Friday, June 20, 2025
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
My Comics Stash (1)
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Rob Hanes Adventures #26 Goes Into Orbit!
Monday, June 9, 2025
Sunday, June 8, 2025
Thursday, June 5, 2025
Capsule Reviews – What I’m Watching Now
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
While we’ll see whether Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is indeed the final entry of the series, it’s a great send off. As I have said before, this is a franchise that has gotten better and bigger with each succeeding film, an impressive feat.
Concluding a saga that began with the previous film where we saw a powerful AI entity—called The Entity—essentially become sentient while nations and bad actors compete to gain dominion over it so that they, in turn, can control the world. Of course, it’s up to Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his Impossible Mission team to stop and destroy it.
I greatly enjoyed the film’s many twists and turns, and the fact that many characters got a chance to step up and shine, and enjoy a hero moment. These include mainstay co-stars like Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames; new team members played by Hayley Atwell and a very fine Pom Klementieff; and cameo appearances by people like Nick Offerman. And while I mentioned this film wraps up a story begun in the prior film, the movie also circles back to storylines that reach back into earlier films, including several characters and callbacks from the very first M:I film.
Doctor Who (Season 3) (Disney+)
A year and a half ago, I reviewed the Doctor Who specials that introduced the new Doctor, played with wonderful exuberance and energy by Ncuti Gatwa. Though I greatly enjoyed the specials, I never returned to it, though it remained on my to-watch list.
But an episode involving an animated character coming off a movie screen in the 1950s (Season 2, Episode 2: “Lux”) piqued my interest. So I started watching it again, picking up a few episodes before that one in season 1. And every single episode turned out to be amazing, so now I have been all in. Nearly every single episode has managed to knocked it out of the park—by turns funny, thrilling, clever, and deeply moving and emotional. It really has it all.
The Studio (AppleTV+)
The Studio is a self-described cringe comedy limited series about Hollywood, centered around new studio head Matt Remick of Continental Studios, played by Seth Rogan who co-created the series. In addition to featuring topnotch production values, the show also is distinguished by long single take scenes—in fact, one episode is entirely in one take.
Hollywood often likes nothing more than poking fun at itself and this series leans into that, perhaps a little bit too much at first, featuring people who often, of course, come off as terrible human beings. While Remick actually is a fairly good guy, he nevertheless manages to always make the worst decisions, especially in the early episodes, usually making things worse.
While this ran the risk of making the series and Remick tiresome, the series picked up for me in the last several episodes, particularly the two-part season finale, which truly made me laugh my ass off.
Rogan is surrounded by a terrific cast, including Catherine O'Hara, Patty Leigh, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders, and Kathryn Hahn, as well as memorable recurring turns by an always strong Michael Krum and a deliciously unhinged performance by Bryan Cranston as the studio company’s CEO. Playing themselves in both guest and cameo appearances are a host of Hollywood icons, including Martin Scorcese, Charlize Theron, Antony Mackie, Ron Howard, and in hilarious substantive appearances, David Franco and Zoe Kravitz.
The Residence (Netflix)
The Knives Out film franchise has launched a plethora of delicious mystery shows and series like Murders In the Building, The White Lotus, Elspeth, and Poker Face. In addition to being great whodunnits, they are fun mystery romps, often featuring a somewhat off-kilter lead detective and a plethora of big name guest stars.
One of the more recent, The Residence, is particularly high concept—in addition to featuring a “world’s greatest detective” in the form of bird watcher Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba), this is essentially a drawing room murder mystery set at the White House, with the homicide occurring during a state dinner. As the story slowly unwinds and reveals its many layers and red herrings, we are treated to a zany cast of characters played by an amazingly diverse cast, including Giancarlo Esposito, Ken Marino, Randall Park, Jason Lee, Bronson Pinchot, and others. Framing the story is a Senate hearing looking into the investigations, with a perfectly cast Al Franken (of course an actual former senator himself) and comedic actress Eliza Coupe. And, of course, the White House and its storied history also is a character.
This is yet another mystery that builds great momentum each episodes, coming to an exciting and thrilling climax and reveal—and its pleasures are as much about the journey as it is the solution.
Murderbot (AppleTV+)
Based on its first five episodes, Murderbot is a deft blend of dystopian science fiction and action comedy, with a compelling mystery at its center.
Set years in the future, earth has expanded into the galaxy, apparently dominated and run by an interplanetary corporation known as the company. Murderbot is a robot/android security unit (SecUnit) who secretly disables his control mechanisms so that he essentially has free will and is sentient. (It secretly names itself Murderbot).
