, Ray, Ray!
Posted by maggie

Sorry to post this so late in the day, but I wanted to notify everyone that I have just shoveled a skidload of [credit-card] cash to the website for Bob and Ray.

This is the final day for a Half-Off sale "in honor of Bob Elliott's 85th Birthday." I think the stack of simoleons completes my collection of currently available recordings of the decades of delight produced by Elliott and the late Ray Goulding. (If you check the website above, you can click on the Charles Osgood audio for a brief sample. You can hear an interview with Elliott and more samples of their strange, gentle, absurdist routines at National Public Radio.)

Again -- apologies for telling you so belatedly, but I couldn't let the deadline pass without recommending the special sale.

3/31/2008 5:26:24 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [3]

Here Are the Other Two Easter Covers
Posted by maggie

Just so's you can see them all, here are the rest. By the way, I wonder whether that background color on #140 was actually a fifth ink. It'd have been unusual, to say the least.

(And I've never found copies of either issue in really excellent shape. I think other young readers were just as fond of them as was I.)

3/24/2008 3:23:35 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

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Whew!
Posted by maggie

My website is mended, after being absent most of the weekend. So you can take another look at my favorite Spring cover there. In the meantime, I've posted a couple more Spring covers at the CBGXtra site. Now, if we could just get past the snows around here and see a crocus here and there ...

In the meantime, it's back to looking at comic-book covers for signs of warm weather to come.

3/24/2008 7:05:23 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

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Have You Checked the Links Lately?
Posted by maggie

One reason this site is set up the way it is is that I want a fast way to check some of my favorite sites. In case you're one of the folks who doesn't look at them with the fervor with which I do, let me recommend yet again that Mark Evanier has some of the best pop culture commentary in the biz. In fact, in several bizzes. (Well, "bizes" didn't look right. What can I say?)

At any rate, I hope vast numbers of people will take to heart his posting on "questions from the audience." He has an update on it today, but please look at the original -- and tell your friends. He's not the only person I've read on the subject (and I've heard Neil Gaiman do a devastating impression of the sort of questioner under discussion) but, as one of the best panel hosts around, Mark certainly knows whereof he speaks.

On a completely different "links" topic, I note that www.maggiethompson.com has been offline for a day or so; I'm assured that The Problem Is Being Solved. Just not yet.

And, finally, I was delighted to hear on this morning's Weekend Edition Saturdaya lovely interview with Bob Elliott, who seems in fine fettle, as he prepares to turn 85. I'm not sure the interview conveyed the hilarity of his comedy sketches with partner Ray Goulding (and I have known a very few people who never have grasped their talents). But do listen to it -- and to the links offered there. Wonderful.

3/22/2008 4:20:49 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

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And Even More Spring
Posted by maggie

I've posted a couple more Spring covers at CBGXtra.com -- as well as a complete Walt Kelly Easter story. Check them out.

And here's the cover of the Easter with Mother Goose issue (Dell Four Color #220, 1949) in which that Kelly story appeared.

3/22/2008 1:50:38 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

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More Spring
Posted by maggie

And my favorite Spring cover of all appears on my website today. It's an unusual Walt Kelly cover (perhaps a tryout for Little Golden Books?) and it appeared on Dell Four Color #50 (1944).

3/20/2008 2:32:26 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

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Spring, Spring, Spring!
Posted by maggie

Having posted some Spring images at CBGxtra.com, I thought I'd toss some in here, too.

Here are covers from another issue of Donald Duck (#35, May 54), another Pogo (#12, Apr 53), and a Raggedy Ann + Andy (#11, Apr 47).

3/20/2008 2:07:09 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

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Speaking of Machines ...
Posted by maggie

... which I was, in the previous post (made, oh, so long ago) ...

Columnist Karen O'Brien and I spent a chunk of this morning learning the ins and outs of our audio system here -- with an eye to producing more industry audio material for the website. Brent has already mastered the equipment, and I think Karen and I grasped the essentials. (The scariest one: If we forget to provide a new name for the file and accidentally leave the previous name on the new recording, the new recording will overwrite the previous one. Ak.)

We also heard a sad anecdote about another editor who'd conducted an important phone interview (we can do both phone and in-person interviews) but who hadn't experimented with his levels and the assorted microphones. The interview was salvaged but it took Audio Master Dan Halverson about a day to patch together a fix that involved re-recording the questions and ... Well, you don't need to know the details.

I can conduct interviews from my phone, as well -- but I'm thinking the fidelity will be best using the podcast studio. So it's time to adjust again, learn the rules to yet another game, and enter the lists again. Man, this evolution stuff is tricky.

But the result should be still more material to entertain you on the CBGXtra website. Stay tuned.

