GOING TO INDY POP CON 2016

Indy Pop Con 2016 is my next convention appearance. It takes place Friday through Sunday, June 17-19, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. This will be my second guest appearance at the event in as many years. You can read about my first time at the show here, here, here and here. I am that long-winded old man you try to avoid at parties.

Pop Con is like a smorgasbord of conventions, celebrating all kinds of pop culture. Comics, cosplay, gaming, anima, movies and TV, art and music, fantasy, science fiction and the Internet in all of its geeky wonder. The show has a large and varied guest list with both an events schedule and a vendors area to match.

Not to take anything away from the other comics guests, but I am so looking forward to seeing Scott Shaw again. My old pal was supposed to be at last year’s convention but had to cancel due to personal reasons. He’ll be here this year and doing his epic “Oddball Comics Panel Live!” presentation on Saturday at 5 pm.

The other comics guests - and I’m mentioning only some guests who have done comic books - include Mark Waid, Steve Rude, Mike Baron, Diana Leto, Sam Ellis, Andy Price, Mark Bernardin, Scoot McMahon, Christina Blanch, Franco, Ronald Wimberly and Joe Rubinstein. This will be a great weekend for comics fans.

There are guests connected to comics in other ways or not connected to comics at all. In keeping with Pop Con’s mission of introducing members of one fandom to others, I’m hoping to meet some of these guests. They include Kevin Smith, Karen Gillan, Tara Strong, Grizz Chapman, Princess Rap Battle (a fun YouTube series), Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Whitney Avalon and so many more. I’m really forward to again seeing award-winning podcaster Kevin Bachelder and the always fun Lloyd Kaufman, producer, director and actor of his own Troma Entertainment.

There are lots of panels and activities scheduled throughout Indy Pop Con. From Thursday night’s “Night of the Comet” party/screening  at the Historic Artcraft Theater to some educational/interactive exhibits to cosplay workshops to gaming to panels and presentations to after hours events. There’s something called a “Geeky Spelling Bee” that was just announced and which sounds like fun. For times and locations, check the Indy Pop Con website.

Though it’s not unusual for me to be drafted to appear on panels, I’m only scheduled for one panel at the moment. It’s the “Classic Comics” panel on Sunday at 10 am. The description:

Join veteran [comics creators] Joe Rubenstein, Steve Rude, Mike Baron, Tony Isabella, and Scott Shaw as they discuss the history of comics. 

What else will I be doing at the convention? I’ll have a table in the exhibitors area. With my son Eddie along to help me out and do the heavy lifting, I’ll be selling and signing copies of the Black Lightning collection that hit the comics shops, online sellers and bookstores in April. I will also be signing other Isabella-written items at no charge. However, on the off chance that there is a line when you bring me a lot of Isabella items you want signed. I’ll do a couple signatures for you and then ask you to step to the back of the line while I sign for those fans with fewer items. I don’t want to delay fans from experiencing all the wonders of the convention. There are some items I won’t sign for various reasons, though fewer than in previous years. I’ve mellowed with age.

While I’m at my table, I’m happy to answer your questions and talk about stuff in general. Because various negotiations are still in progress and because I’m not at liberty to discuss some projects I am working on, I won’t be able to answer all your questions. But I will try to accommodate you.

Photos of or with me, like my signature, are free. That remains my pledge to the fans for 2016. However, this will likely change come 2017. I won’t have set policies for all my 2017 appearances, but I will announce the policies in advance of any event.

If you want to interview me for an article or a podcast, I’ll do my best to accommodate you. That becomes much easier for me when you e-mail me in advance and let me know what you’d like to talk about in those interviews or podcasts.

I’ll also be selling some additional things at my table. I’ll have a box of Isabella-written stuff. I’ll have a box of comics priced at a dollar each. I’ll have the rare double-sided Superman poster which I helped design for Cleveland’s International Superman Expo of 1988. I’m down to my last 20 or 30 of these posters - priced at $20 each - so, if you want one, I wouldn’t put off buying it when you see me at this or any other convention.

When I’m not at my table, I’ll be trying to see as much of the con as I can and visit with as many guests and vendors as I can. I’ll still be more or less “on duty,” so you needn’t be shy about saying “hi” to me. Just please don’t interrupt any conversation I may be having or get between me and the restroom. I’m there for you and the convention, but let’s not get crazy about it.

Indy Pop Con 2015 was an amazing event. I expect Indy Pop Con 2016 to be even better. I hope to see you there.

Come back tomorrow for yet another installment of my epic 136-part “Will I live long enough to see it all?” series on the comic books that came out in the pivotal-for-me month of July, 1963. I love the smell of nostalgia in the morning.

