Baltimore Comic Con 2023: Part V - Klaus Janson, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Greg Hildebrandt, And Pop Mhan

Bouncing back and forth from one side of the convention hall to the other, I was quickly growing frustrated. Either lines were cut off for upcoming breaks, artists were gone because they were already on breaks, or the lines were ridiculously long. Then there was Art Adams...

This guy...This...Guy...

I was excited to get Marvel Team-Up 141 signed by him. For those of you who don't know, this is the first appearance of Spider-Man in his black symbiote costume in that particular title. When I first came to his table, the line was ridiculously long, so I moved on to cross more autographs off in the interim. When I cam back around 2:30 PM, he was gone with a sign on the table that read, "Back in a few hours." Someone else was standing there waiting, and informed me he saw that sign two hours ago. That same person said moments later, "I can't wait anymore. I have to go. Good luck. I hope he comes back soon."

Moments later, I left, and came back at 5:30 PM. The sign was still there, with Mr. Adams MIA. I asked the woman sitting behind the group of tables, "Does anyone know when he'll be back?" She replied, "He's at his hotel working on commission."

This was incredibly disappointing, and ultimately ended up being my breaking point. Mind you, at this point in the day I was tired, my feet hurt, I hadn't eaten since breakfast, only had one bottle of water the entire day, and didn't have the energy or desire to stand in a one-man line at an empty table. I connected with my buddy, and we left.

However, prior to 5:30 PM, I did manage to go to other tables.

Apparently, the picture taking mishaps occurred even earlier in the day than I thought, as I didn't snap a photo of Klaus Janson. DOH!

I could have gotten a lot of books signed by Mr. Janson, and had them with me, but that price point of $10.00 per signature was killing me. That adds up fast. As it was, I dropped $80.00 at his table.

Lead in to Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars
Also signed by Jim Shooter at Big Lick 2023

Lead in to Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars
Also signed by Jim Shooter at Big Lick 2023

Klaus also worked on the highly popular "silent" issue, G.I. Joe 21. Much like issue one, it's surprising me how many times I've pulled this one out to get signed.

Also signed by Larry Hama at Big Lick 2022,
and Jim Shooter at Big Lick 2023

I didn't necessarily need this deliciously shiny 11 X 17 reproduction of The Amazing Spider-Man 252. Klaus inked the cover of the book, and "F" me, I didn't know this, so I didn't bring that issue with me to get signed.

I stopped by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez's table a couple times before I caught him there.

The only work I know from him was from the 1992 movie adaptation of Batman Returns, which just so happens to be my favorite in the entire franchise of Batfilms.

I asked if he would sign the books in gold, and though he tried to use my paint pen (see below photo, bottom left corner), it simply wouldn't work. He ended up using his own gold Sharpie.

As I was taking photos of him, the convention staff member who was working his table with him made a comment I didn't quite catch, but it was enough for Mr. Garcia-Lopez to give him a very unamused look.

He is not amused...

I was excited to meet one of the two men behind all of those wonderful movie posters, Greg Hildebrandt (his brother, Tim, unfortunately passed away in 2006).

Also unfortunate, was that Mr. Hildebrandt was tucked away behind stacks of boxes, and artwork. You only got to interact with his staff, and this is where the additional unfortunate news was delivered. He respectfully declined to sign my convention book. He has a strict policy that he will not sign work which he didn't contribute to. I suppose it's his prerogative, but it's disappointing all the same.

Fortunately, I did have something he worked on. My copy of Spider-Man 2099 Special.

Also signed by Rick Leonardi, and Mark Waid
at Big Lick NOVA 2023

Speaking of artists I didn't have anything from, or apparently took photos of, Pop Mhan was one of the last stops I made as I walked around the hall. Pop is a highly respected artists of present day Masters of the Universe comics, and I wanted to get myself a print from him, as well as have my convention book signed. The latter he did for free.

