…Or, more specifically, “Four Days, Five Dells”.
New York Comic Con may have “become” for me what San Diego
used to be, but there is one significant difference… the number of comics
purchased.
As has become the case with NEW COMICS (IDW’s POPEYE being
the lone exception – and, have I said enough good things about that title to convince
you yet?), the “Old Comics” purchasing is at an all-time low as well.
 |
| Just BUY IT, okay!? |
This is even down by ONE “Old Comic” from last year, as you
can see HERE!
…And, it would have only been THREE “Old Comics”, if I hadn’t
discovered the great old TV western WAGON TRAIN on DVD this past year – and decided
to pick up two reasonably priced Dell issues to sample it in comic form.
 |
| Buy THIS too! You won't be sorry! |
Ah, those old photo covers were great – especially the image
of Ward Bond on the first one, against the brown background.
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| First Wagon Train comic: Dell Four Color # 895 |
 |
| Wagon Train # 7 (1960) |
We’ll have some sort of overall write-up of WAGON TRAIN
someday soon. It is a surprisingly good
example of the TV Western genre – chock full of “A-List Guest Stars” – and (in
my own very humble Blogger’s opinion) may very well be the best TV Western of
them all! (…and there sure were a lot of
them to choose from!)
UPDATE October 26, 2012: We WILL have a post on WAGON TRAIN, coming up three or four posts from now! Look for it soon!
UPDATE October 26, 2012: We WILL have a post on WAGON TRAIN, coming up three or four posts from now! Look for it soon!
There will always be holes to fill in such long running series
as Dell’s LOONEY TUNES AND MERRIE MELODIES or WALTER LANTZ NEW FUNNIES (…I’ve
long since conceded on completing those), but will always pick up bargain
priced copies from their prime periods – such as these two examples of the
latter below.  |
| Walter Lantz New Funnies # 193 (1953) |
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| Walter Lantz New Funnies # 194 (1953) |
Jay Ward comics will probably always be too pricy for me
but, once in a while, you run into one that’s unexpectedly reasonable – and this
rounds out my five “Old Comics” purchases for New York Comic Con 2012.
 |
| Rocky and His Friends: Dell FC 1208 (1961) |
There was also a bootleg DVD worth buying – and “Beep-Beep”
remains to be discussed!
New York Comic Con is, in every POSITIVE sense of the now-clichéd
phrase, “The Gift that Keeps on Giving” – in the form of continued Blog
posts. Be here for the next one, won’t you?
…Blog post AND New York Comic Con, I mean!
“Beep-Beep!”
5 comments:
Joe:
Love those Dell comics covers! There's nothing like the feel (and smell) of an old Dell comic that is in very good to near-mint condition. It's a feast for the eyes, as well.
I was born too late to savor firsthand the Dell comics when they were in their glory. In the 60's Dell comics were mostly TV adaptations of shows like Bewitched, Nanny and the Professor, and Get Smart, only the characters didn't talk or act much like they did on the shows. In fact, it looked like the writers of the comic books had never watched the original shows!
But the 50's and very early 60's were a different story. The Dell artwork was so elaborate, so detailed, it practically leaped off the page. They covered nearly every popular character, such as Tarzan, Zorro, or Lassie. The stories were rich and generally well-plotted, though they could be repetitious within a series.
The fun of shopping for comics is that you can shop in any decade and usually find pretty good bargains...at least decent reading copies for not too much.
Thanks for recommending the Wagon Train series. I've been very much into old Western series lately, and that was one I missed when I was younger. If Joe says it's good, it's gotta be good! (I've gotten very much hooked on The Virginian myself, having "discovered" it while on vacation a year ago.)
Looks like you scored some great purchases! I look forward to your critique on the Wagon Train comics, and on the New Funnies and Rocky as well.
Scarecrow:
My first comic (as best as I can piece together) was a Dell TWEETY AND SYLVESTER from 1958 – and I had a scant few other Dells from 1959, including the first HUCKLEBERRY HOUND, some WDC&S, DONALD DUCK, MICKEY MOUSE, WOODY WOODPECKER, and POPEYE, so I “got in” at the very tail end of their best period.
Yep, you can just LOOK AT those covers and derive some enjoyment, even if you never get to open one!
WAGON TRAIN, I’ll say it again, may very well be the best TV Western series of them all! Even, I’m surprised at how good it is – and I’d been reading nothing but good things about it for a long time, which prompted me to do a “blind-buy” on its DVDs. Like HUCKLEBERRY HOUND and VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, it is undeservedly obscure today!
I really hope to have the time to do a proper write up of WAGON TRAIN (the series, if not the comics) soon. But, coming next is a discussion of that one bootleg DVD I picked up. I should do something on some of the comics as well.
And, bargains in comic shopping are always fun!
An additional thought on your comments, Scarecrow…
Consider me complemented, when you say: “If Joe says it’s good, it’s gotta be good!”, but there’s some very valid logic to that. Logic that I’ve often applied myself.
Going back to my COMICS BUYERS GUIDE reading days, thru my present online activities, if I’ve ever been “on the fence” when considering something like a comic, TV show, film, etc., I will always give prime consideration to the recommendations (or lack of same) of someone whose opinions I KNOW, relative to my own.
I will be more likely to read a review of something I already have, or know a great deal about, merely to GAUGE how that person’s opinions stack up against my own. Then, if said person or persons discuss something I MAY be considering, I will have a much better read on whether or not I can expect to like or dislike that “something”.
If “Person-A”, whom I already know likes “Comic-B” and “TV Series-C” (as do I), recommends “DVD-D”… the chances are very good that I will ALSO like “DVD-D”.
Or, if we are of generally opposing opinions, the converse can be applied… If they DON’T like it, I probably WILL like it!
A general reading of this Blog will easily reveal my opinions on various comics, TV series, films, DVDs, etc. – and, if you tend to like the things I like, you may very well like the other things I discuss favorably. …Or, you might wanna avoid ‘em like the Plague! That’s the beauty of it!
And, I have DVD sets of PERRY MASON, THE FUGITIVE, and now WAGON TRAIN (three historically great series that I had relatively little exposure to in “The Old Days”) to enjoy as a testament to this theory.
…Anyone else out there employ this method?
STILL no "Beep-Beep"? I'm getting impatient and I even know what it is! :P
Oh, it’s coming… probably by Monday morning!
…And your part in our little Beep-Drama will not go without some acknowledgement. :-)
Remember, ya gotta keep the Blog-Beast fed with well-parsed posts!
"Art of the Tease", and all that...
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