© 2016 Tony Isabella

WHY I HATE MYSELF TODAY

Because I bit off more than I could chew and I was too prideful to recognize it sooner. That’s the Cliff’s Notes version of my pain. Assuming anyone still publishes Cliff’s Notes. Not that I ever used them. I was the kid who actually read the books. So now some of you also have a reason to hate me. But I digress.

I thought I could do it all. I thought I could write my new comic-book project. I thought I could attend a bunch of comics and other conventions. I thought I could write two books, only one of which I have ever mentioned publicly. I thought I could pursue some intriguing possibilities in the world of “B” movies. I thought I could hold the best Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales in the history of Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales. I hate myself for being an idiot.

Here’s the bad news for my local friends:

There will be no Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales this year. For the second year in a row. Which is as disappointing to me as it is to you. But when I saw how little progress I’d made working on what would have been my first garage sale of the summer, I realized the sales had gone from being sort of exciting to a heaping pile of frustration and self-loathing.

Frustration is rampant at Casa Isabella these days, affecting all of us. I’m not going to go into all the details because my Sainted Wife and our wonderful children have a right to privacy that I will not violate except on those occasions when I can get a really funny story out of it. I will say we are not frustrated with one another. Stuff is happening in all our lives. We will deal with it and, when possible, we will help each other deal with it. But I’m not going to write about it here.

That sounds very mature of me, doesn’t it? Don’t let that fool you in the slightest. I’m still an idiot.

I still intend to do all of the other things mentioned above. The comic-book project is my first priority. In fact, I’ll be buying a laptop so I can work on it and those other things when I’m on the road. I still think I can do it all. So, yes, I’m an idiot, but I am a determined idiot. That must count for something.

I am sort of optimistic the Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales will resume in late spring or early summer of 2017. My optimism is mostly based on my belief that I can find some trustworthy soul to run them for me and who would be willing to do this for a generous cut of the sales. I would provide direction for the sales and would still lend my sparkling personality to them, but my involvement in the preparation of the garage sales would be very limited. I don’t think working for me is anyone’s definition of a dream job, but it could be fun and interesting. That said...

DO NOT send me any resumes at this time. This is a decision I can put off until well after New Year’s Day 2017. It’s something that I don’t want to have to think about while I’m doing all that other stuff I mentioned above.

That’s all I have for you today. I’ll be back tomorrow to tell you all about my coming (as in next weekend) appearance at the wondrous Indy Pop Con in Indianapolis. See you then.

© 2016 Tony Isabella

RAWHIDE KID WEDNESDAY 79

The Rawhide Kid is my favorite western comics character and one of my favorite comics characters period.  Something about the short of stature (but big on courage and fighting skills) Johnny Clay spoke to the short of stature (but big on comics-reading skills) teenage Tony Isabella.  After rereading the Kid’s earliest adventures when Marvel Comics reprinted them in a pair of Marvel Masterworks and an Essential Rawhide Kid volume, I wanted to reacquire every Rawhide Kid comic, reread them and write about them in this bloggy thing of mine. This is the 79th installment in that series.

The Rawhide Kid #93 [November 1971] was a 52-page issue, which cost a quarter. This was the second of two 52-page issues published by Marvel. With the December issue, Marvel went back down to its usual 36-page comics, now priced at twenty cents.

This issue also introduced a new cover design for all of the Marvel titles. The cover scene would be in a box with logo and additional copy above and more copy below. The new design would last one tear or so. It was gone by the time I went to work for Marvel in October of 1972. This first boxed Rawhide Kid cover was pencilled by Larry Lieber and inked by Syd Shores.

The cover story “Mountain Pursuit” (14 pages) is written and drawn by Lieber with inks by Shores. While Shores does give a “grimier” feel to the art, it’s not as attractive or as successful a pairing with Lieber as was John Tartaglione. Like most of the Rawhide Kid stories of this era, this one has never been reprinted in the U.S., only in Norway and the Netherlands.

SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD

The story opens with the Kid on the run in the “high country of the Colorado Rockies.” Once again, he’s left a territory where he’s not wanted to travel through a territory where he is wanted. He hears gunshots “coming from up yonder” and follows them to find a lawman pinned down by gunfire.

The Kid rushes to the side of that U.S. marshal, even though the lawman immediately recognizes Rawhide’s outfit and buttons. Maybe it wouldn’t be as effective as Clark Kent’s glasses, but some new threads could have saved our young hero a whole lot of grief over the years. Sigh.

The marshal was on the trail of bank robber Wes Concho and his girl friend Ruby. We never learn Ruby’s full name, but my guess would be “Ruby Makesbadchoiceswithmen.” I’m afraid this story is bringing out the snark in me.

