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A couple of Comic related Retro Items

Started by Randomdays, March 10, 2020, 08:56:57 AM

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Randomdays

This might be meandering a bit since its been a long day and my thoughts are a bit scattered.

1st off.... Spinner Racks

This - https://plasticmemorial.blogspot.com/2016/04/cryptozoics-dc-comics-miniature-comic.html

This was supposed to come out in 2016-2017, but Cryptozoic pulled the plug on it before going into production.

I'm old enough that this was where I got my comics growing up....biking down to the corner 7-11 or whatever, browsing in the rack and grabbing some books, along with a Slurpee, chips and other junk food, and then reading for the rest of the afternoon at home or under a tree.

Since it got cancelled, I was thinking that for those who'd want to , it wouldn't be hard to make your own mini- spinner rack and books. I've done a little work on some mini-books and I'm looking around for a good spinner.

There are a bunch of spinners for greeting cards on Amazon, most have 3 or 4 tiers, black wire frame, and are about 30 inches high - perfect for your desktop - my only problem with it is that its for 5x7 greeting cards, which is a little big for the mini comics I want to make. Most are a little pricey also, 40-50 USD in general

But if the size is good for you, you can buy some blank card stock at that size, print up some books with a front and back cover and copy a couple of pages for the inside, and boom! - Done.

If anyone is interested in making one of these, speak up. I'd like to see what you come up with.

Even though it doesn't look as good, there are a few spinner racks for gift/ business cards on Amazon as well. A three tier rack is only about 12 inches tall, is the right size I want to work with (about credit card size) but none are in wire frame, only solid center. This is what I'm probably going to go with though.

If you're going to make a mini book, here's a few suggestions;

Cover - comics.org is a good place for cover browsing of all comics.

Back Cover - Google/ Yahoo picture search shows up some good pictures with "retro comic ads". Selling greeting cards or flower seeds, getting 100 WW2 soldiers for a dollar, sea monkeys, etc.

Inner Left side - I 'm doing mainly bronze age titles and perfect for that is all those crazy hostess one page comic ads that came out, with Superman or Captain America beating the bad guys with a twinkie.

Inner Right Side - Mainly house ads. Ads for subscriptions, other titles on sale or coming soon, DC Currents or Marvel's Bullpen, or any of the many toys that Marvel and DC were pushing with their characters on it.

End 1st item


2nd item - Lunch Boxes.

Although going back to school wasn't too great, one of the better things some of got to do was pick out your lunch box for the year. Some years we couldn't afford one and I brown bagged it, but when I could, picking out which of the many choices available was a serious choice for a young kid.

Getting one now can be kind of pricey, even if its all beat up, but for alternatives;

1) Some of the bigger names have replicas done - Hallmark has a few as small ornaments, like the famous Batman and Superman ones of the 60's.

2) Make your own! Amazon (again) has blank tin lunch boxes that you can use to copy any classic lunch box, or design your own. Finds the pictures you want for front. back and sides, print them on some large sticky labels, and boom! done (again)

Doing picture search (again) for your favorite hero and keywords like "screensaver", "sticker", "wallpaper" or "poster" will turn up lots of pics, as well as using one of your favorite covers. Even though they never made an Aquaman Lunchbox, now you can have your own!


I've got a good selection of pics saved off for the mini books, as well as some good pics for the classic Batman and Superman lunchboxes. I can rar' them up and send them over if anyone is thinking about trying to make either one of these.

Thoughts? Is he crazy or are these neat ideas?

RD signing out.

SickAlice

A liquor store where I would also buy blueberry flavored Tootsie Rolls for a penny a piece and M80 firecrackers. Also an Open Pantry where I would also rent Nintendo games from. Usually I didn't have money for comics being a child and not employed and such so my friends and myself would pool our chore earnings and each by different parts of story lines then read them together when we hung out. Good times. I remember my friend and I walking in thirty degrees below on a snow day to rent Ninja Turtles 2 and pick up the latest parts of Spider-man: Torment. I had my priorities straight then. Now I care about stupid things like bills and politics, ugh.

