The Human Fly, the wildest costumed hero of all (because he's real!), is coming back!

Back in the 70's when I first started reading comic books, I had a few early favourites. One was our own Canadian costumed hero Captain Canuck. Another was Marvel Comic's The Human Fly. As soon as I saw the cover of issue #1, I was hooked. I don't think I ever realized he was also a Canadian super hero, that part was completely lost on me, but the "wildest costumed hero of all (because he's real!)" part always seemed really cool!

The original series ran for 19 issues before being cancelled and disappearing into the comic back bins forever... or so it seemed! 

The Human Fly, the real-life Canadian stunt-man phenomenon from the late 1970's – and start of a 19-issue run at Marvel Comics – will be returning to color comic-books for the direct market, and collections for the book trade! Canadian company Human Fly International (HFI) has entered into an agreement with IPI Comics (IPI), that will allow the Human Fly to return to exciting new stories in color comics.

The Human Fly is a truly dynamic unique property that will come to stand with our first comics releases as something fresh and unusual. We know such a powerful concept, anchored with fascinating real-life history and a captivating design, will get readers and superhero fans' attention ion a big way. So, we are going to work very closely with HFI to produce something memorable, that will make both new fans and those who have any of the old Marvel Human Fly comics in their collections very pleased indeed to see the concepts re-examined and revamped for comics and graphic novels today. So, if you liked aspects off the Marel material we'll make sure you won't be disappointed, but I must emphasize this WON'T be a retro-book; this will be an adrenalin-charging comic-book for readers of today, that envelops the amazing truths and remorse of this scenario, but is also a perfect new book for readers who have never heard of this character before.

Check out the press release from IPI Comics here.

Hey look... I'm in a Captain Canuck comic!

Captain Canuck #6 from 1979 was one of my first comic books and the one that really got me into collecting comics! The original series ran just 14 issues, from 1975 until its end in 1981. Many years later a limited edition #15 was released. Then 23 years later, a new Captain Canuck mini series titled Unholy War was released. When I saw it solicited in Previews I was so excited! I quickly wrote and mailed off a letter to Richard Comely telling him how excited I was that after so many years of waiting, there was finally going to be some new Captain Canuck comic books. To my surprise, when issue #1 was released in October 2004, right there in the back of the book, was my letter!

So far, I have had letters printed in two of my three favourite comic books, Captain Canuck, and Groo the Wanderer. Now I just have to wait for them to start printing letters in Batman again, and I can try to make it three for three!

I did make one mistake in my letter, when I wrote that I was member #6 in the Captain Canuck Club. I am actually #13. Sorry I lied in my letter. At the time I wrote my letter, I could not find my membership card, and for some reason I remembered being member #6. I'm so glad I can correct my error 16 years later. Feels good to get that off my chest.

Sergio Aragones custom artwork

Back in 1994 I had the pleasure of meeting Sergio Aragones for the first time at the Vancouver Comic Con. It was my first comic con and I had heard that when you meet artists etc, you were usually allowed to get one item signed and a photo and then sent on your way. I brought one issue of Groo the Wanderer to get signed and expected that would be it. When I went to his booth, he was sitting there working on artwork for an upcoming issue of Groo. He was really nice and signed my comic and showed me what he was working on. He said that he had spilled coffee on some pages he was drawing on the plane, so was doing them again (I guess thats ok when you are the worlds fastest cartoonist). I also asked him if he would do a drawing of Groo as a fireman for my KISS magazine, Firehouse Magazine. He said sure, but that he would do Alfred E Neuman. I'm not sure why he didn't want to do Groo (I would have been so much more excited for drawing of my favourite comic book character Groo), but I walked away with a really cool addition to my collection.

Mickey Mouse and th Perilous Jungle Cruise

Recently while visiting one of my favourite Disney sites, I saw some great faux Disney movie posters that are displayed at the character meet and greet at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida. They were all really cool, but I especially liked the one for "Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in The Jungle Cruise". A day or two later I saw the cover of a 1947 comic book, "Mickey Mouse and the Submarine Pirates", and immediately imagined it as a Jungle Cruise themed picture. So, a little bit of Photoshop magic and, voila, it's Mickey Mouse and the Perilous Jungle Cruise.