While keeping his autonomy a secret as he decides what to do—his primary interest being to download and stream in his head hundreds of hours of entertainment shows—he is assigned to provide security for a group of researchers on a mission to a remote planet. Though he finds humans and their behavior completely illogical (in fact, he considers humans assholes and idiots), as the story unfolds, he gradually begins to form bonds with his human companions as they begin to respect and appreciate him. For me, the show was somewhat reminiscent of Resident Alien.
The show consists of zippy half hour episodes which usually end with great cliffhangers that compel you to watch the next episode, and I have found it incredibly fun and engaging.
Monday, May 26, 2025
Report on the 2025 Pasadena Comic Con
I posted a report about the Pasadena Comic Con over on Facebook here), but this is a slightly expanded version. Click here to see the full photo gallery from the event.
What also helped was that the exhibitors next to me didn’t show up for some reason—the organizers stopped by to tell me to just use the extra table for myself. So it was nice to spread out my original art on that table, which immediately turned me into a corner booth!
All-in-all, it was a pretty relaxed, chill show.
A few highlights:
A fairly young teen who liked the art and bought a random issue, before I could ask and curate what kind of story he might like. I wasn’t sure he bought an issue that might be the best fit (#25), but less than a couple hours later, he came by to enthusiastically tell me he already read it and loved it lol. Then later in the show, he stopped by with a Funko Pop he had purchased and asked me to sign it (I had already signed the issue he purchased from me). I confirmed that he really wanted my signature on it—he said, “You’re my favorite booth here!” I’m sure that was a bit of youthful exuberance, but appreciated nonetheless!
I mentioned to one woman who purchased a 4-pack after my usual pitch, that I have enjoyed discovering how many women liked my work. She said, “Oh, I’m a criminal defense attorney, so mystery, crime and spy stories stories are right up my alley!” She added, “My family all love the Marvels and DCs, but I love to support the indies!”
As I mentioned in a previous post during the show, I was just across the way from the celebrity autograph section. The longest line always seemed to be for a voice actor (whose name I can’t recall and didn’t recognize), but fortunately, the queue for her was in the aisle behind me, not in front of my booth. But actor/comedian/voice actor Tom Kenny (SpongeBob Squarepants) hung out there quite a bit, meeting fans and taking photos with them. That was catty corner behind me—directly catty corner to me was Eric Roberts who was in the same row as Jerry Mathers (Leave It to Beaver), Greg Evigan, and Parker Stevenson. Also nearby were Charles Fleischer (voice of Roger Rabbit), Michael Gross, and Morgan Fairchild. I also saw little person actor Tony Cox there.
I got to say a quick hello to Gross when he arrived just as I was going to my table to set up and tell him I was a big fan. And when Roberts walked by, he good naturedly yelled out loudly, “When’s Rob showing up?!” During the show, I had a chance to say hello to Evigan and Mathers as they walked by.
I have to admit, other than the voice actor’s line (where Tom Kenny was hanging about), that was the only booth that drew a real crowd. The other celebrities (like us booth people) had steady foot traffic but also occasional downtime.
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| Above: Morgan Fairchild's booth—actor Michael Gross was behind her and at right in this photo |
I know at some conventions, the celebrity guest crowds can sometimes overwhelm and overshadow the comics and other booths, but that fortunately wasn’t the case here, even given my proximity to them. The show was pretty laid back—that said, I did feel a bit separated from other comics booths, as everyone around me primarily sold toys, t-shirts, memorabilia and the like. Not sure if that affected my foot traffic, but as I said, I was still happy with sales.
However, it turned out to have its advantages since I didn’t have to wait in the lines I saw for the freight elevators at the convention center. (This was also the case at the end of the show when I had to break down and everyone was departing at the same time!) Though it took two trips to unload my car, I was able to tetris all of my booth items onto the wagon for the return trip—though, from observing someone else with a cart who had cargo straps, it convinced me to purchase a cargo net for the future!
I definitely hope to attend next year!
Click here to see the full photo gallery from the show.
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Rob Hanes Adventures Featured on Comic Tropes After Dark
Saturday, April 26, 2025
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Reviews: Four Nights/Four Shows in NYC
Below are my reviews of all four shows. But first a few observations about the New York theater experience versus our experiences theater-going in Los Angeles.
