Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
The Buyer's Guide For Comic Fandom #35
I love tracking down Dr. Strange stuff from the 60's and 70's I never knew existed...
This one is from the adzine that would later become The Comics Buyers Guide.
Artwork is by David Hunt. I made color corrections on the faded newsprint
This one is from the adzine that would later become The Comics Buyers Guide.
Artwork is by David Hunt. I made color corrections on the faded newsprint
Saturday, March 24, 2012
My wife Jesse on Conan O'Brien
The sketch she was in aired last Monday (episode with Ewan McGregor). She played Conan's mom in a flashback...
Friday, March 23, 2012
Happy birthday to my Mom
Fran Hallis... sixty something today.
I love you and hope it's going to be a great year ahead!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
THINGS I WILL PROBABLY NEVER HAVE IN THE DOCTOR STRANGE COLLECTION
Some of you out there may know that I have the distinction of having one of the two largest collections of Doctor Strange comics and collectibles on the planet. The other collection is owned by my friend P'Tor over at The Sanctum Sanctorum Comics blog, and he shares my pain.
Both of us go out of our way to collect every tiny little piece of merchandise that features Dr. Strange or some of his compatriots such as Dormammu, Clea, Wong and the Ancient One. You'd be surprised how much useless crap there is out there that must be consumed to feed the hunger. Although Dr. Strange isn't Spider-Man or Batman, there is a consistent barrage of items made available from the Mighty Marvel Merchandising Machine...
That being said, both P'Tor and I do pretty well in collecting the major stuff. But there are a few items that Dr. Strange has been featured in that are just too cost prohibitive or rare for me to obtain. Below is a list of my personal top 10 unobtainable grails:
10. 2012 MARVEL'S GREATEST HEROES CARD BOX
Doc is on the box and appears on a card within. I have the card and can't justify spending $70-$100 for the box art alone. (Amazon link)
9. MARVEL OMNIBUSES AND MASTERWORKS TITLES WITH DR. STRANGE ON THE COVER BUT NOT PROMINENTLY FEATURED WITHIN
Sure... I'll get the Dr. Strange and Defenders titles, but the $60 Thor Marvel Masterworks that has a Doc floating head on the cover and features him in one issue? No way. The $100 Fantastic Four John Byrne Omnibus that has him in a Marvel group shot cover? Forget it.
8. ULTIMATE MARVEL VS. CAPCOM ARCADE STICK BY HORI
Available in different colors too. $150? AAA! Dammit! No way in hell. (Amazon link)
7. THIRD EYE MARVEL DISPLAY POSTERS
Two super rare display posters for the 1971 series of Marvel psychedelic blacklight posters and postcards put out by Third Eye. You won't find either one for under $500.
6. STUSSY DR. STRANGE & ETERNITY SHIRTS
Almost got one of these but it was in the wrong size. (All my t-shirts are XL in the collection and I like to be consistent.) For the complete Stussy shirt saga, click here. These are extremely rare and had very limited press runs. Too bad. Nice shirts.
5. VISIONS #4
I used to own this comic. Only 3000 were made for the 1982 Atlanta Comic Convention and it featured the fifth appearance of Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot. I sold mine with my Flaming Carrot collection a few years ago and never expect to find another one. Sadly, it did feature a full page Dr. Strange and Clea drawing by June Brigman and Roy Richardson inside.
4. THE BOWEN ETERNITY BUST
Last year Bowen put out this exclusive bust of the embodiment of the Marvel Universe, who made his first appearance in the Dr. Strange backup story in Strange Tales #138. One of my personal favorite characters from the series, the bust was an exclusive for Bowen sculpture subscription holders only. If you can find one, expect to spend AT LEAST $400 or more.
3. 1970'S DR. EXTRANO REPRINTS FROM SPAIN WITH PAINTED COVERS
The art looks like beautiful vintage sci-fi paperbacks. I would need to go to a comic convention in Barcelona to track these down. Not impossible, but very very tough to think I would ever find even one, let alone a complete set. Published by Ediciones Vertice. Images from comics.org.
