Inaugural Post: Take a Stand

Doug: You're going to have to make a commitment today -- stand up for yourself, be firm, and all that. In yet another effort to get some pop culture conversation rolling, we're going to try something slightly new. Those who've been around for the past year or so know we occasionally toss out a query that falls under "Who's the Best...?" or "Who's the Worst...?" Even though the topics are narrowed down, the discussions can be somewhat broad. But today you're going to get three -- and only three -- choices and have to tell which you favor and why. No wishy/washy, kids!

Doug: To start things off in this new category of discussion, I'm going to give you three images, each representative of some aspect of comics loving in the 1970s. You must declare which aspect resonates with you the most and then hopefully indulge us with reasons why you made your choice, and any fond or contrary opinions toward the other two choices. Ready?

Which of the following was the coolest ancillary to comic book reading in the Bronze Age?

Marvel Treasury Editions

http://www.treasurycomics.com/gallery/gallerymarveltreasury7476.htm

Mego -- World's Greatest Super-Heroes

http://www.mcfarlanes-figures.com/mego.html

Third Eye posters

http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/dynamics/2010/12/10/medusa-1971-black-light-poster/

Licensed to Sell

Doug:  Back in the Bronze Age, there was certainly no lack of opportunity for seeing our favorite heroes and villains in places outside of our four-color funnybooks.  Today we'd like you to tell us of those periphery things you collected besides comics.  We've talked about different action figures, there has been discourse on the Pocket Books reprints, and I'm sure along the way we've hit several other types of products.  Today let's open it up again, but at the same time zero in on a few loves of my life -- I'd like to know if you had similar collecting experiences.

Slurpee Cups:  As I've shown in the picture-laden posts of "Doug's Stuff", I have a fair collection of Slurpee Cups.  All of the ones I have were purchased with that frozen concoction inside -- sometimes I fantasize about going on eBay and beginning to collect a really nice set of all of them, Marvel and DC.  But I'm so stuck in the trade paperback/hardcover buying mode that I doubt I'll get to it.  It's really amazing that the cups have lasted, as the plastic of which they're made is not of the highest quality; in fact, they can be quite brittle.

Third Eye posters:  Again, as I'm sure I've mentioned in the past, I have two of these -- the Fantastic Four and Medusa.  I also have a Dr. Strange greeting card that I did purchase via eBay at some point.  If you're not familiar, these are black light posters that are really quite garish.  I won both of them at a carnival when I was around 10 years old, throwing darts at balloons.

Topps Superhero Stickers trading cards:  How about these?  Did you have any of these stickers?  They were pretty silly, but I was just so comics-crazed at that point in my life (1975 -- I would have been 9 years old) that I would beg for anything I saw that had Marvel's characters on it.  I think I still have three or four sheets of construction paper with these stickers affixed to them!

Doug:  So there are a few ideas to get your memory working.   What of the above did you dabble in, and certainly what else not mentioned did you try to get your grubby little mitts on?  Thanks in advance!

UPDATE (3/16/13)  Here are the three sheets of construction paper with my Topps Marvel Superhero stickers affixed; I'd mentioned this in yesterday's comments.  Doug

 

Doug says, "Check out some of my Stuff!" Part 6

Greetings again, Keepers of the Flame! Today's partial tour of Doug's hidden treasure trove features a look at the library displays as well as some cool posters!

The Shelves:

My custom shelving system, of which I've shown glimpses over the past five parts of our tour, is 12 cubicles and one top shelf that runs the width of the system. It was designed so that I could compartmentalize my collection of action figures and reprint/reference books. It's been a great asset to be able to do this, but as I continue to buy those wonderful tomes that catch my eye -- you know, "someday I'll curl up and read this!" -- the space is becoming more and more limited. It won't be too long before I have to rethink the displays.

First up today is the Batman shelf. I didn't pull back completely, as I wanted you to hopefully be able to see some of the titles on the book spines. You'll find Les Daniels' fine Batman: The Complete History, the 3-volume Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams, John Byrne's Batman 3-D, Mark Cotta Vaz's Tales of the Dark Knight: Batman's First Fifty Years, Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns in softcover and hardcover, and more. In front of the library are the Alex Ross-sculpted Justice action figures of Batman and Batgirl. Oh, how I wish I'd have bought his Joker figure at the time! You might also notice the buttons I referred to in Part 1 of this series. To the left you can see various Bat-collectibles, most of them tied into either the movie franchise of Batman: The Animated Series. These are just a small representation of the collection I've amassed over the years -- much of it given to me as gifts. You can see soap dispensers, Band-Aids, and a rotary sucker holder!

Directly to the left of the Batman shelf are two displays of DC's youthful heroes -- the Teen Titans and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Since the Legion display is a little larger (and since I like that book more than the Titans -- although I do like the Titans quite a bit), I chose to focus on that half. It's much simpler than the Batman shelf, with only six action figures (all DC Direct) and a complete 12-volume set of The Legion Archives -- when, oh when, will they get around to making volume 13?!? The Superboy and Supergirl are from the box set that came with Krypto and Streaky -- they are in accessory-limbo in the closet. Mordru was an early DC Direct-offering, and the three founders were issued in the same series. I just wish Saturn Girl could stand on her own! That has always been a complaint of mine about DC Direct and their female action figures. You might wonder why I don't have any of the other Legion boys who were issued off and on over several years. Simple -- they just didn't appeal to me. Not the characters -- no way! But the sculpts were so cookie-cutter, so generic. I really like, despite limited articulation, the founders. But what came after was just so bland. The other two books in the photo are TwoMorrows' The Legion Companion by Glen Cadigan, and Legion of Super-Heroes: 1050 Years of the Future tpb.

Posters:

Around the room you'll find some of the original comic art I showed off in Part 4, as well as several framed posters. I'll show three here -- two promotional pieces that I was lucky enough to have autographed by Alex Ross at various comic conventions/shows in the Chicagoland area, and one of the black light posters that was published by the Third Eye company back in the 1970's. If memory serves, I won this by pitching pennies or some such thing at a carnival in my hometown. I also have the Jack Kirby-illustrated Medusa poster, but it's in storage for the time being.

The Overstreet Fan #14 poster was just a giveaway at Wizardworld Chicago one year and I picked it up. While in line to greet Alex Ross he offered to sign it for me; I felt guilty, as I'd already asked him to sign two books. But that's Alex Ross -- if you've ever met him, then you know he is one of the most down-to-earth and gracious people you'd ever want to meet. Just a true gentleman. I believe I've had the privilege at least four times to have greeted and chatted with him.

The Marvels #2 promo poster was also a giveaway, but at a smaller show near O'Hare airport. As you might guess, it was out at the same time Marvels #1 was hitting the shelves. This would have been back in the early 1990's -- for Alex Ross, the long hair and full beard days! He's a much better-looking fellow these days, all clean-cut. For both of these posters I've included larger images of the autographs.

That wraps it up for this time 'round. Before I cut out, I thought I'd invite you back for the next installment, when we'll look at some premiums from Kraft foods, as well as some beanies from the Warner Bros. Studio Stores.