Randomdays

Shhh! We don't Marvel and DC hearing about that. Next thing you know there'll be a multi title storyline about...paying bills and politics.

SickAlice

Heh. It's going to tick in my brain and I'm going to end up suggesting it to one of them on a social network. Then a creator from somewhere is going to hop on and explain to me in very passionate and lengthy detail why such a concept would not work from an industry standpoint. As the joke flies over their head I'll tap out with something casual like "Oh that makes sense." and an animated gif depending on how sassy I'm feeling. And sorry good ideas by the way, real classy actually. Not something I can personally invest in, way too many things projected for this house as it is and too many still unfinished but still good ideas.

Randomdays

Not looking forward to the "Civil Servants War" plot line?

Back to the original subject matter....

I just printed out on large labels the front and back of the 1966 Batman Lunchbox. I got a slightly non-normal size, old fashioned tin lunchbox for Christmas a few years back for the candy Good n Plenty (with candy included) I'm going to grab some before and after pics and put them up if I can.

For the Comic Spinner, I decided to make my own, as well as the books. All from Amazon - $7 for a 4 inch black Lazy Susan/ Spinner bottom, $7 for 10, 9inch metal back straps, all ready punched with 16 holes, to use for the vertical supports, and $8 for 16 feet of black, 3mm armature wire to shape the pockets the comics will set in.

I've found a few good pics also of some spinner tops to add as well.

This should be able to make a 3 or 4 tier rack for the bubble gum card sized comics I'm putting together.

I have to wait a few days before I can order - in the meantime I'll throw a few more books together.


So, a survey question - if you could pick 16 comics to present in a rack, choosing your own personal favorite covers and/or stories from any publisher, from any era (and not the most ' game changing' or 'significant') what would they be?

SickAlice

#5
Actually I thought it was already out and being aired on Fox News! *cricket chirps*
Anyways sixteen? Interesting question especially how you put it. I'll have to dwell on it a bit but the very first one that came to mind is Anything Goes #5 (1987) which featured a short comic with the Ninja Turtles by Eastman and Laird as well the Turtles on the cover in an Aliens parody.

* have dwelleth and thuseth (u realithe of courthe thith meanth war?)

In no actual order, I'm not sure what the order would be if any.

1.) ANYTHING GOES! #5 (1987). As above. It had Turtles and Aliens hence the attraction. It was otherwise the odd book in
collection. It was also the first time I was exposed to an Indy book, sincerely. It had swear words, adult themes and full
on nudity that would normally be seen in a mens magazine of the era. My uncle bought this for me as I was not old enough
to go into the 18 year old section of the comic store which was protected by a cardboard standup of Keaton Batman. Likewise
he purchased any Mirage Studio Ninja Turtles comics for me this way.

2.) The Ren And Stimpy Show #6 (1993). Powdered Toastman Vs Spider-man, reads like an episode of the cartoon. Nuff said.

3.) Fantastic Four Vol.2 #1 (1996). This was the opneing issue of Heroes Reborn by Jim Lee an event inspired by the Marvel
company walk-off/Image comics foundation and that would later inspire the DC comics reboot. It was done at a time when comic
sales were very low and in need of fresh air. This single issue showed me that a revamp can be done right and well. My issue
at the time was personally autographed by Jim at a convention.

4.) Aphrodite IX: Rebirth (2013). By Matt Hawkins and Stjepan Ĺ ejić. This book holds a special place for me. I was bed ridden,
alone and in agony for just over nine months. I had given my parents some money and asked that they would pick me up a TPB and
to surprise me. My mother though science fiction straight away, my stepdad saw a hot girl on a cover and chose this. After my
mom leafed through it she agreed and this is what came home to me. It got me through one of the hardest times in my life. The
end of the book was filled with scientific articles by Hawkins linking to various transhumanity related ones. I've since paid
attention to him on social networks. The art is so good it makes me feel I have no right to practice art ever.