His prints were three for forty, or one for fifteen. While he did have three different Masters of the Universe related art pieces, I stuck with just this one. Good stuff!

Again, for those keeping up with costs, each of these creators, with exception of Pop Mhan, were charging $10.00 per signature.

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 55

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 55
Release Date: March 1977

Highlights

• First appearance of Gardener
• Reference is made to Warlock Reprint 4
• Spider-Man taunts the god, Stranger, with his incessant jokes and puns while hitting him with webbing

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 54

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 54
Release Date: February 1977

Highlights

• Reference is made to Marvel Premiere 31
• Spider-Man is knocked unconscious, and launched into space in a rocket

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 53

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 53
Release Date: January 1977

Highlights

• Reference is made to Marvel Premiere 31, and Marvel Team-Up Annual 1
  

Low Points

• Adequate story of the week material, but nothing special by any means

Oddities

• More life saving power from that spray on radiation protectant noted in Marvel Team-Up Annual 1

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up Annual 1

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up Annual 1
Issue Number: 1
Release Date: January 1977

Highlights

• First appearance of Mara the Dreamer, Rakks, Shiva the Destroyer, Yama Dharma, Vishnu the Preserver, Ratri the Night, Kali the Black Madness, Brahma the Creator, and Agni Lord of Fire
• First appearance and death of Stephen Marchesi
• Reference is made to Marvel Team-Up 4, Fantastic Four 166, X-Men 97, and The Amazing Spider-Man 162

Low Points

• Ending is convoluted, see oddities
• I am not a fan of the X-Men

Oddities

• Who gave the thumbs up on the Dr. Seuss style helicopter?

• Wolverine goes from street clothes aboard a crashing plane to suddenly in his yellow costume once it has crashed with no mention as to why or how he chose such an odd time span to change clothes
• Anti-radiation spray...Yep, just spray it on like sunscreen, and you're good to go for one hour in any scenario that may have dangerous radiation as an obstacle - Marvel's been watching too many re-runs of the '66 Batman show
• In the end, Spider-Man and Cyclops seem to have the same conclusion as to how to send the gods to space, but the overall plan is so convoluted, there's no way they had the same idea at the same time - It involves every member of the X-Men, along with Spider-Man, using their powers in a specific sequence to blast them through Cyclops optics into the heavens

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Ms. Marvel 1

   

Title: Ms. Marvel
Issue Number: 1
Release Date: January 1977

Highlights

• First appearance of Dr. Michael Barnett, and Destructor (alias Dr. Kerwin Korman)
• Carol Danvers stars in her first all new series
• Spider-Man's chronological story crosses over to this all new series
• Marvel Comics slings mud with a sick burn on Lynda Carter, who is compared to Olive Oyl from Popeye in comparison to Ms. Marvel, and an obvious jab at the live action Wonder Woman television series
• Reference is made to Captain Marvel 1 - 18, and The Amazing Spider-Man 20
• Carol negotiates a salary with J. Jonah Jameson to run his new female centric magazine, which when adjusted for inflation, equates to $144K in 2022
• Scorpion gets doused in acid.

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Retro Spins: Buckner & Garcia - Pac-Man Fever

Like video games? Specifically vintage arcade? Well, then you may want to give Buckner & Garcia's Pac-Man Fever a try. Each of its eight tracks is specifically crafted around the theme of an arcade classic, or better stated, an arcade hit of its time. It was, after all, released in 1981.

Pac-Man Fever, the song, would eventually lead to a number twenty-four chart topper for the duo. Not bad, considering it was a song about a yellow sprite. In fact, the album itself isn't all that amazing either. It reminds me of something which a preschool teacher would play, reluctantly, for a class of three or four year olds while they jump around on a carpet in circle time.

For what it's worth, it's unique. I can honestly say I've never seen a full album based around the premise of nothing but video games. The developers of the games must have been ecstatic of the free advertising.