Interestingly, all our shows started at 7 p.m.—versus 8 p.m. for evening shows in L.A. The earlier start allows theatergoers to grab dinner afterwards. This was reinforced by the fact that, after Maybe Happy Ending, when the cast came out after the curtain call to fundraise for Broadway Cares, an AIDS charity, they promised the audience they wouldn’t keep us long and people would still be able to make their restaurant reservations! In L.A., the late start is likely to accommodate the fact that most people have to navigate L.A.’s busy freeways to get to the venue. As such, this means shows usually end anywhere between 10 or 11 p.m. In L.A., by that time, most good restaurants are already closed so theatergoers usually head home.
By contrast, we found that many restaurants (and, of course, bars) were still open and serving diners in the theater district. Indeed, nearly all the shows we watched clocked in at a surprisingly crisp two hours (two, Good Night and Good Luck and Maybe Happy Ending, didn’t even have intermissions!). And the show with the longest runtime, Boop, which is about 2-½ hours, started at 6:30 p.m.
In addition, because New York City’s theaters generally have smaller footprints, the mezzanine sections feel close to the stage, nearly atop the orchestra seats. In contrast, in L.A., the mezzanine sections tend to be fairly recessed back, away from the stage and the orchestra section. As such, at most of the shows where we were in the mezzanine, we were surprised at how close we still felt to the stage, like we were right on top of the actors!
Now on to the reviews (in the order watched):
Maybe Happy Ending
The musical is a deft blend of the modern and traditional, and thoroughly charming, heartfelt and delightful. Though it’s a fairly small, modest production, it nevertheless features dynamic and innovative staging and stage craft that gives the show plenty of life and energy.
It's the story of two helpbots—android companions that are very human-like—who have been retired and abandoned many years before, and while searching for new meaning to their existence, find each other. As the story unfolds, we learn their backstories, including the reasons they were abandoned. Hanging over their blossoming romance is their fear that they will soon shut down forever due to the inability at some point to re-charge themselves, or to replace aging, obsolete parts. But this self-awareness of their pending expiration dates clearly is clearly a commentary on the audience's own mortality and limited shelf-life. How to best make use of that time and our fleeting lives—and whether love is worth pursuing even if it will inevitably end in loss and heartache—is very much the heart of this story.
Much of the show's charm comes from the performers. Criss and Shen have great chemistry and wonderfully bring out the heart and humor of the play. (As an older helpbot model, Criss subtley projects a slightly more robotic demeanor that is not too different than someone on the spectrum.) Kudos as well to Dez Duron, who provides musical interludes—though he never really interacts with the leads, he possesses a silky smooth voice that I could have listened to all night.
In truth, of all the productions we saw, Maybe Happy Ending is the one I would recommend to anyone unreservedly.
Glengarry Glen Ross
As I said up top, this Broadway revival of playwright David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross is what triggered our travels. It's probably the play I’ve most wanted to see on stage and the announcement of this show—with actors Bob Odenirk, Keiran Culkin, Bill Burr, and Michael McKean—made it too irresistible to pass up.
I first encountered the play, of course, through the 1992 film adaptation, featuring a stellar cast that included Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris, Jonathan Pryce, and, in what I consider one of the most electric and commanding cameos ever captured on film, Alec Baldwin.
I knew going in that the film adaptation (also written by Mamet) was very different than the play, though I had heard that some productions had incorporated aspects of the film into the stage show.
Of course, I can’t speak to other productions, but this one seems solely based on the original play. Indeed, it has a very different structure. Whereas the film opens up the story a little and unfolds in a fairly straightforward chronological manner, the play is more impressionistic and primarily told in two acts. The first consists of three vignettes—all set in a Chinese restaurant—that establish the play’s main tensions. The second act, following an intermission, consists of what is the last extended climactic scene of the movie, in which all is revealed and resolved. (Indeed, as much as I love Alec Baldwin's scene in the film, which gets the story rolling in an explosive and immediate manner, it actually would not work in the play without major restructuring.)
While the film, of course, somewhat overshadows and colored my viewing of the play, the production and actors do their best to make the story its own thing and the roles their own. While all are solid, Bill Burr is a standout, perhaps the one performance that transcends the film and, perhaps, even surpassed his film counterpart (Ed Harris). Burr is a perfect fit for the role, projecting more of a lived-in sliminess that isn't quite there in the film. In contrast, Culkin has the unenviable task of trying to make you forget Pacino as Richard Roma…which, of course, given the actor’s presence and line readings in that film, is very difficult.
