About Me- Member since: Jan-20-99 15:45:15 PST
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| Archive - March 2007 Posted Mar-31-07 18:12:28 PDT Updated Feb-11-08 12:11:57 PST
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Smallville !
We haven't heard much on this TV show so far this year in the blog posts here on eBay or other blogs we check out!
Wondering if it still has active, (but non-vocal), supporters?
I have tried a few times to get involved in the storyline, but have not been able to... am concluding it has a lot of continuity from previous seasons, that makes it hard for a newbie to get involved...
For those interested in DC comic books, from which Smallville is derived, we have several listed in both our eBay Featured Store and eBay Pro Store.
Thanks for reading this blog post, and feel free to post your comment!
 Michael
| Posted Mar-31-07 16:38:35 PDT Updated Feb-11-08 12:14:58 PST
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That Was Easy.......
...Setting Up Your Whirligigs to Fly Right !!
Just Got back in from visiting the Wild Animal Park in Escondido with my folks. We saw a lot of birds and wild animals today while taking the new tram around the Park. Which reminded me that my dad sells animals, birds, and cartoon whirligigs right here on eBay in his own store!
If you take a few minutes to properly install your whirligig, wherever you buy one from, it should give you years of pleasure...
The main considerations are that the setup is strong enough to endure wind in your area, and that the wings or legs on your whirlibird don't hit obstructions -such as top of the fence.
Safety precuations, moving parts can spin fast. Install so as to not present a danger to other people.
Using a Pole - To get the height needed for clearance, most people use a pole or dowel.
To avoid splitting the pole, you may need to drill a 3/16" diameter hole 1 " deep.
Then tap the setup nail that was included with your Whirlibird point down into the hole.
The Whirlibird should be able to turn freely on a setup nail, without scraping the top of the pole.
Also make sure your Whirlibird doesn't hit the side of the pole as it turns.
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If you don't have a setup nail, (if one didn't come with a whirli you bought somewhere else),then cut the head off a 20d penny sized four inch galvanized common nail.
Have fun flying your new whirli !!
That Was Easy !
For those interested in cartoon whirligigs check out my dad's eBay store below !
 
Thanks for reading this comic book blog post! Feel Free to Comment !!
Michael
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Posted Mar-31-07 06:58:49 PDT Updated Mar-31-07 07:00:33 PDT
| John Carter of Mars...
...was a comic book series from Gold Key Comics and later from Marvel Comics!
The Gold Key series ran for 3 issues from April 1964 to October 1964.
The Marvel comic books series ran for 28 issues from June 1977 to October 1979.
Both series were based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs' character, John Carter, Warlord of Mars.
John Carter was an Earthman who upon entering a cave encountered a strange light. When the light touched him, he seemed to split into two, one part staying on Earth and the other part teleporting to the planet Mars.
Believe it or not, this was ERB's first hero, pre-dating his work on Tarzan of the Apes, and his son Korak.
There were earlier versions of John Carter, the first being in 1939's The Funnies #30. DC Comics had a version in between Gold Key and Marvel, in the comic book series 'Weird Worlds' in 1972! However he only headlined his own title in the Gold Key and Marvel Comics series.
For those interested in any version of the John Carter Comics run we have several unslabbed comics listed in our eBay Featured Store and eBay Pro Store.
Thanks for reading our comic book blog post... Feel Free to Post YOUR Comment !
Michael
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| Posted Mar-31-07 06:39:13 PDT Updated Feb-11-08 12:16:12 PST
| Konga.... NOT .... King Kong
...is the subject of this blog post!
Konga had a few series of comic book series from Charlton Comics.
The first series ran for 23 issues from circa 1961 to November 1965.
The was also a 'one-shot' Return of Konga in 1962.
There were 2 issues of Konga's Revenge in 1963-1964.
There was another 'one-shot' of Konga's Revenge in 1968.
Konga was printed due to Charlton's belief that artist Steve Ditko could do the same magic touch to the 1961 Konga Movie from American International that he did to the Gorgo film earlier !