2. CGC 9.0 OR HIGHER COPIES OF STRANGE TALES #110, 111, 114, & 115
I see them from time to time on Comiclink or eBay and drool. Encapsulated and hermetically sealed Platonic-ideal copies of the first four appearances of Dr. Strange.
1. A STEVE DITKO ORIGINAL ART PAGE FROM STRANGE TALES
Maybe if I won the lottery I could afford to track down an original Ditko. You won't find anything he did for Doctor Strange or Spider-Man under $10,000. The one pictured here is owned by a guy named Stephen Fishler on Comic Art Fans and I bet it would fetch at least $75,000 if he ever decided to bring it up for auction. I read he has it up in his bathroom. Lucky bastard...
Both of us go out of our way to collect every tiny little piece of merchandise that features Dr. Strange or some of his compatriots such as Dormammu, Clea, Wong and the Ancient One. You'd be surprised how much useless crap there is out there that must be consumed to feed the hunger. Although Dr. Strange isn't Spider-Man or Batman, there is a consistent barrage of items made available from the Mighty Marvel Merchandising Machine...
That being said, both P'Tor and I do pretty well in collecting the major stuff. But there are a few items that Dr. Strange has been featured in that are just too cost prohibitive or rare for me to obtain. Below is a list of my personal top 10 unobtainable grails:
10. 2012 MARVEL'S GREATEST HEROES CARD BOX
Doc is on the box and appears on a card within. I have the card and can't justify spending $70-$100 for the box art alone. (Amazon link)
9. MARVEL OMNIBUSES AND MASTERWORKS TITLES WITH DR. STRANGE ON THE COVER BUT NOT PROMINENTLY FEATURED WITHIN
Sure... I'll get the Dr. Strange and Defenders titles, but the $60 Thor Marvel Masterworks that has a Doc floating head on the cover and features him in one issue? No way. The $100 Fantastic Four John Byrne Omnibus that has him in a Marvel group shot cover? Forget it.
8. ULTIMATE MARVEL VS. CAPCOM ARCADE STICK BY HORI
Available in different colors too. $150? AAA! Dammit! No way in hell. (Amazon link)
7. THIRD EYE MARVEL DISPLAY POSTERS
Two super rare display posters for the 1971 series of Marvel psychedelic blacklight posters and postcards put out by Third Eye. You won't find either one for under $500.
6. STUSSY DR. STRANGE & ETERNITY SHIRTS
Almost got one of these but it was in the wrong size. (All my t-shirts are XL in the collection and I like to be consistent.) For the complete Stussy shirt saga, click here. These are extremely rare and had very limited press runs. Too bad. Nice shirts.
5. VISIONS #4
I used to own this comic. Only 3000 were made for the 1982 Atlanta Comic Convention and it featured the fifth appearance of Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot. I sold mine with my Flaming Carrot collection a few years ago and never expect to find another one. Sadly, it did feature a full page Dr. Strange and Clea drawing by June Brigman and Roy Richardson inside.
4. THE BOWEN ETERNITY BUST
Last year Bowen put out this exclusive bust of the embodiment of the Marvel Universe, who made his first appearance in the Dr. Strange backup story in Strange Tales #138. One of my personal favorite characters from the series, the bust was an exclusive for Bowen sculpture subscription holders only. If you can find one, expect to spend AT LEAST $400 or more.
3. 1970'S DR. EXTRANO REPRINTS FROM SPAIN WITH PAINTED COVERS
The art looks like beautiful vintage sci-fi paperbacks. I would need to go to a comic convention in Barcelona to track these down. Not impossible, but very very tough to think I would ever find even one, let alone a complete set. Published by Ediciones Vertice. Images from comics.org.
2. CGC 9.0 OR HIGHER COPIES OF STRANGE TALES #110, 111, 114, & 115
I see them from time to time on Comiclink or eBay and drool. Encapsulated and hermetically sealed Platonic-ideal copies of the first four appearances of Dr. Strange.
