Joe Torcivia's The Issue At Hand Blog: Happy New Year 2016!

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Happy New Year 2016!

We thank you for sticking with us during this horrifically busy period - and reward you with a lame "2016 Stunt".

Here's Issue "20" followed by Issue "16" of some of our favorite comic books.

Sorry, but it's the best I can do while "horrifically busy"!

Happy New Year 2016!

18 comments:

Ryan Wynns said...: Joe,

Happy 2016! The work of you and your cohorts on the IDW Disney comics has been one of the absolute best things about 2015, as I expect it will throughout the next twelve months.

And looking forward to visiting again come spring!

-- Ryan; January 1, 2016 at 12:16 AM
Sérgio Gonçalves said...: Happy New Year, Joe! I like your post. In fact, it's inspired me to think up a great New Year's Day gimmick for a classic animation TV channel (if one existed.) Air the 20th episode, followed by the 16th episode, of various great cartoon shows like The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Top Cat, Jonny Quest, Thundarr the Barbarian, DuckTales, etc.; January 1, 2016 at 1:13 AM
Adel Khan said...: Happy New Years Joe! (and Esther) It was a pleasant surprise seeing your end of the year posts.

How you update in your limited time demonstrates your allegiance to all of us, readers. Bravo, Joe! (Let’s give a round of applause, folks! A square even) Your creative method of showing a #20 comic-book cover followed by a #16 is a fun way of celebrating 2016! Now how about 2016 favorite comic-book covers, eh.

One of my resolutions for the upcoming year is combating my comic-book collecting addiction. I am unsatiated upon seeing the fantastic artwork of Harvey Eisenberg, Kay Wright, and Pete Alvarado in the H-B comics. Honestly, I would need to attend an A.A. meeting for comic-book collectors.

It was a fun year communicating with others who share similar tastes in our expanding Internet. Here is a continuation of many merry moments!; January 1, 2016 at 1:49 AM
Joe Torcivia said...: Ryan:

You write: “The work of you and your cohorts on the IDW Disney comics has been one of the absolute best things about 2015”.

Funny thing, I cannot say I’m sorry to see 2015 pass into history, as it’s been an unpleasant year overall in many different ways, but I said to Esther, as the year was (finally) drawing to a close, that the two great things about 2015 are IDW… and YOU! Quickly adding – “Not at ALL in that order!”

Each served to keep me both happy and sane over those last 365 days – and, to that I must add all of you who read and comment on this Blog! Thank you! I can only hope to express the great appreciation I have for your contributions here!

2016 will begin by continuing in “2015 Mode” (all that “horrifically busy” stuff), but that is expected to pass toward the later part of January. Ironically, while IDW actually made a busy life busier still, it also made it more fun! Let alone the comfort of a wonderful spouse like Esther! …Yes, looking forward to that next visit!; January 1, 2016 at 10:25 AM
Joe Torcivia said...: Sergio:

That’s a GREAT idea, and one that could only come from a true fan! And, I mean that in the most complementary sense! It’s easier, perhaps, to apply the “20” followed by “16” idea to comic books because they have always been sequentially numbered – but applying it to animated series (or even live action TV series) is nice “out-of-the-box” thinking.

It recalls the kind of thing (what used to be) “Cartoon Network” might have done, back in the ‘90s when they were actually very entertaining and their mission was to present the true classic cartoons that now suffocate under the vast Time-Warner Umbrella (Looney Tunes, MGM, and Hanna-Barbera) in ways they were often innovative and fun!

Like the April Fool’s Day, where they ran the same Screwy Squirrel cartoon over and over for hours, as their April Fool’s joke on us! I seem to recall that may have done the same thing with Tex Avery’s “Jerky Turkey” one Thanksgiving.

That’s the kind of thinking I enjoyed, and it’s not unlike your idea! Oh, well, at least those with extensive DVD collections can take a shot at it. I’d try it myself today, if I can find the time.

Though, it could not apply to a short run series like THIS ONE, which had neither a 20th nor a 16th episode.; January 1, 2016 at 10:55 AM
Joe Torcivia said...: Adel:

In truth, I take this Blogging thing very seriously and try to never go too long without an update – even if it’s a cheater like this one. I’m very glad you appreciate it. Consider your appreciation… um, “appreciated”!

I wouldn’t worry much about any addiction. As you can see here, comic collecting tends to wax and wane and repeat – as posts like THIS ONE, THIS ONE, and THIS ONE bear out.

This most important thing is that you’re having fun – and you are clearly doing that. Your comments and contributions are always valued here – so please keep ‘em coming in 2016 and beyond!; January 1, 2016 at 11:14 AM
Mark said...: I wish Joe and all the regular commenters a very good 2016.

Looks like the first IDW Disney comic of 2016 is Uncle Scrooge #10
Here is the variant cover: http://comics.gocollect.com/uploads/collection/9/images/pub/680616_uncle-scrooge-10-subscription-variant.jpg
What did you dialogue for this issue, Joe? It's also notable that from this month onward the IDW Disney comics only have 2 covers.; January 1, 2016 at 3:13 PM
Joe Torcivia said...: Thank you, Mark, and the same to you and everyone here!