In the Konga film it is a scientist that has managed to grow plants to a huge size that decides to experiment on a chimpanzee. The poor chimp is turned into a giant killer monster! As shown on the cover in issue #1 to the top left, he is as big as King Kong!
The comic book series lasted a lot longer than the movie that generated it, although Steve Ditko, who had by then co-created the Amazing Spider-Man, was not the artist for all the issues.
Konga was created due to Steve Ditko having a good run on Gorgo, which was based in 1961 from the Gorgo movie that was very similar to another monster predecessor, Godzilla !! Comic books have always seemed to be derivative, just like sucessful TV shows will spawn many imitiators...
For those interested in Konga Comics run we have several unslabbed comics listed in our eBay Featured Store and eBay Pro Store.
Thank you for reading this comic book blog post... Feel Free to Post Your Comment !
Michael |
Michael @ SDCC 1973
| Posted Mar-30-07 18:00:38 PDT Updated Feb-12-08 08:57:10 PST
| Gabby Hayes..........
...had several series of comic books from Fawcett, Toby and Charlton Comics.
The Fawcett series ran for 50 issues from November 1948 to January 1953.
The Toby series ran for 1 issue in December 1953.
The Charlton series ran for 9 issues from December 1954 to January 1957.
Growing up in the 1950's I watched a lot of westerns on TV. I didn't get to see many movies until the mid 1960's. Possibly I saw later reruns of his children's western TV show, 'the Gabby Hayes Show' which originally ran 1950 - 1954.
Gabby Hayes was in 40 westerns between 1939 to 1946, usually with Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, or Wild Bill Elliott !
Gabby retired after his TV show played out...
Of all the early TV cowboys my favorite was Roy Rogers and his troupe, with Gene Autry a close second. I enjoyed seeing Gabby in old movies in the years gone by since, but had not thought much about him until running into a collection of Gabby Hayes comics a while back, which I have read and have put up for sale in our eBay Featured Store.
For those interested in Gabby Hayes Comics run we have several unslabbed comics listed in our eBay Featured Store and eBay Pro Store.
Thanks for reading our comic book blog post.... Feel Free to post your comment !!
Michael
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| Posted Mar-30-07 16:38:36 PDT Updated Feb-11-08 12:18:49 PST
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STAR WARS Is Celebrating Its' 30th Anniverary This Weekend With A Convention in LA !
PLUS your local USPS office had the stamps shown on the right up for sale on May 24th, 2007.
Depicted on the Star Wars saga commemorative sheet are 15 First-Class Mail stamps featuring familiar characters and vehicles from the six movies in the saga.
They include Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Chewbacca, Princess Leia Organa and R2-D2, C-3PO, Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Emperor Palpatine, Imperial Stormtroopers, Boba Fett, the “Millennium Falcon,” an X-wing starfighter, Queen Padmé Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, and Darth Maul. (Whew!)
Believe it or not, thirty million Star Wars commemorative sheets ,(totalling 450 million Star Wars stamps), are being printed !!
I first saw the original Star Wars movie, (Episode 4), when it first came out. I have since seen all 6 of the movies, but the first three released are still my favorites!
The stamp sheet to the top right is not to be missed for collectors of Star Wars memorabilia for their personal collections!
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© 2007 USPS Used with permission
Thanks for reading this comic book blog post, and feel free to comment!
Michael
For those interested in Sci-Fi Comic Books, we have several comics listed in our eBay Featured Store and eBay Pro Store.
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Posted Mar-30-07 16:00:29 PDT Updated Mar-30-07 16:02:31 PDT
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New York City Welcomes...
the Amazing Spider-Man !
Yes, that's right !!
According to my copy of USA Today, dated Friday March 30th 2007, NYC has been bitten by the Spider-Man bug!
New York City has been the home to Peter Parker and his web-slinging alias, 'Spider-Man' since 1962, and now the City is finally commemorating the May 4th opening of Spider-Man 3 with a week-long tribute of exhibits and events starting April 30th!
The city's American Museum of Natural History is featuring a 'spider' exhibit just before the film opens.
