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Free Comic Book Day 2017 has come and gone. My wife Nicki and I had a blast spending the day geeking out around the Memphis area all day yesterday.
I put on my Rorschach costume, and Nicki put on her Wonder Woman tee, necklace, and Chucks. We headed out early that morning and stopped by the donut shop near us for some quick breakfast before driving up to Memphis.
We stopped by Comics & Collectibles on Poplar Ave. first. Normally when we get there around their normal opening time of 10am there’s a line out the door. This year they opened up at 6am! Didn’t want to get up that early so we figured we’d shoot for 8am. When we drove up there were no people or even cars in front of the shop. We thought the shop was closed until we saw a girl walk out carrying a bag with her. Apparently they had opened up this early before and it helped make the morning rush much more manageable. There were a couple other folks that pulled up right after us, and the folks we knew who were already there had parked in the side parking lot.
We said hi to friends, picked out our FCBD books, and did some shopping. You could get one free FCBD comic for just showing up, and if you purchase $5.00 or more in merchandice you are entitled to one of each they had available- and there was A LOT to choose from! They also had a 20% off sale on merch.
Since the crowd was kinda light during that time it didn’t take us a long time to shop or pay. That was great, but we didn’t see any cosplayers or run into as many friends as we normally do there. There were families there, so that was great to see kids picking out comics with their parents.
Jason at Comic Cellar (on Austin Peay) had invited us to set up at his shop. We were scheduled to be there at 10am, and were done at Comics and Collectibles shortly after 9am. We had a lot of time to kill so we stopped by the bank for me to pick up some change, and then slid by Target to check out the toy, movie, and geek sections. Didn’t see anything we couldn’t live without, so we grabbed some Starbucks on the way out and headed to our next stop.
Was going to try to slide by 901 Comics in midtown, but wasn’t sure about their hours.
Had thought about trying to hit Jupiter Comics while we were out that way to go to the bank, but wasn’t sure what time they would open, and we just didn’t have time enough to get to Collierville and back out to Raliegh by 10am. Glad we didn’t- Jupiter closed that location and is currently opening a Jupiter 2.0 shop even further out in Moscow, TN. Supposed to be a much bigger space with more to offer like a cafe, arcade, bigger gaming space, and mini-golf. They had to skip FCBD this year, and looks like they are open weekends only right now. I will make the trip out and do a review once it’s fully open.
We made it out to Comic Cellar on time and got set up in the front of the store. I brought some tees to sell and some “Bushi Tales” comics and promo postcards to give away. I recently was cleaning out the garage and found TONS of the comics, so I thought I’d make room in the garage and celebrate FCBD by giving away some of my overstock.
Whenever someone walked up and got one comic, I told them that the rule is the comics are free but you have to pick up at least one of each of ALL three issues! They would laugh and agree, and then I would tell them to enjoy them, and if they didn’t- well, at least they got their money’s worth. 😉
I really wish print-on-demand was better and faster back when we were doing the BT comics..!
The shop would allow customers to pick out up to 5 FCBD comics for attending. They had lots of other freebies (like buttons and other comics), $1 and $.50 comics, and lots of trade paper backs, graphic novels, and comic bundles on sale at various discounted prices.
I brought a Star Wars sketchcover to work on, and Nicki was there to motivate me to keep drawing and giving away comics. Got to talk to a lot of friends, and met some new folks. (Got some good news from Jason I hope to be able to share soon.) 😉
Another local artist, Charles Ettinger (president of the MSCA/Mid-South Cartoonists Association) was set up next to us. He was selling some of his art prints and doing sketches for fans.
I worked with Charles waaaaaay back in the late ’80s and again briefly in the ’90s doing t-shirts, along with long time friend and fellow MSCA member Greg Cravens. It’s hard to believe we’ve become the “old guys” in the club.
I took a break and did some shopping for trades and comics. Paid for my pull list comics in our hold box, and picked out a few FCBD comics I had missed at Comics and Collectibles earlier.
The shop normally opens up at noon on Saturday’s, but the doors opened at 10am yesterday. There was a good constant flow of traffic in the shop. Lots of people in cool comic themed tees, hats, and hoodies, but didn’t see any other cosplayers while we were there, which was very unusual for a FCBD. 🙁
Comic Cellar and Comics and Collectibles are where I get most of my sketchcovers, and Comic Cellar has some finished ones for sale up by the register, including several of mine.
Charles Ettinger has some of his covers for sale there as well. He’s got a fun cartoon style.
After I got home last night I saw on Facebook that someone had bought my K-2SO sketchcover after I had left the shop! Always good to see that folks like them.