The marshal is surprised Rawhide is fighting by his side, but the Kid suggest he not believe everything he reads on a wanted poster. Concho causes a landslide and, when the good guys hustle away from their cover, the outlaw shoots the marshal in the shoulder before escaping with Ruby.

The Rawhide Kid, frontier surgeon, removes the bullet and patches up the marshal. They get back on Concho’s trail and catch up with him and Ruby. The Kid shoots the cinch strap of the bank robber’s saddle and the man tumbles from his horse.

A short fight follows. The downed Concho reaches for his gun. The Kid punches him in the head. Concho grabs a rock and tries to brain Rawhide. The Kid punches him in the head again.

The marshal says they’re all going to ride to the ghost town where Concho hid the loot from the robbery. Concho recognizes the Kid and exclaims:

Why in blazes would an owlhoot like you help the law?!

Says the Kid:

Because I am an outlaw like me and not like you!

Oh, snap!

Concho thinks the Kid is stringing the marshal along to get all the money for himself. He tells Rawhide it won’t work because his boys will be waiting for them. But he still tries to convince the Kid to switch sides.

A man named Yates rides up to their campfire and asks to join them. He’s not a member of Concho’s gang. The next day, Yates is invited to ride with them and accepts the offer. He’s still not a member of Concho’s gang and, when he spots some of the gang on an overhead ridge, he warns Rawhide and the marshal. When the gang commences to shooting at them, Rawhide and Yates shoot back.

Gang member Ben is hit and tumbles from the ridge. The other gang members say they’ll come back for him later. They don’t. The Kid, the marshal and Yates don’t check on him either. Poor Ben probably gets eaten by coyotes. Or maybe coyotes accept him as one of their own, nurse him back to health and teach him their ways. Later, Ben will become a costume villain called the Coyote and seek revenge on the Kid. Pay no mind to the babbling blogger. Something’s just not right with that guy.

Concho chortles. His gang will be back. Thinking to herself, Ruby figures the marshal and the others don’t stand a chance and will be killed. She thinks she has the answer. Sigh.

Ruby turns Yates to the dark side. All he has to do is get the drop on the marshal and the Kid. They can free Concho without bloodshed. Concho would then cut Yates in for a share of the loot. Though he has never gone up against the law before, Yates figures he’ll never have a chance at a score like this again. Sigh.

Yates does as Ruby asks. Concho is free, but isn’t about to honor the bargain Ruby made. When Yates refuses to drop his guns, Concho shoots him dead. Bad choices, Ruby. Bad choices.

Concho makes a bad choice as well. He leaves the Kid and the lawman alive. He ties them up and tosses their guns down the hill. I’ve no idea why Concho wouldn’t kill them as well, but his poor judgment keeps the story from ending four pages early.

Rawhide whistles. His horse gallops over to him and chews through the ropes binding him. The Kid finds their guns. He and the marshal head for the ghost town where Concho and his gang are dividing up their ill-gotten gains.

The Kid tries to take the gang down without bloodshed. The outlaws aren’t about that. He has to shoot them dead. Ruby holds her head and maybe thinks about her bad choices.

MARSHAL: Good work! Yuh got ‘em all...’cept Concho!

RAWHIDE: He high-tailed it when the shooting started! He must be hiding somewhere! C’mon, let’s go find him!

Concho is on a rooftop preparing to backshoot the Rawhide Kid. The Kid, looking at Ruby, knows something is amiss.

RAWHIDE: That look in your eyes! What’s wrong, gal?

Ruby can’t let this go on. She warns the Kid. Rawhide whirls around and fires. Concho is shot and falls to his death, but manages two word balloons telling Ruby what a fool she is.

RUBY: Oh, Wes...Wes...why couldn’t you understand? I never wanted the money! I cared only for you! I loved you!

She continues:

But even love has its limits...and cold-blooded murder goes beyond them! I couldn’t allow another killing! I just couldn’t.

The marshal, preparing for his new career as a defense attorney in Matt Hawk’s firm, gets the last word:

And I reckon that little fact will carry considerable weight at your trial! C’mon, gal, it’s time to go home!

SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER  
 
Obviously, this story didn’t work for me. That almost never happens with one of Lieber’s tales. Sigh.

Because of the expanded page count of this issue, Marvel included 22 pages of reprints, two stories that originally saw print in The Rawhide Kid #61 [December 1967].

“Shotgun to Deadwood” (17 pages) was written by Gary Friedrich with art by Dick Ayers and Vince Colletta. Blurbed on the cover of this issue, it featured Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. This story was reprinted twice more in issues #132 [March 1976] and #145 [May 1978]. The latter of those issues features a terrific cover by Gene Colan (pencils) and Alan Weiss (inks).

