Iowa Comic Book Club Presents I-Con 2013

Fall is coming, and around here in Central Iowa that means I-Con is coming soon.  What's I-Con, you say?  Well, I'll tell ya, I-Con is Iowa's largest comic book convention, and is put on every year by the good folks of the Iowa Comic Book Club.  This year's I-Con will be held on Saturday, October 19th, at the Forte Convention Center in downtown Des Moines.

I will once again be there this year, selling action figures and comic books, stop by and say "Hi" and get your NGA discount!

For more info, check out the ICBC website:

 http://www.iowacomicbookclub.com/

The Awesome Power Records Batman Book & Record Set

The 1970's were a great time to be a kid.  GI Joe was still in his 12" incarnation, on TV you could watch The Six Million Dollar Man and Space:1999, and you could see Planet of the Apes and Jaws in the theaters.  Mostly I remember the Super Heroes.  Both DC and Marvel were going churning out great stories, and not just in comic books.  Power Records, a spinoff of Peter Pan Records, was churning out Book and Record Sets of super hero adventures.  The first ones to hit the market were the Marvel ones.  Those first sets were just slightly relettered stories that had previously appeared in comic book form with a 45 rpm record full of dialogue and sound effects.  The first one I ever got was in 1974, and was the Fantastic Four, in fact writing this I can still here the "Bing" the let you know to turn the page.

 

From the back of the Book & Record Sets, featuring the first four Super Hero sets.

Not long after the Marvel ones hit the market, DC followed suit with their own Book & Record Sets, but with one noticeable difference.  While the Marvel ones were reprinted from already published stories, the DC ones were all-new adventures.  My favorite of the bunch was a Batman story titled "Stacked Cards", which I just found in my basement, in a box of comics.  Looking through it really brought back the memories, and if you've never seen one, here are a few highlights.  Like the TV show, this seemed a lot more serious when I was seven.

 For a buck and a half, you couldn't beat it!

 The first thing you notice is the art.  I still can't tell if it was done by Neal Adams of Dick Giordano, but the art is fantastic and really captures the look of the 1970's Batman.  The "Splash Page" really stands out to me.

 Greeting from 1975!

The story begins with a rock being chucked through a window in Commissioner Gordon's office, an amazing feat considering he's on like the 20th floor of Police Headquarters.  The rock is retrieved by Chief O'Hara, er, Inspector Mulligan (The voice actor doing Mulligan sounds just like O'Hara.  Remember, the Batman TV show only went off the air 6 years earlier.).  

 Yeah, super-powered vandals! And nice shoes, Inspector!

It turns out the note is from none other than the Joker, bragging about his escape from Arkham Asylum (Take that, people who thought it was created by Grant Morrison!).  In no time at all he's on the hotline to the Batcave.

Note the cheerful-looking Batman, the Dark Knight Returns is still 10 years away.

It seems the Joker wants to steal a Picasso from the Gotham Museum of Fine Arts, so into the Batmobile they go.  Along the way, Robin share his ideas for dealing with the Joker.

He also wants to have Catwoman spayed.

It's not long after arriving that Robin uses his junior detective skills to find evidence that the Joker had been there.

 Robin trips not two seconds after Batman tells him not to......

The Joker attacks and Batman uses all of his superior mental abilities to draw the him out of hiding.....

  He also called him Mr. Poopy pants.

 

......which leads to this epic battle.

I wanna know how that "Zap" sound is made.

During the fight, a fire somehow breaks out, fortunately Robin is once again able to draw on his powers of observation and notice it.

 The smoke is right by that large column of flames.......

The Joker tries to escape......

 Who knew Arkham had a swimming team?

With the Joker detained, Batman has plenty of time to dive back into a burning building to rescue the Picasso, and look badass doing it.

  Hooray for Batman, what a swell guy!

Batman and Robin share a smile, content in another job well done.

 "Seriously, think about that lobotomy..."

 

 

If you want to hear this and other Power Records audio, click here.

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Struck

The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents have had an interesting history to say the least.  The characters have been around for almost 50 years and have bounced around from publisher to publisher, disappearing for years at a time before suddenly reappearing.  I have been a big fan of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents since I first discovered them in the early 1980's, and in honor of their recent relaunch at IDW here's a quick look back at some of the many faces of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.

Introducing Menthor, Dynamo, and NoMan

The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents first appeared in 1965.  Published by Tower Comics, each issue was double the size of regular comics and carried a price of 25 cents. The Agents consisted of Dynamo, Menthor, NoMan, Lightning, Raven, Undersea Agent, and the Thunder Squad.  The art was done by a who's who of silver age legends: Mike Sekowski, Gil Kane, and Wally Wood.  I don't think Wally Wood doesn't get enough credit these days, if it wasn't for him Daredevil would have been running around in that hideous red and yellow outfit.  Anyways, back to the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, the series introduced the comic world to The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves were people whose occupations were super heroes, and the devices that gave them their powers come with a price.  Wally Wood's pencils are some of the best of the silver age, and the stories in many ways were a precursor to the modern type of storytelling that we take for granted today.  Back issues are still very affordable, do yourself a favor and track these down, they are worth it.  After issue 20 in 1969 the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents stopped publication and quietly faded away.

 

For almost 15 years the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents were dormant, then in 1983  they returned in John Carbanaro's JC Comics.  As great as it was to have them back, the series only lasted 2 issues, and once again the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents were off the shelves, but this time the hiatus was very short lived.

