Misadventures of an old-school whovian

I’ve raised such a ham… Dunno where she gets it....

Thu, 10 May 2012 08:19:15 -0400

I’ve raised such a ham… Dunno where she gets it. 0:-)

Heart

Wed, 09 May 2012 17:22:20 -0400

Derby season is in full swing. There’s a distinct scent of sweat in the air. Hard work through the off-season is either paying off or showing us that more work is needed. With each bout comes a rougher voice from yelling, and hopefully a closer bond with the sisters and brothers of the sport we so love.
I told someone recently that those who love derby are kind of like the passionate denizens of Apple Computers. We are passionate without concern for how others might perceive us. We are closely knitted a family as you will ever see. We are often misunderstood and fiercely loyal to our product. I don’t think I’m far off with that analogy.
This week my beloved GCRG ladies also showed me the heart that is generally only seen in champions. Playing Glass City at home, and down about 50 points deep into the second half, they fought back and nearly won. The defeat was by one point, but in my mind we were winners. There were times that the ladies could have given up, and felt defeated. But, this time they gave the hometown fans reason to believe. I’ve seen them give up leads in the past. I’ve seen blowouts where they let the other team back into it. But, I’ve never seen this much fight. Not like this. Not from these ladies. Not in awhile. I like what I saw, and look forward to seeing more.

Let’s keep up the hard work and determination Gem City. We are strong. We are proud.

WE ARE GEM CITY!!!

Jim, I'm a collector, not a brick layer.

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:40:57 -0400

I have fond memories of watching Star Trek marathons with my dad. He worked a lot and I really didn’t get to spend much time with him before I was in high school. Don’t get me wrong, he was there, just worked a lot of hours. But, Star Trek is one of the things we always shared. Since then, I’ve seen nearly every episode of all the series except for Enterprise. I can honestly say the the original series (TOS) is still my fave. Next Generation and Deep Space Nine are kinda tied for me in second place. But, TOS was so far ahead of it’s time that it holds a special place to me.

So, over thirty years after watching my first episodes, my love of the series exploded into my collection. I have a number of the original Gold Key books, but there are over 50, which is fairly large for a Gold Key non-funny animal series. Most of the issues have beautiful painted or photo covers, and can be quite expensive. I managed to pick up one of the later issues at gem City Comic Con earlier in April, and hope to get to approximately half the run by the end of the year. I hope long term to have a nice set of all issues graded by CGC, but that is a ways off. But, it’s high on the list of things to get with lottery winnings!

One thing is within reach, and that is the wonderful series released by IDW in recent years. So far I only have 3 books that are graded, but my goal is to get one a month for the next couple years. I’d also love to get a few done with wonderful yellow Signature Series labels. The great thing about a series with such great history is that there are a number of wonderful actors to get in SS.

I’m always looking for anything slabbed from trek, and it stands as one of my favorite series of all time. If you haven’t seen any of the episodes in awhile, give them a try again. You won’t be sorry.

I like slabs now... Slabs are cool.

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:37:32 -0400

I think back about 6 years now. I was new to a comic message board, and had a very excited conversation with someone about grading. I wondered if it was good for the industry, and whether it did nothing but fuel the painful speculation that nearly crippled the comic industry just a few short years prior. Now, my friends and close acquaintances know that I have opinions, often times strong ones, but I’m also very willing to listed to a contradictory position to my own. Well, in this case I think I was hoping to get the reply I received to my opinion, so that I could completely decide how I felt. I don’t think I was 100% on the side against, but for some reason I didn’t like the idea.

Well, as you can guess, I eventually was convinced that grading was not evil. I’m glad I started the “argument” because now I have a large collection of graded books (nearly 100 at last count). However, in the beginning there was very little focus. I was mainly just picking up anything that was interesting and within my budget. This also included my growing collection of signature series books….

Now, I would one day hope to get a nice copy of the full Barry Allen Flash run. It would also be nice to have them all graded, but that is a lofty goal for someone in my tax bracket. So, I’ll still look for items I can afford, but am focusing more on one of my oldest loves outside of comics, and that would be Doctor Who.