“Blood is Thicker” (5 pages) is a non-series tale by Friedrich with art by Tom Sutton. This is the only U.S. reprinting of the story.

I wrote about these reprinted stories on July 10, 2013. Rather than copy those comments today, I direct you to the original bloggy thing, which I hope you’ll enjoy.

There are no Mighty Marvel Checklist, Marvel Bullpen Bulletins or house ads in this issue. There is a “Ridin’ the Trail with Rawhide” letters page.

Reader Louis Goldman of Philadelphia wants to see a story featuring the Rawhide Kid with the Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt, Ringo Kid and the Outlaw Kid. He also wants a Rawhide Kid Annual, which, as whoever was answering these letters reveals, is now on sale. I don’t think we saw a team-up of the Kids (and other western characters) until sometime in the 2000s, but I wouldn’t bet the ranch on my memories of same.

College student Richard Volbrecht, who attends SUNY in Courtland, New York enjoys the Rawhide Kid and shares his subscription copies with his two roommates and a third friend. Marvel wants to know why his friend can’t buy their own copies.

Volbrecht also seconds an earlier reader suggestion that Marvel do a new comics series about the Buffalo Soldiers. He thinks a story in Rawhide Kid could test the market for that. The letter answerer says Marvel will give it a lot of thought. Four-and-a-half decades later, I suspect Marvel isn’t still thinking about it.

Randy Griffith of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania requests a shoot-out between Rawhide, Kid Colt, Two-Gun Kid and the Ghost Rider, which doesn’t strike me as the same thing as a team-up. He also wants to know why the Ghost Rider and Two-Gun Kid titles were discontinued. The answer is, of course, poor sales.

Gina Suderni of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada wrote to say she reads all the Marvel mags. Her favorite characters are Rawhide, Two-Gun, Ringo Kid, Outlaw Kid and Millie the Model.

The letters page concludes with a note from the Bullpen explaining the economics of why Marvel books have increased in size and price. From 36 to 52 pages and from 15 cents to 25 cents. I can’t wait to see the explanation next month when the comics go back down to 36 pages, but at a cover price of 20 cents.

That’s all for this week’s “Rawhide Kid Wednesday,” but you and I can ride the range again next week. In the meantime, I’ll be back tomorrow with other stuff. See you then. 

© 2016 Tony Isabella

TONY'S TIPS #160

This week in TONY'S TIPS at Tales of Wonder...Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride by Lucy Knisley, Arrow: Volume One with stories based on the TV series and the wild and wacky Scooby-Doo! Team-Up Volume Two

JULY 1963: ARCHIE’S GIRLS BETTY AND VERONICA #93

Today’s bloggy thing continues my 136-part “getting away from the crowds” series on the comics that hit the newsstands in the month of July 1963. The month was pivotal to my comic-book career because it was the month when Fantastic Four Annual #1 ignited my desire to write comics.

Archie’s Girls Betty and Veronica ran 347 issues from March 1950 to April 1987 before changing its title to just Betty and Veronica, starting over with a new #1 and continuing under that title until Archie cancelled and rebooted its remaining standard-size “Archie Universe” titles last year. Between the two titles, that’s over 600 issues, not counting annuals and specials and one-shots and digests and...let’s face it, the girls put their time in and still look as beautiful as they did from the start.

The cover of Archie’s Girls Betty and Veronica #93 [September 1963] is by Bob White. Check out all the action in the background. White co-created and drew Cosmo the Merry Martian in the 1950s, but he also drew for most of the Archie titles. He drew many action/comedy stories starring the Riverdale kids as super-heroes or super-spies. In 1967, he even wrote stories for the Black Hood, the Shield and the Web in Mighty Comics Presents.

The inside front cover of the issue has Dean Studios come-ons for miniature dogs, cameras, radios and monkeys. We’ve discussed these in previous JULY 1963 entries.

There will be SPOILERS AHEAD. You have been warned.

“Follow the Girls” (6 pages) is the first of four B&V tales in the issue. Written by Frank Doyle with art by Dan DeCarlo (pencils) and Rudy Lapick (inks). The girls go to a secluded island to get some privacy. Archie and Reggie secretly follow them. The girls have a great day communing with nature. The boys run afoul of rockslides and wild goats. At the end of the day, the girls realize that the only thing which would have made their island visit better would’ve been if the boys had been there. The girls were sure the boys were going to follow them. As the girls head back to the mainland, the boys are lost and trying to find their way out of the woods. Given who the title stars are, it shouldn’t surprise anyone which sex is the most likely to come out on top at the end of a story. Stop that snickering. That’s not what I meant.