Revelations in recent years about Mamet’s views and politics also somewhat affected my response to the play. In the original film, the obsession with alpha maleness and what it means to “be a man” are somewhat undermined by the film’s humor, leading one to see the movie as somewhat of a satire of hypermasculinity. In contrast, Mamet’s views make clear that these are themes he is seriously exploring in the play, which makes the play feel somewhat dated and badly aged.
It’s hard to tell how much of the audience had seen the film, but going in knowing the story is somewhat of a disadvantage since the revelations at the end are not a surprise. That said, the play is a smaller and more intimate piece, while the film plays more like Shakespearean tragedy.
Good Night and Good Luck
The piece tells the story of Murrow’s efforts to stand up to and challenge U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy during the infamous Communist 1950s witch hunts. It hews fairly closely to my memories of the film, complete with the use of the framing device of Murrow speaking at a dinner event in his honor, which bookends the opening and closing of the film, as well as of musical interludes featuring a jazz singer recording in the same studio.
To be clear, this play only happened because of Clooney. The actor clearly believed that the story's message of the importance of journalism as the Fourth Estate and its role of speaking truth to power—while also acknowledging the challenges that our news media face as subdivisions of corporate entities whose goals are commercial and avoiding offending its audience, rather than the public good—remain as relevant as ever. Like the film, the production has Clooney (as Murrow) interacting with real footage of celebrities and other figures. The production and performances are solid, with actor and comedian Ilana Glazer particularly a standout as journalist Shirley Wershba.
What really elevated the production was the final coda, which returns to where the play began, with Murrow speaking to the audience at a lectern at an event. It segues into a cacophony of media clips over the years from the Vietnam War, Watergate, the Iraq War, and the Obama years, culminating in a powerful final image that directly connects the show to the modern day, which brought a collective gasp to the audience.
Below: Curtain call from the night we saw Good Night and Good Luck
Boop
Boop is a traditional family-friendly big Broadway musical about animated star Betty Boop, filled with show stopping numbers. It opens in the black and white cartoon world of Betty Boop (giving a nice nod to the Fleischer Studio), who eventually finds her way into the “real” world, where she tries to find herself and navigate the modern world, though the show also makes clear that the character was an early symbol of feminism and self-agency.
While the show was entertaining enough and the performers topnotch, we never felt fully engaged or invested with the characters in the same way as, say, Maybe Happy Ending. Nevertheless, we’re glad we were able to see it—and on opening night, no less!
Below: Curtain call from the opening night of Boop.
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Retro Review: Top Secret
I found it amusing, if not a bit disconcerting and ironic, that in an early scene, to show how oppressive the (somewhat fictionalized) East German regime in the film was, a senior official demands over the phone that they “seal the borders and cancel all visas!” All they needed to add is "tariffs" to hit the trifecta.
Coming off the heels of the success of Airplane, Top Secret is not really a great film—it's a mishmash parody of World War II and teen rock and roll films with not enough laughs to sustain a full-length movie though they try to maintain interest with a barebones story. But you do get to see a pre-Batman Michael Gough, a very pre-Downton Abbey Jim Carter, and Omar Sharif sending up his reputation as a gentleman with one indignity after another.
Monday, April 14, 2025
A New York State of Mind
Though I posted about our trip to New York City while still on the road on Facebook and other social media, most of which were re-posted on this blog, below is a more comprehensive account of our trip. Or click here for the full photo gallery from our trip.
The announcement last October of a new production of the David Mamet play, Glengarry Glen Ross, with Bob Odenkirk, Keiran Culkin and Bill Burr, was what convinced us to pull the trigger. I’ve always wanted to see it on stage and my wife agreed that this might be the show to plan our trip around.
I put myself on a mailing list for the show and, in February this year, learned that the dates for the production had been scheduled. After grabbing tickets for the April 3 show, we soon found flights and a great deal for a hotel in the heart of Times Square and Broadway (via Expedia—my plan was to see if I could find a better price for a hotel later, but learned that we indeed got a terrific deal).
Almost at the same time, George Clooney’s stage production of Good Night and Good Luck was announced, based on his 2005 film, about journalist Edward J. Murrow. We purchased tickets for that as well and, after a little research, thought that a new stage musical, Maybe Happy Ending, which received some nice reviews, sounded like good counter programming for the two stage dramas we signed up for.
Flight and Arrival
Though I’d heard horror stories about JetBlue, we found the flight and crew perfectly lovely. The free wifi on board was a great boon, as it allowed me to be productive and get a lot of social media done while en route.