I changed out of my costume and we left a little after 2pm and headed back down south. We grabbed a bite to eat at Pyro’s Pizza, and then headed up the street to see “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2“.
Of course we had to get our Guardians popcorn bucket and cup with topper. Unfortunately for me they had run out of Groot and Rocket, but Nicki got a Gamora topper. We really enjoyed the movie. I think I liked the first one better, but this one was a lot of fun and had some great moments- especially those with Rocket, Groot, and Yondu/”Space-Merle”. The ones between Drax and Mantis were hhilarious, too. Lots of great cameos and guest stars, and stay through the credits- there are 5 additional scenes and lots of goofiness during the credits.
After the movie we stopped by Books-A-Million in Southaven on our way home. I picked up Nicki a small birthday present I had been looking for, and found a “Justice League/Suicide Squad” comic for me. They’ve moved from their old location towards the back of the Southaven Towne Center Mall up to the front in the old Hancock Fabrics location at Airways and Goodman. They have a great selection of Funko POP!s.
I picked up several FCBD books. Really looking forward to reading the Boom/Mouse Guard, TMNT, Dr. Who, Tick, WW, Guardians, CBLDF, Buffy, and Colorful Monsters issues.
The comics I bought at both stores- a few from my hold box and a few comics off the rack including a few new sketchcovers.
These are the trade paperbacks I bought on sale. There were LOTS to choose from, but didn’t have these in my collection. Had somehow missed the Dan Brereton one in the middle when it originally came out. Have the single issues of “Batman: The Cult“, but couldn’t resist a TPB of Bernie Wrightson‘s Batman work. Have been collecting Iron Fist and Heroes For Hire TPBs for a while now.
Nicki picked up several trades and comics, as well as a Streaky The Cat plush doll.
I bought two toys on sale- a Play Arts Rorschach action figure and a Funko Iron Fist POP! action figure. I bought a few other things, but they are birthday presents for Nicki and I can’t “show & tell” them yet. I ordered her main birthday present a while back and it said it would ship in time, but just in case I wanted to have a back-up plan.
Free Comic Book Day happens every year on the first Saturday in May all over North America and in several countries. The comics are free for fans and each shop celebrates differently and has different hours. If you missed this year’s FCBD then definitely make plans to attend and shop at your local comic book shop(s). And spend a few dollars while you’re there. The comics and goodies may be free for us fans, but the retailers have to pay for them. Show them you appreciate them supporting Free Comic Book Day by showing some support for them in return.
Thanks again to all the retailers, and to Jason and Comic Cellar for inviting us out. Can’t wait to do it all again next year!
Lin
Tonight I’m getting ready for Free Comic Book Day which is here again tomorrow- Saturday, May 6th.
What is Free Comic Book Day..? Well, it’s a day where many comic retailers here in the states (and some countries around the world) hand out free comics to fans. Comic shops also have sales, do other giveaways, have guest artists signing comics and doing sketches in-store, cosplayers, fun photo ops, and much, much more.
It’s a very family friendly event, and there are comics for all ages.
Each store celebrates FCBD differently, has different books available, and have different hours. Be sure to contact your local comic shop to see when they will be open. Comics and Collectibles here will be open at 6am!
Nicki and I will be set up at Comic Cellar in Memphis, TN (3620 Austin Peay Hwy #2, Memphis, TN 38128) starting at 10am. I’ll have some sketchcovers and tees for sale, and lots of “Bushi Tales” comics to give away.
Now, just because the comics are free for fans, they’re NOT FREE for the retailers. They have to pay the publishers for the books they giveaway, so if you stop by a store be sure to look around and do some shopping.
Like I said, many have great sales going on that day so take advantage of saving some money while helping to support your local comic shop. If you’re like me you might want to pick up a comic box or two while you’re there!
Free Comic Book Day is a great yearly event. I hope you’re able to get out to a comic shop near you to celebrate it. Don’t forget that “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2” is in theaters this weekend. You can see more about our 2015 FCBD adventurers by clicking here.
Lin
“None of you seem to understand. I’m not locked in here with you. You’re locked in here with ME!” – Rorschach
I’ve been working on my Rorschach costume for several months now, and finally got to put my new face on and go out in public this past weekend to MidSouthCon (after a couple trial runs at Memphis Comic Expo and Southern Fried Comic Con). Thankfully the Memphis weather was good for the show, and many folks knew who I was supposed to be. Since I’ve posted progression shots of the costume creation on my Facebook page a lot of people knew who was under the mask, too.