According to the Grand Comics Database, “Follow the Girls” was reprinted in Archie Comics Digest #63 [December 1983].

The story is followed by a full-page advertisement for Columbia Bicycles:

Thirteen dazzling racy Lightweights with all the most wanted speed-shifts and features. Built the Columbia way for easy peddling and trouble-free enjoyment. Boys’ and girls’ models in 26" and 24" wheel sizes.

There was a coupon at the bottom of the page so that readers could send away for a free color folder of the bikes.

“What Every Young Girl Should Know” is a single-page gag strip by DeCarlo, Lapick and an unknown writer. The punch line is insulting to girls, but you can see that for yourself:

:                                                                       

 

“Pain in the Rain” is another single-page gag strip. It’s written by George Gladir with art by DeCarlo and Lapick. Betty is envious of all Veronica’s pretty raincoats. Veronica is miserable...because it hasn’t rained once all spring!

This story was reprinted in Laugh Comics Digest #53 [July 1984] and Betty and Veronica Double Digest Magazine #15 [October 1989].

The next page has two half-page ads for war games: Convoy of Terror and Task Force. I’ve written about them previously.

“Chance Encounter” (6 pages) is by Doyle, DeCarlo and Lapick.  When Betty meets handsome new boy Johnny Jordan, Veronica wants her to introduce them. Betty is no fool and foils Ronnie’s wacky attempts to meet Johnny. Ronnie is relentless and this makes for a hilarious ending to the tale. Here’s the final page of this story:
                                                                                

“Chance Encounter” was reprinted in The Jughead Jones Comics Digest #27 [December 1983] and Archie's Double Digest Magazine #60 [August 1992].

A full-page house ad for Betty and Veronica Summer Fun #23 follows the story. Readers can have the special issue mailed to them for a quarter, 35 cents if they live in Canada.

“Ting-a-Ling” (5 pages) is a Doyle/DeCarlo/Lapick story wherein Mr. Lodge does his usual slow burn every time Ronnie and her dripping-wet friends come into his office from the swimming pool to use the phone. It’s a battle Lodge can’t win, so he has a phone installed in the pool.

Following this tale, we get half-page ads for U.S. Royal Bike Tires and Popsicle; a single-page prose article on Ann-Margret (described in the title as a “Beautiful Teen Bombshell”); a Li’l Jinx gag page by Joe Edwards; and half-page ads for “Amazing Sea Shrimp” and “100 Toy Soldiers.”

The Li’l Jinx page was reprinted in Jughead with Archie Digest #59 [November 1983].

“Direct Line” (5 pages) is the final story of the issue and, like the other main stories, it’s by Doyle, DeCarlo and Lapick. A cute young woman asks Betty and Veronica for directions to Pop’s Choklit Shoppe. They send her on a wild-goose chase because they don’t want her to meet Archie. Guess who ends up giving the girl the correct directions?

When “Archie’s Girls” overhear him telling the new girl how jealous they can be, they plot revenge. You can see how that works out in just south of this paragraph:
                                                                                  

This was reprinted in Betty and Veronica Comics Digest Magazine #6 [November 1983].

The remaining pages of the issue are ads we’ve seen before, all of them full-page: Daisy B-B guns, Junior Sales Club of America on the inside back cover, and the Bendix automatic bicycle brake content for a trip to Disneyland.

Coming up in the JULY 1963 series are several Archie titles, which I’ll probably space out over several weeks for variety’s sake. On tap for tomorrow is the latest installment of our straight-shooting “Rawhide Kid Wednesday” series.

Thanks for visiting the bloggy thing so often. Our daily hits have nearly tripled over the past few weeks and I’m thrilled so many of you apparently being entertained and informed. I love writing this blog and hope to keep at it for a long time to come.

See you tomorrow!

© 2016 Tony Isabella

JULY 1963: AQUAMAN #11

Today’s bloggy thing continues my epic 136-part “you wanna kiss the girl” series on the comics that hit the newsstands in the month of July 1963. That month was pivotal to my comic-book career because it was the month when Fantastic Four Annual #1 ignited my desire to write comics.

I had a tough time tracking down a copy of Aquaman #11 [September- October 1963], much less an affordable copy. I hadn’t realized the issue had the first appearance of Mera, who would go on to become Aquaman’s wife in most incarnations of the character. The story has only been reprinted once in 2008's Showcase Presents Aquaman Volume Two. On that solitary occasion, it was printed in black-and-white.

Nick Cardy drew the cover and interior story for Aquaman #11. He always drew the most gorgeous women and Mera is no exception to that. He also drew the most gorgeous men. Something for all comics readers. The editor of the issue is George Kashdan.

