Thursday, December 26, 2019

Ms. Molecule for Christmas


We don't really do Christmas anymore. No tree, no decorations, no cards. Maybe a small present sometimes and usually a feast-style meal a la Thanksgiving but that's about it. This year, though, I had the idea to get my wife something a little different so I contacted a young artist I had once worked with and asked about a commission of Rene's comics heroine, MS. MOLECULE, whose online adventures were partly collected in this comic book a few years back.

https://www.amazon.com/Unusual-Suspense-1-Paul-Kupperberg-ebook/dp/B012TN9HWC



If anyone would like to commission my friend, the artist, her name is Brittany. Feel free to contact me and I can pass it on for you. 

MS. MOLECULE is © Rene-King Thompson and Sandy Carruthers





Monday, December 23, 2019

Flintstones Christmas-1975--Robert Redford??!!



What's the weirdest Christmas strip you ever saw? This one's pretty darn close on MY list! First the old, "How can the Flintstones celebrate Christmas before the first Christmas?" Add to that how can they reference Santa before Santa existed? Throw in Pebbly-poo's "Robert Redford" line and you've got surrealism at its best! 1975

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Great Caesar's Sex Scandal!



Here's a scandal I don't recall at all. Doesn't seem to have damaged Sid's reputation any and he was already into guest roles by this point in his career on his way to elder statesman status and eventually legend.

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Cyber Monday Suggestion--The Best of Booksteve's Library


For your consideration for 2019's Cyber Monday, may we offer THE BEST OF BOOKSTEVE'S LIBRARY. This nearly 500 page five-star volume is available in oversized book form for only $25 and digitally for your Kindle for only $9.99.

Filled with 100 of the best, most memorable pieces written for this blog between its 2005 debut and the book's 2017 publication, each and every one updated and annotated, with many all-new illustrations, you'll also find never-before published material and even a few all-new pieces!

Bruce Lee! Batman! Christa Helm! David Bowie! George Carlin! Jack Kirby! Kay Kyser! Carrie Fisher! Skeeter Davis! Lana Turner! Lassie! Paul McCartney! The Great Gildersleeve! Mitzi Green! Vaughn Bode! Harvey Kurtzman! Linda Blair! Kip King! Kurt Russell! Dick Van Dyke! Ron Jeremy! Chuck Norris! Kevin Smith! And more!

A 20th century pop culture fan's delight! Movies! TV! Radio! Music! Comic Books! Novels!

We here at the Library wish all of you a wonderful holiday season and would appreciate your giving our book a try. Thanks!

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Booksteves-Library-Annotated-Collection/dp/1974535940

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

R.I.P. Howard Cruse


In 2007 I joined Facebook. Because I had written a nice piece about his character WENDEL, cartoonist Howard Cruse became the first person to friend me on Facebook. My second facebook friend--found on Howard's list--was Batton Lash. Both wonderful human beings, both fun cartoonists, and now both passing this year.

Rest in Peace.












Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Donations?


Ever since we started this blog back in 2005 there's been a DONATIONS button in the right hand column. In fact, early on--before the economy collapsed--we tended to get pretty heft donations of up to $150 at a time! It settled into more like $10 per person and that's okay, too. But then the Donations largely stopped, and I haven't made a big deal of them but now we could use a little help. I know everybody wants your money around the holidays but we've been running a month behind in several bills for a while now and a couple of those folks are starting to demand we catch up just here as the holidays approach. We can do it. We aren't in any real danger. 

But then we're broke again. Seems like we always find ourselves broke around the holidays no matter how meticulously I attempt to plan otherwise.

So here I am, after 19 years of bringing you this blog (as well as a dozen more still online) and I'm asking you to consider a donation to help us out and help me to keep doing what I do with the blogs rather than spend my time all stressed out. 

Anything and everything will be appreciated.

Thanks!