Gilligan's Island Comic Books

Back in the early 90's Harvey Comics got back into funny books in a big way! They got the licenses for Tom & Jerry, Woody Woodpecker, Caster the Ghost, Baby Huey, Richie Rich and others. I was excited to have all these new funny books to buy each month, but it got me thinking about my favourite TV show of all time, Gilligan's Island, and more specifically the cartoon series that followed the three years of the live action show, The New Adventures of Gilligan. It would make an great comic book, and it seemed like it would fit in nicely with the stuff that Harvey was publishing at the time, so I decided to write them with my great idea! I was excited and not to surprised to received a reply that said my idea was great, but that the idea didn't fit into their 'present publishing plans'. Knowing what I do not about the show and mess with its rights, I realized it was not to be. But, it would have been my favourite title every moth if it had come out as a comic book!

Shown here is the letter I received from Sid Jacobson, along with the cool envelope with embossed Casper just below the word Entertainment. The letter from July 2, 1993, reads: Thanks so much for your suggestions about Gilligan's Island. I'm sorry but the idea doesn't fit into our present publishing plans. I with it would... It would be fun. But I'm afraid it would be to difficult for us to reach the appropriate market. Sincerely Sid Jacobson.
Also shown is the New Adventures of Gilligan comic book cover I threw together in Photoshop. Anybody else here want to buy a copy of this first issue!

Batman's Dostoyevsky Comics

Here is a Batman story you have probably never seen before. Its from Masterpiece comics (Where classics and cartoons collide!) by R. Sikoryak, first edition 2009. One of the stories in the book is this one titled "Crime and Punishment!"

Betty & Veronica Original Artwork Page

I got my first original comic book artwork page at a recent comic con. I have always wanted to purchase actual original comic book art, but the starting price is usually in the hundreds, so is out of my price range. To my delight, I was able to pick up this page from Betty & Veronica Summer Special #244 for just $35. I also managed to get the comic book that it appeared in which was an added bonus. I can't wait to have it framed so I can hang it in my office.

From Comics to Film! on TCM

I know what I'll be doing this coming Wednesday. While reading my floppy copy of Batman & Robin Eternal #24, I came across an ad for TCM's March 23rd "From Comics to Film!" night. Among the offering this night will be Batman's first screen appearance in the 1943 Batman serial. Other offerings include episodes of Tunnel of Terror,  The Green Hornet, Buck Rodgers, Purple Death, Ace Drummond, Dick Tracy, the first entry in the Saint movie series "The Saint in New York", and the thing I am most interested in seeing, two episodes of the 1943 Phantom serial. I love the character of The Phantom, and I have always wanted to see this old Phantom serial. I can't wait to sit in the dark in front of my big screen TV watching the campy fun and munching my hot buttered popcorn.

Longest-lived American Comic Book

While reading the new IDW comics Donald Duck #3 (370), I came across this interesting editor's note in the back of the issue:

What's the longest-lived American comic book being published today? Trick question... we're warning you!
DC's Detective Comics – still on sale now – was born in 1937; Action Comics has flown the Superman flag since 1938. But both of those venerable titles, after racking up hundreds of issues, reset their numbering to #1; as if their old "lives" were over and a brand-new (52!) day was here. Even Archie recently reset after #666; did the devil make him do it?
With all of those heavy-hitters reduced to double digits, what one magazine still owns and embraces its long "life",,, even after countless climbs from one publisher to the next? Why, Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, of course, with its 720 hefty issues of Mice and Ducks. But wait... how is that long-lived? Comics and stories quacked its last quick in 2011 – Donald swears to it on a stack of ice cream sodas!
But in the immortal words of Carl Barks, longtime comics Duck Man: "That's what you think Donald!" Rounding out IDW's Disney lineup this month, Walt Disney's Comics and Stories is back for a new run of adventures and comedy! Donald, Mickey and Goofy are here! So, before long, will be the Big Bad Wolf, Chip 'n' Dale, and more or our favorite co-stars. Well, whaddaya know?

This really struck a chord with me, as I am NOT a fan of the renumbering and issue #1 craze that has taken over comics over the past years. As a Batman fan, I was always smug in my mocking of Marvel titles like Amazing Spiderman and Captain American that had rebooted and/or gone back to issue #1 multiple times - and still Batman was still going into the 800's. I remember thinking, how cool it would be when Detective Comics made it to issue #1000! But, sadly, DC comics succumbed to the #1 reboot craze and with 52, took all their titles back to issue #1, leaving Detective Comics to stop with issue #881 before renumbering itself to #1 again. If they had not renumbered, they would be at issue #924 today, instead of issue #44. Of course, if DC is still doing Detective Comics in 13 years from now, you know they won't let this milestone pass them by, as they make a BIG deal about renumbering their title to market the hell out of issue #1000. But we will all know the truth... they need to go another 80 years for the current Detective Comics title to reach the 1000 issue milestone.
So, now I need to root for Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. They just need to continue for another 279 issues (23 years of monthly comics) and I'll finally get my issue #1000.