The inside front cover is a full-page advertisement for the “Made Simple Self-Taught Encyclopedia,” which was discussed in an earlier installment of this JULY 1963 series.

“The Doom from Dimension Aqua” is by Jack Miller. It runs 25 pages, but the bottom third of the last page of each of its thee chapters has an ad for Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Roll products.

SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD

Aquaman and Mera meet cute in the first chapter, at least by comic-book standards. He and Aqualad come across an abandoned ship that is running wild. They have to get the ship off the sea lanes before it hits another vessel. However, before the heroic duo acts, they are grabbed by giant pincers that form out of a coral reef. By the time they escape and swim back to the ship, they are greeted by an equally surprising sight:

Aqualad! A wave–-it’s being suspended over the ship and acting like a giant magnifying glass! 

 

And then, following a huge BLAM:

Great waves! The hold of that ship must’ve been loaded with dynamite–-and the magnified rays of the sun set it off!

In the next moment, a woman swims by them as a fantastic speed that only they can match. When they catch up with this “sea witch,” she forms a bubble out of water and floats upward out of their reach. A few seconds later, she seems to weaken, the water bubble bursts, and Aquaman catches her.

Mera has lost her powers and fears Aquaman will hurt her. Aqualad responds:

Huh–-! Look who’s talking about hurting people!

Mera explains:

You don’t understand...I saved you! I was nearby when the crew abandoned that ship–-because the fire in the hold when out of control and threatened to blow up the explosive cargo!

Aquaman realizes she was moving him and Aqualad out of harm’s way. Mera then identifies herself:

I am–-or was-–Queen Mera of a watery world in another dimension! You seem everyone in my world has the ability to will the water to do his bidding!

Mera was forced to flee when the pretender Leron reached the gates of her castle. The scientist Xebel had discovered how to open up a dimensional warp leading to our world. Her loyal subjects wanted to keep her safe. Mera doesn’t know why she has lost her powers. They simply vanished without a trace.

Suddenly, several submarines are hurtled out of the water and right at the trio. It’s the work of Leron the Usurper, who has followed Mera to our world to capture her.

Leron makes the water around Aquaman, Mera and Aqualad steel-hard. If Aquaman doesn’t hand over Mera, Leron will leave them to perish where they are. That’s when the first chapter ends.

SPOILER-FREE ZONE
SPOILER-FREE ZONE
SPOILER-FREE ZONE
SPOILER-FREE ZONE
SPOILER-FREE ZONE
SPOILER-FREE ZONE

The first chapter is followed by a full-page DC Comics subscription ad. Subscribers could save two cents per issue on a two-year sub to any and all of these titles: House of Mystery, Aquaman, Rip Hunter, Unexpected, Mystery in Space, Strange Adventures, Tomahawk, The Adventures of Bob Hope, Challengers of the Unknown and The Atom. That down-the-middle crease you find in so many old DC comic books of the 1960s? It’s because subscription copies were folded in half for mailing. Who knew?

The subscription ad is followed by “The Fantastic Frogmen,” a one-page prose article on the development of devices to allow people to breathe underwater. It packs a lot of information into the one page and reads well.

The article is followed by a full-page ad for Task Force, said to be “America’s Most Exciting War Game.” It’s only $1 plus postage. As is my policy, I’m not going to go into detail on advertisements that were discussed in earlier installments.

SPOILERS RESUME
SPOILERS RESUME
SPOILERS RESUME
SPOILERS RESUME
SPOILERS RESUME
SPOILERS RESUME

Chapter 2 - “The Super Sea Sleuth” - starts with a full-page splash of a scene that happens later in the chapter. In this page, Aquaman is exhibiting powers equal to those of Mera’s people. I wonder how writer Miller will explain that.

The trapped Aquaman calls “endless masses of twisting forms” - his fish friends - to smack Leron in the face and disrupt his control of the steel-hard water. Aquaman has a plan and leaves Aqualad to watch over Mera. More of Leron’s followers show up just as Aquaman rejoins them.

The heroes are trapped in a swirling funnel of water, but manage to escape. That’s when Aquaman challenges Leron and his men directly. The bad guys form a giant sword. Aquaman forms a watery shield and the sword smashes to pieces against it.

Aquaman then forms a watery magic carpet and sends Leron and thugs ducking for cover. He hurls water balls at the bad guys and forces them to retreat.

The secret of Aquaman’s powers? It’s Quisp, his water sprite pal. When Aquaman left, it was to recruit Quisp. Aquaman asks Quisp to bring back an army of water sprites to win back Mera’s kingdom from Leron. It’s a great plan...

...but Leron has been listening and watching the whole time, hiding in a hard-water shell of a big fish. He follows Quisp to stop him. That’s where the second chapter ends.

