Two Questions: Anticipation and Adaptation!

Martinex1: Today I have a couple of questions to ponder.  Clue us in to where your mind wandered.

QUESTION 1:  How much did anticipation of what was to come add to the comic collecting experience?  How important were "Next Issue" blurbs, letter page hints, and in-house advertisements in building your anticipation?  A related query - how much does a movie preview impact your want to see a movie?  Were "Coming Attractions" in the Bronze Age more influential than they are today?

QUESTION 2: Did you read "classic" comic adaptations?   What did you think about them?

Funny Books: The Kids are Alright- the "Lil' Folks" in Comics

Tip Top Comics, featuring "Nancy and Sluggo", "The Katzenjammer Kids", and some strip about a boy and his dog.

Redartz:  Hi all! For today's look at four color humor, we join up with the kid stars of the comic world. Kid comics have been a mainstay of the comics industry since the very beginning ("Katzenjammer Kids", anyone?). Perhaps some of us started out reading comics featuring some of these mischievous moppets. I did; the first comic I ever read was an issue of "Casper" (okay, so technically it was a deceased kid, but still). I soon added Richie Rich to the pile, and Little Dot. Then there were these two early favorites:  Little Lulu, especially when scribed by John Stanley...


 

 and Little Archie ( definitely a 'little' pattern going on there). Little Archie, beneficiary of the talents of writer/artist Bob Bolling...

 




Incidentally, Archie Comics often carried strips of another kid heroine: Lil' Jinx:


















 My ultimate fave kid book escaped my notice until years later, in college: "Sugar and Spike". I discovered those  tots in college, and fell in love with them. DC Comics pioneer Sheldon Mayer created these two torrid tots, with the kick that they could understand each other perfectly, but not 'grown-up talk' ( oh, as often depicted in the stories, animals can speak fluent 'baby talk', as can the elderly- second childhood).

 

 

Even today, while my comics purchases are limited, I still look out for back issues of that title (which are notoriously hard to find complete- they featured a page of cut-outs, which of course  frequently got 'cut out'). 

 








 There were many others, some I read occasionally and others that remain obscure today. Some of these are shown below (by the way- the "Cave Kids" were pretty fun, they often appeared in those great old Golden Comics Digests).  Sooo, let's invite the whole gang over and look at a few covers!

Short Cuts: Comprehensive Lists!

Martinex1:  With all of our knowledgeable friends here, I thought that once in a while I would throw out a simple question and see how many responses we could get and how long and comprehensive a list we could create.

The four pictures below may share a lot of things in common, but there is only one thing we will be discussing today.

Did you guess alliteration?   We have the Fantastic Four, Noel Neill (or Lois Lane), Peter Parker, and Chris Claremont.  There are so many examples of alliteration throughout comicdom.  Are there tens, hundreds, or thousands of instances?

So the question for the day is:  How many examples of alliteration that are somehow tied to comics can we identify?  Can we create a comprehensive list?

Heroes, villains, secret identities, supporting characters, locations, teams, marketing statements, catch phrases, titles, creators, publishers, actors, are all fair game - as long as they are comic book related. Just add your alliterative answers into the current comment section.   Hope this keeps you thinking throughout the day!  Cheers!

Chew the Fat: Okay, We Love Comics. Why?

Redartz:  I love comics. Spider-Man, Batman, Archie. Donald Duck, Avengers, Little Lulu. Haunt of Fear, Spirit, Walking Dead. Journey, Mad, Enemy Ace.  Mystery in Space, Bone, Simpsons Comics. Arcade Comix, Maus, Zippy the Pinhead. I love them all and more. Every genre, countless titles and characters, even more countless stories and covers. From funny animal to superhero to horror, humor to history to undergrounds: I love comics. But why is that? 

In my case, I find the comics (or, as the great Will Eisner called it, sequential art) medium to be an endless source of interest. The combination of text and visual design is gripping, and particularly effective at storytelling. Reading books and looking at artwork are both endlessly rewarding, and obviously have been integral elements of culture for thousands of years. Prose and visual design each have unique strengths and appeal. So why have comics so often suffered the mantle of 'kiddie fare', or lowbrow entertainment?  The comic medium can access the benefits of both creative fields. There is nothing (except perhaps some of the content) about the medium itself that should be considered a lesser endeavor. 

In enjoying comics, I find satisfaction in many ways. There is pure escapist entertainment. There are engrossing tales of adventure and heroism. There are creepy tales of mystery.There are brilliant works of thoughtful inspiration. There are gut-wrenching accounts of history and personal struggle. In short, all the same attractions of other media are found in comics.  The blending of story and art is the medium's great advantage, and why it can work so well. 

Then you have the 'who's who' of comic creators, over a century of creative genius. Herriman, Siegel, Kirby, Barks, Eisner, Kurtzman, Wood, Ditko, Lee, Adams, DeCarlo,  Infantino, Crumb, Spiegelman, Byrne, Moore, Chaykin, Vaughan; and that's barely touching the surface. What an array of talent. I get all tingly just to think of the wonders to be found within the pages of their works. .

And that's why I love comics. How can you not love something which can be so much fun, while also educational, provocative, humorous, outrageous and  touching? 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to gather a random stack of comics and indulge. Meanwhile, here are a few more reasons why I love comics. What brings out your love?

Follow The Leader: Episode 32: Fantastic Four and BitBA Evermore!

Martinex1: Here we go again... get in line and Follow the Leader!

The first commenter here starts the conversation topic and we all jump in with observations, musings, and opinions.

Here are the subjects we have discussed up to this time.

1) Television Theme Songs and Alien Movies.
2) Best and Worst Movies.
3) Jim Shooter - Editor.
4) Kirby's Art and Michael Jackson's Songs.
5) Building and Changing Comic Universes.
6) Foods We Dislike.
7) Falling Out of Love with a Comic Creator.
8) Comic Collecting - Stops and Starts.
9) Favorite Newspaper Comic Strips.
10) Musicals.
11) Country Music.
12) Favorite Comic Arcs.
13) First Comic Acquisition.
14) The Munsters or The Addams Family.
15) Classical Music.
16) Hammer Films.
17) Misheard Song Lyrics.
18) Reading Comics Today.
19) Arnold Schwarzenegger.
20) Great Comic Issues that Aren't the First Issue.
21) Departure of a Comic Creative Team.
22) Bad Beatles Recordings.
23) Characters that Bore You.
24) Additional Income and Summer Reading.
25) Secret Identities.
26) Five Beatles Questions.
27) Comic Reviews of Recommended Arcs.
28) Comic Book Annuals.
29) Elton John
30) Ray Harryhausen Films
31) Last week:  Music Listening Devices


So will it be comics, creators, music, movies, television, books, food or something else from the Bronze Age this time?   Keep us hopping!  Cheers all!