Little Golden Book Monday #168

Today's Little Golden Book is Disney's Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers: The Big Cheese Caper from 1991, written by Deborah Kovacs and illustrated by Darrell Baker.
I was never a big fan of Chip 'N Dale, I usually saw them as nothing more than a foil for Donald Duck in his old cartoons, and I was too old when the Disney Afternoon was on TV to have watched the Rescue Rangers.

Here is what I know:
1) Chip is the one with a black nose (like a chocolate chip).
2) One of the Rescue Rangers characters named Gadget has her own Go Coaster in Disneyland's Toontown
3) There was a great Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers comic book from Boom Comics that lasted just 8 issues before Boom lost their Disney licence.
4) Swampy used to be known as Sewer Al long before he landed the job of spokes gator for Disney's Where's My Water puzzle video game.
OK, I could be wrong on the last one, but the first three are all true.

Little Golden Book Monday #165

Today's Little Golden Book is DC Super Friends: Big Heroes which was released May 2011.
Trouble comes in many shapes and sizes, but no trouble is too big for the world's mightiest heroes. When the Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Superman, and Batman unite to save the day, they are known as the Super Friends! This book is based on the Super Friends toy line and comic book series which ran from May 2008 until the final issue (#29) in Sept 2010. My son and I bought this comic each month and enjoyed it immensely, but as you can see, the final issue sported the Bat-Mite on the cover. Was it just a coincidence that this was the last issue of the series, or was the apperance of the Bat-Mite the point where the series jumped the shark, kinda like when they introduced Scrappy-Doo to the Scooby-Doo series, or the Great Gazoo to the Flintstones.

In any event, it's nice to see the DC Super Friends continuing to live on in the Little Golden Book series.

Little Golden Book Monday #164

Today's Little Golden Book is DC Super Friends Batman! The book was released back in May 2012, just two months before the release of the summer blockbuster, The Dark Night, so I am sure it enjoyed the extra hype that came along with the release of the movie. Since Batman is my favorite comic book hero, I had this on my list to pick up as soon as it was released, but once again, it took a while as I could not find it anywhere in my area. I picked up my copy at the Barnes and Noble in Bellingham, WA.
Batman doesn't have superpowers. Instead, he uses his brains and crime-fighting tools to catch crooks and bring in the bad guys. It says so right there on page 4 of the book. I think that is why I like Batman so much. My favorite superheroes are Batman, Daredevil and Captain America, all superheroes who don't have typical superpowers.
And hey, what's with Superman there in the background of the cover. That's a Bat Signal in the sky, not a giant "S" in the sky. I guess things are slow in Metropolis.

Little Golden Book Monday #163

Today's Little Golden Book is the Amazing Spider-man from Marvel. I'm glad to see both Marvel and DC comic characters showing up in recent Little Golden Books. It was not that long ago that Little Golden Books stopped using licenced properties in favor of original titles such as the The Little Red Caboose and Scruffy the Tugboat. Once that happened, it became harder and harder to find stores that stocked the books. Now that they once again have started to publish licenced titles such as Marvel, DC and Disney, many stores have not returned to carrying  the books, which makes finding them (at least in my area) a bit of a challenge. As I said a couple of Mondays ago, I have been picking them up at a local drug store that carries them in its tiny book/magazine section.
Being a big comic book collector and a fan of Spider-man, this was a great addition to my collection. This particualr book is not a story, but rather a mini guide book, listing some of Spider-man's many villians as well as his orgin.

Comic Characters Reading Their Own Comics

I visited the local comic shop after work today to pick up a copy of the new Garfield comic because I heard that Mark Evanier was writing it. I know him from one of my all time favorite comics, Groo the Wanderer, and I visit his blog almost daily, so the comic is pretty much a sure bet for me! While I was there, I also picked up the variant cover for the last issue of one of my favorite current comics called Incorruptible. I read both comics when I got home, and now the two comics are siting here by my computer. It took me a while, but I finally noticed that both covers show the comic character reading their own comic. How's that for a coincidence!

Captain Canuck Unpublished Comic Covers

Back in January 2008 I did a post on Captain Canuck and used one of these desktops I had created for myself. I am no Photoshop expert, but I did have fun 'trying' to color the covers myself. Recently I decided to make a few tweaks to my work and decided to share them here.
I am always excited to get the chance to see unpublished artwork from my favorite comics. The first two of these unpublished covers were printed in a Canadian comic magazine back in the late 80's (I think, I can't find the actual magazine).
The first one, issue 15, was scheduled to be released back in 1981, but the series was canceled before its release. It did finally receive a special limited collectors edition in 2004.
The next cover is the never produced second Summer Special. I was told by Richard Comely that only the cover was ever made, none of the interior artwork was ever done.
The third cover is for the unreleased issue 4 of the Captain Canuck Reborn series from 1993. I got this cover from the solicitation in the Diamond Previews catalog back in 1993. I have always been curious if this issue was actually completed, or if just the cover was produced?

