TIAHBlog at 16 Presents 16 Covers -- Number Four: Lunch Specials!

It was was quite the "special lunch" indeed that fine day in the later spring of 1965!  But first, a bit of background...  

I may have said that I spent my childhood in a neighborhood that was once a thriving county hub that, almost overnight, turned bad and outright dangerous. Summer 1960 until February 1969, to better place it in time. 

You could almost say it was a "tale of two cities", with profuse apologies to Charles Dickens! Through 1966, it was, at best, a suburban paradise and, at worst, just an ordinary convenient village.  With so many different places to buy comic books, all within reasonable walking distance, it was a great place to spend virtually the entire Silver Age!  Those four-colored twelve-cent tickets to Utopia seemed to be just EVERYWHERE, and I was more than happy to reap the benefits of such a bounty!

 I still have most of mine, and nearly all of them look better than those in this stock photo! 

By 1967, things suddenly took a dramatic change and, by the fall of 1968, it had gotten so bad, so threatening, so dangerous that I refused to go to school out of fear for my safety.  Had I possibly known in 1968 what the future's "cyber-bullying" would be, I would have gladly traded it for the torturous reality I faced every day!  Regardless of good or bad times, it was a particular quirk of this school that led to some decidedly wonderful lunches for me...

 My school abandoned and boarded-up sometime in the "20-teens". Only picture I could find. 

One problem I DIDN'T HAVE was getting "beaten-up for my LUNCH MONEY"! 

Why? Because I DIDN'T CARRY lunch money!  Why? Because my combined elementary and junior high school, built in 1911, per the cornerstone... (as hard as this is to believe) had NO CAFETERIA FACILITIES... and we students were (as hard as THIS is to also believe) were DISMISSED from 12:00 Noon to 1:15 PM... and SENT HOME FOR LUNCH!  Yes, really!  

Could you imagine this in today's world?  Could you imagine mothers being home every day to receive their offspring and serve them lunches in their kitchens?  Could you imagine kids having to (and BE ABLE TO, distance-wise) walk (most of us unattended) home and then back to school for an afternoon session?   ...If you meet Mom in heaven, don't tell her about all those 1:15 to 3:45 afternoon sessions I resorted to some "creative ways" to avoid attending - once released for lunch! 

Now, as things were still good in 1965, there were some distinct advantages to this, for me at least. 

For one, I was out of the stifling school building, and would run the three blocks home like a road runner!  

For two, there was always a reasonably good lunch waiting for me. Something, alas, not all kids had. 

And for three - and best of all - sometimes there were COMICS waiting for me, which I joyously devoured along with lunch!  

By then, I had solidly moved from "young casual reader" into "never-miss-an-issue" mode, as discussed in THIS POST and one way to "never-miss-an-issue" was to SUBSCRIBE to as many titles as my meager allowance and generous-to-her-grandson GRANDMA MILLIE would provide! 

Our mail would generally arrive by 10:30AM, and so any subscription comics delivered that day, would be waiting for me on the kitchen table when I arrived home for lunch.  What a WONDERFUL FEELING THAT WAS!  

The day that is the subject of this post provided a particularly memorable yield, so much so that I remember it distinctly to this day.  Try to imagine what a Gift-From-The-Gold-Key-Gods this two-issue bonanza was through the wide eyes of eleven-year-old me! 

 UNCLE SCROOGE #58...  

...And THE FLINTSTONES #28!

Each one a prime Silver Age specimen of its respective title!

"The Giant Robot Robbers" was one of the best Uncle Scrooge outings of the (much-unfairly maligned) sixties-period of Carl Barks' incredible - nay, historic - run on the title.  Even inspiring an informal, though also effective, adaptation for the TV series DuckTales (1987). 

THE FLINTSTONES #28 has my vote for The-Best-Ever-Never-To-Be-Surpassed issue of THE FLINTSTONES that ever was, and very likely ever will be! 

Stridently reflective of the FIFTH SEASON of THE FLINTSTONES TV show, which was in summer reruns (...remember "summer reruns"?) at the time of its release, #28 offered "The Pirates of Skull Island", a lead adventure story in keeping with the "adventure plots" that kept the Fifth Season lively and memorable. Think "A Haunted House is Not a Home" (with Uncle Giggles Flintstone), "Dr. Sinister" (with Madame Yes "I'm too important to be captured!"), and, to me, one of the best eps of the entire series "Time Machine" (with its trip to the 1964 New York World's Fair!)

Oddly, to digress, my favorite seasons of THE FLINTSTONES are Season One, and Season Five! Both seasons "did what they did" better than any of the other seasons - especially Season Six! 

Harvey Eisenberg did some of his finest art for this story and when you can say THAT, you're really saying something - considering he routinely did stuff like this!

Harvey Eisenberg died in 1965, perhaps even before THE FLINTSTONES #28 was published. At the time of his death, I felt that he even surpassed Carl Barks (though ever slightly) as the best artist of the Western Publishing stable. Take a peek at a page of interior art from "The Pirates of Skull Island" and some panels from "The Giant Robot Robbers", and decide! 

For many years, I've said, "IF YOU'RE GONNA GET ONLY ONE ISSUE of THE FLINTSTONES, THIS IS THE ONE TO GET!" 

...And get the UNCLE SCROOGE, too!  They're two of the best Gold Key Comics of what was an extraordinary creative period for them! (1964-1966). 

I read both of these comics during my home lunch break and, as was my custom at the time, read them both AGAIN that evening after my homework! That made for one great day... except for that "homework part", that is! 

One great day, with one great lunch, thanks to Gold Key's subscription department and the United States Postal Service!  

And so, our "16 Covers -- Number Four" goes to both UNCLE SCROOGE #58 and THE FLINTSTONES #28... as a Two-for-One Lunch Special!  