This is not the kind of album I imagine took very look to see to fruition. The lyrics are basic, often times doing nothing more than describing the games themselves. However, despite this, the guitar work is noticeably pretty solid with some decent licks. I can't say as I hated it as a whole. It was interesting to hear because of how different it was. With that said, I won't be initiating listening to this ever again. There's nothing I heard which screamed, "Replay!"

Despite the nostalgia of the 80's, Sony Music Entertainment has declined to issue a CD release of the album. It's because of this that the duo reunited to record and release an all new mix of the album in 1999. While some see this as an opportunity to finally own a solid digital recording, I sadly look at it as disappointing. I'm not a fan of this because I feel it ruins the integrity and intent of wanting to own this album. I want a piece of nostalgia, not a re-visioned one.

Sadly, if you want the original of this one, you're going to have to look for a vinyl or cassette version. Fortunately, they're readily available. Not only that, but they're also considerably cheaper than the re-released CD version, which can cost you as much as $100.00! Brand new / sealed 1981 released vinyls and cassettes sell for as little as $8.00 (or less). Though I have seen some sell for more, around $25.00. Still this is much cheaper. Plus, why would you pay so much for a CD when it's not even the original recordings? That's just dumb.

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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 IV - Bob Hall, Bob Wiacek, and Bob McLeod

The exhaustion, hunger and sore feet weren't stopping me as I continued the rounds through Baltimore Comic Con 2023.

Bob Hall

I had a couple books for Bob Hall. Every time I glanced over to his table from another line, there was usually nobody there, which made it easy to stop by when reaching a moment in time of needing to go somewhere for signatures, but not necessarily wanting to pull out my map.

Marvel Team-Up 74 featuring the Not
Ready for Prime-Time Players, AKA
Saturday Night Live
Also signed by Chris Claremont at Galaxy Con 2023,
and Jim Shooter at Big Lick NOVA 2023

Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 65
There is nothing special about this book

Much like my visit to Keith William's table, apparently I didn't get a photo of Bob Wiacek. Perhaps it was because I was tired. Perhaps it was because I was delivering a message for Alex Saviuk. I don't know. At this point in the day I didn't remember much. In fact, I can't even say with all honesty that I remember even paying the man for his autographs. I think I did, but in all honesty, I don't know.

Also signed by Jim Shooter at Big Lick 2022

Also signed by Jim Shooter at Big Lick 2023

If you recall from my post about Mr. Saviuk, he was very excited to hear that Mr. Wiacek was at the show, and asked me kindly if I would to let him know that he wanted to catch up with him. When I relayed this message, I learned from Bob that while he would very much so like to catch up with Alex that severe vision loss prevented him from going anywhere. He asked if I would relay to Alex to please come see him, so I did. I got my books signed, and went back to relay the message. Alex then let me do something I desperately needed to do. I used part of his table to get myself reorganized.

When preparing for Baltimore Comic Con 2023, I was actually surprised to find out just how many Spider-Man books Bob McLeod had contributed to. Far too many for me to get signed, that's for sure. I tried to edit myself, but even in doing so, he signed a lot for me.

Heck yeah I was going to get my whole run of the classic Kravin's Last Hunt story arc signed. Bob inked all six issues, which is rare that a single talent would work across multiple titles.

Also signed by Jim Shooter at Big Lick 2023

Also signed by Jim Shooter at Big Lick 2023

Also signed by Jim Shooter at Big Lick 2023

Also signed by Jim Shooter at Big Lick 2023

Also signed by Jim Shooter at Big Lick 2023

Also signed by Jim Shooter at Big Lick 2023

He also returned in 1992 to provide inks on the sequel one-shot, The Amazing Spider-Man: Soul of the Hunter.

Bob was also privy to provide the inks on The Amazing Spider-Man 298 and 299, which were the first two books in the series drawn by Todd McFarlane. Now that I type that, maybe I have it the wrong way. Perhaps it was McFarlane who was the privliged one to have a veteran inker work on his books.