Rorschach is a character with a black and white view of good and evil in the world. He first appeared in the 12 issue comic series “Watchmen” in 1986-1987 by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (and editors Len Wein and Barbara Kesel). A film adaption was done by director Zack Snyder in 2009. Before Watchmen, a comic-book series prequel to the original Watchmen series was released in 2012. A video game and a motion comic were also released.
I wanted to do a cross between the Dave Gibbons comic version, and the Zack Snyder movie version (played by actor Jackie Earle Haley). I like aspects of both, but wanted to be free enough to create my own version of the character and not be tied to making an exact duplicate of either.
I’ve taken pieces from my Doctor Who War Doctor costume (leather jacket and shirt), added new items, and fabricated a few. The coat started off as a black leather jacket from Goodwill that cost me less than $30.00. I cleaned it with rubbing alcohol, airbrushed it brown with Createx airbrush acrylics, and used some splatter and wood stain wash to age it (I’ll do a blog on the War Doctor costume soon). I also replaced all the buttons. For the War Doctor I don’t use the belt or buckled wrist strap pieces, but I do on Rorschach (and will on a future Det. Jim Gordon cosplay). I unbuttoned one epaulet and put a little wire inside it to help make it stand up a bit.
I needed a new mask. I had two others I bought from eBay– a static pattern mask, and one that does change with heat/cold, but it really only works well in 50-60 degree temps- and even with a plastic under-mask it wasn’t as dramatic as I had hoped. Both were a bit difficult to see out of and the patterns were a bit lighter than I liked, and the stitching on one was already coming loose. I plan on making a new shape-changing one in the future, but will wait until it cools off again. You can use Speedball Fabric/Acrylic Transparent Base clear gel ($8.00/8oz) and black Thermochromatic Pigment powder ($18.00/20g)to create the effect. I’ve seen them both for sale on Amazon. The powder and gel aren’t too pricey, and if you plan on making a few different masks it could well justify the cost.
For now I just needed a good static design mask. I bought a blank white Morphsuits mask off of Amazon ($12.00) and painted it myself with acrylic black after stretching it over a Styrofoam wig head. I first put the mask on and had my wife sketch small ovals where my eyes were before sketching the pattern in pencil and then painting it. The darker black areas helped to cut down on the glare- kind of like the black a football player might wear under their eyes. Bringing the brim of my hat down a bit more helped shade my eyes and allowed me to see better as well. I was actually surprised at how well I could move around the con on my own in this newer version of my mask.
Oh, I have been saving any smiley face bags I get- our local Chinese restaurant has them for take-out. I even got one at the Southern Fried Comic Con in Jackson, TN while dressed as Rorschach. I’ve painted them with Copic markers to take to cons with me to hold stuff like my program or props like my cardboard Rorschach logo. I was going to order a Comedian smiley face button off of Amazon, but found 5 plain 2″ ones for about the same price as one pre-made logo button (less than $10.00 w/shipping). Now I have extras and they look a lot more realistic painted with acrylics. I pushed the paint around to build up the edges a little and make the top a bit thinner to give it more of a 3D effect, and used red, brown, and purple to give it a dried blood splatter look. Clear coated it to protect it.
The gloves ($10.00), scarf (I bought 2- $6.25-13.00ea), and hat ($12.00) were ordered online, and then detailed with some “human bean juice” blood splatter, and the shoes were some brown suede ones I already had for casual dressing when I don’t want to wear sneakers. I’ve got some brown dress shoes that would work well, too- but these are more comfortable which is VERY important when walking around cons. The pants I got from the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, AL. They have a light pinstripe to them, and would work great for a steampunk cosplay, too. They’re very comfortable, and cheap! Got them for under $10 when I was shopping there for my War Doctor costume.
The shirt came from Goodwill, as did a paisley tie ($1.00 or so) I wear under the scarf in case it’s a bit too hot to wrap up. It makes the costume look a bit more like the Rorschach from the “Before Watchmen” comic. (Mmm…helped myself to some beans. Hurm…)
Here are the Rorschach pants and War Doctor pants and a shirt I liked at the Unclaimed Baggage Center store. Going to use that shirt for a possible western or steampunk costume. It was too cool and too cheap to pass up.
I found a few other shirts I liked at Goodwill for around $4.00-5.00ea and ended up using the far left one for both the War Doctor and Rorschach. I need to shorten the sleeves just a bit one of these days, but under the jacket it’s not too noticeable. The thing to remember about Goodwill, Unclaimed Baggage Center, Army Surplus, fabric shops, and thrift stores is you have to shop them often, keep a good eye out, and hope you get lucky.