Some time in 1983 the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents appeared in the Justice Machine Annual #1 published by Texas Comics.  This was the only comic ever published by Texas Comics, and its more known for being the first appearance of Bill Willingham's the Elementals. I own two copies of this book, and this is the issue that got me hooked on the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.

N.D

 Less than a year after JC Comics folded, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents returned, this time published by Deluxe Comics.  Like the original Tower Comics version int he 1960's, the art was done by some of the best artists of the 1980's.  George Perez, Dave Cockrum, Keith Giffen, Steve Ditko, Jerry Ordway and others contributed to the fantastic art in every issue, but as with all other versions, this one didn't last long either.  John Carbonaro sued Deluxe Comics for copyright infringement and with that, this versionof the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents was done after five issues.

In 1987 an outfit named Solson Publications published one issue of a series titled T.H.U.N.D.E.R..  It was a black and white book, which told a different tale of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and to be honest, its the weakest of all stories involving the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, if you can find it in a quarter bin it might be worth the two bits, but not any more.

The 80's saw quite a few versions of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, but as the decade drew to a close, so did their adventures, and for over 20 years nothing more was heard from them.

In 2010 the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents got their most high profile release to date when DC Comics published their first adventures in the 21st Century.  This is the only version of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents I have never read, but thanks to IDW my interest have been renewed and I look forward to tracking these down at a convention real soon.




  

  
Now in 2013 it's IDW's turn to publish the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and I am extremely excited for this.  Not only because of the characters, but for who will be writing this series.  I have known Phil Hester for over 20 years, ever since he first came into the comic store I was part owner of.  He is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet in the comics industry and always has time to meet with the fans.  In fact, the logo I use for the Next Great Adventure was drawn by Phil, as part of a trade I made with him for a customized action figure.  The figure? Dynamo.  I still remember having conversations with him about Wally Wood and the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and I could tell back than what reverence he had for the characters, and that's how I now the book is in excellent hands.

My quest to find this cover begins.....now!

Another reason Phil Hester is one of the nicest people around is the endless patience he has shown in accommodating my many requests for sketches.  One of the sketches he did for me 20 years ago was Dynamo and Magnus Robot Fighter making scrap metal our of a bunch of robots, and it remains one of my favorite pieces in my collection.  

Do yourself a favor, pick up IDW's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and track down some of Wally Wood's originals, you won't be sorry!  

A RAW Evening

Last Monday my son and I went to the live telecast of RAW from the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.  We had 2nd row seats, which put us close to the action.  The total show was close to four hours long, and was quite an experience.  I took a camera along to record the show, and for the most part the pictures turned out like crap, but there were a few that were okay, and here they are.

Fandango and the Miz in an early match.  A few minutes after this was taken the Miz messed up a kick and broke Fandango's nose.  The match was stopped for 5 minutes or so while a doctor treated him.  Once the match was back underway the Miz won.

Dolph Ziggler making his entrance to the ring.  While he was waiting for his opponent to come out, another wrestler, Dean Ambrose, ran right past us and attacked Ziggler.  After the beatdown, Ziggler's opponent came out.......

......Goldber, er, Ryback.  Ryback then proceeded to finish of Ziggler....

....and leave him on his back, looking up at the lights of Wells Fargo Arena.

The main event saw Daniel Bryan take on the Big Show.  The Big Show did not want to face Bryan, but the evil Triple H made him, and then forced him to knock him out after the Shield worked him over for what seemed like the 348th time in the past few weeks.  And with that, RAW was over......

.....or was it?  After the show went off the air we had a "Dark" main event.  Wrestling's Evil Genius, Paul Heyman and his client, Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel, had a no disqualification handicap match with CM Punk.  It was a short match, and Punk picked up the win.

Here is CM Punk celebrating the victory with the fans, or trying to fly, I'm not quite sure which.

It was a fun night, and the next time the WWE rolls into town I'm pretty sure my son and I will be going again, although I don;t know if we'll be this close again.

So My Wife is Finally Reading the Walking Dead....

I have been reading the Walking Dead since 2006.  I wish I could say I've been on board since the beginning and have all of the issues back to number one, 'cause that would mean I have several thousand dollars worth of Zombie comics, but I don't.  What I do have are all of the hardcover editions collecting a years worth of TWD comics.  Book 9 comes out in a couple of weeks, and I can't wait to jump back into the Zombie Apocalypse with Rick Grimes and his crew of survivors.

On the opposite side of the zombie fence is my wife.  She's been aware of the Walking Dead for a while now, but has preferred to read up on sparkly vampires and the like.  But as those series are (thankfully) at an end, she has been looking for something else to dive into, so last Sunday I mentioned giving the Walking Dead a try.

C'mon, what woman wouldn't find this cover appealing?

So, not really having any other options readily at hand, she gave in and started reading Book One.  I could tell she was hooked after about 20 minutes, when she asked if I had all the rest of the books. Happily I went and got her Books Two and Three, and she proceeded to tear through them in no time at all, quite a feat when you consider they are around 300 pages each.  She's currently on Book Four, which is the most emotionally devastating part of the entire series.  Really, it's a tough read and I'm already anticipating having a few discussions with her about it.

A side benefit to her reading the books is she can now join me in noting all of the differences between the books and the TV show.  It's just no fun bitching about why certain characters are still alive in the book and not on the show, and vice versa all by yourself.