Fans of the new show will no doubt recognize the line I am paraphrasing in my title, “I wear Stetsons now. Stetsons are cool.”. Doctor Who is a British television series that began in 1963, and per capita has been unmatched by anything we have I the States. No, my fellow Trek-fan, not even the group of starship captains can really compete. With as many as 16 million viewers tuning into the show the percentage of the populous is akin to the viewing figures we have had for some of the highest rated single episodes in US television history. Roughly one quarter of the people in the U.K. tune in each week. This is astounding to me to think that a sci-fi series gets those kinds of numbers. Now, the good Doctor has been around in the US since the 70’s when the iconic Tom Baker became so popular that he transcended the great barrier of the Atlantic to entertain us. My love of Doctor Who began in 1989. I saw new episodes at the very end of the new series. And now I get to enjoy new episodes again. Thankfully, I’m able to extend my collection past the two dozen issues of the original Marvel series as IDW has put out a number of series with wonderful variant covers mixed in for flavor. They even have reprinted some original stories from Doctor Who Magazine that has been out since the late 70’s and the Tom Baker era.

With signature series, we have a whole other world of items to strive for. One of my great desires is to have books done in SS from the actors and creators of the comic and TV series. Hopefully one day I’ll acquire a few. I can only hope…

Determination

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:16:18 -0400

I love derby. No surprise I’m sure with a name like DerbyDude. But, it’s not just the sport itself I love. Oh, don’t get me wrong, it’s exciting to see your jammer break through a pack and score a grand slam while the opposing jammer is flat on her tail because your blockers made her wish she’d sprung for the shorts with the padding sewn in. No, that part is indeed exciting, but I love what derby represents to me… Determination!

I was never athletic. It wasn’t for lack of effort on the part of the PE teachers, let me assure you. I was always tall for my age, with a big frame, but was not interested in sports. That came later. So, I have an appreciation for those that do work hard at something they love. That’s where derby comes into play.

Imagine you had something you loved that was hard on your body, difficult to do, required a lot of work, and you had to pay every month for the privledge to do it. Well, that is what nearly every derby player in the world lives. Paying to get beat up to do what they love. One could easily compare this to amateur wrestling. Although, derby is in fact a real sport.

Well, after watching our hometown Gem City Roller Girls play a team from my birth state, Dire Skates of Richmond, In, I couldn’t help but reflect on what I love about what they do. Their fierce determination is what keeps me coming back. Even when ahead, GCRG fought for every point, every jam. And, Dire played a lot better than the final score of their loss suggested. And, they should be proud of their efforts. But, what sticks out in my mind is the effort. Often in games the final score is by no means an indicator of passion or effort. There have been times I’ve seen the winner display far less effort than the loser, and. It because they had superior talent. The rules allow for a few plays to potentially mean the difference between winning and losing. And in derby, most of the time, both teams show more than respectable levels of determination. Win or lose.

Big-Bad Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Wimey Collecting

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:21:25 -0400

I started out collecting a a very young age. I was about 8 years old when I purchased a copy of Alpha Flight #1 with Fantastic Four #257 at the 7-11 down the street from the pool we frequented. I was introduced to them earlier that summer by an uncle who was into Byrne X-Men at a time when it was really cool. We sometimes forget that there was a time before message boards, before Internet, before monthly price guides and speculating, and yes, before CGC. Comics were about the pure joy of stories and artists, and the most collectable thing about comics was, well, comics.

I can also remember things like the death of Robin, the excruciating wait to find who in fact DC was going to “kill off” of one of their greatest franchises. I thought for sure it was going to be Alfred or Comissioner Gordon. We were shocked to hear it was Robin. And, then there was the eager anticipation of crossovers, new titles, and of course, independent releases. Some don’t know or remember that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was in fact a magazine-sizes rarity at first that few shops carried, and it wasn’t until the comic and movie craziness that it was in every shop, albeit by then regular comic-sized.