Now, anyone could get a trench-coat, a hat, and mask and be Rorschach fairly cheap, and I occasionally see another one at a con from time to time (that’s me in the left photo at Comic Cellar and on the left at MCX2016)- but not as often as you might a Harley Quinn or Deadpool these days. It’s an iconic costume, but one that you can put your own spin on and easily put together or buy online. In fact, my whole Rorschach costume was put together for a little over $100.00 or so if you include the cost of stuff I already had like the shoes and jacket.
“Closet Cosplaying” with items you can find in your own closet or from thrift stores is my favorite way to costume. It can be more realistic- not only in looks, but in budget, time, and ease. Being able to buy off the rack and maybe do a bit of modification with my level of basic sewing, fabrication, and make-up skills makes it more fun for me and not as stressful as creating totally from scratch. I hope to be able to do more from scratch as my costuming abilities improve, but part of me will always dig the scavenger hunt style of costuming.
Okay, so I’ve put my spin on the Rorschach character, but what is the one thing truly missing from this cosplay..?
A Rorschach grappling gun! It varies some from the comic to the movie, and is very similar to the one in the ’89 Batman film.
Now, they sell an official replica gun and mask for a few hundred dollars, and I’ve seen some other working guns for for twice that. I didn’t have that kind of cash lying around. My cheap solution…
…a $12.00 Nerf gun from Walmart. That kind of change I had on me, and didn’t mind spending some time creating a gun myself. Nerf guns are great for customizing, and some of the off-brand ones are even better…and cheaper. 😉
The first thing I did after taking it out of it’s packaging (and doing a few Nerf test shots in the living room) was sand off all the raised writing and logos on the surface. I also lightly sanded the entire gun to help the primer and paint stick better. It was a bit slick and shiny.
Then I took the gun apart, put some newspaper down on a table in the garage, and sprayed all the parts I needed with a primer. I had an old busted airbrush hose and moisture trap plus some fittings that I sprayed with primer, too. It took about a day or two of spraying and drying to get a good even coverage on all the parts.
Then I used blue painters tape to mask off areas for the metallic spray paints. I used a little bit of black spray paint to create some light shadows to help give the piece some depth and not look so fake. I figured Rorschach probably got his gun from Nite Owl back when they were partners, but he doesn’t keep it in pristine condition these days.
To give it that look I did some detailing with a small brush, some dry-brushing with a wider brush, and used some wood stain to age it. It’s amazing what a little bit of dry-brushing, washes, or other paint tricks can make a prop pop! Before disassembling it I used a Dremel to carve his logo into both sides of the gun’s handle and painted the recessed areas black.
I took out the firing mechanism and glued the rotating ammo cylinder and cocking slide on top in place. The trigger can still be pulled, but nothing happens- just makes holding it with gloves on easier. I added the old air-hose/moisture trap assembly to the top of the gun to simulate an air cylinder. Once the gun had been reassembled and all the painting was done I sprayed the gun with clear to protect it from unwanted scratches at cons. It’s okay to look like it has scratches and wear, but don’t want the paint to actually come off. I used a gloss clear on the handle and a matte finish spray on the rest of the gun. I usually have plenty of clear and other spray-paint on hand. It’s pretty cheap and can be used on lots of things for protection or effects.
Finally it came time to make the hook- the part I really wasn’t so sure about. I drew a paper pattern first to check size and shape with the assembled gun. It took a couple tries to get the look and size right. I then made a sturdier cardboard template. I had kept a broken tube from one of my old solar powered yard lights and used it and a wooden dowel as the main shaft of the hook. I used Gorilla Glue to fasten the two pieces of the shaft together after measuring and cutting the spaces for the three hook prongs with an X-acto knife and my Dremel.
The plastic tube fit perfectly in the barrel, and the wooden dowel fit snugly into the ammo cylinder. It all fit so snugly I didn’t need to use magnets or anything to keep it in the gun, and the hook would pull out easily if needed.
Using my cardboard pattern I drew the shape out on some thin scrap plywood I had left over from some shelving projects (waste not..!). I cut the three hook blades out with a jigsaw.
The wood was light but sturdy. I did rounded corners for safety at cons (I have limited sight while wearing the mask, especially in a crowded and dark con). I sanded the pieces smooth with an electric palm sander and a bit by hand.
I then glued them on one at a time with Gorilla Glue and the blue painters tape. I let each side set up overnight. The glue held so well that when my cat Lex knocked it off my costume tote and onto our hardwood floors it bounced! Didn’t mean to do a stress test on it but glad to know it’s durable enough to pass one.
