Thursday, April 28, 2011
Noted
• The son of the founder of Dutch Bros., a chain of more than 150 coffee shops in seven states, has created a comic book featuring characters from the company’s advertising. According to an article in the Greenfield Reporter, Brant Boersma hired his cousin Jason Hetzer, artist Jeff Egli, and letterer Tom Mintun to produce Dutch Bros. Freedom Fighters. Dark Horse Comics published 50,000 copies of the comic book which is available free, while supplies last, at the Dutch Bros. outlets. (Brent Frankenhoff)
• As part of the promotion for his latest book, The President’s Vampire, author Christopher Farnsworth is offering free T-shirts to buyers of the book today (its day of release) as well as random prize packages. Check out all the details here. For those of you unfamiliar with the series, which began with Blood Oath, think Men in Black with Agent K as a vampire. (Brent Frankenhoff)
Yesterday’s Panel Quiz Answer
Mirror Master’s first line in comics was, “Please change this bill for me … in singles …” and he said it in The Flash #105 (Feb 59).
Today’s Panel Quiz
Whose first line in comics was “So long, Pop! I’m off to check my tiger trap!”?
Born Today
Dick Ayers (1924), comics writer and artist
Will Murray (1953), comics writer
Greg Hyland (1969), comics writer and artist
Birthdays 2 Weeks from Now
Tony Strobl (1915), comics artist
Catherine Yronwode (1947), comics writer and editor
Tom Armstrong (1950), comic strip writer and artist
Neil D. Vokes (1954), comics artist
Scott Deschaine (1957), comics writer
Today’s Flashbacks
100 yrs Apr 28, 1911 Leon Harrison Gross is born. As Lee Falk, he writes, directs, and produces, though he’s best known as creator of both The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician.
Every Wednesday and Saturday. California: City of Industry. Comic Book & Collectible Show.
April 29-May 1 California: Anaheim. Comic Con.
April 29-May 1 Louisiana: Lake Charles. BayouCon.
April 29-May 1 North Carolina: Lumbeton. Sports Card, Comic Book and Collectibles Show.
April 30 Delaware: Bethany Beach. Sports Card, Comic Book & Collectible Show.
April 30 Kansas: Kansas City-Overland Park. Comics convention.
April 30 New York: Ithaca. Ithacon.
April 30-May 1 Massachusetts: Boston. Comic Con.
April 30-May 1 North Carolina: Charlotte. Toy -Hobby & Sportscard Show.
April 30-May 1 Pennsylvania: Reading. Super Show.
April 30-May 1 South Carolina: Columbia. Fandomfest Columbia.
May 1 Connecticut: New Haven. New Haven Comic and Collectibles Spectacular.
May 1 Florida: Daytona Beach. Daytona Beach Comic & Toy Show.
May 1 Indiana: Indianapolis. Comic Book Show.
May 1 Nebraska: Omaha. Comics show.
May 1 New Jersey: Wayne. Comic, Toy & Collectible Show.
May 1 Pennsylvania: Essington-Philadelphia. Comic Con.
Do you have a show coming up? Let us know! You can e-mail the information to showscalendar@krause.com or mail it to Show Calendars, Comics Buyer’s Guide, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54945. If you have a creator appearance scheduled, let us know by e-mail to brent.frankenhoff@fwmedia.com.
Question of the Week
If you had only $25 to spend on comics this week (whether that’s more or less than you usually spend), what would you buy?
Note: The best answer received (in our opinion) to this question will receive a prize. What’s the prize, you ask? Follow along daily and see!
Comics-Related Media
• Big Bang Theory is on CBS at 8 E.T. It’s a new episode (Season 4 Episode 21): “The Agreement Dissection.” (If you have a way to record another show simultaneously, we recommend Community, by the way. It’s airing Season 2 Episode 22: “Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts.”)
• Lots of people cite Mad as a classic source of parody. But how many focus on the other E.C. parody series, Panic? In #7 (Feb 55), Wally Wood (following a script by Jack Mendelsohn) provided a devastating version of Them! (1954, 93 mins.) in “Them There Those.” Here’s your chance to see the original film; it’s on Turner Classic Movies Friday, April 29, at 8 a.m. E.T. It stars James Arness, James Whitmore, and Edmund Gwenn. Oh, and giant ants.
The Magazine
TONY’S BLOGGY THING 4/28/11:
Sho-Bax, Eerie Publications, Steve Ditko:
http://www.comicscommunity.com/boards/tony/?read=239938
Tony Isabella
Siegel/Shuster Plaque Stolen. A plaque at the corner where the Superman creators studio was once located has been stolen:
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/04/plaque_honoring_superman_creat.html
This is depressing. Much as I’d like to discount the notion of a collector stealing the plaque, I can’t.
My experiences with the ill-fated Neverending Battle Inc. in 1988 include too many instances of people, sometimes high in the organization, stealing collectible items that had been donated or loaned to the organization for display.
In one case, I was hired by a collector who’d donated his Superman memorabilia collection to the organization, only to see a good chunk of it go missing.
Because the founders of the organization had never actually completed the paperwork, he could not even get a tax break on the donation.
I was able to discover who had taken at least some of the memorabilia and even obtained hard evidence that could have led to the individual’s criminal prosecution. Unfortunately, my client decided he’d had enough and charges were never filed.
In some kind of justice, the suspect eventually came to a bad end.
Tony Isabella