The New York Botanical Garden will host workshops on baby 'spider' plants.
The Children's Museum of Manhattan will honor the villain 'Green Goblin' with a display of the original costume and mask, plus a mask-making workshop on site.
Well, all I can say to the above is... Make Mine Marvel !
For those interested in seeing the Spider-Man comics that the movies are based on, we have several in our eBay Featured Store and eBay Pro Store!
Thanks for reading this comic book blog post! Feel free to comment!
Michael
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Spider-Man vs Venom !
The Thing Wants YOU To Watch the next Spider-Man Movie!
The Above Picture Shows Michael Selling the original Amazing Spider-Man Comic Books at the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) in 1973!
| Posted Mar-30-07 07:46:22 PDT Updated Feb-11-08 12:21:19 PST
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Grim and Gritty....
or "The CCA and How It Affected Me" Part 2:
Ok, I know that several of my blog posts have decried the 'Grim and Grittiness' of today's comics.... and in my mind, rightly so....
In an earlier blog post this month, (Part 1), I wrote on how the Comics Code Authority (CCA), came to be in 1954 after comic book publishers pushed the limits on what could be printed inside and outside of the covers.
The comic book to the right is another of those comic books covers that led would be reformers of comics to want censorship because of the topic and suggestive cover.
Reform School Girls published by Realistic Comics in 1951 was a 'one-shot' printing that today is valued at over $1,000 in Near Mint grade by collectors due to its' lurid cover.
The comic book cover suggests what could be inside for only one thin dime... and features topics that after the CCA came into being in 1954, were no longer printed about.
The comic books were 'cleaned up' by the time I started reading them in the late 1950's, although there was one used bookstore in downtown San Diego that used to sell old comics in the early 1970's that were coverless and were from the earlier era when the CCA didn't exist. Those comics were HoRRoR and War Comics with graphic scenes.
I remember reading mainstream comics like Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four during breaks in High School, and seeing other kids bringing in underground comix, that were teeming with sex and drugs. Those weren't approved by the CCA for sure!
However when the CCA would not approve Stan Lee's anti-drug story in two issues of Amazing Spider-Man, he went ahead and published them anyway. It was shortly after that, that the CCA's code was lightened up to allow additional topics to be discussed once more....
Since that time, some comics have reverted to what used to be printed before censorship. The comics today no longer have ratings on all of the covers, indeed some of the publishers do their own rating system.... yet I don't see the wanted new young readership coming in to buy new comic books at the LCBS, or at the comic conventions I go to.
The comic book industry today is losing or has already lost the next generation of what could have been comic book readers. That does not bode well for anyone selling new comics for a living, (LCBS - Local Comic Book Stores owners), or those that sell older collectible comics, (Comic Book Dealers such as ourselves), in the years to come.
Even with the turn away crowds at the San Diego Comic Con last summer on Saturday, one cannot be fooled into thinking that comic book readership is going up... the majority of those attending the SDCC are not going there for comic books, but rather to check out the 'pop' culture exhibits.
Stay tuned for a Part 3 to this blog post....
In the meantime, for those interested in comic books, we have over 5,500 comics in our eBay Featured Store and eBay Pro Store listed for sale.
Thanks for reading this comic book blog post, and feel free to comment!
Michael |
Comic Book From 1951 !
Michael selling comics at the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) in 1973.
Stamp Used by the CCA
| Posted Mar-29-07 17:19:28 PDT Updated Feb-11-08 12:23:28 PST
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...There Are Two Of Us selling on eBay With The Same Name... And no we aren't John Smiths !!
Just received a 'Google Alert' for my name, 'Michael Hamersky', which is NOT a common name, and was surprised to see that 'Michael Hamersky' is selling baseball cards on eBay!
Tina Lo Sasso, my wife who kept her maiden name, and/or I have been buying and selling off and on since January of 1999, and I have never run across this fact before!
The other 'Michael Hamersky' has been buying on eBay since April 2003, and looks like he starting selling in February 2007, but I had not known this before now...
