Kentucky's Comic Book Scare

I just discovered this well-done Lexington Herald-Leader piece from last year on the 1950s comic book scare and how it affected Kentucky. You'll have to embiggen the pages to read them.

 

New Additions to Booksteve's Library

 

Today was the start of the quarterly used book sale in the next county. I always try to make that one as I've always gotten the best books there. Of course I have 13 books to read for review already, and 3 new books I just got in the mail. But hey, I'm BOOKsteve, right? 

So here's today's six buck haul:

Oh, and here are the three I got in the mail.

To find out about the review copies, follow my column at FORCES OF GEEK!

The Great Masquerade-1974

Last night I discovered this 1974 movie on the Internet Archive and it is another contender for worst movie ever made. 

One funny scene, though, comes when Johnny Weissmuller, the movies' greatest Tarzan (in his penultimate picture), who plays a beauty contest judge, is confronted by a guy in a gorilla suit who says, "Remember me?" Johnny smiles and says, "Cheetah!" I laughed. Even that was problematic though, as Johnny is playing a character (a cameo, really), with a character name, and not himself. 

 

Ten Obscure '70s TV Shows Quiz

Drives me nuts to see those clickbait posts "Bet you can't identify these 1970s TV series!" and it'll have a thumbnail of Charlie's Angels or Three's Company. Aaargh!

Okay, you wanna prove you know your obscure TV? Bet you can't identify THESE 1970s TV series!

Answers in a later post.

Bat-Proof!

Those of you who have been around a while might remember this post from 2013. 

https://booksteveslibrary.blogspot.com/2013/05/published-in-batman-1989and-i-never.html

Here's the letter in question.

 

Today, in 2026, I ran across a sketchbook from 1989 and it has a draft of that actual letter! I'm thinking what happened was I didn't even remember it because I never bought or even saw that issue! 

Turns out it was in response to THIS letter, from a few issues earlier. 

DC requested responses so I responded, and then promptly forgot all about it. BUT...now, 37 years after I wrote it and 13 past when I discovered it, we have PROOF that it was, indeed written by me! My fourth and final published letter to a comic book. 

The Screaming Bean and Ben

 

I don't know Ben personally and I've never been to Maryland. I don't even drink coffee, but I've followed the development of The Screaming Bean from Day One as it has been the lifelong dream of my friend and sometimes employer and/or collaborator, author Martin Grams to own the best coffee shop ever. He has dedicated the cafe, which has now been open a couple of years, to offering not just the best service but the best coffee anywhere! To that end, he personally researched coffees from their history to their cups. 

One of the things Martin planned all along was that his cafe be a community cafe, not just for business but for giving back. Helping young Ben here is just the latest example of that. And these days, community is more than just your home town, it's the world, both physical and virtual.

If you live near or happen to be in Maryland on June 24th, stop in at the Screaming Bean Cafe and help five-year-old Ben while getting better service and product than Starbucks ever had!

Supergirl Debuts

 

With Supergirl about to make her starring big screen debut, here's a look back at the original comic book announcement of her first appearance. Note the realistic dialogue.