…And, we’ll quickly follow up with another post on the Gottfredson
Mickey Mouse classic “Island in the Sky”!
…And, maybe another, after that! So, stay
tuned… or “blogged”, or “connected”… or whatever it is that Blog readers
do!
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Congratulations to R.A. Dickey: 2012 National League Cy Young Winner!
R.A. Dickey of the New York Mets has won the 2012 National League Cy Young Award – and I couldn’t think of a better choice!
Please click on THIS LINK for all the reasons why!
And, one more reason… In a world of sometimes unpleasant sports figures, R.A. Dickey is, by all accounts, a really great guy!
So, congratulations to R.A. Dickey… and to David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays, who won the American League Cy Young (even though he often beats the Yankees)!
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| Yay! Yay! R.A.! |
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Comic Book Letter of Comment: “Island in the Sky”.
It’s time to stop blogging about “Franken-Sandy-Storm”, and get back to what we’re SUPPOSED to do here at TIAH Blog… celebrate (as our banner states) “The Universe of Things That Interest Me” … and, hopefully, YOU as well.
And, right now, that includes the Floyd Gottfredson Mickey Mouse classic that has been alternately known as “Mickey Mouse and his Sky Adventure”, “Mickey Mouse on Sky Island”, -- and now a bit more permanently as “Island in the Sky”.
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| Another GREAT volume from Fantagraphics! |
Perhaps “Island in the Sky” has settled in as the “Official” title, due to its inclusion in Fantagraphics’ “Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse: House of the Seven Haunts by Floyd Gottfredson” Volume 4 of the series.
The story of Dr. Einmug and his fantastic discovery has appeared many times, in many different formats – even with an occasional different artist! Here is my “Letter of Comment” from Disney Comics MICKEY MOUSE ADVENTURES # 12 (May, 1991) on the subject of its appearance in MMA # 10:
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| Mickey Mouse Adventures # 10 |
“It seems you can’t keep Dr. Einmug down (pun intended). By my estimation, MICKEY MOUSE ADVENTURES # 10 appears to be the EIGHTH permutation of the classic tale of Mickey and the floating island.
“The FIRST, of course, would be Floyd Gottfredson’s newspaper strips of 1936-37. Can anyone out there claim to have seen it in its original form?
“The SECOND would be a reformatting of the original strips for an appearance in WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES # 1-2 (1940). Our villain was “Peg Leg Pete” in both name and physical appearance. Doberman was a “Captain”, and a greater verbal exchange existed between the characters, serving to theorize on the workings of Dr. Einmug’s formula.
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| Dell Four Color # 214 |
“Bill Wright was apparently asked to redraw the story for its THIRD appearance, in DELL FOUR COLOR # 214 (1948), to conform to the characters’ more modern designs. Pete, no longer encumbered by his peg leg, underwent a change of name. This version ran for 32 pages.
“The FOURTH incarnation was featured in MICKEY MOUSE # 105 (February, 1966), and was essentially the same as FOUR COLOR # 214, only edited down to 24 pages.
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| Mickey Mouse # 105 |
“Number FIVE was part of Western Publishing’s “Dynabrite Comics” series and was identical to Number FOUR, with the exception of some minor dialogue relating to Pete.
“The Gottfredson version returned [ as Number SIX ] in the hardcover book MICKEY MOUSE BEST COMICS by Abbeville Press (1978).
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| Abbeville Press Mickey Mouse Best Comics |
“The SEVENTH presentation was a bit of a surprise. It is one of a series of hardcover children’s illustrated books, published in 1990 by Twin Books/Mallard Press featuring the “adventure-oriented” Mickey.
“Stephen De Stefano’s new splash panel and Pete’s latest alias are added to Number FOUR to form the EIGHTH distinctly different publication of this fine story [in MMA # 10].
“The history lesson is finished, but is “Sky Adventure”? I think not. Should an animated television series based on Mickey’s adventures ever become a reality, would you care to speculate as to which classic “Mouse Tale” would be among the first to be adapted?”
[ End of Original Letter of Comment ]
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| WDC&S # 582 |
Beyond that, “Island in the Sky” floated on to THREE MORE incarnations (all by Gottfredson): Disney Comics’ WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES # 582 - 583 (1993), Boom! Studios’ WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES ARCHIVES Volume 1, and finally the aforementioned Fantagraphics volume…
…for a grand total of ELEVEN completely unique versions of what may very well be the greatest Mickey Mouse comic story of all time.
Update: November 20, 2012: There is ONE MORE version of this story, that is discussed in THIS POST!
Monday, November 12, 2012
TV or Not TV! (…Should That Be a Question?)
As you know, our power, light, and heat was out for a period of 11 days, thanks to “Franken-Sandy-Storm”.
Now, thankfully, all is normal again… except our Verizon FIOS line came loose during the subsequent snow and ice storm, and is down across the back yard. It is scheduled to be reconnected to the house by Thursday or Friday.
Until then, we have no home phone, TV, or Internet.
Of these, I would miss the Internet most… if not for my ability to remain connected (and continue feeding the Blog-Beast) via smart phone. That also takes care of phone communications, leaving television as the only thing still completely lacking.
(…Though, there are some who would be quick to point out that “television was completely lacking” LONG before the storms!)
It is simultaneously surprising – and not surprising at all – just how much I DO NOT MISS TV!
Most of it is annoying noise, and it’s nice to sit around and TALK for a change! It was even fun to listen to the Jets and Giants football games on RADIO this past Sunday!
Beyond sports, anything I really want to see is on DVD anyway! …And Verizon’s downed lines cannot stop me from enjoying DVDs, anytime the “Entertainment –Jones” strikes at me!
Thus far, I’ve enjoyed programs from THESE DVDs, and do not give a hoot if TV EVER comes back!
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| These LAST TWO are particularly good for an "Entertainment-JONES"... Get it? |
Esther, on the other hand, can’t wait for TV's return… and that’s what makes the world (and marriages) go round!
Friday, November 9, 2012
Give-eth and Take-eth!
…Or, “Let There Be… aw, you know!”
After eleven (…I’ll say it again for emphasis – ELEVEN!) days without power, light, and heat, it all finally returned.
But, with the ever-present “catch”…
Our line for Verizon FIOS is down by the ice and snow storm that FOLLOWED “Franken-Sandy-Storm” – and will not be reconnected until at least November 15 (nearly 7 days from now), so no TV, and Internet.
As a result, Blogging will remain slowed a while longer.
(Sigh!)
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Election Day 2012!
Still in the dark, but will vote anyway.
…Kinda like lots of other voters, maybe?
Meanwhile, enjoy THIS election comic-book post.
And, THIS ONE!
Finally, if the guy below ran for office, would his campaign slogan be “Rock the Vote!”?
Monday, November 5, 2012
Unlucky Seven!
You may recognize our “Seven” illustration as being from the opening sequence of the great Third Season of LOST IN SPACE.
But, for the last week, life’s been more like the early First Season cold, grey, “struggle-for-survival” episodes of that series – or like the First Season of LOST… with cold temps substituted for the tropical island atmosphere. But, like the Robinsons and the “Losties”, we’re okay!
Esther and I persevere (emphasis on “…severe”), and Blogging, like life continues.
See you when the power resumes…
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