Of course we both have different eBay IDs so that buyers or sellers couldn't get confused... but it struck me as being strange that my first Google Alert for my name tells me of another person with the same name selling on eBay! Talk about a 'small world' !
I did 15 years of genealogy research on the Hamersky surname, (1980-95), finding it to be a very rare surname, and only ran across one other 'Michael' Hamersky during that period. Of course this was before the internet when data had to be retrieved from genealogy sections of libraries or at the National Archives Regional Offices....
Anyway, I just had to post this... have just emailed the other Michael, to compare notes... will post more when I get more data from him. We probably don't have the same middle initial or middle name....
In the meantime we'll just keep plugging away, listing more comics and comic book related items in our eBay Featured Store and eBay Pro Store.
And no, the only baseball cards I have are of Leo Posada, who was my favorite baseball player in the early 1960's.... For those that never heard of Leo Posada, he's better known as the uncle of Jorge Posada of the New York Yankees !!!
Thanks for reading this comic books blog post, and feel free to comment!
Michael (Hamersky) |
This 'Michael Hamersky' selling Marvel comics at the San Diego Comic Con in 1973. This is me... or is it I ??
Michael Hamersky with Stan Lee at the 1993 SDCC
Michael and Tina at eBay Live 2005 !
| Posted Mar-29-07 09:11:14 PDT Updated Mar-29-07 09:18:46 PDT
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Gift Ideas For the Serious
Comic Book Collector......
From Tina and Michael @ MakeItSoMarketing:
The general public knows that comics have become serious business over the past several years. Serious comic book collectors own third party graded versions of their favorites.
These books have been reviewed and graded by an independent third party - usually CGC - much like baseball cards and other sports memorabilia are. Then, the graded book is encapsulated in a hard plastic cover to preserve and protect it. The title and grade are clearly marked.
CGC-graded encapsulated comics are a treasured gift for serious collectors who can appreciate their value. They can't read them without breaking the encapsulation and voiding the grading certification; but, they can enjoy owning them.
If you are not a serious collector, it may be hard to understand why someone would want a comic they couldn't read. But a collector collects - they want to own and the more valuable the item, the better. CGC grading is an independent way of saying this comic is this valuable. Your serious comic geek will love one, and you for giving it to them!
Believe it or not... Not all CGC comics are expensive! We have several CGC graded comics listed now, to the right are four comics currently listed in our eBay store with a 'Buy It Now' price or some with a 'Submit Your Best Offer' option, starting from $24.99 plus shipping/insurance:
(Note: We can ship directly to your collector friend or family member. The encapsulated comic book will be sealed in a bubble wrapped mailer, protected by two cardboard inserts, and then placed in a Flat Rate Priority Box which has additional shipping packing materials to protect the comic book plastic holder from scratching or being cracked. Just let us know when paying, that you want it shipped to a different party and we will be glad to do so. The cost of shipping/insurance includes the delivery confirmation receipt, so we can send you the tracking number so you know your friend/family member received the package. This offer on CGC graded comics is good only for USA addresses!)
For those interested in CGC slabbed comics we usually have over a hundred listed in our eBay Featured Store and of course thousands of unslabbed comics in our eBay Pro Store.
Thanks for reading this comic books blog post, and feel free to comment !
Michael and Tina
The above pic shows Michael selling comics
at the San Diego Comic Con in 1973 !
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| Posted Mar-28-07 19:43:53 PDT Updated Feb-11-08 12:25:37 PST
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VOODOO CHILD....
the Illustrated Legend
of Jimi Hendrix
This is one sharp graphic novel !
Being a child of the mid to late 1960's, Jimi was one of the mind-blowing rock stars that I listened to, although I never saw him in concert.
I basically listened to his pop hits on the AM / FM radio stations during my high school years until I went to college. Then having my own pad I bought his albums at a used record store in downtown San Diego and listened to them.
I have never been one to bone up on the rock artists' personal lives, so this graphic novel really enlightened me as to what I didn't know about Jimi ! 'Far out man' !
