Tales From My Spinner Rack! rockets into the new year with Episode 27, “Steranko & Adams: Comic Book Revolutionaries!" which takes a look back at the tumultuous 1960s and the two artists who revolutionized superhero comics in the latter half of that decade, Jim Steranko and Neal Adams! Steranko started first at Marvel on Nick... Continue Reading →
MERRY CHRISTMAS! My latest video, “Deck the Halls with Christmas Comics!,” takes a look back at some of my favorite holiday-themed comic books at this most festive time of the year, some of which I own and some of which I WISH I owned. Starring Superman, Batman, the Marvel Superheroes, Archie, Dennis the Menace, Donald... Continue Reading →
It’s time for our yearly exploration of some of the wonderful covers currently residing on my spinner rack. This time, in “My Favorite Spinner Rack Covers, Volume 2,” we look at a whole mess (that’s a technical term, to be sure) of books, both well-known, and obscure, including DC, Marvel, Archie, Dennis the Menace, Tarzan,... Continue Reading →
Thanks to everyone who joined me for the first-ever Tales From My Spinner Rack livestream! I had a very enjoyable hour and 15 minutes chat with a lot of great questions, ranging from my comics collection to my years with San Diego Comic-Con, and other conventions I attended. I even got a few good ideas... Continue Reading →
On July 24, 2025, Tales From My Spinner Rack! debuted a brand-new, graphics-filled presentation at Comic-Con International: San Diego in celebration of the premiere weekend of the new Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, Fantastic Four: First Steps. “Our Favorite Fantastic Four Covers by Jack Kirby” took panel attendees back in time to view all 101 Fantastic... Continue Reading →
For one brief, shining moment in August 1971, Marvel changed their comics to 48 pages and raised their price to 25-cents. And the books, for the most part, featured NEW, double-sized stories of around 34 pages. DC Comics had raised their price and page-count a couple of months earlier, but used reprints from their extensive... Continue Reading →
Normally at this time of year, I do a blog post chronicling my Comic-Con experience. Well, vlogging is the new blogging, so here’s a visual essay of “Everything I Got at Comic-Con!” including comic books, graphic novels, magazines, and even a Wookie! This is a different kind of Tales From My Spinner Rack! video, focusing... Continue Reading →
Tales From My Spinner Rack LIVE! returns to Comic-Con International with a special panel presentation looking back at “Our Favorite Fantastic Four Covers by Jack Kirby” from the artist’s run on the title from 1961 through 1970! The panel will be on Thursday, July 24 at 12:00 PM in Room 9. Moderator Gary Sassaman will... Continue Reading →
It’s hard to believe, but 60 years ago, three of Marvel Comics most famous issues debuted on the very same day, July 2, 1963: Avengers 1, X-Men 1, and Fantastic Four Annual 1. Buying all three issues would set you back 49 whole cents at the time, but you could probably put a child through... Continue Reading →
With the new Superman movie written and directed by James Gunn about to take off, Tales From My Spinner Rack! Episode 19 takes a loving look back at ten of my favorite Superman artists, influential creators who defined the look of the Man of Steel in his comic book adventures from 1938 through 2000, in... Continue Reading →
IT’S CLOBBERIN’ TIME! In 1961, the company that would become known as Marvel Comics had a reduced outcome of just eight or so comics per month, due to an onerous distribution deal with their main competitor, National Periodical Publications, better known as DC Comics. Publisher Martin Goodman and editor Stan Lee published a steady diet... Continue Reading →
Here's a sneak peek at the new Tales From My Spinner Rack! special Valentine’s Day episode featuring a look back at Marvel’s Romance titles from the late 1960s, titled “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” At the end of the Silver Age, Marvel had a brand new distributor who didn’t care how many books... Continue Reading →
I had a great time on Tuesday night at my third annual appearance (it shall soon be declared an official holiday) with the fine folk at the SDCC Unofficial Blog. Special thanks to Kerry, James, and Erin for their insightful questions and nodding sagely as I went off on tangent after tangent, largely ignoring said... Continue Reading →
Tales From My Spinner Rack! Episode 07, titled "Marvel Monster Madness!," is now available for your viewing pleasure! Making its World Premiere at WonderCon 2024 on March 30th, this edited (and enhanced) video version features my nostalgic look back at that limbo-like period of time between Atlas Comics and Marvel Comics, when Martin Goodman and... Continue Reading →
We’re back on the world-famous Official Tales From My Spinner Rack! YouTube Channel with our first, all-new video, one that isn’t based on a convention presentation that I did. If you’ve been reading the three-part “December 1965” saga here over the past month, you’ll be (hopefully) happy to see a video devoted to the series.... Continue Reading →
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