Baltimore Comic Con 2023: Part II - Jon Bogdanove, Judy Bogdanove, Louise Simonson And Walter Simonson


Let the autographs begin!

Walter and Louise Simonson

These were tough autographs to get. Every time I came to their table the line was either already cut off for a break that was coming up, or in the case of Jon Bogdanove, he was in the middle of a commission - More on that in a moment.

These weren't my first autographs to get, and by the time I did, I was so tired, my binders were disorganized, I was hungry, I was dehydrated, and my feet were killing me. However, the tried and true lessons that you learn as a child ring true, even when one is at the point of exhaustion.

While Mrs. Simonson was still signing autographs, her husband was finalizing three remarks (headshot drawings on books) for people, and then the two were leaving for the day. As Louise signed my books, I said to her, "I really hate to be that guy..." she was then interrupted, and had to go pose for a photo. When she came back, I smiled, and politely said again, "I really hate to be that guy, and I know your husband is cut off for the day, but do you think he would at least sign my convention book?" She responded, "If you want to get in the back of the line, I'll make sure he signs it before we leave.

In hindsight, I'm kicking myself for not getting my Web of Spider-Man issue one signed by Mrs. Simonson. It was in one of my binders. But again, I was so spent at this point, that thinking wasn't my strong suit. I would also later find out that between Galaxy Con Richmond, and Baltimore Comic Con, I totally missed two of the prologue books in the Death of Superman series. So, neither of those are signed. I do hope an opportunity arises to rectify these oversights.

In conjunction with the Simonsons, I stopped at Jon and Judy Bogdanove's table.

Jon and Judy Bogdanove...They're so in love!

Jon Bogdanove is a man dedicated to his craft. I had to get in his line three times, the last time waiting thirty minutes for he and his wife to come back before I finally got my stuff signed.

If you ask Jon for a sketch, he will oblige (for a fee of course), and he will do it on the spot...regardless of how many people are in his line. The first time I was in his line, this is what he was doing. After waiting thirty minutes, and getting a call from a buddy who was in another line elsewhere for me that he was nearing the front, I had to bail. When I returned, the line was cut off. Oh well...Third time was a charm.

Death of Superman Prologue
Doomsday's fists cameo
Also signed by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding
at Galaxy Con Richmond 2023

Death of Superman Prologue
Doomsday's fists cameo
Also signed by Dan Jurgens
at Galaxy Con Richmond 2023

Death of Superman
Doomsday's first full appearance
Also signed by Dan Jurgens
at Galaxy Con Richmond 2023

Death of Superman
Also signed by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding
at Galaxy Con Richmond 2023

Death of Superman
Also signed by Dan Jurgens
at Galaxy Con Richmond 2023

Death of Superman
Also signed by Dan Jurgens
at Galaxy Con Richmond 2023

Death of Superman
Also signed by Dan Jurgens
at Galaxy Con Richmond 2023

Death of Superman
Also signed by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding
at Galaxy Con Richmond 2023

Death of Superman
Polybagged variant
Also signed by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding
at Galaxy Con Richmond 2023

Return of Superman
Also signed by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding
at Galaxy Con Richmond 2023

Return of Superman
Polybagged variant
Also signed by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding
at Galaxy Con Richmond 2023

The Amazing Spider-Man: Adventures in Reading
Giant Foods give away

The Simonson's and Bogdonove's were so nice to their fans, and it was a pleasure meeting them. I look forward to them being at a future convention in my area so that I can get my remaining (missed) books signed. Hopefully that opportunity comes up, but if it doesn't, I'm very happy to have gotten signed what I did.

For those of you interested in rates, the Simonson's had a tip jar, which you could pay as little or as much as you liked. The Bogdanove's signed the first book free, and charged $5.00 for each additional.

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 52

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 52
Release Date: December 1976

Highlights

  • First and only appearance of Abner Doolittle
  • Reference is made to Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 1, Captain America 201, 202, Marvel Premiere 20, and Tales of Suspense 75
  • Aunt May gets out of the hospital, after being sent there during the events in The Amazing Spider-Man 159
Low Points
  • None
Oddities
  • Rather than try to help the scared and confused unnamed creature, Captain American instead sets a bomb to kill it
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 164

   

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 164
Release Date: January 1977

Highlights

  • Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 85, 153, 154 and Captain America 148
  • Kingpin uses the vita-drain to remove Spider-Man's life force, and resurrect his son, Richard...Will Spider-Man survive? Yes
  • Kingpin and Spider-Man fall to the ocean, but only Spider-Man comes up. Is this the death of Kingpin? No.
Low Points
  • None
Oddities
  • Life stealing beams
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 163

   

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 163
Release Date: December 1976

Highlights

  • Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 153, 154, 158, 160, and Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 1
Low Points
  • None
Oddities
  • Spider-Man forms a giant ball around himself to protect him from falling from the sky - Too reminiscent of the fridge scene from Crystal Skulls
  • Kingpin says he wants the pleasure of finishing Spider-Man with his bare hands, then promptly hits him with a desk...Um...That's not your hands, bro
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Comics Corner: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 1

   

Title: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 1
Release Date: December 1976

Highlights

  • Spider-Man's third ongoing series official begins
  • Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 134, 135, 148, and 163
  • Foreshadowing cameo appearance of Light Master
  • Hostess Twinkie ad starring Spider-Man and the Fly
Low Points
  • Too wordy for my tastes
  • A missed opportunity by Marvel to launch a new Spider-Man series with a bang - This story could have easily just been a throw away in The Amazing Spider-Man, and didn't warrant an all new series
Oddities
  • Some of the word on the pages are too thick, ink wise, making them impossible to read.
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 51