Little Golden Book Monday #156

For today's Little Golden Book Monday, I wanted to post this photo I took of the Little Golden Book spinner Rack I found at the Barnes & Noble book store in Lynnwood, WA. This may be old news to those of you who have a Barnes & Noble in your back yard and see this everyday, but I was thrilled to find this spinner rack filled with Little Golden Books. Here in my area we have Chapters Books stores and in the past year or two, you would be lucky to find more than 2 or 3 Little Golden Books in stock, so finding an actual spinner rack filled with over 300 of them put a pretty big smile on my face.
I picked up The Courageous Captain America book that I had been wanting for a while. I saw a couple others I will probably pick up next time including a really cool DC Comics Super Friends book. I also have to admit that I wanted to go home with the spinner rack. My collection would look so cool displayed in that thing! Now that I think about it, I saw a vintage Little Golden Books spinner rack in a antique shop about 10 years ago while on a trip to Regina, Saskatchewan. It wasn't too expensive, but I had no way to bring it home in my car. I wonder if it would still be there ;-)

Little Golden Book Monday #149

Here is something I found on Amazon.ca while looking for something completely unrelated. It is The Courageous Captain America, which I assume is a tie in to the recent movie (which I loved by the way!) I'm not 100% sure that it is a typical Little Golden Book, as it looks more like something that would be released as a soft cover and without the golden spine, but it does say that it is a hard cover and is priced the same as other Little Golden Books on Amazon. I called around to all my local book stores, but none of them even had this in their system. So, it looks like this is yet another item I will have to order from Amazon. I'll be sure to let you know it if is indeed a Little Golden Book, or a LGB wannabe.

San Diego Comic Con on G4 TV

Oh, great... there goes the entire week. As soon as the SpongeBob-a-thon is done, I'll be switching channels over to Tech TV for the San Diego Comic Con live coverage on G4 TV.

Comic Collector for Mac OS X is live!

Comic Collector for Mac is finally available from Collectorz.com. I have been looking for a good database program for my comic collection for a few years now. There were not many options for Mac, and the one that looked the most promising, was much to expensive. There was Comic Collector from Collectorz, but it was only available for Windows. When Collectorz first announced they were working on a Mac version about a year ago, I was very excited. Finally last week, they released version 1 for Mac. After a few hiccups with build 1 and 2, build 3 has finally got things working and I have started adding my collection into my database. From what I have seen so far, it is well worth the $30 I paid! Once I have added most of my comics to my database, and had some time to play with it more, I will probably be paying the extra for the Pro edition and also getting the iPhone edition so I can take my collection with me.

Hero Bear and the KiD

Today at work the librarian passed along a bunch of magazines that she was retiring from circulation, as s she knows that I collect ads. In a copy of Today's Parent, I found an ad for Kraft Dinner that featured some artwork of a turtle and a rabbit. I really liked it so i quickly tore it out to add to my pile ads to keep. When I got home and had a closer look at it I stated to realize that the artwork looked very familiar. It was the artwork of Mike Kunkel, which I recognized from a comic called Hero Bear and the Kid. A few years back I had found a copy of a comic called Hero Bear and the Kid in a back issue bin and picked it up because I liked the artwork on the cover. I ended up enjoying the comic so much that I purchased the Hero Bear and the Kid graphic novel "The Inheritance" from Mike's web site. He even signed it and drew a small sketch inside for me! If you have not seen these comics or the graphic novel, you should check it out. The artwork alone is worth the price. I especially love the way he has done the artwork in black and white except for the drawings of Hero Bear which include red for his cape. It makes for some very visually amazing artwork.

Most recently Mike did the cover to a comic mini series called Scratch 9. I checked it out because of the cover and ended up loving the comic. I just finished reading the 4 issues (over 2 nights) with my son, and he loved it. He couldn't wait for the second night to finish the story.
We have not read Hero Bear and the Kid together yet, so that will have to be our next bedtime reading for this weekend.

If you are looking for some all ages comics to read with your kids, that you will also enjoy, you should check out both of these titles! Visit Mike's website for all his latest projects and to order your copy of The Inheritance. Visit the official Scratch 9 website to order your hard copy or digital copies of the Scratch 9 mini series.