1. A STEVE DITKO ORIGINAL ART PAGE FROM STRANGE TALES
Maybe if I won the lottery I could afford to track down an original Ditko. You won't find anything he did for Doctor Strange or Spider-Man under $10,000. The one pictured here is owned by a guy named Stephen Fishler on Comic Art Fans and I bet it would fetch at least $75,000 if he ever decided to bring it up for auction. I read he has it up in his bathroom. Lucky bastard...
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Dormammu Squinkie
The Secret Surprise Supervillain in the Superhero Squad Squinkies Set: (Say that 10 times fast)
Monday, March 19, 2012
Last Ground Control Karaoke @ Jewel's Catch One is tonight
RIP Ground Control Karaoke!
LAST NIGHT IS TONIGHT!
At least until this summer at a new location...
Address:
4067 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019
WonderCon gets
My friend Jay Tando, who recently played a cop with a bushy mustache in the LMFAO video for "Sorry For Party Rocking" (which as of the day of this post has been seen by 33 million humans), scored a comp for me to attend WonderCon yesterday (Sunday 3/18/12). Thanks Jay! I totally forgive you for any party rocking you might have done in the past and appreciate you volunteering to drive.
Usually held up in San Francisco, WonderCon was inexplicably held near Disneyland in Anaheim this year. About a quarter of the size of San Diego's Comic Con madness which I vowed never to attend again, it was just the right amount of people to make for a nice Sunday afternoon.
I ended up spending $80 I really didn't have to spend this month but did anyway. Here's my schwag:
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| Lovecraftian glassware from Fez-O-Rama. Almost got a Cthulhu Fez from them but I looked ridiculous in it. Ended up getting 2 sets of both the Mystic Order of The Elder Gods design and the Cthulhu design. |
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| My friends looked at me weird when I told them "I got an In-Betweener at WonderCon." |
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| Some gruesome Stanley Publication reprints of pre-code horror comics. |
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Question for the Internet
Which science fiction story, saga, or mythology has been the most accurate in predicting what it's like to live in the early 21st century?
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Book Review: Ritual America
Ritual America: Secret Brotherhoods and Their Influence on American Society, A Visual Guide by Adam Parfrey and Craig Heimbichner is a sleek and comprehensive 340 page book filled with hundreds of amazing photos, illustrations and quotations about numerous secret societies. Included are Freemasonry and concordant bodies such as The Shriners, Prince Hall Masonry, Job's Daughters, Rainbow Girls, The Jesters, The Scottish Rite, The York Rite, and The Knights Templar, but the book doesn't stop there. You also get rare glimpses into the worlds of The Redmen, The Woodsmen, The Odd Fellows, The OTO, The KKK, The Owls, The Elks, The Illuminati and The Fraternal Order of Police, among many others. Quotations range from Albert Pike and Robert Anton Wilson to Lady Gaga.
As a Mason, it's interesting and eye opening (no pun intended) to read about the not-so-flattering skeletons in the closet that haunt the Fraternity. No punches are spared as the racist and sexist history of various Lodges is revealed for all to see. Despite all this, as an insider I see how far we have come when I look at the ethnic diversity in the Masonic community I interact with on a regular basis.
The book tries to be as objective as possible when presenting the various accounts from both pro and anti Masons within its pages, but can get pretty harsh when presenting the latter. Nevertheless, it inspired me to explore and question those unfavorable elements and that's a good thing.
I read every word and learned many things. I really recommend picking it up.
Lenticular of the Day: Jack Parsons Comics
I made this one quite a few years ago around 2002. It's a digital collage made from a bunch of golden age comic book elements. For those who don't know who Jack Parsons is, I suggest reading his Wikipedia entry.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
The Hogwarts SWPBS
For my EDSP 554 class at Cal State Los Angeles, I was asked to create a Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support Plan (SWPBS). Because this plan didn't need to be actively put into place but only conceptualized, I asked my professor if I could develop one for J.K. Rowlings' fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter novels and movies. What follows is a 34 page academic nerdfest you can download by CLICKING HERE or on the image below.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Ipsissimus
This is my lenticular piece that will be on display starting this Friday in the annual La Luz de Jesus Gallery group show.
Click here to see it a simulation of it in 3D!
Click here to see it a simulation of it in 3D!
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