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 →
A bit of a light reading month, dominated by a big biography on Lorne Michaels, a graphic novel on Hitchcock, and the return of one of my favorite UK mystery writers and his signature chatacter, plus other stuff to do and deal with … like WonderCon! The Wild Swimmers by William Shaw • 5 Stars... Continue Reading →
Lots and lots of graphic novels and otherwise comics-related books in February, which has always seemed like the darkest, dreariest of each and every year to me, even here in sunny San Diego. But I also managed to fit in two mystery/thriller novels somehow. The Mail Man by Andrew Welsh-Huggins • 3.5 Stars on GoodreadsBoy,... Continue Reading →
Like a lot of other James Bond fans, I was shocked last week to wake up to the news that the Broccoli family was stepping back from their involvement with the James Bond film franchise and letting Amazon and MGM Studios take the wheel of the Aston Martin DB5. On one hand, I admire anyone... Continue Reading →
While I’m concentrating on the Superman and Batman books that are being published in the new DC Finest format, I wasn’t planning on buying this volume featuring Supergirl. I don’t have many fond memories of reading the feature as a kid; in fact, if I had to categorize the stories even back then when I... Continue Reading →
Tales From My Spinner Rack! returns with Episode 16, a special Valentine’s Day video 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 it put... Continue Reading →
Today marks the fourth anniversary of my retirement. Cue the golden sunset (pictured above). Back in 2021, just after I retired from an almost 21-year career at San Diego Comic-Con, I wrote this post, which I’ve just re-read. The thing that stands out most for me (besides the fact I worked pretty much for 44... Continue Reading →
New year, new books! I made my 2024 Goodreads goal of 75 books (even surpassed it a bit with 78 books read), but being the shy, retiring type that I am, I decided to just up my 2025 goal by a reasonable 5 books, to 80. Let’s begin the year at the starting point for... 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 →
This week is the “anniversary” of the loss of my car. San Diego was hit with a “storm of the century”—something that seems to happen every few years instead of every 100—on January 22, 2024. Two days later, I discovered my car had been flooded in the semi-underground garage which I parked in at my... Continue Reading →
Watchlist is an irregularly scheduled series of posts featuring short reviews and observations on streaming TV series I’m watching. I’ve watched a lot since the last appearance of “Watchlist” here on innocent-bystander.com, but lately my streaming choices seem to be confined to the British side of shows. Here’s what I’ve watched—and pretty much liked—in the... Continue Reading →
Back in my first DC Finest post (click here to read it), I mentioned I was planning on concentrating on the Superman books the new reprint series would be publishing. Well, I caved. In November at a 50%-off sale at a nearby store, I bought the first DC Finest Batman volume, which features the Year... Continue Reading →
Tales From My Spinner Rack! returns from its long winter nap with an in-depth look at the third season of videos coming in 2025 on YouTube. Gary Sassaman, former director of programming and publications for Comic-Con International San Diego, previews ten new episodes set to premiere in the coming year, including a special focus on... Continue Reading →
It’s my last book report of 2024, as we turn the page (see what I did there?) on the year and I went through a whole mess of books to clean off my coffee table (is it really a coffee table if you don’t drink coffee?) and make my 75 books read goal on GoodReads.... Continue Reading →
2024 was a shitty year. The End. Thanks for stopping by. Seriously, 2024 was not one of my favorite years in recent memory. It started off badly in January when I lost my car to flooding due to one of those “storms of the century” that seem to happen every couple of years these days.... Continue Reading →