HERE is Mark’s link to the alternate cover of UNCLE SCROOGE # 10 for your viewing pleasure. NICE cover! Not sure what it’s supposed to depict – but how often do you see PLUTO on an UNCLE SCROOGE cover! Gotta love that!

I actually have a flurry of things coming up in the next month or three. If I’ve got it straight, this would be a Beagle Boys backup that I titled “Love is Never Having to Say You’re Sentenced” - original author being the great Gorm Transgaard, whose very enjoyable work we saw quite a bit of during Gemstone, but (alas) little or nothing since.

Indeed, this story is actually a holdover from those days at Gemstone, and was the story I was working on when the plug was pulled on that licensed publisher.

All I’ll say about it is that it’s very funny (thanks to a great idea from Transgaard), and you’ll see a side to the Beagles you haven’t seen before. I really enjoyed working on this one – and I can’t wait to see it myself.

Other upcoming issues to which I’ve contributed are DONALD DUCK 9 (lead), MICKEY MOUSE # 8 (Super Goof backup), UNCLE SCROOGE # 11 (lead and backup), and UNCLE SCROOGE # 12 (Scrooge and Jubal Pomp backup).

Two covers per issue is not surprising, as the 2015 issues were all announced as having exclusive Disneyland variants – which I have never seen anywhere, BTW – but those were scheduled to conclude at the end of the 2015.; January 1, 2016 at 5:18 PM
scarecrow33 said...: Thanks for another year of fantastic posts and great dialogue work! Keep 'em both coming! (I'm especially looking forward to another new Super Goof story!)

I have the above-referenced Porky Pig and Flintstones issues, and one of the Uncle Scrooges shown.

Carrying out Sergio's idea of doing the same with the TV shows, the Flintstones episodes in question would be #20 "Arthur Quarry's Dance Class" and #16 "The Sweepstakes Ticket," both classic first season episodes. The Jonny Quest episodes would be #20 "The Invisible Monster" and #16 "The Fradulent Volcano." The "Scooby Doo: Where Are You?" episodes would be #20 "Jeepers, It's the Creeper" and #16 "A Night of Fright is No Delight".

Happy New Year 2016!; January 1, 2016 at 7:56 PM
Joe Torcivia said...: Thank you, Scarecrow! I intend to keep ‘em both coming for a long time to come! If anyone remembers “Dr. Dunk” (from the first Gemstone “Mickey Mouse and Blotman” special), you’ll be seeing him again vs. Super Goof.

…And, you’ve just saved me some research time, if I choose to do “20” followed by “16” with The Flintstones, Jonny Quest, and Scooby-Doo Where Are You!

And, heck… for Lost in Space (just because it’s that favorite show’s 50th Anniversary Season) it would be “War of the Robots” and “The Keeper Part 1”. And, since its 50th Anniversary is imminent, for Batman ’66 we have “Better Luck Next Time” (Part Two of the first Catwoman appearance) and “He Meets His Match, the Grizzly Ghoul” (Part Two of the second Joker appearance).

This is a fun game, isn’t it!; January 1, 2016 at 8:25 PM
Sérgio Gonçalves said...: Joe:

Thanks for the compliment. In truth, though, it's your idea. I just adapted it to another medium.

Don't even get me started on the sorry state Cartoon Network has fallen into. At least Boomerang still shows a lot of good stuff, although they only show "The Flintstones" and "The Smurfs" in the wee hours of the morning. During reasonable hours, I wish they would show classic stuff other than "Looney Tunes," "Scooby-Doo," and "Tom & Jerry" once in a while. Don't get me wrong -- I love LT, S-D, and T&J as much as the next guy. But why don't they show the Tex Avery MGM cartoons, the early H-B cartoons, "Jonny Quest," etc., once in a while? And it's not as if airing more classic shows would crowd out newer shows. They could simply alternate the classic shows they air. Fortunately, they did air a lot of classic H-B Christmas specials the other day, so I guess I shouldn't protest too much...

True, the idea couldn't apply to a short-run series like "The Roman Holidays" or my favorite short-run series "Sealab 2020." Though, I suppose in cases like that they could air the first and sixth episodes instead. Not as clever as the twentieth and sixteenth episodes, but, where's there's a will, there's a way.

I would love for Boomerang to run a marathon of "Sealab 2020" on New Year's Day 2020, but I know they won't. Regardless of what you think of the series, you've got to admit that it would be awesome if, at the stroke of midnight, the first words you heard on television in 2020 were, "This is the year 2020. The place is the Challenger Sea Mount, the top of an underwater mountain, a complex beneath the sea..."

By the way, did the replacement "Roman Holidays" DVD work properly? And were those episodes you'd missed as good as the rest?

