TP Comics

The National Cartoonists Society's 80th Anniversary Reuben Awards and NCS Conference was held in Columbus this past week.  After the official events concluded, cartoonists were invited to stick around for an NCS Showcase at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum at The Ohio State University.  The showcase was free and open to the public.  Some of the cartoonists who were present were: Jeff Keane!  Created in 1960 by Bil Keane, The Family Circus has been written and drawn by his son Jeff Keane since Bil's death in 2011.  Jeff appears in the daily single panel cartoon and Sunday comic strip as young "Jeffy."  I purchased a calendar from Mr. Keane for my brother's birthday and he not only autographed it, but also drew a picture of Jeffy.  The calendar features all of the classic Family Circus devices, including the dotted line cartoons in which characters run around the house or neighborhood, the strips where young Billy fills in for his cartoonist dad, and tho...

  I Visited... THE HALL OF JUSTICE! "One of the last great American train stations built, Union Terminal is a Cincinnati icon and one of the most widely regarded examples of the art deco style.  Since its opening in 1933, Union Terminal has had a long and storied history, from welcoming soldiers home from World War II to becoming the home of three museums. an Omnimax Theater and the Cincinnati History Library and Archives."  --Cincinnati Museum Center website. A few more facts:  Union Terminal still serves as a train station, servicing the Amtrak "Cardinal" line.  The station is open in the middle of the night for passengers departing and arriving on The Cardinal (New York to Chicago). Union Terminal was featured on a postage stamp.  A set of four Railroad Stations "Forever" Stamps were released in 2023, with a First Day of Issue ceremony held at Union Terminal on March 9 (photo above). Union Terminal was the inspiration for the "Hall of Justice,...

Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe  was the first comic book I bought regularly, which led to a lifetime of comic book collecting.  The original series was published by DC Comics from cover date March 1985 to cover date April 1987, with updates and spin-offs published in the following years. The New Golden Age #1  was a special of sorts, cover dated January 2023.  I can't even begin to explain the convoluted storyline of this book or the other books that led to its publishing or those that followed... But it did have some Who's Who entries in the back, so I purchased it when it came out.   The 12 entries cover the following 13 characters: The Golden Age Aquaman Betsy Ross & Molly Pitcher Cherry Bomb The Harlequin's Son John Henry Jr. Lady Bug Legionnaire The Golden Age Mr. Miracle Quiz Kid The Golden Age Red Lantern Salem the Witch Girl The Boom The Golden Age Aquaman entry is a special treat because ...

Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe was the first comic book I bought regularly, which led to a lifetime of comic book collecting.  The original series  was published by DC Comics from cover date March 1985 to cover date April 1987, with updates and spin-offs published in the following years. In all my years of collecting Who's Who, this is the most obscure find to date. Following a miniseries ( The Shadow War of Hawkman #1 to #4 ) and a special ( Hawkman Special #1), Hawkman was given an on-going series, with issue #1 cover dated August 1986.  It included a single Who's Who entry (minus the trademark yellow border) for Shadow-Thief, a long-time Hawkman villain who was featured in that issue.  In the letter column which follows, writer Tony Isabella (now Jenny Blake) asks "Would you like to see more Who's Who pages like the one in this issue?  Or do you prefer two full pages of letters and answers?  Inquiring editors want to know."...

The second season of Batman  premiered Sept. 7, 1966, with the conclusion airing the following night, Sept. 8, 1966.  While most of the second season episodes followed this pattern, there are a few exceptions noted below.  E pisode synopses are from Amazon Prime Video.  Season and Episode numbers, based on Amazon's wonky numbering scheme, are given first.  Sequential numbering of episodes, as listed in The Official Batman Batbook by Joel Eisner, are listed second.   Bulleted notes are my own insights.   S201A E1 & E2 |  Season Two, Episodes 35 & 36 "Shoot a Crooked Arrow"   Archer and his gang have come to Gotham City, winning the public's favor with their Robin Hood-style deeds of stealing from the rich to give to the poor. "Walk the Straight and Narrow"  Batman and Robin escape their previous peril and are back in action seeking to foil the Archer and his gang.  The Archer is a villain created for the sho...

Though there were other comics series with similar names before and after, the longest-running  Secret Origins  comic book was published by DC Comics from April 1986 to August 1990.  It included 50 regular issues, three annuals, one special edition... and one trade paperback. The Secret Origin of... THE BATMAN While we are still waiting for a hefty Secret Origins omnibus reprinting the entire classic anthology in one or more volumes, DC did publish a trade paperback of a number of stories from the series in 1989.  Officially titled  Secret Origins of The World's Greatest Super-Heroes, the trade paperback reprinted the origin of the Justice League of America from issue #32 as well as some of the JLA members, including Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) from issue #32, The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onnz) from issue #35, and The Flash (Barry Allen) from Annual #2.  Since  Secret Origins told the stories of the Golden Age Superman (issue #1) and Batman (issue #...