Happy March!

I spent some time last month reading some comics and working in my comic book database.  It turns out that I purchased far fewer comics last year than in any year since I've been collecting.  Of the 97 comics I bought last year, only 68 were new issues, the remaining 29 were back issues.

I've set aside a number to donate shortly, which puts my current total of comics at 8785.

Here are some March cover comics!

Avengers 26 (1966)

My oldest March comic.  Cover pencils by Don Heck and inks by Frank Giacoia.  I've come to appreciate Heck's work as I've grown older.  He penciled 9 covers in my collection inked by others and 7 in which he inked himself.

Avengers 145 (1976)

One of my all time favorite covers!  Rated #80 in Wizard Magazine's Top 100 Covers of All Time (Issue 127).

Action Comics 469 (1977)

Just included to make Nan laugh...

Avengers 181 (1979)

Another on the Wizard list.  This one came in at 99.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 1 (1986)

One of my all time favorites, for a variety of reasons.  Also on the Wizard list at #44.

In one of the art classes I had to take in college, I "reinterpreted" this and was quite proud of it.  However, it was one of the items that got "lost" during the dark times.

Fables 33 (2005)

Fables is one of three books on my pull list right now.  It is scheduled to end early next year with issue 150.  When it does, it will be the longest string of uninterrupted issues of any title I started collecting with its first issue.  It has some gorgeous covers.  This one was done by James Jean.

Green Arrow 46 (2005)

Also by James Jean!  In the same month! The diversity is impressive.

Saga 1 (2012)

Another comic on my pull list.  Vulgar, sweet, profane, heartwarming, hilarious, epic, intimate....the best comic book I have read in a long time.

Veterans Day*

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

*The holiday is commonly printed as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day on calendars. While these spellings are grammatically acceptable, the United States government has declared that no apostrophe rather than the possessive case is the official spelling.

S is for Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan is currently # 10 on my flickchart list.

I saw Saving Private Ryan in the theater by myself when it was released.

I had the pleasure of living with my grandparents for awhile during college and then again with Nancy before she and I got married.

Gramps spent one night going through a bunch of photos and telling us the stories behind his getting shot down, life in the prison camp and about his eventual liberation.  Nana chastised him, stating that he would have nightmares "again".  Gramps said it was important for us to know.

I also remember him telling my cousins and I the story of his getting shot down in great detail when I was still in high school.  Nana was so worried for him that night too.

I remember his story like this....he was nearing the end of his commitment   He was due to leave the theater of operations and went on one more mission.  He was a fighter pilot and told us of a fierce firefight.  He was protecting some bombers and in the course of the firefight, his plane was hit.  There was fire in the cockpit.  He tried to eject but there was trouble with the ejection system (as it was).  He managed to get out of the cockpit and rolled across the back of his plane and slammed into the tail.  He rolled off and tried to deploy his chute.  His chute would not deploy so he used his secondary chute.  The chute deployed and then almost immediately caught on fire.

He landed in a field in Yugoslavia and was discovered by some locals who cared for him until the Germans could take him into custody.

He spent the next two and a half years as a Prisoner of War.  He was even declared KIA bu the US Government!

He missed the events in this movie but I still needed to see it.

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I nearly forgot to blog today!  I am a school teacher and today is our first real day of Spring Break!  Of course, that means I have some household projects to tackle.  I set out today with the goal of finishing the renovation of our downstairs bathroom that we started last year after the flood.

A relatively straightforward project revealed some mold and damage we didn't find last year.  However, I've torn out some drywall and cleaned and repaired what I could.  I decided I would take a small break before finishing the floor and replacing the sink.

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I am using my flickchart list and blogging about the highest ranked movie for each letter of the alphabet.  

Click HERE and become my flickchart friend!

Why not jump around the Blogging from A to Z Challenge and find some new blogs to read!

R is for Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark is currently # 8 on my flickchart list.

I remember being at "Lums" in Rutland with my brother, Justin, and probably my dad having lunch with Nana and Grandpa in 1981 after "Raiders of The Lost Ark" (the correct, true title) had come out.

Gramps had recently seen this with my cousins Marc and Lars. I clearly remember him telling us about the Swordsman scene, reenacting it and laughing, deeply and honestly, at the scene and his own retelling.

To this day, I try to buy all the toys based on the scene...

And, Dean at Springfield Punx made both of these. He had the Indy done and I asked if he would ever consider creating the Cairo Swordsman...and he did!  I need to ask Lee sometime if Gramps had any real "Simpsons" knowledge.