On our trip to Seattle back in 2023, my wife taught me a great life hack for flying that we took advantage of on this flight. Like most people, we don’t check in our luggage to save on the baggage fees and just use carry ons. However, when a flight is fully booked, at the gate the airline often asks people if they are willing to check in their bags, for no charge. On our trip to Seattle, I opted not to accept this offer while my wife did, but on this flight, I agreed—and it was rather nice not having to board the plane with any luggage. (This trick worked for us on the flight home as well!)
We arrived at JFK at about 3:30 pm EST. I’d researched in advance options for getting into Manhattan and, similar to our last trip to NYC in 2010 with our kids, there was a set price by taxi, though considerably higher than our last visit: about $85, but after tolls and tip, $105.
The evening of our arrival, we explored our surroundings a bit and had a lovely dinner at an old school Italian restaurant, Tony di Napoli, and ordered waaaay too much food!
Day 2
Our first full day in Manhattan, we took the subway down to the Staten Island Ferry terminal. (We loved the ease of riding the subway by simply using a tap on our mobile devices to pay our fares, though early on we had trouble with the subway turnstiles properly reading them.)
Though I was born in Brooklyn and raised in Staten Island, I told my wife there was no need to visit the borough as we have on previous trips—a trip to Staten Island would essentially kill a day and there was no need for me to revisit my old haunts as I have done in the past. Nearby Battery Park was unfortunately closed for renovations, but we could still see the Statue of Liberty from the terminal. From there, we walked up to the Financial District/Wall Street, briefly stopped at Trinity Church, and then visited the 9/11 World Trade Center Memorial.
After that, we took the subway up to the Society of Illustrators—where I saw a piece from a longtime fellow comics pro, Lonnie Milsap, on display in the museum’s 100 Years of the New Yorker exhibition. We initially thought about then walking across Central Park to get to Strawberry Fields, a favorite spot in the park of John Lennon’s, across the street from his building co-op, the Dakota, but thought better of it and took a taxi instead. (Our visits to the Society of Illustrators and Strawberry Fields are detailed in earlier posts.)
We got back to the hotel around mid-afternoon, so as to have some time to relax before going to our evening show, a schedule we kept on the other days as well. That evening, we saw the first of our four shows, Maybe Happy Ending (I will detail my thoughts and reviews about all the shows we saw in another post). This was followed by a dinner at an Irish bar, O’Donaghue’s Pub.
Day 3
We also found time to visit the Empire State Building—though it had been cloudy all day, the weather cleared up enough that we had great views atop the building. To get there, our subway stop was at Penn Station. We took the opportunity to see the commuter trains and platforms while there.
That evening, we saw Glengarry Glen Ross, followed by dinner at Brooklyn Diner (which frankly was our only disappointing meal on the trip).
Day 4
Our 4th day, Saturday, April 5, happened to be the date of the nationwide Hands Off rallies. Though we were 3,000 miles away from home and would have participated in L.A., we happily took time to participate in the NYC protests, at Bryant Park/New York Public Library.
Due to timing issues, we got afternoon tickets to tour Radio City Music Hall. After getting our tickets, we took a taxi to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the Upper East Side in Central Park. Though we did spend quality time there, we did not get to see the entire museum and did have to leave after a few hours to make our Radio City tour, which was another taxi ride back.
In the evening, we saw Good Night and Good Luck at the Winter Garden Theatre. This was followed by my favorite dinner of the evening at Gatsby’s Landing, where I had duck.
The restaurant happened to be directly across the street from the Belasco Theatre, where we had seen Maybe Happy Landing two nights before (as well as just a half block from our hotel). That night’s performance had also just let out and people milled around in front of the theater, hoping to get autographs and catch a glimpse of the show’s lead star, Darren Criss, and other members of the cast. As we waited for dinner, Criss did indeed come out. So I took the opportunity to run across the street to take some photos!
Day 5
It was a memorable, terrific trip that confirmed for us that NYC is indeed one of the world’s great cities, with an incredible energy and vibe. I’m usually ready to go home near the end of my vacation, and while I didn’t feel the vacation went by too quickly, I happily could have stayed longer.
Click here to see the full photo gallery from our trip.
Click here to see all the posts from this trip.
Sunday, April 13, 2025
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Monday, April 7, 2025
Sunday, April 6, 2025
Saturday, April 5, 2025
Friday, April 4, 2025
Midtown Comics Times Square
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Spotted in the Wild in NYC...
