TP Comics

I Met Captain Marvel Jr.! It was a bit of a toss up between attending the Cleveland Fan Expo or Lexington (Ky.) Comic and Toy Con.  Cleveland won because of an appearance by one of my all-time favorite artists (more on that in a future post).   Lots of cool celebs in Cleveland, but the most popular are out of my price range.  Zachary Levi, who portrayed Captain Marvel in Shazam!  (2019) and Shazam!: Fury of the Gods (2023) is charging $120 for an autograph and $140 for a photo session.  So I went with the Junior version and much cheaper Jack Dylan Grazer. Jack played Freddy Freeman alongside Zachary Levi's Captain Marvel and Asher Angel's Billy Batson in both Shazam movies.  Adam Brody portrayed the adult/super-powered version of Freddy, whom I will call "Captain Marvel Jr." Freddy first appeared in Whiz Comics #25 (Dec. 1941).  While Captain Marvel Jr. is similar to Captain Marvel, there are a few twists on the concept: Freddy is traditional...

I Met... FRITZ THE NITE OWL In June 2015, my Mom and I attended one of the movie nights that are part of the CAPA Summer Series at the Ohio Theatre (the longest-running classic film series in the U.S.).  "Fritz the Nite Owl" was introducing the films that made up the "Fright Nite Friday" double feature--Son of Frankenstiein (1939) and The Brides of Dracula (1960).  Fritz (whose secret identity is Frederick C. Peerenboom) was "The Nite Owl" from the year I was born until I was a senior in high school.  He was the "horror host" for the CBS affiliate in Columbus, Ohio.  Fritz  appeared as himself in The Power of Shazam! issues 6, 8, 20, 33 & 47.   When I met him that summer, he very reluctantly signed my copy of issue 8, as he was concerned that it would decrease in value. I told him that meeting him and having his signature made it invaluable to me.