 

And the fan made posters....

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I am using my flickchart list and blogging about the highest ranked movie for each letter of the alphabet.  

Click HERE and become my flickchart friend!

Why not jump around the Blogging from A to Z Challenge and find some new blogs to read!

H is for The Hunt For Red October

The Hunt For Red October is currently #9 on my flickchart list.

Andrew Leon commented on Saturday's post about Harrison Ford taking over the Jack Ryan role.  I had heard that Ford was offered the role as early as this film but found the part of the Russian captain that Sean Connery got to be far more interesting.

This is another movie that rides high on nostalgia for me.  It is one of only two movies I ever saw in the theater with just my grandfather.  He took my brother and our cousins to lots of movies growing up.  But by the time this came out, I had moved in with my grandparents to save some money in college.  Nana hosted bridge games once a month and Gramps and I had to make ourselves scarce.  One time he asked me to go see this.

The other movie we went to was Back to the Future III.  It ranks #146 on my flickchart list.

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I am using my flickchart list and blogging about the highest ranked movie for each letter of the alphabet.  

Click HERE and become my flickchart friend!

Why not jump around the Blogging from A to Z Challenge and find some new blogs to read!

Top Ten Movie Blogfest!

Are we friends on FLICKCHART?  If not, click HERE and let's be friends!!

There is SOOOOOO much to say about these movies....alas, I have no time.


According to flickchart, my top ten favorite movies are....

10.  Ghostbusters

9.  The Hunt For Red October

8. 12 Monkeys

7.  Raiders of the Lost Ark

6.  It's A Wonderful Life

5.  Fight Club

4.  The Fugitive

3.  The Avengers

2.  Black Hawk Down

1.  Die Hard

The votes have been counted...

I was so pleased by the suggested names for this blog...especially when I hadn't any idea of where to go with a title on my own.

My wife and I batted the suggestions back and forth over the Thanksgiving Break and settled on Bubba Shelby's suggestion for several reasons....

But first, the others were all so good....Nan liked the wordplay that The Armchair Squid came up with and I am seriously thinking of changing my on-line persona to Tony's suggestion but in the end....

I realize everybody's blog is their outlet.  Some of you are so well organized and so well written.  My little corner of the "world wide web" is a place for you to check in with what is going on with me...to find out "what's up"....

I also like the Looney Tunes connection.  The cartoons where a staple growing up and remain a favorite to this day.

And lastly, an unexpected connection.

Before we got married, my wife and I lived with my grandparents for a year.  Each winter my grandparents went to Florida for several months.  Before their last trip together, my grandfather spent a night with us going through a box of photographs from his time in World War II....from training camp to his posting to his capture and his liberation.  It was an incredible evening that brings tears to my eyes as I type this.

We ended the night with his sharing everyone's nicknames...they all had nicknames.  I asked his.  He told me "They called me Doc."  I asked why...eager to hear another story and curious about the origins...excited for more insight into this man I admired so much.

"It rhymed with Mock...they weren't very clever."

Veteran's Day*

Thank you, Richard Howard Mock....

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

*The holiday is commonly printed as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day on calendars. While these spellings are grammatically acceptable, the United States government has declared that no apostrophe rather than the possessive case is the official spelling.

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio

So here comes another confession during this challenge....I really don't listen to the radio.  I prefer sports talk or, when I had my satellite radio, Howard Stern.  On long car trips Nan and I will listen to podcasts of "Wait, Wait" or "Car Talk", or even the occasional comedian's stand up album.

I do have distinct memories of visiting my grandparents quite often growing up.  My grandfather listened to a "light" station when he would drive us around (coincidentally, the same station Nan had on in her car the first time she and I went anywhere together!).

In my memory, we heard this song EVERY TIME he drove us somewhere.

Enjoy!

"Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean



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The "30 Songs in 30 Days" challenge, inspired by the tumblr list. Our 30 Songs roster:

The Armchair Squid

Marc Whitman's Blog
Haley says "Hello" To You

Blogging From A To Z: I is for...

...Indiana Jones.

For two enduring reasons:  Raiders of the Lost Ark was the first movies ever "SPOILED" for me, but the memory of my grandfather doing so makes me happy to this day....

Second, I saw Temple of Doom in a somewhat rundown theater with my two cousins in Brattleboro, Vermont.  To this day I maintain I saw a rat or two IN THE THEATER which only added to the creepiness and unsettling nature of this film!