Continuing the game, here are some episodes I would run:

Jetsons -- #20 "Miss Solar System"
Jetsons -- #16 "Millionaire Astro"

Gilligan's Island -- #20 "St. Gilligan and the Dragon"
Gilligan's Island -- #16 "Plant You Now, Dig You Later"

DuckTales -- #20 "Superdoo!"
DuckTales -- #16 "The Money Vanishes"

Gargoyles -- #20 "Eye of the Beholder"
Gargoyles -- #16 "Legion"

Thundarr the Barbarian -- #20 "Trial by Terror"
Thundarr the Barbarian -- #16 "Island of the Body Snatchers"

Top Cat -- #20 "The Golden Fleecing"
Top Cat -- #16 "The Case of the Absent Anteater"; January 1, 2016 at 10:17 PM
Joe Torcivia said...: Sergio:

I’ve long since given up on (What Used To Be) “Cartoon Network”, hardly bother with Boomerang anymore - and just delve into my DVD collection when I wish to enjoy classic animation. Though, even that is incomplete, with most of Huckleberry Hound and much of Yogi Bear still missing. Some of the other series have come to me through bootleg, but (alas) not all of them. With WB, MGM, and H-B under their control, Time-Warner has done a shameful job in packaging and presenting most of the greatest animated properties of all time.

Though, surprisingly, we did get Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel on DVD this year, and Loopy De Loop not long before that! Now, if only we could get Quick Draw McGraw and Peter Potamus – and the balance of The Huckleberry Hound Show. And so many Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies remain unreleased, not to mention MGM cartoons.

Honestly, I never saw Sealab 2020 – so can’t comment. But, if you like it (going by your other stated tastes), it’s probably good. Yes, that announcement WOULD be nice to hear, when we reach 2020.

Yes, the Roman Holidays replacement disc did work fine. And, no, I never got around to reviewing the balance of the series (which I thought was great – and far better than my poor expectations for ‘70s H-B led me to believe) or reviewing Help It’s The Hair Bear Bunch. And, those were less busy overall, pre-IDW times, so just imagine today.

No matter who is credited, it’s still a fun game to play – and glad that both Top Cat and the Original Jetsons, got past 20 episodes. That might not be assured today – or (as Roman Holidays shows) even a decade after those shows aired.; January 2, 2016 at 8:51 AM
Sérgio Gonçalves said...: Joe:

Sealab 2020 is not very well known as far as H-B cartoons go. It originally aired in 1972, and was cancelled before the season even ended. Nonetheless, I like it. It's not a funny cartoon and it's not nearly as exciting as Jonny Quest, but it works. The underwater laboratory is spectacularly designed by Alex Toth, and I love the premise -- researchers coping with the challenges of life under the sea. It's a very educational show, imparting a lot of factoids about aquatic life, as well as life lessons. This would normally be a bad thing, but the teaching and preaching is incorporated into the storyline in a remarkably non-obtrusive way. You almost don't even notice it, if you're focused on the plot. And it has one of the best theme songs ever.

If you keep in mind that it is a 70s H-B cartoon and don't go into it with very high expectations, I think you'll be pleased with what it is. To get a better sense of whether it's your cup of tea or a cup of saltwater, I'd recommend checking out the reviews on Amazon and maybe watching an episode on YouTube before buying. (Personally, the first episode I saw was episode one, "Deep Threat," and I found it to be a great introduction to the series.); January 2, 2016 at 10:46 AM
Joe Torcivia said...: Sergio:

Considering that VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA is one of my most favorite shows of all time, and that I’m also a huge Hanna-Barbera fan (albeit mostly pre-seventies), SEALAB 2020 *could* be something I might like. Nothing designed by Alex Toth could be all bad, that’s for sure!; January 2, 2016 at 8:16 PM
Sérgio Gonçalves said...: Joe:

"Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" looks very, very good. I've got to check it out some day. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.; January 3, 2016 at 12:23 PM
Elaine said...: Gladstone's Donald Duck Adventures 20 & 16 would get you two more Barks classics, The Old Castle's Secret and The Magic Hourglass, respectively. 16 has a Rosa cover for the Hourglass story, and 20 also has the Lustig/Van Horn story The Amazon Queen, a fine bonus! It's Lustig's highest-rated story on Inducks. (Though, personally, my favorite is No Room for Human Error.)

Belated Happy New Year, and Happy 10th Day of Christmas!; January 3, 2016 at 8:25 PM
Joe Torcivia said...: Sergio:

Something tells me you’d probably enjoy VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA.

There’s lots of it on YouTube to sample, though not always in the best quality. In the USA, it's on ME-TV every Saturday night / Sunday morning at 1 AM. But the DVDs are still the best way to see it. Great quality.; January 4, 2016 at 8:11 AM
Joe Torcivia said...: Elaine:

Now that you point this out, I really should have done Gladstone’s Donald Duck Adventures 20 and 16. That would have been special!

***SPOILER WARNING*** on “No Room for Human Error”, a 20-something year old story***

“No Room for Human Error” is one of my favorites too, particularly because, as I told both William Van Horn and John Lustig back in the day, “Bill’s art is so disarming that no one realized you two committed the first full-on decapitation in the history of Disney comics!”.

In this age where even police officers’ guns magically morph into clubs or nightsticks (Talk about “Disney Magic”!), you can’t help but love a “below the radar decapitation” – even if it is only a robot!

I hope you all bear with me a while longer, if there are no new posts. We’ll get back to normal soon.; January 4, 2016 at 8:13 AM

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