Itty Bitty Hellboy #1 (1 for $1 Special) (Family Comics Friday)

I found the reprint at Geppi’s Entertainment Museum. It’s a Dark Horse 1 for $1 special in which the publisher reprints various past first issues that have gone the way of the very expensive dinosaur. The GEM had dozens of issues, for sale, so I would expect that it’s not very hard to find at the local comic book shop.

  Hellboy usually isn’t a series for kids. Hellboy, the creation of Mike Mignola, is one of the actually sons of the devil, who was stuck here as a child thanks to Nazi experimentation with a portal to Hades
(in effort to win the war.) Now fighting for the forces of good with the BPRD, Hellboy must reel himself in when fighting the forces of evil or an ancient prophesy that he would become the new (and very evil) ruler of Hades will come true. Hellboy’s adventures, while fun and exciting are gruesome and scary. It’s definitely not something for those under the age of 13. But here’s the kicker- Itty Bitty Hellboy is actually a series that kids can enjoy with their friends and family that are old enough to read the regular Hellboy series.

  Itty Bitty Hellboy is the brainchild of that dynamic duo of all-age friendly comics Art Baltazar and Franco. If you’ve read my blog regularly, you’ll know that I am a huge fan of their various DC series like Tiny Titans and Superman Family Adventures. I’d know about this series for just a couple of weeks and it was on my radar but I hadn’t officially added it to my wish list.

The series is just as dynamic as the previous Baltazar and Franco series that I’ve read. Each vignette is between 2-6 pages long and while directed for youngsters, it still has some ‘Easter egg’ type elements that teen and adult readers will understand and enjoy. There are at least 4 more issues in this series and all 5 books are collected in a single all-color edition for $20.

   As to whether I will add this series to my wish list and eventually my collection- Oh He-… ummm. Yes. Yes I will.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

 

Pop Culture With Character: A Look Inside Geppis Entertainment Museum by Arnold T. Blumberg

This lovely book was a gift from my wife. I think I got it for my birthday, but it might’ve been Christmas. Regardless of when I got it, I’ve been pouring over this book for about 3 months. “Pop Culture With Character” is a look a one of the coolest museums of all-time- Geppi’s Entertainment Museum (AKA: the GEM), which is devoted to Americana, pop culture, and comic books. Even though it’s in Baltimore, I want to go to this place so bad.

Friends of mine have gone and I am so envious thanks to the awesome pics that they’ve posted on Facebook. If you remember watching it on TV, seeing it as a comic book or playing it as a kid, it’s probably at the GEM.

The book is set out like the museum. If you don’t believe me, look that the fold out map at the end of the book and you’ll see how each chapter is designed like a wing of the museum. I was born in 1977 when pop culture was really hitting the main stream and having grown up in the 80s and 90s, I was inundated with pop culture TV, books, toys, games, clothing, posters, and much  more. Plus, I am such an old soul, having watched classic shows from the 50s and 60s with my parents and listened exclusively to Motown, the Beatles, and the Monkees up until high school. That old school feeling is why when I became a history major, my focus was on the pop culture era (essentially 1938; the first appearance of Superman and Hitler’s invasion of Poland up to the present day.) It wasn’t a popular focus, I only had one or two real modern history classes, but I loved pop culture and most of my research papers and projects were geared to that area of study. That maybe why I wasn’t the top history student as I am sure my research drove my instructors and professors nuts.

Anyway, though I’m now a chef, if I ever got offered a chance to work again in the history field in terms of popular culture and modern history, I’d hang my apron up in a heartbeat. I guess pop culture with my comics collection, tee shirts, 70s Steelers memorabilia, and Star Wars/ Doctor Who/ Star Trek obsession is my truest passion. To make a career of that would be the greatest adventure- sorry Peter Pan.

Back to the GEM book. I loved it. I thought while the book and museum focuses a little too much on the Revolutionary War and Civil War era, I can see from their thesis that those periods of American history did star to plant the seed of pop culture. Essentially any time our nation goes to war, expect our troops to use their down time to play games, read comics, and reflect on homes. At the same time, as loved ones go off to war and the nation braces for bad news or worse a direct attack, expect the population to come up with ideas to keep our minds off the horrors and fears of conflict- especially our nation’s youth!

This interesting look at American history has my wife and I psyched to take a trip up to Baltimore this year to catch Derek Jeter one last time in uniform and spend a day at the GEM. I think I’ll be in hog heaven and I am sure I’ll tear that gift shop up. Until then, I’ve got this awesome little teaser to keep my occupied. I highly recommend this book and hopefully later this year, I can give an in-depth review of the GEM as well.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.