3/18/2008 11:23:09 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

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Hopping in the WABAC Machine
Posted by maggie

I spent a chunk o' time recently trying to locate our fanzines of the past and managed (albeit with a toe stubbed while climbing over junk piled in front of a filing cabinet) to dig out more copies of Newfangles to post. I managed to find the second lot of 10 issues -- and #47-54 (the final issue). So now it's a matter of scanning and posting and summarizing. Fingers crossed that I may be able to wrap up this aspect of the project by, say, the end of April. Assuming I can find #21-46.

But in the summarizing of each of the first 10 issues, I did relive some of the focal moments of the late 1960s, including the departure of the King line of comics and our receipt of the first issue of Zap. There's a strange interaction in my brain between Things We Know Now (that we didn't then) and Things We've Forgotten (such as where the experimental price-hike variants of Gold Key titles were marketed).

3/13/2008 11:50:16 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

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Fan News from Forty Years Ago
Posted by maggie

I spent a chunk of the weekend (aside from cataloging my comics from that little show) posting the first 10 issues of Newfangles, our comics fan newsletter that began publication in 1967.

There were many more issues, and I'll be posting them as I manage to locate them in my dusty file drawers. But you can travel with me now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.

3/10/2008 11:57:00 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

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Dell, Whitman, Western, and Such
Posted by maggie

One thing the acquisitions (almost without exception, by the way, they were "reading copies," beat-up but readable remnants of an earlier age) led me to do was try to codify in my brain some of the ins and outs of the output of one of my favorite publishing companies. Well, the indicia read, "Published by Dell Publishing Co., Inc.," but later in the announcements almost invariably came the phrase, "Designed and produced by Western Printing & Lithographing Co." So what the heck?

Well, as we know, Dell was (for many years) the distribution company that handled comics from Western. Moreover, another arm of Western was clearly "K.K. Publications, Inc." Wikipedia says K.K. was named for Disney Studios character-merchandising head Kay Kamen, but there are Disney comics from Western and non-Disney comics from K.K. among the comics I picked up yesterday.

It seems to me that it was in 1961 that Dell and Western broke their relationship; I know I've tracked it via the Tarzan title. In any case, for this brief blog posting, I'm not going to look it up. But in the group that I bought, Around the Block with Dunc & Loo (a John Stanley creation) and Ghost Stories (which clearly has at least one [horror] story by Stanley) follow the split but carry the Dell imprint.

I also tried to get something of a handle on the doggoned Whitman imprint, largely used as something of a packaging tool for reprints of earlier comics (both from Dell and Gold Key imprints). The earliest ones I acquired yesterday were 15-centers published in 1972 and 1973. Whitman titles then went to 20 cents, then 30, then 35, then 40, then 50, with the latest dates on the 50-cent ones I bought coming in at 1982.

And then there was the matter of the consarned cover number codes. Some are fairly easily deduced, but others ...

Well, here's what we have of the coded comics, and we can see -- generally speaking of the Gold Key titles -- that the last three digits are the last number of the year followed by the two digits of the month of that year. So 102 is 1971 February, and 910 is 1969 October, and 911 is 1979 November, so you need to know what decade you're in. But those first five digits? I'm not so sure. They're apparently tied to the title, but Ripley's is the same title. And as for Whitman, who knows? Anyway:

Gold Key:

10027-802 Mickey Mouse #116 (Feb 68)

10053-102 Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #33 (Feb 71)

10058-702 Tom and Jerry #234 (Feb 67)

10058-908 Tom and Jerry #246 (Aug 69)

10058-910 Tom and Jerry #247 (Oct 69)

10058-110 Tom and Jerry #260 (Oct 71)

10115-510 Merlin Jones as The Monkey's Uncle (1965)

10208-908 Ripley's Believe It or Not! #15 (Aug 59)

10257-105 Baby Snoots #4 (May 71)

90148-911 Flash Gordon #26 (Nov 79)

90208-810 Ripley's Believe It or Not! #82 (Oct 78)

Whitman:

90058-110 Tom and Jerry #337 (1960 date, 50 cents)

90062-110 Woody Woodpecker #194 (1981 last copyright, 50 cents)

90069-110 Popeye the Sailor #164 (1981 last copyright, 50 cents)

90140-202 Porky Pig #104 (1981 last copyright, 60 cents)

3/9/2008 5:24:27 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

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And I Bought ...
Posted by maggie

In addition to the newsstand comics in the preceding listing, I also acquired (in part because of the recent CBG discussion of promotional comics) the following "giveaways":

The Adventures of Kool-Aid Man #2 (1984)

Buster Brown Comic Book #39 1946

The Home Depot Safety Heroes (Nov 04)