 Where will we go tomorrow?  Come back and see! 

TIAHBlog at 16 Presents 16 Covers -- Number Three (x3)!

Everyone has their thoughts on, and their predictions for, THE FUTURE... but how many of them have ever turned out right?  I don't mean "right" in any sort of "general sense", but REALLY, ABSOLUTELY, BANG-ON, GOT-IT-IN-ONE CORRECT?   

...No, can't say that mine have either! 

I never imagined I'd someday be in a situation like my present one.  Rather, I thought that "everybody's-go-to-future-that-never-happened-example", FLYING CARS, was more likely to happen by now!     

...And, on the remote possibility that they DID, mine would most likely be out of Deutronium Hyper-Neucleonic Blend Rocket Engine Fuel!  

...I'd probably look more like the "Charlton Version of Myself", than the "Gold Key Version", as well! 

Nevertheless, predict we do, and we'll do a hypothetical exercise in "future possibilities"...

 ...Yes, "future possibilities"... phrased thusly because, in light of recent developments, and with good reason, we've become somewhat hesitant to use the phrase "What If" around here for a while!  

Indeed, if left unchecked, "What If" shows every indication of becoming the next "Legendary Super-Pickax"...

...And we wouldn't want THAT to happen, would we?  (But, I digress... "legendarily", of course!)

We present a hypothetical exercise in "future possibilities" relating to the 16th birthday/anniversary of TIAHBlog (...do Blogs even have "birthdays", "anniversaries", or some other unit of commemorative measure?)

THIABlog came into being on THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2008... just one day after Wednesday, August 14, 2008 - that is to say "New Comics Day - Wednesday"!

Now, I'll never be able to recreate exactly which comics I bought on that day, but it's a good bet that there would be something from GEMSTONE...

...Something from DC...

And probably some favorite licensed property put out by a small publisher, like JUDGE DREDD or LOST IN SPACE...

BUT, I asked myself because nobody else would, which NEW COMICS would you get on NEW COMICS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2024 (the 16th "DATE" Anniversary of TIAHBlog)?  

...Ya know I didn't really ask myself that back then, but go with the bit, okay?  

Well, to tie back to my opening paragraphs, I would have gotten THAT prediction wrong, too!  

No Gemstone, or any other regularly-published standard-sized Disney comics that would catch my interest yet!  

Little or no DC because, other than their SCOOBY-DOO titles, they seem to have driven me, and my interests, away. 

...But what did I say about "some favorite licensed property put out by a small publisher"?  Well set off the sparklers and drop the confetti because I GOT ONE RIGHT!  

But not exactly that REALLY, ABSOLUTELY, BANG-ON, GOT-IT-IN-ONE type of "right", because I had no idea which "favorite licensed properties" there might be, or which "small publishers" would furnish them.  

Finally, HERE, after all that 16th Anniversary and predictions blather, are our Covers for installment  Number Three - times 3.  Everything else above doesn't count toward the "Anniversary Cover Total" (Sorry, Yogi!), but you get a Three-for-One bonus for August 16, 2024!  Not bad, eh? 

DICK TRACY #4 from  "Mad Cave Studios":

JONNY QUEST #1 from "Dynamite Entertainment":

And, just in time for the Presidential Election Season, RICK AND MORTY FINALS WEEK: CONTESTED CONVENTION #1 from "Oni Press":

All of these "favorite licensed properties from these small publishers" are giving me the Joy-of-Reading that the bigger fish have moved too far away from!  I will be indexing all three at GCD soon!  Stop by and check them out!  

So, with Three-For-One Friday completed, let's see where we go next for installment Number Four!  

TIAHBlog at 16 Presents 16 Covers -- Number Two!

Cover Number Two of our Sweet Sixteen is a favorite of mine because there aren't all that many like it... even though there really should be! 

On the subject of "should be's", SUPERMAN should be an very inspiring character... and he most often is, but you might not draw that impression from his COVERS!  

Sure, the covers for any adventure character should depict peril - as most of them do...

...Some offer a bit of oddball fun...

...While others throw in a touch of horror...

But, in my humble opinion, there are far to few that present the (for lack of a better word) "majesty" of Superman!  Offering his special type of grandeur as an inspiration for others!  

I've long viewed the cover of ACTION COMICS #425 (DC Comics, Cover Date: July, 1973) as a perfect crystallization of this idea. 

If NORMAN ROCKWELL ever did a cover illustration for Superman, this is what it would be like! 

Performing the "Rockwellian" duties is Nick Cardy, one of DC's best artists of the Silver Age and the transition period that immediately followed. 

And, "inspired all the way", we leave you with Cover #2 of our Sweet Sixteen.  As for what's next, I have no idea... it'll have to come to me (and you) tomorrow!  

TIAHBlog at 16 Presents (Not 16 Candles, but) 16 Covers!

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!

You can read the HOW and WHY at THIS POST!  

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!  

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: Strange Bird Lore!

From the pages of HAWKMAN #1 (DC Comics, Cover Date: April-May, 1964)...

...with a cover by Murphy Anderson that I always loved, BTW, comes the "not-so-strange" (because it's in HAWKMAN) editorial feature "Strange Bird Lore"!

[Click to Enlarge]    

While each example of Strange Bird Lore is interesting to one degree or another, I call your attention to the final one featuring a CROW!  

"It is fancied that when a lone traveler spies a single CROW flying overhead, his journey will end in misfortune..."

Yes indeed! ...Especially if you're in a CONVERTABLE with the TOP DOWN! 

And, need I mention that the... um,  crow of convertible coverage  is not the only crow appearing in DC Comics of the time that has been known to cause... misfortune!

 Above: Foxie weighs the CROWS and cons!