Once the fins were secure I glued a brass fitting to the tip of the hook. I picked up 2 sizes at a local hardware store for under a buck each and ended up suing the larger of the two. I then cleaned up some of the excess glue, primed it, spray-painted and aged it like I had the gun. It was hard not to rush it all, but I think taking my time really paid off.
And there you have it- a finished grappling gun for under $20.00. Okay, so it doesn’t fire or open, but that could be problematic at cons if it did and would probably be banned from entering the cons. I just needed a lightweight and cheap photo prop, and this more than does the job- and didn’t kill my wallet.
One day I may try and create one that the fin hooks open, but that’s a project for on down the road. For now this one gets the job done just fine- and was within my limited costuming budget!
I’ve had a lot of fun making this costume, and have had a blast getting to wear it to cons. It can be a bit warm at times, but is actually pretty comfortable and can be re-purposed into other costumes, which makes things easy if I want to cosplay at an away con. I am looking forward to doing some original fan art based on it soon, and will share that on my LinWorkman.com site when finished. You can also check out some of my other costumes and some others at cons I’ve attended on this site’s blog entries- “Confessions of a Closet Cosplayer“, “Cosplaying in Memphis- photos from MidSouthCon 34“, and “This Means War”- My Doctor Who War Doctor cosplay Part 1“.
Hope to see you all at a con this season!
Lin/Rorschach
(Additional photos by Nicki Workman Photography/@NWorkmanPhoto, Toy Robot Photography, Pense Productions, Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention promo booth, Marcy Meeker, and Dale Martin.)
All DC Comics characters and the distinctive likeness(es) thereof are Trademarks & Copyright © 1986 DC Comics, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
This month I set up another display in the Hernando Public Library in my hometown of Hernando, MS. It’s in the west lobby entrance off of Commerce Street. They have two display cases that they let locals decorate- one large one (on the right in the photo above) and one smaller one (on the left). Normally the display lasts for a month, but mine gets to stay up for two months- January and February. My wife Nicki and I have done several other displays since we’ve gotten married- Star Wars, Harry Potter, hockey, the Batman TV show’s 50th anniversary, DC Comics, and a comics/live action themed one. They’ve always goten a positive reaction from visitors and we always have a lot of fun putting them up.
This new one is a mix of animation art (original painted cels, background art, animation drawings, character sheets, storyboards, animation bible) and original comic book and comic strip art (pages, covers, and pencil roughs) taken from my collection. I’ve been collection animation art for a few years now, and comic art since the ’90s. I really wished I had started sooner.
I added some of my toys, statues, books, and DVDs related to the animation art, too. I like to include books in the displays- not only because it’s a library, but because I love books! I’ve got several on animation and making comics. Hopefully folks will want to “check out” some themselves.
On the left side of the big case I mostly have Batman art from “Batman: The Animated Series” (BTAS) and “Batman Beyond“, along with a Hulk cel and background. The left photo shows a “Batman Beyond” pencil drawing and painted animation cel from that series.
I also have some comic book production art (top center and bottom left and right). The “Batman Beyond” art (top right) shows the pencil drawing and painted cel.
On the shelf below above my BTAS Batmobile are two storyboards from “Batman: The Animated Series“. They are hand drawn and you can see where they used post-it notes to replace a previous drawing that needed to be changed for a shot.
This show is one of my all time favorites. It was heavily influenced by the early 1940’s Fleischer Superman cartoons, and in turn heavily influenced other animation after it. In it’s second season it was re-titled “The Adventures of Batman & Robin“and later “The New Batman Adventures“, and spun off movies, games, and other series such as “Superman: The Animated Series“, “Justice League“, “Justice League Unlimited “, and “Batman Beyond“.
I have two Batman maquettes on display, along with a BTAS show bible (which is a reference document with information on a television series’ characters, settings, designs, and other elements) and a Warner Bros. animation art book. It’s a favorite of mine, and has one of the coolest covers!
The Harley Quinn maquette is probably one of my favorite collectibles. I had a couple kids walk by while I was setting up and ask me if I would GIVE them the Harley statue. “Uh, NO!!!” I’ve gotten to meet both of Harley’s creators– artist Bruce Timm and writer Paul Dini, at the San Diego Comic Con and have an original Harley drawing by Bruce.
Moving on, the right side of the display features items from the animated “Beetlejuice“, “The Ghost Busters/Ghostbusters“, and “The Real Ghostbusters” series.