Meet the Bank 1995

Mickey Mouse and Goofy Explore Energy Conservation (WDEMCO [Walt Disney Educational Media Company] 204, 1978

Marvel Halloween Ashcan 2006

Marvel Premiere #56 (Oct 80) [Toys "R" Us? 50 cents]

Marvel Super Hero Island Adventures #1 (Apr 99)

Mickey Mouse and Goofy Explore the Universe of Energy (Walt Disney Educational Media Company) 1985

Mickey Mouse and Goofy Explore Energy (WDEMCO [Walt Disney Educational Media Company] 956, 1976

The New Science Fair Story of Electronics - The Discovery That Changed the World! (Nov 78)

The Science Fair Story of Electronics - The Discovery That Changed the World! (Fal-Win 81, Spr 82)

The Science Fair Story of Electronics - The Discovery That Changed the World! (Fal 83-Spr 84)

Superman Meets the Motorsports Champions (1999)

Taz's 40th Birthday Blowout (1994)

Tiger R-01 1973

Tim Tylers Luck R-04 1973

Tutenstein (Oct 04)

The Untold Legend of the Batman #1 (1980) [MPI Audio Edition, third printing]

The Rise of Master M (Oct 05)

X-Men Movie Special Premiere Prequel Edition (Jul 00)

3/9/2008 4:49:17 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

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Joys of a Mini-Mini Convention
Posted by maggie

Yesterday I grabbed the opportunity to hit one of the treats of our field: a gathering of a bunch of dealers with old comics and such to sell. Alan Morton presides over a number of such shows, and this one was located at a Howard Johnson's in Green Bay, Wis. There was no signage for the show that I could see, but Alan's independent promotions did the trick, and there was a steady stream of buyers throughout the day.

My haul:

Andy Panda #17 (Jan-Feb 53)

Andy Panda #29 (Jan-Mar 55)

Around the Block with Dunc & Loo #2 (Jan-Mar 62)

Baby Snoots #4 (May 71) [10257-105]

Beep Beep the Road Runner #19 (Aug 70)

Beetle Bailey #56 (Dec 66)

Beetle Bailey #70 (Aug 69)

Beetle Bailey #130 (Dec 79, 40 cents) [Whitman]

Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #33 (Feb 71, 10053-102)

Bugs Bunny #69 (Oct-Nov 59)

Bullwinkle and Rocky #24 (Dec 79, 40 cents) [Whitman]

The Cross and the Switchblade (1972)

Dennis the Menace #22 (May 57)

Dennis the Menace #73 (Jul 64)

Dennis the Menace #74 (Sep 64)

Dennis the Menace #165 (Sep 79)

Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series #115 (Apr 73)

Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series #133 (Aug 74)

Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series #193 (Oct 79)

Flash Gordon #17 (Nov 69)

Flash Gordon #26 (Nov 79, 90148-911)

Fly Man #35 (Jan 66)

Four Color #188 Woody Woodpecker (1948)

Four Color #327 Bugs Bunny (1951)

Four Color #347 Bugs Bunny (Aug-Sep 51)

Four Color #605 The Brownies (1954)

Four Color #1062 Christmas Stories (1959)

Four Color #1151 Mickey Mouse Album (Nov-Jan 61)

Ghost Stories #9 (Jan-Mar 65)

Harvey Hits #85 (Oct 64 - Looks Like Gabby Gob)

Henry #27 (Sep-Oct 52)

Huey, Dewey, and Louie Junior Woodchucks #40 (Sep 76)

Little Iodine #5 (Apr-Jun 51)

Little Iodine #30 (Oct-Dec 55)

Little Iodine #48 (Apr-Jun 60)

The Little Scouts #3 (Jan-Mar 52)

The Little Scouts #5 (Jul-Sep 52)

Merlin Jones as The Monkey's Uncle (1965, 10115-510)

Mickey Mouse #116 (Feb 68, 10027-802)

Mouse Musketeers #17 (Mar-May 59)

O.G. Whiz #11 (Jan 79, 35 cents) [Whitman]

Popeye #84 (Feb 67)

Popeye #97 (Aug 69)

Popeye #107 (Apr 71)

Popeye the Sailor #153 (Dec 79, 40 cents) [Whitman]

Poppo of the Popcorn Theatre #11 (1955 published weekly, Fuller Publishing Company, Inc., Charles Biro)

Porky Pig #4 (Nov 65) [second printing] [10140-511]

Porky Pig #53 (1974, 20 cents) [Whitman]

Porky Pig #73 (Nov-Dec 60)

Ripley's Believe It or Not! #15 (Aug 59, 10208-908)

Ripley's Believe It or Not! #82 (Oct 78, 90208-810)

Sad Sad Sack #42 (Apr 73)

Smokey Bear #7 (Sep 71)

