1964 Comic Con Booklet...

First thought this was a 'traced' image which was common for fanzines of the era.
A little research brought this per organizer Bernie Bubnis:
"Ditko drew DIRECTLY onto ditto paper (not mimeo). this was a shiny white top sheet
that allowed a penciled line to be transferred to the blue sheet underneath. simply,
one could "draw" on this ditto master pretty easily, but you could only get about
200 clear copies from it.
"Ditko did the front and rear covers of this con booklet. A few lines were not heavy
 enough to transfer to the underlying blue sheet, so i "connected" a few myself, but 
at least 98 per cent of that thing is ALL DITKO. He actually sat in at this first con 
and was very supportive. I think he felt sorry for me. No one took the con idea
 seriously in those days. I actually paid for most of it out of my own 16-year-old
 pocket. Ditko's presence MADE IT the first comic convention."

Nice stuff.
You should be following my blog because these are things you need to help you in the afterlife.
(or not, but follow my blog anyway)

The Eye by Grass Green and Biljo White...

So cool.

That design just takes me back. Remember the Ghost Rider villain, the Orb with that look?





Heard it was an homage to Grass Green and Biljo White's Eye character! Here's Grass' original concept sketch:




But wait, there's more:





these guys (80's alternative band, the Residents)

reportedly modeled their look after the same crimebusting, fan-made character.














Here's his book from the mid-sixties:



Grass Green created the first sketch of the character and Biljo White brought noir and mystery to the character and made it live.

Comic Book and more...The work of Alan Jim Hanley

Wow.
That's the thought that came to my mind when I first saw Alan (or Jim) Hanley's artwork. The more I saw, the more I wanted to see. It seemed there was more than just pictures here to explore.
I was right. His political takes and statements on (then) current affairs soaked his stories. The light, cartoonish style he had seemed to make his point in a manner similar to Pogo.
He had a character named "Goodguy" that was a nostalgic salute to Fawcett comics' Captain Marvel.
I immediately wanted to find this guy and see what he was up to these days. Surely a man with such a wonderful take on the state of the world had gone on to do something great!
But he hadn't.
He was involved in an auto accident not far from his home in the winter of 1980. He was buried in a little town called Tomah, Wisconsin. He was 42.
I'm 42.
Makes me sad to look upon the total time I've had on the planet and think, "that's all you get".
I'm sure, given enough time he could have done much more with his life than give a bunch of comic fans a laugh, a thrill and maybe a second look at the world around us.
Or maybe that was enough.
God bless ya, Alan. Rest in Peace.


I have here some Alan Hanley covers and a puzzle I found with his character, All American Jack.
I have had some difficulty with the Comic Book covers. All accounts indicate there were only 6 issues. Even Alan stated so in the back of issue 6. Bill Schelly says so in his book, "The Golden Age of Comic Fandom" that there were only 6 issues.
Yet I count 7. The silver issue has number seven on the cover. Is 7 reprint material?
Anyone who can help me make order of this is welcome to comment.
Thanks.

Fandom Presents number 1, Dec. 1964...

After Alter Ego had a few issues under it's belt (as well as a few editors, as Jerry Bails left to pursue his Golden Age data cataloging leaving Ronn Foss to the helm with issue 5) comic fandom began to grow.
People began to realize that others shared their interest in comics and they wanted to make contact.
Soon, fan-made characters started popping out of the woodwork, mostly superhero-inspired.
The Eye, Eclipse, Xal-Kor, the Demon, Changeling, Powerman, Son of Satan, the Fog and more were having adventures in fanzines!
An loose group of friends who called themselves 'Golden Gate Features' made an early attempt to catalog the new world of fanzine heroes. It was called 'Fandom Presents' and was published in December of 1964.
Bill Dubay, Marty Arbunich, Rudi Franke and Barry Bauman of the Bay Area made up the Golden Gate gang.

Fandom Poster...

Nice Founders of Comic Fandom tribute poster.
Can ya name 'em?

Bails COA...

Apparently, after Dr. Jerry Bails passed on to the great Alley Tally in the sky; his wife (not knowing what to do with all the fannish items he had accumulated over the years) sold or had sold some of his things with a Certificate of Authenticity.
It even has Jerry's picture on it!
Anyone reading this purchase some of these items?
I'd like to know a bit more about it.

Star-Studded 16-18...

Final issues of this great fanzine!