It was many years into the hobby that I found myself immersed in the many loves I now enjoy. The Flash was around 1993, although I’d owned many Flash books growing up, a friend hooked me on the Wally West series of the 90’s. Doctor Who was in my interests in 1986, but I didn’t get into the comics until the mid-to-late 90’s. And, the boom of Valiant Comics still echoing today ushered in an appreciation for the Gold Key series that spawned them. I’m working towards a full set of every Magnus Robot Fighter, Solar Man of the Atom, and Turok Som of Stone ever printed. Turok’s 130 issues are daunting, and expensive, but it’s certainly a goal. I’m also hopeful of owning the entire silver ago Flash run, and every Doctor Who comic graded CGC 9.6 or higher one day. I think it’s good to set goals.

Of course, the future Is full of so many wonderful possibilities. Valiant is returning. Doctor Who is running strong in the seventh series of the new show, with many comic series having now been released. Flash has been reborn as a significant member of the DC universe. And, so many fans are coming to or returning to the hobby everywhere you look. The overproduction of the late 90’s may have finally had its venom wear off enough to see the kind of interest in comics the 70’s an 80’s held. There are movies about comics every year. And, it’s almost to the point where a blockbuster every year is a comIc-inspired movie. There are many things to look forward to, for any fan. But, we should never forget what comics represent… Stories told with pictures to entertain and delight. Here’s to many more decades in the future!

Carrie Fisher

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:23:26 -0400

She’s famous the world over for her work on screen; Princess Leia from Star Wars, When Harry Met Sally, and others.

She’s a New York Times bests long author many times over; Postcards From The Edge, Wishful Drinking, Delusions Of Grandma.

But, she will hold a special place in my heart not for this work, or any work at all. She is bi-polar. Oh, that’s not why she is special to me. No, it’s because she is so forward about her struggles. She’s not just another Hollywood starlet who go sober, and gave a list of condescending boo-hoos for us to feel bad for her about. No, she has in fact gone through a number of difficult things in life, but she chooses to laugh about them all. And, by extension by telling them, help us to laugh.

I tell this to help illustrate how much this weekend has meant to me. I won tickets to both the signing session at a local book store, as a VIP, and to her performance at a local theatre. When I met her at the signing I took three books. There was two copies of Wishful Thinking, and one of Shockoholic. One of the Wishful Thinking copies was for my oldest friend, a huge Star Wars fan, who has ill children. I told her about him, and she was genuinely interested and concerned. I then had to tell her a little story of something that happened that morning:

When I got out of the shower, the better half asked, “are you getting all clean for your queen?”. I replied with, “Hon, she was princess Leia, PRINCESS Leia.”. I then heard her say, “Isn’t she kinda like the queen of the nerds?”. Without skipping a beat I said, “I will accept her as my queen!”

Thankfully I got a laugh. It could have been ugly.

The next day, after her show, we happened to round the corner of the theatre while she was leaving. We waved, she smiled, we blew kisses, she saw. It was a moment shared that I’ll likely never forget.

I count Carrie Fisher among my heroes.

My life as a collector

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:22:59 -0400

I was having a conversation with someone asking how anyone could afford a serious vice. Our talk revolved around smoking, and the price of cigarettes. I have never smoked, and don’t really drink all that much, but my parents did. If they still did today then they’d be paying in excess of $5 a pack. Both of them smoked two packs a day at least. This comes out to $20 each, or $600 a month. And, that is only if they are always at two packs. What an amazing sum o money to spend on something that is going to shorten your life, and make you cough a lot.

The thing that brought this up is my collecting. I first bought a pack of baseball cards in late 1981. That amounts to 30 years. The only hobby that pre-dates that is my first comic book. This was the first issue of Alpha Flight. If memory serves it was also in 1981. Anyway, our talk ventured into the topic of the price of cards, and how I remember paying 35 cents. I remember being shocked to see a pack priced at $1!!! My allowance was only $2 per week. Now, there are single packs that cost over one thousand dollars. Wow! Of course, if you go to Walmart or Target you’ll see the average pack is just around three bucks. Not too horrible by itself, but most sets require as many as one hundred packs to put a set together. Gone are the days when one or two relatively cheap boxes should yield a set.

If we extrapolate that out, I would have to buy three to five boxes to put a set together. At an average price of sixty to eighty dollars a box I’d be spending quite a bit. The only good news is that if I were a smoker, I’d b burning away roughly 200 packs of cards a month.

Wouldn’t that be lovely?

Real. Girls. Derby.

