A busy month of reading, for me at least, while the days get shorter (did you know we lose 41 minutes of daylight in Southern California from September 1 through 30?) and the nights get longer, cooler, and quieter. Here's what I read last month: Malibu Burning by Lee GoldbergI started reading author Lee Goldberg’s... Continue Reading →
We’re segueing into fall with a new (but don’t hold me to it) schedule for Tales From My Spinner Rack! New posts—and the occasional YouTube Channel video—will be appearing about every two weeks, as we enter pumpkin spice/big book/sweater weather—SWEATERWEATHER!!!—season. Except for a bit of time in a month or so when I will be... Continue Reading →
BREAKING NEWS!!!After the launch of my new Official Tales From My Spinner Rack! YouTube Channel just last week, we already have ONE subscriber! I never expected such a stunning response. I’m already preparing my speech for the YouTube equivalent of the Oscars, which is probably called the Tubbies or some such, and undoubtedly hosted by... Continue Reading →
When we last visited our intrepid Spinner Rack hero (that’s me), he promised his WonderCon 2023 panel recreation for Tales From My Spinner Rack! #030. If it pleases the court, I hereby submit into evidence this graphic to prove it: Yep. That’s what he said. Your honor, I rest my case. Well, life has intervened... Continue Reading →
After the insanity of Comic-Con last month, August was a relatively quiet month with just two “real” books and three graphic novels read by yours truly. I’m slowin’ down in my old age, folks, but I'm still on track to hit my GoodReads goal of 75 ... I hope! Bogie and Bacall: The Surprising True... Continue Reading →
Click on the images below to see them larger on your screen! All images and art in this post TM & © MARVEL. 1968 is the last great year of the Marvel Annuals, in my humble opinion. It was the end of a six-year run of truly great comic books which topped off the summer,... Continue Reading →
Click on the images below to see them larger on your screen! All images and art in this post TM & © MARVEL. 1966 marks the low point of the “Golden Age” of Marvel Annuals as far as I’m concerned. Gone were any special features that made the first Fantastic Four and Spider-Man Annuals so... Continue Reading →
When I was writing my 20+ part opus, “My Life in Comics,” on this here blog thingie, I often mentioned the name Fae Desmond, who was my boss at Comic-Con for all 21 years I was an employee. A news release was sent out yesterday, and—I’m happy to say, actually covered on the comics websites,... Continue Reading →
Click on the images below to see them larger on your screen! All images and art in this post TM & © MARVEL. By the time the summer of 1964 rolled around, the “Marvel Age of Comics” was in full swing. Captain America, the last of the Timely (Marvel’s company name in the 1940s and... Continue Reading →
Click on the images above and below to see them larger on your screen! Let me set the scene for you … It’s the summer of 1963 and three long months of relative freedom extend before me. School is out and it’s four months before the US will change forever. Things to look forward to:... Continue Reading →
If you’re joining us for the first time because you somehow stumbled into—or willingly attended—my Comic-Con 2023 Tales From My Spinner Rack LIVE! panel—or if you’re a regular reader—please note that I’m taking a week or two off to recover from Comic-Con 2023, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek of our next... Continue Reading →
A bit of a strange month for me … I was so busy with my Comic-Con panel presentation that I didn’t have a lot of time for reading, so I’m falling a bit behind on my goal of 75 books this year. The bulk of this month’s reading is graphic novels … well, more like... Continue Reading →
I had a nice Comic-Con. That’s all. The end. No, I did. The week started early for me with a trip downtown on Monday (7/16) to have dinner with a friend, followed by another dinner on Tuesday (7/17) with yet another out-of-town friend (yes, I do have friends), after badge pick-up. Since I had a... Continue Reading →
That's right ... it's 2:00 AM and the bar is closing down, so here's your final reminder about my Comic-Con 2023 panel, Tales From My Spinner Rack LIVE! on Friday, July 21 at 2:00 PM in Room 29AB! I hope you'll find the time to join me for this fun panel that will feature a... Continue Reading →
Here’s the final installment of my look back—almost 15 years!—at the Comic-Con publications I edited and designed. These had a print-run of 250,000 copies and were distributed to both the Comic-Con mailing list and to comic shops in the U.S. via Diamond Comics Distributors … all for the amazing price of zero, zilch, nothing; in... Continue Reading →