SPOILER-FREE ZONE
SPOILER-FREE ZONE
SPOILER-FREE ZONE
SPOILER-FREE ZONE
SPOILER-FREE ZONE
SPOILER-FREE ZONE

The second chapter is followed by a half-page “Homer” gag strip by the great Henry Boltinoff. It’s paired with a half-page ad for the Palisades Amusement Park.
                                                                              

The next page has two half-page ads. The first is for 116 planes of all nations for only $1.50. The second has 102 ships of all nations for $1.49.
                                                                                

SPOILERS RESUME
SPOILERS RESUME
SPOILERS RESUME
SPOILERS RESUME
SPOILERS RESUME
SPOILERS RESUME

The third chapter - “Prisoners of the Water World” - is a full-page title splash showing a scene that will happen later in the chapter. Aquaman, Mera and Aqualad are trapped in a rounded coral cage with Leron telling Xebel they’re doomed if the scientist doesn’t give the pretender the secret of creating dimensional warps to our world and other worlds.

Leron makes underwater tornadoes that knock Quisp into some rocks. Leaving the unconscious water sprite, Leron and his thugs chase and capture Aquaman and company. They take them back to Mera’s world, imprisoning them in the afore-mentioned coral cage. The threats are made and Xebel is given time to consider his options.

Aquaman uses his telepathic powers to bring octopus friends through the warp to free him. The trio scoots back through the warp. They take cover in an underground cave.

Aquaman wipes a smudge off Mera’s arm just as Leron and his thugs enter the cave. But, amazingly, Mera’s powers have returned and she sends the bad guys hurling out of the cave.

Aquaman puts it all together as they flee. Spotting an incredibly convenient oil tanker, he orders to swordfish to pole holes in one of the ship’s tanks. The oil drenches the water Leron and his men are swimming through, robbing them of their powers.

Aquaman explains this to Mera:

It was oil that robbed you of your powers–-which returned when I rubbed the oil smudge off your arm!

Mera is puzzled:

Oh? But oil has no such effect on us! Only lead would weaken our powers–-and there is no lead anywhere around!

Back to Aquaman:

Oh, yes, there is! Practically all refined oil contains a high percentage of lead!

 

Mera returns her prisoners to her world where her loyal followers  wait. She says she has become very fond of Aquaman and asks if she can visit him again. He would love to see her anytime.

Quisp shows up just as the warp closes. He wanted to say goodbye to Mera. Aquaman has a hunch they’ll be seeing her again soon.

SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER

Possible romantic interests for Aquaman had appeared a few times in earlier stories, but none of them made a lasting impact. Mere was clearly a keeper, though.

I don’t recall if Mera’s weakness to lead was ever used in future stories. I was only buying Aquaman sporadically until high-school jobs gave me enough of an income to buy pretty much all the super-hero comics I wanted. So, if the bit was used again, I might have missed it.

The rest of the issue is filled with familiar ads. You could get a 104 Kings Knights for $1.49 or 150 Civil War Soldiers for the same price. Wallace-Brown was still trying to get comics readers to sell its Christmas cards. The American Body Building Club offered a ten-cent book on building your body. That last was on the inside back cover of the issue.

The back cover offered 100 Toy Soldiers for $1.25. They came packed in their own footlocker.  I wonder if there are any photos of these soldiers online. I’ll have to look.

I’ll be back tomorrow with another installment of my life-affirming JULY 1963 series. Stay nerdy, my friends.

© 2016 Tony Isabella

ECBACC 2016: Part 3 of 3

Concluding my report on the 2016 East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention in Philadelphia...

All day long, the AfriCoz super-hero, fantasy and science-fiction cosplay competition was in wondrous evidence. The marketplace room got a little tight now and then, but neither fans or vendors were put out by this. Everyone was having big fun with the costumes and the performances that sometimes accompanied them.
                                                                                     

At Friday’s opening night reception, I was thrilled to finally meet cosplayer extraordinaire Bill Johnson. I knew Bill was one of the most outstanding cosplayers and costume designers. I didn’t know he was an accomplished actor and committed activist. He doesn’t just portray heroes. He is one.
                                                                                    

On Saturday, Bill portrayed Luke Cage as the hero was depicted in his 1970s debut. It was a great costume.

The winners of the 5th Annual AFRICOZ Cosplay Contest were:

First place: BLACKMAN (Chris Fraley)
Second place: SKYFALL (Andre Campbell)
Third place: NUBIA (Lynne Marie)

I’ve already written about how I need to up my game when it comes to taking notes for reports like this. I should also start taking photos at them. So many amazing costumes!
                                                                               

My son Eddie and I would alternate taking breaks from my own table to do some shopping. On one of his breaks, he was surprised to see a familiar icon from the Columbus College of Art and Design on the cover of Hotshot #4. Eddie and his sister Kelly are proud graduates of The Ohio State University, so he recognized that CCAD icon as soon as he saw it.