5.) Monsters Attack! #2 (1989). A short lived book inspired by Cracked Monster Party, this was a horror anthology series.
I bought this issue because I was doing a book report on Poe and there was an adaption of The Cask of Amontillado in it.
I was a huge anthology buff as it was and fan of series like Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Tales From The Crypt, Ray Bradbury
Theater, Amazing Stories and so forth so I became an immediate fan of this comic. This issue contained stories by Steve Ditko,
Gray Morrow, John Severin, Walter Brogan and Mort Todd to name a few. What else is there to say.

6.) The Supernaturals (1998). A "what if?" the Marvel characters were created as Chaos Comics! characters by Brian Pulido and
Ivan Reis. I loved Halloween and monster stuff as a kid so this was right up my alley however the true appeal is the good story
written by Pulido.

7.) Spider-Man Vs. The Hulk at The Winter Olympics (1980). This was in fact the first comic book I ever owned and read and was
given to me by my mother at age 4.

8.) Zero Girl (2001). I will debate you that this, not The Maxx, is Sam Keith's best work. No, you're wrong. This was inspired
by the time in life where Sam met his to be wife and else, well it's Sam Keith so difficult to describe.

9.) Hard Boiled (1990). Frank Millers often buried under Sin City Eisner award winning story. I read this while having stomach sugery.
The only comic the surgeons office had on the rack was SuperPro so I asked my friend to bring me whatever from the back seat of his car.

10.) Why I Hate Saturn (1990). Another Eisner winner this by Kyle Baker. This is a down to Earth story of a woman having a midlife crisis
and focuses on the Law Of Dominants And Recessives. This book changed my life and the way I approach it where most comics are normally an
escape to fantasy and I'll agree with BleedingCool that it also changed the way I looked at comic books and what they could be.

11.) Supergod (2009). Warren Ellis's story of a superhuman arms race played out. Why this hasn't been adapted to live action elludes me.

12.) Nocturnals: Black Planet (1994). Dan Brereton's fully painted Halloween themed superhero story. This is elegant from start to finish.
Rob Zombie will tell you this is the best comic ever made.

13.) Black Orchid (1991). By Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean it is an Elseworlds Batman story though Batman is not the center character. This is
not a comic book, this is art in fact it is an art gallery that makes you experience a story.

14.) Uncanny X-Men #331 (1996). The very long the making epilogue to the classic X-Men story where Emma Frost took over Iceman's body. This won
some kind of award at the time as well and rightly as the writing is makes this one so special. Another story that had an effect on my real life
this delves on the psychology of Iceman and the true intents of Emma Frost. I always saw Iceman as a pretty flat character before this one and it
really fleshed him out. Also the first story that made me understand and care about Emma Frost and decide I really wanted to see more of her
character in books. In short this story was filled to the brim with compassion. This was one of those stories that really dug in deep and got to
the meat of the X-Men characters.

15.) Vision (2015). In my opinion this series which focuses on The Vision creating a family and attempting to live a Norman Rockwell-esque life
is the modern era quality in writing equivalent of Moore's Watchmen. If you haven't read it yet your missing out.

16.) Pieces for Mom: A Tale of the Undead (2007). By Steve Niles this an odd out of nowhere book that came and went. It is disgusting outright,
maybe more so than most actual zombie films. It tells the story of two young brothers who are survivors of a zombie apocalypse and live with their
mom who has become the undead. One of those weird stories that's borderline obscene what hit's you in the heart and reminds me why I love my mom.


Randomdays

And I've read none of them except Heroes Reborn and the original Turtles trade paperbacks when they started out., though a few of them sound like something I'd like to check out. I do have Powered Toast Man #1.

Mine would by mainly in the Silver/ Bronze era when I was growing up.


Started on the Bat Box conversion. It turns out the original box was Mike and Ike, Not Good and Plenty.

Here's the front and back, original and as the Bat Box. I'll need to add some black border pieces on the sides to complete them. I've got some pretty good picks of the two sides and the bottom, but the top with handle is going to be difficult. I may go for three smaller logo pictures for that.








Randomdays

Finished the Batman Lunch Box. It came out pretty well considering the non standard size. If I had to do another one it would probably come out better with lessons learned.