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:51:39 -0400

It’s said that real men cry. I’m a believer in that sentiment. Society tends to make any man who has a sensitive side seem weak or calls them a “sissy”. Speaking for my gender, most of the time it is easier to be tough and not show any feeling. That may be because of society. It may be because we are programmed that way down to our DNA. I’m sure someone with a number of letters after their name could clear it up for us, but to me it doesn’t matter. I just know that the stigma attached to a man showing his feelings is not nearly as removed from us as we would care to admit. But, if men should be more emotional, then what would be a similar sentiment for women?

Should we praise women who are unemotional or insensitive? The female version of the stereotype that prompted real me cry would likely be that women often lead with emotion. This, in my opinion, is a positive that sadly has been warped to sound like something bad. Shouldn’t we all care just a little more? Shouldn’t we all spend more time using not just logic to make decisions, but also factor in our feelings on the matter? I say yes. So, I don’t believe that the female variation of real men cry should be “real women don’t care”. But, if men showing emotion should be considered strength, so too should it be for women who use their emotion to bring confidence, to show they can do anything try want, to be their own hero.

In this spirit I have come up with designs that I hope will inspire. Real girls derby… They are my heroes

Check out my new store at www.cafepress.com/derbydude for this...

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:55:20 -0400

Check out my new store at www.cafepress.com/derbydude for this and other items. New items will be added once a week during the month of April.

The last of my sketch covers by Scott D. M. Simmons. This is the...

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:58:49 -0400

The last of my sketch covers by Scott D. M. Simmons. This is the character Super Mom from a great new book I can strongly recommend, Our Super Mom. He pulled off the character as a Gem City Roller Girl very nicely!

Wonderful sketch by Rob Dumo, an excellent artist. I’m so...

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:55:12 -0400

Wonderful sketch by Rob Dumo, an excellent artist. I’m so happy I had it done.

Super huge thanks again to Lee Xopher for my first real comic...

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:53:45 -0400

Super huge thanks again to Lee Xopher for my first real comic sketch cover. This might be my new favorite sketch.

Lee Xopher (pronounced Christopher), thank you so much for my...

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:51:33 -0400

Lee Xopher (pronounced Christopher), thank you so much for my first sketch of 2012 Gem City Comic Con.

Gem City Comic-Con

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 13:24:06 -0400

I’m forever amazed at the number of people who take a keen interest in something that was, and in many ways is, intended for a younger audience. There are large fan clubs for Japanese anime, Barbie dolls, and the like. However, something about comic books is so wonderfully universal that we accept so many things into “normal” society that once had a stigma attached. There’s a comic out there for everyone these days. From silly funny animal to dark horror we have turned the medium into an art form, into literature. What used to get you whacked in the arm by the school bully is now something that you can used to find wealth beyond your dreams.

Let’s take, for instance, the character idea. A bad idea, say for instance my first foray into this arena - Seth : The Flying Blob, is not likely to take off, if you’ll pardon the pun. However, Superman is simple and daring, and has withstood the test of over 75 years. A character can speak to the Everyman, or to our greatest desires. And, some even show the best or worst of who we are.

Some teams of heroes, greater than the sum of their individual contributions, have entertained us. A good team of heroes does more than entertain, but can show the rich diversity that is our country, or our humanity.

Stories or origins have many times been the backbone of a comic character. How different would we feel about Spiderman, for instance, if we did not have the tragedy of Uncle Ben, and the notion that with great power comes great responsibility? How different would the Dark Knight be if he had lived his whole life with his parents? Maybe he’d be just a costumed vigilante, and not the beacon of hope for the darkened streets of Gotham.

Thanks to our current crop of creators, we have about a varied selection of these characters as ever to choose from. With the independents, we get stories we wouldn’t otherwise read from the “big guys”. But, there is room for all in our world. We are both forgotten and adored, misunderstood and praised, lost yet treasured. We are completely comfortable in who and what we are. We are geeks. We are comic fandom.

