We've all had individual and specific life-changing days! Days which, for better or bitter, we will always remember! I, personally, have had many... on BOTH sides of the "Good vs. Bad" ledger! Far too many to bog (...or BLOG) you down with here, even if I *were* inclined to do so.
But Thursday, August 14, 2008 was one I thought little or nothing about... until some time well after when, as we often do with such days, come to later realize their import.
It was a day when Esther was away for work and I had nothing to do... yes, REALLY! This guy who did not *create* the phrase (all together now) "HORRIFICALLY BUSY", but has since assumed virtual ownership of it - especially when preceded by a parenthetical "(all together now)" - really had nothing to do!
New DVD day was Tuesday. New comic book day was Wednesday. And I wouldn't have a "Thursday Night Film Group" until 2012... so what was I to do?
Well, to quote the great Doctor Zachary Smith of LOST IN SPACE:
"Boredom, like necessity, is very often the mother of invention!"
There were a LOT of Blogs around back then, many of which I admired and visited regularly. (Today, alas, not so much!) And, while I might not have *actually been* a "writer" at that point, at least I fancied myself as one - what with over 300 comic book Letters of Comment, and regular appearances in Fanzines and APAs since 1994 under the title "THE ISSUE AT HAND" (affectionally shortened to "TIAH")!
Then, I was struck by one of those "Chocolate and Peanut Butter" moments and thought I like BLOGS, and I like writing TIAH... so why not combine them into TIAHBlog?
The rest has been 16 years of history (with much FUN) and counting!
A constant in my life ever since - and one which, I'll readily admit, I let lapse a bit more often than I'd care to - but, unlike all the other things I've written for, both amateur and professionally, this is the ONE THING that's MINE and no one can take it from me... Okay, okay... Maybe Google, but you know...
So, HAPPY SWEET SIXTEEN to TIAHBlog!
But, instead of the song-standard SIXTEEN CANDLES, we will celebrate with SIXTEEN COVERS!
One each day for the NEXT SIXTEEN DAYS! Can I manage that? Well, stop by each day for the next SIXTEEN and see if I can live up to that ambition!
They will be SIXTEEN COVERS that I like for one reason or another - or maybe it's just the 16th issue of something! The beauty of it is that even I won't know until I post it!
But, to kick things off, we shall begin with one that was (and remains) a long-standing joke between David Gerstein and myself... FELIX THE CAT #2 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: April-May, 1948), which I jokingly dubbed "SIX-SCREAM CANDLES", despite the incontrovertible fact that there is only ONE CANDLE present!
And, as a bonus - not to be counted among our own "SWEET SIXTEEN COVERS" - is the cover of POPULAR COMICS #139 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: September, 1947) and dubbed in the linked post as "VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF DECEASED"...
...A gag on a particular favorite classic TV show of mine...
So, one down and 15 more to go... Come back tomorrow to see where we go from here!
4 comments:
Yay, happy birthday, TIAHBlog! I look forward to the 15 covers to come, and to the years ahead for our happy (and civil!) Joe-hosted online community. May our celebrations never blow up in our face!
Elaine:
Thank you SO VERY MUCH for those kind words, and your appreciation of the civility of our “snark-free zone”!
As I type this reply, I am actually preparing the post for Cover #2… and wondering what the heck I’ve gotten myself into!
While “16 Covers” is not much of a gimmick (…I hope to come up with something more worthy for the 20th Anniversary – all suggestions will be considered.), it’s also a challenge for me to create and publish a post each day… for SIXTEEN STRAIGHT!
Indeed, I’m not even certain I can manage such a pace with all the things that go on here, but TIAHBlog and its readers and commenters are well worth the effort – and, in some small way, I hope the increased output burst makes up for some of the the dormant periods.
As for the covers themselves, I TRULY have no idea what I’m going to do day to day! I DID NOT MAP IT OUT! But, it’s not as if I have any shortage of covers to highlight, so – believe it or not – I’m as full of anticipation and curiosity as anyone!
It’s like being SIXTEEN again, myself… but without all that messy teenage angst!
But why Six-Scream Candles? I still don't get it...
Sergio:
“Six-Scream Candles” was my “Itchy and Scratchy-like” parody of the well-known 1958 popular song “Sixteen Candles”. I think you’d know it, if you heard it.
You can read more about it HERE!
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