The graphic novel uses snippets of Jimi's lyrics as commentary on the action at the appropriate moments, so as to heighten the drama of the guitarist's colorful life. I found this to be a cool way of getting the scene across to the reader.
I am not normally a fan of Bill Sienkiewicz's art, but this is a great showcase for his style of art. For those interested in Jimi Hendrix and a fan of comic book style of art, this is a 'must read' for you ! Additionally there is a 30 minuted CD of Jimi's home recordings that come with this graphic novel! We don't sell this item, you can check out other eBay sellers or your usual book venues to purchase this item!
However for those interested in rock star comic books we have a few rock n' roll comics in our eBay Featured Store and eBay Pro Store.
Thanks for reading this blog post, and feel free to post your comment!
Michael |
Michael selling comic books at the San Diego Comic Con in the post-psychdelic era of 1973 !
| Posted Mar-28-07 17:23:06 PDT
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Our Take On American Idol's Show Last Night....
...Yes, we do have our thoughts on American Idol's show from last night to post today !
And, for a change of pace, you get both Tina's and my thoughts on the performances !
A word of warning first! Tina and I come from different music backgrounds and musical tastes. She's an East Coast girl and I am a Navy Brat from the West Coast with Midwest Roots! I'm a 'Baby Boomer' and Tina was born at the tail end of the 'Boomer' generation, so she is much more influenced by the following generation's music !
So here goes:
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Tina's Thoughts |
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Michael's Thoughts |
| 1- LaKisha |
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Red Hot -even her hair |
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Started off OK |
| 2- Chris S |
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What a let down - terrible ! |
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Very little for a change.. |
| 3- Gina |
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Awesome cover of song |
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Too different tonight for me |
| 4- Shanjaya |
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Looked like a Britney Spears cry for help… Vote Him Off !! |
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What the heck ???? |
| 5- Haley |
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Well, she looks lovely …. |
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Not her 'true colors' |
| 6- Phil |
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Afraid to say I liked it… but he's a charismatic black hole. |
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What Moves????? |
| 7- Melinda |
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I love her, but why are the girls tonight making Donna Summer look brilliant ?!! |
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Heaven Help Us … outta here !! |
| 8- Blake |
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He's so Cool, You have to love him! |
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"Always"???? …..NOT !! |
| 9- Jordin |
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She's infectious and fun ! |
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Almost there tonight…. |
| 10- Chris R |
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When will this whining wannabe go home ?? |
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Don't Speak… Don't Sing… |
Well, that's it for last night's performances... for a change I didn't bother calling in and voting, because none of the performances were top notch for me. I don't vote for 'favorites' till the the 'Final Three' or so anyway.... I vote for best performance of the night (or top two best until the end).
We don't sell American Idol Magazines or Photos, but for those interested in Rock N' Roll Comics, we have several comic books of that genre in our eBay Featured Comic Book Store and eBay Pro Store.
Thank you for reading this blog post, and feel free to comment !
Michael
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Last Season's Winner, Taylor Hicks!
Michael selling comic books at the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) in 1973.
Michael and Tina @ eBay Live 2005. | Posted Mar-27-07 12:58:00 PDT Updated Mar-27-07 13:06:44 PDT
| Essentials Format !
Ok.... this is to let the readers of this blog know that I am trying out other formats of collecting comic books !
I have mentioned before that we have been selling my personal collection of a complete Fantastic Four collection from # 1 through #516 this past year.
I did this after buying a DVD of the first 500+ issues of the Fantastic Four, which I found to be quite entertaining, as the DVD pictured actual photos of each page of the original comics in color and with the original ads, letter pages, and other in-house placements.
The only problem with that format is that you need to have a laptop or desktop to view the comics....
So once again, I went to my local public library, which has one of the best graphic novel and trade paperback selections in our county to see what they were carrying.
They had a copy of 'Essential X-Men volume 3' on the shelf and thus I checked it out to see if that would be a format for me for to collect by.
Well, I made it halfway or so thru the book and have stopped....