At the center of the bottom shelf is a cel and a background from the animated “Beetlejuice” cartoon featuring the ghost with the most himself. The hand painted cel is on a separate layer from the painted background. I found out recently at the Memphis Comic Expo that my table neighbor, artist Kyle Baker, is a big animated Beetlejuice fan!
To the left and right of the color cel are original animation pencil drawings, and to the side of those (on the side walls) and below it are character model sheets. Traditional hand drawn animation is usually done at 24 frames per second– which means for every second of animation/movement an animator has to pencil 24 drawings! A lead animator will do the most dramatic poses, and then the go-between/fill-in artists draw the frames in-between to create the illusion of movement in the cartoon.
Model sheets help when many artists are involved in the making of an animated film to help maintain continuity in characters from scene to scene. The one on the left is a head character study showing different facial expressions by Beetlejuice, and the one in the bottom of the picture on the right is a character and prop sheet.
I’ve got a few Beetlejuice kids meal toys and my DVD copies of the series 3 seasons and Halloween special. I’ve been a big Beetlejuice fan for years, and occasionally cosplay as him. I even proposed to my wife dressed as him!
The middle shelf above Beetlejuice has some Filmation “The Ghost Busters/Ghostbusters” items. There’s the original live action “The Ghost Busters” TV show on DVD on the left, and the “Ghostbusters” cartoon series on the right. The three animation cels in the back are of Tracy the gorilla, who was played in the live action TV show by actor and Hollywood historian Bob Burns (that’s a sketch card of Tracy on the left that I drew).
Fun fact- Bob, who is listed as Tracy The Gorrilla’s trainer in the TV show, is not only famous for monkeying around, but he and his wife Kathy have a HUGE collection of Hollywood memorabilia which includes the King Kong stop motion armature puppet from the original black and white movie. They also have a cameo in Peter Jackson’s remake of “King Kong“, and are in the DVD special features with the Kong puppet. Check out his book “It Came From Bob’s Basement” or the documentary “Beast Wishes: The Bob and Kathy Burns Movie“.
Jake Kong Jr. and Eddie Spencer Jr. (who’s with Tracy in the center cel) are the sons of the original Ghost Busters from the live action TV series (starring F-Troop co-stars Forrest Tucker as Kong and Larry Storch as Spencer), and Tracy worked with their fathers. Tracy wore a propeller beanie cap (and other hats) on the show, and wore more of a Fedora in the cartoon. The live action show had an old jalopy, and the cartoon show had a flying car. The cartoon “Ghostbusters” is responsible for the “Real” in the animated series “The Real Ghostbusters“.
And speaking of that show, the top shelf has a few real “The Real Ghostbusters” animation drawings and cels, Season 1 DVD, “Ghostbusters” DVD, and “Beetlejuice“DVD.
The story behind the different “Ghost Busters/Ghostbusters/Real Ghostbusters“..? Well, as I’ve heard it- first came the live action show “The Ghost Busters” by Filmation in 1975 with Spencer, Tracy, and Kong, then the 1984 Columbia Pictures live action movie “Ghostbusters” we all know with Egon, Ray, Peter, and Winston (which Columbia ended up paying Filmation $$$ to license the name). After that movie was a hit and Columbia didn’t go with Filmation for an animated series (Columbia went with DiC instead), Filmation then developed “Ghostbusters” in 1986 based off their old TV show. This prompted Columbia to name their cartoon show “The Real Ghostbusters” (1986-1992) to distinguish it from the Filmation series. That show was followed up in 1997 by “Extreme Ghostbusters“. We’ve also had the “Ghostbusters II” movie sequel in 1989, the recent 2016 live action movie reboot, plus several video games and comics. The Filmation live action and animated series are pretty much unknown to most folks thanks to their short runs and the popularity of the Columbia Pictures Ghostbusters franchise, but growing up it was my Ghostbusters.
Across the entry hall in the smaller display case I have original comic pages and the final printed comics they were created for. The top shelf is “The Waiting Place” art by Mike Norton (left), and “Jane’s World” (right) by Paige Braddock. The “Jane’s World” comic I got from Paige at a National Cartoonists Society meeting in Georgia, and I won the original cover art at the same SEC/NCS show. Paige worked with Charles “Sparky” Schulz– creator of “Peanuts“.
I did an art trade with Mike for the art while he was living in Memphis back in the ’90s. He asked me what I would charge to do a head sculpt of one of TWP characters. I asked if he would trade the original cover art to TWP #3. He wasn’t sure where that art was, but said if he ever found it he would give it to me and asked if I’d like to have two pages of my choosing instead. I said sure and picked 2 hockey pages from that issue.
