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Pretty sure my house *is* the Old Bloggers Home.

§ December 7th, 2015 § Filed under blogging about blogging is a sin, cap and the falcon, pal plugging § 1 Comment

So in case you missed it, the twelfth anniversary of this here website was this past Saturday, so be sure to go back and check out my crazy epic-length post. Thanks to everyone for your well-wishes, and let’s hope I can get a few more years out of this thing before I am forced to enter the Old Bloggers Home.

Particularly kind was this write-up from Twitter pal and fellow blogger Ryan. It’s nice when people remember that I’ve been at this…not blogging, but in the comics retail business in general…for a long, long time. I’ve seen some things, maaaaaan. And with any luck I’ll be around to share even more of those things that I’ve seen, even if I have to wait ’til certain involved parties 1) pass away or 2) are jailed. …But enough about pal Ian!

Really, though…thanks for reading and sticking with me all this time.

• • •

I had a small collection of old comics come into my shop the other day…well, not on their own, someone was carrying them…and I ended up purchasing about a dozen copies of 1970s Captain America, back when it had been retooled as Captain America and the Falcon. That reminded me an old feature on this site, which I last did in…2006? Good gravy, that long ago? But it was “And Now A Moment with Cap and the Falcon,” which always made me laugh if not anyone else. So, here we go, making its triumphant return to the virtual pages of Progressive Ruin after nearly ten years away:

And now a moment with…Cap and the Falcon:

capfalc191
I hope those two crazy mixed-up kids can learn to get along.

• • •

What’s THIS? Disaster strikes!? Bully, The Bull Who Is Stuffed, without a computer? But wait! Who’s this!? Pal Andrew, filling in with a swell post just in the nick of time! The day is saved!
 
 

image from Captain America #191 (November 1975) by Tony Isabella, Bill Mantlo, Frank Robbins and D. Bruce Berry

And now…another moment with Cap and the Falcon.

§ August 12th, 2006 § Filed under cap and the falcon Comments Off on And now…another moment with Cap and the Falcon.

from Captain America #137 (May 1971) by Stan Lee, Gene Colan & Bill Everett

Panel-palooza!

§ March 19th, 2005 § Filed under cap and the falcon, popeye, scans Comments Off on Panel-palooza!

Barry (The Flash) Allen speaks inappropriately to a young comics fan:

…the Thing faces off against a space goalie (named, yes, “GAARD”):

…Peter David sneaks a dirty joke into a Popeye comic, that naughty man:

…and, once again, another moment with Cap and the Falcon:

Sources:
1. Flash #268 (December 1978) by Cary Bates, Irv Novick & Frank McLaughlin
2. Fantastic Four #163 (October 1975) by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler & Joe Sinnott
3. The Wedding of Popeye and Olive #1 (1999) by Peter David, Dave Garcia & Sam de la Rosa
4. Captain America #133 (January 1971) by Stan Lee, Gene Colan & Dick Ayers

They don’t write ’em like this anymore.

§ March 9th, 2005 § Filed under cap and the falcon Comments Off on They don’t write ’em like this anymore.

And now, another moment with Cap the Scorpion and the Falcon:

from Captain America #151 (July 1972) by Gerry Conway, Sal Buscema & Vince Colletta

“Wow! It was like a symphony!”

§ March 7th, 2005 § Filed under cap and the falcon Comments Off on “Wow! It was like a symphony!”

Today at the store, one of my regular customers asked if I would pose for a gag picture with him and his buddy. They stood at the comic rack, making as if they were just standing there reading the comics in a “hey, this ain’t a library” sort of way, and I was standing behind them, holding the store’s wooden baseball bat in an “I’m gonna knock you punk kids into next week” sort of way, while trying to maintain an angry grimace.

No, it’s not blackmail material…these guys are cool. And yes, the store has a wooden baseball bat. We call it “The Peacemaker.”

If I get a copy of the picture, perhaps I’ll post it here, providing I don’t appear too horrible-looking…my camel-hair toupee was having an “off” day, so God knows what it looks like in the photo.


I’ve been meaning to say something about this, and I kept forgetting…thanks to The Comic Treadmill for reminding me: my Canadian twin has posted on Flat Earth again, to remind us all to “Read A Comic Book Naked!” He also put up a panel from the Archie nude beach story (which fits in quite nicely with my look at bizarre Archie happenings last week). Good to see him again, and let’s hope he posts again soon!


And now…another moment with Cap and the Falcon:

from Captain America #138 (June 1971) by Stan Lee, John Romita Sr., & Tony Mortellaro

No time to post…

§ February 27th, 2005 § Filed under cap and the falcon Comments Off on No time to post…

…so instead, I present another moment with Cap and the Falcon:


from Captain America #161 (May 1973) by Steve Englehart, Sal Buscema, & John Verpoorten

“EEEE”

§ February 21st, 2005 § Filed under cap and the falcon, movie reviews Comments Off on “EEEE”

Took in Constantine last night, and it was…well, it was okay, I suppose. A bit drab and dreary and lacking in energy, even during the film’s infrequent action scenes. It only picked up when Gabriel (played by Tilda Swinton) and the extremely quirky Satan (played by Peter Stormare) showed up on screen. My girlfriend noted that it reminded her of an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, only without the humor. It wasn’t bad, as such, just vaguely disappointing. Occasionally a reference to a specific story element from Hellblazer would pop up in the film, which would just remind me of how said element was handled better in the comics. And as pal Dorian notes, the character of John Constantine is fundamentally different, beyond the cosmetic changes.

I’m also very tired of movies with mumbled dialogue. Speak up, for God’s sake!


Speaking of Constantine, my scan from this post (regarding the pronunciation of Constantine’s name) is popping up here and there, and I hope everyone realizes that I don’t really think it makes any difference how they say his name. As I said, it just amused me. However, even though this wasn’t what I intended to do, when I bought the tickets at the box office last night, I didn’t use the “-teen” pronunciation. The other pronunciation just kinda popped out, I swear.


The only comic book related trailer I saw last night was Batman Begins, and the audience seemed somewhat interested in the goings-on up until the reveal of the Batman mask. At that point, you could hear a very soft wave of groans throughout the theatre.

I didn’t think it looked that bad, but maybe the general movie-going audience isn’t ready for a Bat-flick so soon after this disaster.

I also saw the trailer for Stealth, which pal Dorian also saw and made what is probably a true statement about it. However, Kid Chris saw the trailer during one of the three(!) times (in three different theatres, no less) he saw Constantine on Friday and he was telling me about it on Saturday. A robot plane that’s turned evil by a lightning strike? Fantastic. It can’t possibly be any good, but it looks fun in an entirely trashy sort of way. This trailer also got a more positive reaction from our audience than the Batman Begins one did.


So, in Captain America #172 (April 1974), Cap and the Falcon, shortly after a battle with Moonstone, make this insightful deduction:


And, since at this point in time, they’re fugitives from the law and lacking in resources, they decide to hitch a ride to Nashville:


…where they’re picked up by a very open-minded truck driver who’s willing to give a ride to the nice interracial gay couple (observation courtesy the ubiquitous pal Dorian, natch):

But upon arriving in Nashville, Cap and the Falcon encounter the Banshee, in what must be the character’s most unflattering portrayal ever:


And that’s pretty much all I have to say about this comic. I mostly just wanted to show you that last panel. Holy cow.