12/08/2014 -- Classics Illustrated's A Christmas Carol

Classics Illustrated was an excellent idea turned into a moneymaker by the Gilberton publishing company. It started out under the name Classics Comics. CI began its long run in the 40s and lasting until the early 70s. Atypical of comic books at that time, when a new issue came out, it would also be added to a mail order house ad. The book would be kept in print, allowing fans to order issues they
missed or hadn't seen at their local magazine stand. 

Collectors of this comic series genarally agree that there are  3 periods of publication that are easy to identify at a glance. The first period is from are the original issues published under the logo of Classic Comics. The artwork on the cover is line art, though calling it "Art" may be too generous. The second period is when the series names was changed to Classics Illustrated. Within this period, many of the issues previously published were now redrawn with much better art. The third period saw a few more changes to the comics' packaging, including painted cover illustrations on a heavier light cardboard stock.
The issue that I am presenting here features an adapation of Charles Dicken' classic holiday story: A Christmas Carol.

It was common prcatice for popular authors' projects to first be seen seralized in magazines or newspapers. It should be noted that Christmas was not the popular holiday it is today. Charles Dickens drew from his memories of Christmas past and of things he enjoyed or wished for when he was young. 

As an early Christmas gift, I'm posting the full issue of CI. An interesting bit of additional info should be noted. This issue of CI was only published once and never reprinted.

Perhaps the reason for that could be that the Dickens family still retained the rights to his books when the comic was published, like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, with the Casebook of Sherlock Holmes.

So, here's A Christmas Carol, absolutely my favorite Christmas strory and Dickens novel. This comic book is believed to now be in the public domain. Click on the individual page images below to see the larger legible scans. Once you have done so, you can use the graphics on the bottom of the screen to go page by page.

This is the first of my postings tied into Christmas that may pop up any iem before the holiday. Many Christmas pages are coming, some reverent, while others run the gamut from silly to strange. Hope you enjoy them.

12/07/2014 -- This Week's Dose of Creepsville & a Live Podcast Event

Hello, kiddies, it's Saturday, it's still dark out, and it's Pearl Harbor Day. Sounds like a good time to post this week's Creepsville comic page.

As usual, click on the artwork below to see the larger, more legible version.

Meanwhile, as I mentioned in this Blog previously, I am participating in an upcoming live Podcast which will be reuniting a number of ne'erdowells responsible for the legendary HERO Illustrated magazine. For those of you who may not know about HERO, it was a comic book news magazine that came out way back in the 1990s. Starting with the 3rd or 4th issue, I was tapped to be the editorial head honcho on the magazine, but I didn't do it alone. Some of those other very talented and brave souls will be there, shedding light on the magazine Wizard hated. We eventually won an Eisner Award for the Best Comic Related Publication in 1995 (something that totally surprised me, resulting in a truly awful acceptance speech at the award event at the San Diego Comicon).

Anyway, the program will be online on Sunday, December 14, starting at 11:30 pm Central Time. You can access the program by going to this URL: http://www.vocnation.com. The hosts are also into wrestling, so there will be a chunk of wrasslin' news up front and then they wheel us in. Hope you can be there.

Finally, starting on Monday, I will be posting loads of Christmas stuff willy nilly on this Blog. Creepsville will still be on Saturday... and there will be other original comics by yours truly on Wednesday. It should be fun! Until we next gather here at the Reindeer Ranch, shop patiently and with kindness.

12/04/2014 -- Eddie Einstein Finish

As I mentioned before, today's Blog post brings my Eddie Einstein comic strip submission to a close. As you know, Sunday strips are usually in color, and I seem to recall coloring these two. They're probably in a box that I ahven't opened in centuries (or maybe less time than that).

I have to admit that I like these two quite a bit. Each is unique when compared to the other. I'm sure it won't surprise you that I enjoyed drawing the giant mouse-monster attack, but I also liked drawing that  cat with a number of different poses, too. I hope you enjoyed them, too.

So, maybe you're wondering what lies ahead? Besides Creepsville, there will be lots of unique art pieces to be posted. Some may be familiar while others will be all new. As I also mentioned, I do want to post some other comics here. That will start next week on Wednesday. Another challenge to myself is finding lots of Christmas stuff to put up here. I'm hoping to do so as often as my Halloween posts last October. When I started looking at some of the stuff I had, I was surprised at how much I did have. I really like Christmas, but Halloween is my favorite "holiday."

Also coming soon on Internet radio or is it podcast... the audio reunion of the editorial staff of the Eisner Award winning HERO Illustrated in a late night, live interview. I'll have further details as soon as I remember to ask about them. I'm pretty sure that the program will be on Sunday, December 14 at 10:30 pm Midwest Time. I hope I can get some sleep somewhere.

Okay, while I get to work on getting loads of stuff posted, click on the artwork below to see the larger versions. Then, check back here through the weeks ahead... Where did I put those elf costumes? Oh, I'm wearing one.