A few years later we were both attending Comic Geek Speak‘s 300th episode celebration in Reading, PA . They had set us up next to each other and there waiting for me on my table was the cover art I had asked for! I have a few other art pieces by Mike, but these are my favorites.
The bottom shelf has (left) “How To Make Webcomics” book, an original comic page from “Harley Quinn” (featuring J’onn J’onzz/Martian Manhunter), (right) an animated Batman comic page (by Joe Staton and Terry Beatty), “Making Comics” book (by Scott McCloud), and along the bottom are pencil layouts for Greg Cravens “The Buckets” syndicated comic strip and some of my drawing tools.
I like that you can see some of the red color hold lines on the Batman page. It’s done by the inker to show the colorist where an area of color should be different from the area next to it (usually for shading), but without inking it in black. Sometimes a color hold will be a black area that is done as a different color for effect.
In the middle of the bottom shelf is a copy of DC Comic’s “Alpha Centurion Special #1” and an original comic page from that issue by artist Dean Zachary (and inker Pam Eklund). Dean’s a friend and another local Memphis artist. Nicki and I have gotten lots of art from him over the years, including one comic page featuring Batman and Oracle. The ink work on this one is really nice, and you can see how much bigger the original comic pages are drawn when next to the final printed comic book. I really wanted to showcase the quality of hand drawn art that goes behind making comics and animation, and I hope this display gets people to appreciating those artists’ hard work and talent.
Our library is very comics friendly, has had comic creators and authors do guest speaking, and we’ve donated comics/trade paper backs/graphic novels to them over the years. If you’re in the area or don’t mind making the short drive from Memphis, Southaven, or Olive Branch, MS I hope you can check out the display and our local library. If you do stop by- don’t forget to stop by “The Dip” (Velvet Cream) or Area 51 Ice Cream afterwards for a bite to eat! 😉
First Regional Library (Hernando)
370 West Commerce
Hernando, MS 38632
(662) 429-4439 phone
https://www.firstregional.org/hernando.html
established 1950
MONDAY 9:30-7:00
TUESDAY 9:30-7:00
WEDNESDAY 9:30-7:00
THURSDAY 9:30-7:00
FRIDAY 9:30-5:30
SATURDAY 9:30-5:00
SUNDAY CLOSED
Hey, gang-
Well, my wife Nicki and I woke up to a bit of a surprise this morning…SNOW DAY!
For some folks up north our “snow storms” would be considered flurries, but here 1″ of snow or more can be a “Snowmageddon” and practically shut down areas around the mid-south. What little snow we get usually melts, then freezes, and then has more snow fall on top of it. It can be pretty treacherous, and Memphis drivers aren’t all that good when the streets are dry.
Just the slightest hint of snow in the weather forecast can have folks around here freak out and descend like ravenous locusts on the local grocery stores, desperately searching for milk and bread- because apparently none of us can survive a snow day here without them. I have never understood it. We can go for a week or more in good weather without them, but store shelves can be emptied almost immediately by this snow induced phenomenon. Luckily for me I did my grocery shopping yesterday on the way home from work before any of the weather hit and when they still thought we’d just get light flurries.
I grew up in northern Utah for several years. There we would have 1′-2′ of snow at a time instead of the inch or two we’d occasionally get here. When my family moved back to Memphis and I had my first snow day home from school I didn’t know what that was- or why. “A snow day? Wait- they are going to close the school because of ‘snow’..?!!” For four years in elementary school back in Utah I used to walk three blocks to school, in three feet of snow, uphill- both ways! Blew my 10 year old mind that something like a “snow day” could happen. In the southern school district’s defense, we could walk to our neighborhood schools and didn’t have to ride school buses. There are a lot of rural areas around us and the buses have to travel down a lot of two lane country roads. Those are some of the first to freeze over and stay frozen. To me snowy weather and school closings seemed to happen a lot more then than it does now, but then again I’ve never had kids and I’m no meteorologist.
As a kid I loved comics, and would spend my $1 a week allowance on them at the local 7/11 out in Bartlett, TN (a suburb of Memphis). The first one I bought there was a copy of “The Amazing Spiderman” #171. Back in the “olden days” new comics were still $.25-.30 cents each, and you could find some older ones for a dime or so around town if you were lucky. Today $.25, $.50. or $1.00 comic bins can be found at some comic retailers and conventions, and if you’re willing to do some long box diving you might come up with some back issues needed to fill in a run, or discover an overlooked key issue worth more than it’s marked.