I'll probably never get the opportunity to have McFarlane sign these.

Mr. McLeod also provided the inks on Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars issue 9...

Also signed by Jim Shooter at Big Lick 2023

...and the seminal issue to G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. This book is one that surprises me how I keep digging it out to get more and more autographs on. I thought Larry Hama would be the only one, and was darn ecstatic just to have that.

Also signed by Larry Hama at Big Lick 2022,
and Jim Shooter at Big Lick 2023

I'm kicking myself for forgetting to have Bob Wiacek sign my Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars audio CD. I didn't even think of it while I was at his table, but at the same time, he was struggling so much to sign comics with his vision problems, that this one may have been too much for him with how small it is compared to a comic. His helper was literally putting two piece of cardboard spread apart to show him where to sign within, and putting his pen down for him in his hand. I genuinely felt bad for the guy, and even worse if did indeed not pay him.

Also signed by Jim Shooter at Big Lick 2023

And, on that sad note, that wraps up the autographs from these creators. Once again, for those of you searching Google for artist prices, each of these folks was charging $10.00 per item.

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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 170

   

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 170
Release Date: July 1977

Highlights

• Reference is made to Captain America 192
• Spider-Man sees manifestations of all his greatest foes; Doc Ock, Shocker, Rhino, Morbius, and more
• Mary Jane Watson and Liz Allen go wedding dress shopping
• The Burglar returns, and he wants to rent Aunt May's old house

Low Points

• Stories are starting to feel irrelevant - Like only a few panels actually advance the overall story, with the rest just being filler

Oddities

• Faustus breaks into a facility where a vaccine for a coming epidemic to America is housed - His plan is to taint it with an additive that will give him control over the people...Sounds like a foreshadowing of Covid

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 169

   

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 169
Release Date: June 1977

Highlights

• First mention of K.J. Clayton, head of the Bugle's competitor at the Daily Globe
• Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 151
• J. Jonah Jameson presents his photos to Peter Parker, convinced the youth is Spider-Man, but convinced otherwise by some crafty fake photographs and quick talking
• Cameo appearance by Stan Lee
• Letter page with a letter from Frank Miller

Low Points

• All that build up of J. Jonah Jameson having evidence really doesn't come to a head with any sort of a bang
• Where's the villain fight? The action?

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 168

   

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 168
Release Date: May 1977

Highlights

• Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 126, 144, 149, and 151
• Peter Parker see's the secret photos J. Jonah Jameson has of him dumping the clone's body
• Peter alters the photos, but we don't see how, and puts them back in Jameson's desk
• Though we don't see visuals, Will 'o the Wisp tells Spider-Man his origin
• Will 'o the Wisp defies Doctor Jonas Harrow, and is reduced to disintegrating molecules - Is he dead? No.

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• I still don't understand how J. Jonah Jameson can go around town controlling Spider Slayers, causing tens of thousands of dollars in property damages, and not being held responsible for it, other than monetarily for the repairs

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 167

   

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 167
Release Date: April 1977

Highlights

• First appearance of Bart Hamilton, Harry Osborn's former psychiatrist and eventually the third Green Goblin, as well as Will o' the Wisp (alias Jackson Arvad)
• Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-man 25, and 58
• J. Jonah Jameson takes control of yet another Spider Slayer
• Jameson has a secret envelope in his desk, and Spider-Man aims to find out what's inside...but that's a cliffhanger for a future issue
• Aunt May begins protesting in what will soon evolve into the Gray Panthers

Low Points

• ...Another Spider Slayer

Oddities

• Punch first, talk later, the tried and true way for all Marvel heroes to look like morons

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 5

   

Title: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 6
Release Date: April 1977

Highlights

• Reference is made to Amazing Fantasy 15, The Amazing Spider-Man 109
• The mystery of Sha Shan continues

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• Editor, writer, and colorist's day off: Peter states he's taken off his glove and boots, but a look down at his legs reveals the top of his boot

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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