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 51
Release Date: November 1976

Highlights

  • Reference is made to Marvel Team-Up 13
  • Phillip DeWolff takes over his son's body, and he becomes the Wraith
  • Hostess Cupcake full page ad staring the mighty Thor
Low Points
  • The story arc started off strong in issue 48, but tanks by its conclusion in 51
  • Not an exciting read
Oddities
  • The Alpha-Jammer that Iron Man put on Phillip's head in the past issue worked as a standalone piece of equipment, but in this issue is plugged in to a computer, which when unplugged allows him to once again control his son's mind - Why does it suddenly need to be plugged in to work?
  • Editor's day off: "We don't to burn them out."
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Retro Spins: Yes - 90125



Yes....Mmm....No.

I'm confused by what Yes's style of music is. It feels very rock opera, but without an actual story in place. Or rather, if there is, I completely missed the point. I didn't hate 90125. I just didn't understand what the band was going for.

Of the nine songs on the album, I can pretty much start and stop with track one, Owner Of A Lonely Heart. It's the reason I bought 90125, and it's the only thing I came away with after hearing it.

I've seen it stated that essentially one would appreciate this album more if they had an understanding and appreciation for prior Yes records. However, I have to argue that point. While that may be true, any album should stand on its own. I shouldn't have to like a band in general to be able to enjoy a random album from them. In fact, I would dare say that doesn't make them good. It just makes them familiar, and therefore, tolerable. You know, kind of how Queen fans give Hot Space a pass because it's Queen. Doesn't make it a good album on its own merrit.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

Baltimore Comic Con 2023: Part I


Baltimore Comic Con struck between Friday, September 8, and Sunday, September 10, and the crowds came out in droves. This place was so busy, and lines so long, that I didn't get to accomplish hunting down all the autographs I wanted, let alone even getting an opportunity to actually walk around and enjoy the various vendors. It probably didn't help that I only had a Saturday pass, so time was extremely limited for me, on what was probably the busiest day for the show.


Between not being able to see everything, along with standing in line all day, I definitely need to reassess future conventions for just how important a specific signature is. Mainly, I think I'm going to focus on specific story lines, and not necessarily worry about key appearances. This will not only free up my time to enjoy everything, but greatly reduce the costs involved.

It's difficult to plan for these shows because the "artists" don't list their pricing in advance. Because of this, I tend to bring more than I should because I don't want to be without something if the price is too good to pass up.

A perfect example of this is when I went to Big Lick NOVA in 2023, and Rick Leonardi was signing things for a dollar. Well, at that price, it's easy to say, "Yes, please sign my entire fifty issue run."

However, when you expect an artist to be free, such as what all signs pointed to would be the case for Jim Starlin, (I don’t usually charge for signatures at conventions. - Jim Starlin on his own Facebook page) and you take eighteen books only to be told it's twenty dollars per signature, you've not only overpacked, but have to make decisions on the fly of what is important. It gets frustrating fast, and I wish these folks would just be transparent on the guest page so that people could plan accordingly.

All of the above taken into consideration, I don't want it to be thought that I didn't have a good time. I had a budget, I actually came in well under said budget, and got a lot of things signed. Were there things I wanted to get signed that I didn't? Absolutely, and I will certainly elaborate on these. However, I'm not going to let not getting things signed over shadow the wonderful things I did get signed. Plus, I suppose since I am writing this the Sunday after, it's not like I couldn't have jumped back in my car and headed back (purchasing a ticket at the door).

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 50

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 50
Release Date: October 1976

Highlights

  • Reference is made to Marvel Team-Up 48, and Defenders 36, and 37
  • Origin of Wraith
Low Points
  • It was bad in the prior two issues, but the whole, "Women can't do a man's job," really gets hammered into the ground in this issue
Oddities
  • Editor's day off: "They've just not in the same league as I."
  • It's established in issue 49 of Marvel Team-Up that Wraith can't control two minds at once, but then he does in this issue without any problems
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 49

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 49
Release Date: September 1976

Highlights

  • First appearance of Phillip DeWolff
  • First, and only, appearance of Charlie Hacker, and Johnny Buglisi
Low Points
  • None
Oddities
  • None
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 48

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 48
Release Date: August 1976

Highlights

  • First appearance of Jean DeWolff, and Wraith, Brian DeWolff
  • A hidden shadow first cameo appearance of Phillip DeWolff
  • Reference is made to Marvel Team-Up 5, 9, and 41 through 44
Low Points
  • None
Oddities
  • Editor's day off: Marvel spell's their own character's name wrong in one panel, DeWolf (instead of DeWolff)
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 162

   

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 162
Release Date: November 1976

Highlights

  • First appearance of Jigsaw, Billy Russo
  • First appearance of Marla Madison, eventually to become Marla Jamison, the second wife of J. Jonah Jameson
  • Jigsaw wants revenge on the Punisher for knocking him through a plate glass window that gave him his scars - and the Punisher doesn't even remember who he is
Low Points
  • None
Oddities
  • Jigsaw swears that today either he or the Punisher will die, but two panels later, on the same page, Jigsaw is running away
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Epic Smurf Battle...The Reality

 

Recently George of G.I. Jigsaw posted his Epic Smurf Battle photos, which inspired me to "borrow" his image, and play with it in my own sick way.

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