Why? Because I just can't get over the fact that the comics that are reprinted in this format are without color.... "yes we have no color".... and four color is what made the comics vivid for me to read in the first place !!
So I am going to keep looking for another format... In the meantime for those interested in 'color' Marvel Superhero comic books, we have a slugfest full in our eBay Featured Store and eBay Pro Store.
Thanks for reading this blog post, and feel free to post your comment!
Michael
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| Posted Mar-26-07 14:02:40 PDT Updated Mar-26-07 14:42:19 PDT
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Dr. Herbert F York... Sputnik's 50th Anniversary.... UCSD..... SDCC....
Yesterday Tina and I attended the UCSD Legacy Society Reception at the Muir College Faculty Building UCSD, and listened intently to the Keynote Address given by Dr. Herbert F. York, who is the UCSD Chancellor Emeritus.
Dr York's address was entitled 'UCSD: A Glimpse of the Past... A Vision for the Future.
He got my attention right away when he mentioned he was finishing up his duties in the last year, (1960), of the Eisenhower adminstration when he was asked to become the first Chancellor of UCSD in La Jolla (San Diego) in 1961. ...
As a scientist he was extremely interested in the increased interest in science that occured after the Russians shot up Sputnik in Septemeber 1957! So he jumped at the chance to be involved in higher education in California!
He talked about the past, how the UCSD campuses were on what were called the original Pueblo Lands. Those were lands that the city of San Diego inheirited from the beginning of San Diego in what is now called 'Old Town' but was actually the Pueblo of San Diego.
He then recalled about the fact that the Navy had an adjoing base called 'Camp Matthews' where there was a rifle range, and that the students and faculty on the UCSD campus could hear shots going off on irregular intervals during the day. Also that from 1962 - 1963 that the Navy was opposed to UCSD receiving the lands around the area and the land from Camp Matthews. The Navy was concerned that Miramar Naval Air Station would be next on the list of military bases to be given away....
What does this have to do with the San Diego Comic Con? Well, the second SDCC, still called the Golden state Comic-Con, was held in 1971 at Muir College, UCSD Campus in San Diego! After the Keynote Address I informed Dr York that I was living in San Diego due to my dad being based out here while in the Navy, and that I would be posting some of his address in our blog as I had found the early years of UCSD to be fascinating, especially the Space Race connection!
For those interested in Science Fiction Comic Books, we have several comics listed in our eBay Featured Store and eBay Pro Store.
Thanks for reading this comic book blog post, and feel free to comment!
Michael
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Michael selling Sci-Fi comics at the San Diego Comic Con in 1973. No, he missed the second SDCC which was held at Muir College at UCSD in 1971!
| Posted Mar-25-07 05:43:23 PDT Updated Mar-25-07 05:44:06 PDT
| Identity Crisis !
I normally do not like 'grim and gritty' comic books that have become the norm since the 1980's !
However I checked out the trade paperback hardcover book of 'Identity Crisis' from DC Comics, created by Brad Meltzer, Rags Morales and Michael Bair at my local library this past week.
I still do not like my comics 'grim and gritty', but this package of compiling all the seven issues of the mini-series of the comic book together actually made a good 'read' for me at a couple of sittings.
It is not something I would give to my youngest child, even tho it has Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and other superheroes that the mainstream public think should be an all ages read. The 'School Library Journal' suggests that this book is for Grade 10 and up readership, which I would agree is the proper age group due to the content and violence.
This mini-series was both wildly acclaimed and also wildly reviled when it was first published post 9-11. It tampered with the DC Universe continuity, but also brought 2nd and 3rd tiered superheroes into the limelight which they had not seen before. Because I am not an active monthly reader of DC comics, I found this compiliation of the seven issues a 'good read' but found some of the background of the story objectionable including the use of 'mind-wiping'.
For those interested in DC Superhero comic books, we have a slugfest full in our eBay Featured Store and eBay Pro Store.
Thanks for reading this blog post, and feel free to post your comment!
Michael
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| Posted Mar-24-07 05:34:19 PDT |
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