Occasionally some stores didn’t return older books and you could find some of the ones you missed there. My mom and I would find comics at yard sales, too. Many of my early comics never had covers (retailers would send the covers as returns instead of the whole book and toss out the old comics, or so they were supposed to…). It didn’t matter, those cover-less, well read, and sometimes ragged comics were still just as enjoyable to me as a new one off the newstands. This was waaaaaaaaaaay back before comic shops, the internet, and digital comics. There were a few trade paperbacks here and there, but mostly origin and/or best of collections. If you missed a single issue it could be years before you could locate it. The first comic I ever remember reading was “Marvel Team-Up” #4, which was a two part story that began in MTU #3– which I didn’t buy a copy of until I was well into my late thirties or early forties. Found it at a small comic show in Cape Girardeau, MO.
Like the MTU issues, it was several years before I ever found the Nova issue (#12 by by Marv Wolfman, Sal Buscema, and Frank Giacoia) that was the first part of the Spidey #171 Photon story (by Len Wein, Ross Andru, and Mike Esposito). Had it happen again not too long after with a second issue of a three part story with the Green Goblin. Thankfully that one didn’t take as long to run across as Nova #12 or MTU #3 and I found it several months later on a spinner rack at a 7/11 across town.
You were truly at the mercy of whatever the spinner rack or newstands were stocked with.
Some were filled with more Marvel Comics (like at my first 7/11), some with more DC Comics (like the one I later found at a convenience store across from Graceland), and others with Archie, Harvey Comics, and other publishers.
One of my favorite places to shop as a kid was a used bookstore in downtown Memphis called The Paperback Shack. Towards the back of the store the shop had a few huge cardboard boxes that were overflowing with back issues. ALL were 10 for $1.00..! After my parents divorced, my mom would take my sisters and me there from time to time. We’d walk around the outdoor Mid-America Mall (now the Main Street Mall), visit some of her old co-workers, and have lunch at our favorite burger joint that looked like an old trolley car. It was a big family outing for us to ride the bus there and back, and I would always come home with a HUGE stack of comics for a buck or two- instead of just a few when I would “buy off the rack” at a convenience store.
After my parents split up, money for things like allowances was a bit hard to come by. Even before the divorce my family wasn’t well off, and I always had odd jobs like mowing lawns, shoveling snow, cleaning parking lots, selling night-crawlers (large earthworms for fishing), and such to make extra money for toys, model kits, and eventually comics. (A friend and I would get free lunches at Taco Time once a week for cleaning the parking lot, and we would dine out on a wooden deck up in a tree in the front parking lot- I loved that!)
One such odd job I did happened while living with my mom in Memphis after the divorce- and it was most lucrative during the winter months if it snowed or when it was rainy. Sometimes my mom would send me to the grocery store to pick up whatever items we were out of at the time. She had just learned to drive and was terrified of driving in snow and icy or wet conditions. We had a few really steep hills that could be scary in dry weather. The store was just a couple blocks away, and we had a fold-up shopping cart I could use to haul it all back in. I would walk up and down our street and ask if any neighbors would need anything. Mostly it was bread and/or milk (again- they are essential to surviving snow in the south) or maybe eggs, butter, or soup. We had several older neighbors that would have had a hard time getting out in bad weather, especially in snow and ice. Usually they would tell me to keep the change or give me an extra dollar. Enough neighbors tip you that way and it was a nice bit of loot for comics..! Now some grocery stores will deliver, but back then you really couldn’t call up your local store and have them bring your winter survival necessities- well, at least not in our neighborhood. You definitely couldn’t order it on-line!
After doing my shopping at the grocery store and before heading back home, I would stop in at the Rexall drug store next to it and hit the comic spinner rack and spend all of my delivery earnings. I might also buy a candy bar or package of Now-And-Laters to enjoy later while reading those new comics. I loved playing in the snow as a kid, but I grew to love comics more. When your parents go through a messy divorce, those kind of good memories are gold to a young kid and stick with you for life. We may not have had iPads, internet, or video games then, but I don’t think I would have traded those snow days and the memories of them for anything.
Hope you’re having a great snow day. Earlier my wife and I took a walk around the neighborhood and let the cats play out back. Now that we’re back inside I’m going to enjoy a hot cup of coffee (or two), draw some sketchcovers, look at a few new art books I got in the mail this week, and read a few comics- I’m waaaaaaay behind.
Stay safe and warm, and happy comics reading to you!
Lin
PS- thanks to all the hospital staff, police, fire, road and electrical crews, media, convenience and grocery store employees, delivery drivers, mail/UPS/FedEx, and all the others who braved the roads (and other drivers) to do their jobs today and all the other bad weather days and holidays..!