Hotshot is the creation of CCAD graduate Michael J. Watson. He and Eddie got to talking. While at CCAD, Watson worked for its dean of student affairs. That dean was also the advisor to the Ohio State chapter of Pi Kappa Phi, Eddie’s fraternity.

Eddie bought the entire run of Hotshot. If I stop interrupting his binge-watching of Young Justice, he’ll let me borrow them (and the other comics he bought) so I can read and review them in upcoming bloggy things.
                                                                           

Maybe the greatest joy of this year’s ECBACC was seeing and talking with Elder Samuel Joyner, a 92-year-old cartoonist who lives in and still draws in Philadelphia. Here’s a too-brief biography:

Artist Samuel Joyner was born on February 7, 1924. One of the few African-American cartoonists in the country, he was still in elementary school when he published his first cartoon in The Philadelphia Tribune. He was an illustrator for the Navy and his artwork was published – often without his name – by corporations such as Sears and General Electric. He began using his artistic skills for commentary about racial justice when he worked for Philadelphia’s now-defunct Color Magazine. He ran a print and graphic shop with Grace, his wife of more than 40 years, who died in 1994. A retired art teacher, he has two sons and two daughters, seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. A featured cartoonist for The Philadelphia Tribune, his work earned the paper a National Newspaper Publishers Association award for best editorial cartoon in 1996. A collection of his artwork spanning more than five decades is housed at Temple University in Philadelphia. He continues to fight for social and economic justice with pen and ink.

I first met Joyner at an ECBACC several years ago. We bonded right then and there. Maybe because I sometimes think the two of us are the only people in the room who know some of the other cartoonists we talk about. Though he didn’t really work in comic books per se, he did know many comics artists and even did lettering for them on occasion. I’ve given him copies of my books and he always has a few examples of work for me.
                                                                         

                                                                                

Joyner doesn’t work as much as he’d like to, but he’s still got it. The first of the two pieces I’m sharing was one he did working with just one good eye. He’s got two good eyes again and, at 92, he has as sharp a wit and as sure a line as ever. We both wish newspapers in this country, especially the small independents he’s worked for, were on the rise and not the reverse.

I am honored to call Samuel my friend. I hope to keep seeing him at ECBACC for many years to come.

It started raining around the time ECBACC was closing. Eddie and I said our goodbyes and loaded our stuff into our car. There were a few last hugs, a few last photos and the lingering great feelings of being invited to this event and always being made to feel most welcome. I treasure my ECBACC memories.

That evening, Eddie and I drove to Xfinity Live to watch the third game of the Cleveland Cavaliers/Toronto Raptors playoff series. We ate at Broad St. Bullies. The service was excellent. The food was good and reasonable priced. The Cavs sucked. We headed back to the Hawthorn Suites at halftime. Eddie watched the game on our room’s TV. I dozed off and had dreams about the cats who apparently lived at the Suites seeking into our room and jumping up on my bed. Maybe I was missing my own cat Simba.

We had breakfast with Bill and Gretchen Foster before checking out and hitting the road for home. But our first stop was Pat’s King of Steaks to buy several Philly cheesesteak sandwiches for the drive back to Medina and to share with Barb and Kelly. Pat’s is located  at 9th & Wharton Streets where Passyunk and Wharton meet.

It was difficult to find a parking spot, but the neighborhood was very interesting. There was a large baseball field in the center of the neighborhood. There were cool looking brownstones. There were a variety of stories with foreign language signs. We saw a Chinese woman delivering Chinese-language newspapers. We eventually found a parking spot in front of a Chinese Catholic Church, but, because of church services, we had about thirteen minutes to walk a couple of blocks to Pat’s, get our sandwiches and walk back. We made it with maybe a minute to spare.

The next time I’m in Philadelphia, I hope to have an extra day or two to see more of the city. Let’s see if I can make that happen.

For the ride home, Eddie and I decided the last thing we wanted to listen to was sports radio. Fortunately, we had Sirius XD with its several comedy channels. That lightened our spirits on the several-hours drive back to our Medina home.

My thanks to Yumy Odom and the ECBACC staff and volunteers. It was another sensational event and, as always, I urge my bloggy readers to come to next year’s festivities. I hope to see you there.

Come back tomorrow for another installment of my 136-part series on the comic books that hit the newsstands in July, 1963. This entry will star Aquaman. See you soon.

© 2016 Tony Isabella