At the 7th Annual Gem City Comic-Con, I will be celebrating my seventh trip. Every year seems equal to, if not better than, the last. This year I will be part of the Gem City Roller Girls, my second family, and we will be having a panel discussion at 2:00 PM on Sunday, April 1st. I’ll hope to get some great artists to do some artwork and pick up a few good books. Most of all, I’m happy my daughter is 5, and can enjoy the show with me. Because, I hope to pass my life-long passions down. I think that we be fruitful and multiply. Spread the gospel, my friends… By the way, have you read a comic today?

Mr. Sew 'n' Sew

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:40:43 -0400

For two years I have been privileged to be a part of the Gem City Roller Girls (GCRG). Initially it was in support of the better half’s derby endeavor. Eventually this evolved to volunteering my time in a variety of ways. I basically would tell my friends, “I don’t have a title. I just do whatever I can and whatever I’m told.”. That was a pretty fair assessment until this year when asking to be given any work they needed turned into taking a job few were asking for… Scorekeeper.

I can barely stay upright on skates, so it made sense to have something that was a “non-skating official”. But, running the scoreboard requires multitasking abilities as well as computer skills. After my first bout it was clear that having those abilities would pay great dividends.

Well, now we come to the reason for my post. Now that I’m “official”, and we are ordering jackets, I need to come up with a name. Most people know that in derby, you usually have a nickname. I’ve been “J-man”, and “whovian”, but haven’t had any real nicknames. This came from a derby conversation. We had been using vinyl shower curtains for our makeshift dressing rooms during bouts. There was a home and away side roughly 40-50 feet each made out of PVC tubing for frames. I suggested we make fabric ones. After they’d seen my “gingerbread derby girls” (more on that later in a later post), they thought it might be a good idea. Especially after I offered to do it for free if they would provide materials. Well, what they didn’t know is that I hadn’t fired up a sewing machine since my grandma tried to teach me how to use one when I was a kid. So, I bought one (I’d wanted to get one for me and the better half anyway, and started to work. I’m almost halfway through and I think they look good. So, after a number of sewing-themed suggestions, I came up with Mr. Sew ‘n’ Sew.

Preseason and madness

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 07:59:57 -0400

I tend to think of the months as either “in season” or otherwise. Right now we are in derby season for the Gem City Roller Girls, and has become among my favorite months of the year. I’m sure that they may even unseat November one day. The bouts already surround May, already among that grand order. Those girls have breathed new life into me, and I am forever grateful.

However, we are also in the middle of March Madness. A particularly odd month that makes gamblers and fools of us all. Even those who care very little for sport still get wrapped up in its insanity, and I care a great deal about sport. Some argue my sanity already, and I often deserve it. But this month I seem rather ordinary, and it brings comfort with it.

One more season is soon upon us. That is a new series of Doctor Who. Already in filming, the new series will bring an end to the Rory/Amy relationship. A not all together unpleasant subplot, but I fear one whose time needs to come to an end as only Doctor Who can bring. I’m so very excited to see how it unfolds.

Introduction

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 06:09:15 -0400

What a strange yet wondrous world we live in. Our lives, so fast-paced and fully booked, have many more outlets than ever to communicate with anyone in the world. And, this is at virtually no cost. I remember having to explain to my mom why a phone call to a schoolmate in a neighboring county was on the phone bill, and hearing that it would come out of next week’s allowance. I now can call anyone in the country for no additional charge on my cel phone plan. Or, I can sent an email, video, or picture, anywhere in the world. So, this geek is in heaven. You see, I have been a fan of technology and computers since I was a young pup. I remember going to to department store at around age 8, and seeing all the adults huddled around new computers such as the TI-99 and Atari 400, and being so interested in all it could do at the time. Now, I carry in my hand an iPhone that can do 100 times what the first computer I purchased out o high school could do. And, that computer cost me over $1500 without any extras. It sometimes boggles my mind.

Well, I’m not quite 40, and have a 5 year old who makes me feel closer to 60 some days with all her energy. I help car dealerships with software, and really enjoy it. The fact I’ve worked in the public for most of my life is rather ironic considering I was so shy in school that I was told my classmates I would have been voted shyest in class if they’d just known my name.

I have a number of hobbies and interests in my life including roller derby, Doctor Who, trading cards, sports, and British television. I’ll chat about those things, and will share thoughts on life. Perhaps some will read, but I’m hoping it is at least healing.