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Sunday, March 9, 2025
Website Front Page Update
Thursday, March 6, 2025
Monday, March 3, 2025
Shout Out on YouTube
So I was listening to this YouTube show I subscribe to, hosted by Silverline Comics, and heard my name mentioned in the context of creators working for themselves to produce their own work versus a big company! (It happens at the 1:10:50 mark but is already cued up below.)
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Thursday, February 20, 2025
SNL at 50
Over the decades, the show has had its ups and downs, of course, but I’m glad to say I never became so calcified or smug to believe that it stopped being funny. Though I’ve admittedly reached the age where I don't necessarily know all the references or the musical guests (fortunately, my wife and daughter can usually fill me in)—and it’s not always “must see” tv for me every week—it can still make me laugh.
The SNL celebrations this past week have been memorable and pitch perfect, reflecting not only the show’s continued cultural influence but also how much of an important revenue source it has become for NBC.
The celebrations culminated with the 50th anniversary concert on Valentine's Day, and the live star-studded broadcast this past Sunday, Feb. 16.
The concert was a blast, a mixture of old and new, and incredibly eclectic, from the B-52s, to Bad Bunny, to Devo, Sabrina Carpenter, and more—mixed in with some occasional comedy bits. It was particularly cool to see Fred Armisen sitting in on the drums for the B-52s and Devo.
It was a treat to see different era cast members performing with each other, and a surprise to see them lean on people like Sabrina Carpenter and Bad Bunny. And after skipping the 40th due to hurt feelings, Eddie Murphy showed he still has it and looked like he was having fun. In addition to Murphy, there were many other great highlights: Pedro Pascal; DeNiro and Nicholson; Laraine Newman; Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s Q&A; John Mulaney’s musical parody; the “in memorian” sequence of old characters and skits; and more. Though I haven’t always been a fan of Adam Sandler’s comedy songs, his performance at the celebration near the end of the night proved to be a highlight and moving. And, of course, the show was anchored by rock royalty, a Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney, who closed the night with a performance of “Golden Slumbers” and “The End” that proved to be a perfect capstone to the evening.
While I wouldn’t go so far as to say that SNL has continued to be an important part of my life, the show’s 50th anniversary reminds me that it remains a dependable source for comedy and a good reflection of the zeitgeist.
Monday, February 10, 2025
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
The Comics That Made Me, Pt. 1
When I was growing up and getting into comics in the early 1970s, comic book stores had really not taken off yet. There were certainly none near me, and though some school friends read comics, I was completely unaware of the fan community. So like most kids in that era, I got my comics simply from what was available on the spinner rack at a local drugstore.
Though I remember owning some random comics when I was younger—including a Dennis the Menace comic book that I really loved, a Tarzan comic, and a Marvel Fantastic Four, as well as a Peanuts paperback collection—this was the first comic book I recall consciously purchasing, which made me a collector. Being a war history and film nut at the time, this was right up my alley for 12-year-old me. As such, it became the first comic book series I collected, dutifully going down to that drugstore every month to pick up the next issue.
This was before comic book stores had really taken off—there were none near me that I was aware of, so like most kids my age, I bought them off the spinner rack at my local drugstore, which was down by the train station. And it’s not like the store carried everything (I don’t recall any Marvel Comics on that display), but fortunately they carried this series pretty regularly. I also remember excitedly coming across issue 269, a 100 page special, at a news vendor at the Staten Island Ferry terminal, right before boarding a boat—which my mom kindly got me for a whopping 60¢! A little while later, I discovered a neighborhood kid had several issues that immediately preceded this one, which allowed me to add to my collection.
Though Joe Kubert, who was most closely identified with the character, still drew the covers (as shown in the sample issues below), I was oblivious to his earlier work on the series, though I saw his work in collections. So in addition to Severin, the other artists I was exposed to on Sgt. Rock during that period included Russ Heath, George Evans and Frank Redondo for an extended run. I had no idea Redondo was Filipino, nor part of the wave of Filipino artists who entered the U.S. comics industry during the ‘70.)
This comic book started it all in another way—it inspired my own war comic, Sgt. Hanes and Hell Platoon—of which I drew 26 issues (the same milestone I’m about to hit this year with Rob Hanes Adventures!). Drawn on lined notebook paper with black pencil and colored pencils, each new issue was passed around my junior high school classroom—and, yes, I have most of those issues still! As readers of Rob Hanes Adventures know, I finally fulfilled a dream to bring that character into the series in issue 22 in a World War II flashback, and again in the last issue, #25.
Shortly after, I also began picking up Batman comics (both Batman and Detective Comics), being a fan of the character from the Adam West tv show which was in re-runs when I was a kid.