Blogging From A To Z: G is for...

...golf....a sport I just picked up last year after my father died.  My great-grandfather was the first golf pro at Dartmouth College.  When he retired, they started a yearly tournament in his name.  My grandfather and father played in it for as long as I could remember.  When Gramps died in 2000, my father invited my brother to play with him.  When Dad died last year, my brother asked me to play with him, despite the fact I had NEVER picked up a club, much less played before.  I got clubs and played through out last summer to get ready and played in the tournament in August.  I LOVE IT.  I have played more with these three guys pictured than anyone else.  And the best part is....my daughter already loves it.  I think she will become my number one partner before this summer is up....

30 Days Of Comics: Day 14: A Comic You Own But Haven’t Read

Shadow #2

Again there are many comics that could fit in this category. I have a huge stack of recently purchased comics on my desk that I could explain why I bought them, but I expect them to be read in short order.

Also, my collection is littered with lots of freebies and giveaways from my days of ordering my monthlies on-line.

But the above comic has a little bit of a story and I don't think I will EVER read it.

Back around the time that Batman: The Dark Knight Returns came out, DC Comics announced Howard Chaykin was going to revamp The Shadow, moving him to contemporary times and making him "gritty". The series was going to only be available on the Direct Market and therefore, as I mentioned previously, it was only going to be available where my grandfather lived.

Once again David, Chris and I sent Gramps to Earth Prime Comics and he did his best, but we had missed issue #1. He got us each a copy of the only issue they had. It was a dark time for collector's in Vermont, as there were (and really still aren't) any competing stores. We had only a vague understanding of mail order options and obviously no internet so we all dropped the series.

But I kept this issue. I have gotten rid of other strays throughout the years and completed other series, but this one holds a special status and will always remain in my collection and remain an orphan.

30 Days of Comics: Day 5: A Comic That Reminds You Of A Person

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1

While I was growing up, Rutland, Vermont was the second largest city in the state. However, we did not have a comic book store. The largest city, Burlington, did and that was where my grandparents lived.

My friends, Dave and Chris, and I had heard that this comic was coming. However, it was going to be made available only to comic book stores. I do not exactly remember how it all came about, but we arranged to have my grandfather pick up three copies of this issue (plus the following ones).

Burlington's store, Earth Prime Comics, was interesting back in the day. Not really the "stereotypical" shop, but slightly off the beaten path and filled with comic books and toys. The owners and employees were so very nice but still, it was not the place one would expect to find a 63 year old former Lieutenant Colonel from the Air Force.

To this day, the image of my grandfather getting in his green Volkswagen Rabbit and driving down to the store's old location, going in and buying this issue makes me smile.

Veterans Day*

Thank you, Richard Howard Mock....

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

*The holiday is commonly printed as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day on calendars. While these spellings are grammatically acceptable, the United States government has declared that no apostrophe rather than the possessive case is the official spelling.

Happy Memorial Day

While he didn't die in service to this country, he was willing to do so. He was the bravest man I will ever meet and not a day goes by that I don't think about him.

Snakes...Why'd it have to be snakes?

Dean at Springfield Punx made both of these (I even stole his title for this post). He had the Indy done and I asked if he would ever consider creating the Cairo Swordsman...and he did! I really want to find a way to print them out on some good paper and add them to the collection. I need to ask Lee sometime if Gramps had any real "Simpsons" knowledge.

This will always make me think of my grandfather...

I remember being at "Lums" in Rutland with Justin and probably my dad having lunch with Nana and Grandpa in 1981 after "Raiders of The Lost Ark" (the correct, true title) had come out.

Gramps had recently seen this with my cousins Marc and Lars. I clearly remember him telling us about this scene, reenacting it and laughing, deeply and honestly, at the scene and his own retelling.

I've been recently buying the toys based on this scene and found these two on clearance at WalMart in Plattsburgh yesterday:

They join these guys I got for Christmas:

And these I got at Disney two years ago:

"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant..."

From the address given by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., on December 8, 1941:

"[On] December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific."

The next day my grandfather turned 19. My recollection is that shortly after he learned the news, he made the trip from "The Farm" in Hartford, VT to Rutland, VT to enlist.

I can't even begin to comprehend how he, and the millions like him, were able to do what they did afterwards.

Veterans Day*

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

*The holiday is commonly printed as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day on calendars. While these spellings are grammatically acceptable, the United States government has declared that no apostrophe rather than the possessive case is the official spelling.