Just click the orange DONATE button in the right hand column.
(The 2 big buttons stopped working)

PayPal donations will go toward our DVD site, OldTime Movies DVD but trust me, that's me. 



Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Early TV and Early Me

One of my earliest favorite TV stars was the Duck on YOU BET YOUR LIFE.

The first TV star I ever saw in person was ROOM 222’s Karen Valentine.

The first TV star I ever got a letter from was THE GIRL FROM U.N.C.L.E., Stefanie Powers.

The first time my name was heard on television was when Skipper Ryle read a letter I had dictated to my mother at age 6. I won a free pizza because he read it on the air. It was my first ever pizza!

When I was 5-6, us neighborhood kids played GILLIGAN’S ISLAND on a small grassy area in the middle of the Post Office parking lot. 

I was traumatized when TIME TUNNEL was canceled. Cried for days.

I remember when Tabitha was born on BEWITCHED. Many years later, Tabitha actress Erin Murphy is quoted on the cover of a book I co-wrote.

From an early age, I told my parents I wanted to be a writer because that’s what Rob Petrie did on THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW. Recently, I dedicated a book I wrote to “Rob Petrie.”

Watching Bill(y) Mumy on THE WOODY WOODBURY SHOW talking about his comic book collection was what convinced my mother to stop throwing away my comic books.

One of my favorite cartoon series was MARINE BOY when I was five. Many years later, I spoke on the phone with Corinne Orr who did the character’s voice.
 
My friend Doug and I played Batman and Robin for two years at recess and after school. When Batgirl was introduced in season three of BATMAN, we added our classmate Debbie as the character but mainly she would just get tied to trees so we could rescue her. 

When my tricycle was stolen at age three, THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN is the show that helped me get over it that night. When the show ended, my dad came home with a brand-new tricycle for me. 

The first TV GUIDE I remember my family ever buying had FAMILY AFFAIR on the cover.

In my high school diary, I wrote about watching child star Kathy Coleman from LAND OF THE LOST sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in the 1974 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Four decades later, Kathy and I wrote about the weird behind-the-scenes story of that for her autobiography. 

On I DREAM OF JEANNIE, when Jeannie and Tony got married, my sixth-grade girlfriend and I watched it together via telephone—her at her house, myself at mine—much to the displeasure of our party line. 


Monday, November 18, 2019

My First Comic Books


While my first ever comic book was undoubtedly some forgotten CASPER issue circa 1962, my first superhero comic (and the book that made me WANT to learn to read) was the X-MEN seen here and the BATMAN from about a year later seen here is the book that I always count as my first book as a comic book collector! Before that, they were disposable, tradable, forgettable. After that, it was a constant struggle to keep Mom from tossing out stacks in big ol' greasy grocery sacks! Today's generation have NO idea!

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

R.I.P. Tom Spurgeon

It's been a bad year as far as the mortality of comics people. Now comes word of the unexpected passing of Tom Spurgeon. If the name sounds familiar but you can't quite place it, it may be because of the quote I've had from Tom over on the upper right of this blog for a decade now. Tom was one of the earliest supporters of my blogging and later my books. When he started wishing me a Happy Birthday from his COMICS REPORTER site every year, I really felt like I had become a part of the comics community.

He had also been a comic strip writer, a COMICS JOURNAL editor, and since 2014 he was the Executive Director of Cartoons Crossroads Columbus. That's only 100 miles north of me and I kept hoping I'd get there one year to meet him, but no.

Tom was one of the best friends the comic book industry ever had.

Too many good people dying lately.

R.I.P.

(Portrait of Tom Spurgeon by Michael Netzer, another major early supporter of my blogging.)

Monday, November 04, 2019

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Favorite Horror Films and Monster Movies



Tis the season. I grew up a monster kid and although I'm not as big on horror movies as I once was, there are still many, many monster and horror movies from over the years that mean a lot to me. Here we see literally a small selection, starting--above--with my very first favorite horror movie!