Tom and Jerry #128 (Mar 55)

Tom and Jerry #234 (Feb 67, 10058-702)

Tom and Jerry #246 (Aug 69, 10058-908)

Tom and Jerry #247 (Oct 69, 10058-910)

Tom and Jerry #260 (Oct 71, 10058-110)

Tom and Jerry #263 (1972 highest copyright date, 15 cents) [Whitman]

Tom and Jerry #337 (1960, 90058-110, 50 cents) [Whitman]

Tom and Jerry #270 (1973 highest copyright date, 15 cents) [Whitman]

Uncle Scrooge #132 (Sep 76, 30 cents) [Whitman]

Woody Woodpecker #194 (1981 highest copyright date, 90062-110, 50 cents) [Whitman]

3/9/2008 4:46:31 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

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What Fun!
Posted by maggie

Not only was the event with Liane Hansen a delight (and I picked up a tip I plan to use when conducting interviews), but I hadn't expected another pleasure: seeing former CBG Publisher Mark Williams again!

The event was held at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point; it was a guest lecture by Hansen. Mark is now Director of Development at the College of Letters & Science -- so he was actually helping organize the event. The evening was entertaining and informative; her Weekend Edition Sunday program is one of the highlights of the week on National Public Radio, and she's a skilled lecturer. If you can't see her in person, do try listening to her two-hour weekly broadcast. It's available online, and you're bound to find it likewise entertaining and informative.

3/4/2008 9:40:47 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)

Comments [1]

How Geeky Can I Get?
Posted by maggie

Pretty geeky. Because I arrived an hour early for a lecture by NPR's Liane Hansen in nearby Stevens Point. And I did what I usually try to do in these situations: grab a seat in the middle of the front row. And followed it up by blogging about it. She's one of my favorite on-air personalities AND she's kind enough to brave the Wisconsin winter weather. It should be fun.

3/4/2008 7:06:09 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)

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2008 Plans
Posted by maggie

This morning, I returned to a project I tackle now and then: making my own calendar pages using Microsoft Office's Publisher software.

It's an exercise to help me deal with scheduling challenges before they become too complex to deal with -- to identify times I need to consider before making other appointments, scheduling other trips, and the like.

The immovable dates this year seem to be as follows:

April 18-20 New York City con at the Javits Center

May 3 Free Comic Book Day -- which will probably mean my annual Madison rampage through that city's comics shops

May 23-26 WisCon -- a science-fiction and fantasy convention, again in Madison (with a side trip in Pardeeville on the way south in order to hit that community's annual garage sale event)

June 26-29 Wizard World Chicago

July 23-27 Comic-Con International: San Diego

October 22-26 Friends of Old Time Radio convention in Newark

And I may try what worked splendidly for me two years ago on "Black Friday": going to Appleton on Thanksgiving, buying a newspaper, and working my way through it to plan the Friday-morning buying binge. It was actually a fun exercise in logistics, culminating in a completed shopping trip by 9:30 a.m. on Friday.

Talk about planning ahead!

What are your plans for the year -- once the snowdrifts melt?

3/1/2008 5:48:25 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)

Comments [1]

$1 Annual Subscriptions
Posted by maggie

In response to some questions raised about the hows and whys of Dell comics series subscriptions, I began checking some Dell series in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

And a look at back covers for Walt Disney's Comics & Stories, Little Lulu, and Tarzan showed a variety of approaches -- as you'll see, if you check the hyperlink above. But each brought young readers 12 comic books for $1. Subscription copies arrived folded lengthwise in half with a partial wrapper made out of thin brown paper, the address stamped on that paper. (The resultant fold in the copy was indelible: the proverbial "subscription crease" that survives to this day.) In a day in which finding current comics on local newsstands was a chancy matter, subs guaranteed you wouldn't miss the latest issue. And it was thrilling to have entertainment delivered in what was otherwise mail for the family's adults.

One collector of my acquaintance, by the way, told me years ago (when there were no Disney comics being published) that he planned to put issues of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories in sequence from earlier decades into their own envelopes. He'd then pretend to his child that it was that month's "subscription copy" of the series so that the youngster could have the same thrill he'd had when he was young.

Lots of companies offered subscriptions, but my parents only subscribed to a few of the Dell titles for me. (The way Don knew that an advertised issue of Steve Canyon never existed was that he did have a subscription to the title -- which was completed by Harvey with issues of Sad Sack.)

I've never made much of a study of comic-book subscription plugs from Dell but I think I'm going to check out some more. I already know that the sub push wasn't limited to Christmastime; there were year-round pitches. But their absence in the Four Color series let that showcase title boast "All Comics" on the cover long after its other titles carried advertisements.

3/1/2008 5:11:26 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)

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