Heya folks. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
This week’s CBM focuses on a Kevin Smith signing at the Secret Stash. Let me tell you that these events are both nerve-wracking and exciting. Kevin always brings a special kind of energy into the store and even the usually taciturn Walt Flanagan is not immune.
Now on to the good stuff.
The Mecha-Kong suit. This thing was bad-ass. This gentleman, a huge Godzilla/Japanese monsters fan, had worn this two years previously to a G-Fan convention in Chicago. He really was as sweaty as he looked. I think he was losing about five pounds an hour in water weight just by wearing the costume. We got to put the costume through its paces as he slow-mo destroyed a tiny city we built in the store for him. Walt didn’t want to purchase the suit outright — it was a little too rarified for his taste…we aren’t a costume shop. Many man hours were put into the construction of the suit, and I just hope he finds the right buyer for it.
Geek Note #1: It’s still a bone of contention–about who truly won in Godzilla VS King Kong, as Kong is obviously not the same creature featured in the 1933 film bearing his name. It certainly fueled my imagination, however, back when I saw the epic battle on the 4:30 movie during Godzilla Week.
Next up, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, original artwork: This was a very cool piece of art, however, since it was signed by Kevin Eastman in 1986, a full two years AFTER TMNT #1 came out, there’s no way that this could have been a concept piece as the seller claimed. Walt made a more than reasonable offer, which was declined. There’s no way this guy is going to see the number he has in his mind for this piece.
Geek Note #2: TMNT was so big back in the 80’s that it spawned such blatant rip-off/parody titles as Adolescent Radioactive Blackbelt Hamsters and Pre-Teen Dirty Gene Kung Fu Kangaroos.
Kiss Comics was the next lot–sold by Walt. Kiss actually first appeared in comic books in Howard the Duck #12 and #13. Later that year, they were featured in their own magazine format, full color comic book. Marvel Comic Super Special!: Kiss. Blood was drawn from each member of the band and poured into vats of red ink at Marvel’s Borden ink plant. The blood, yes fans, was used to print the comics. There was a second Super Special, issue #5 in 1978 which came out with less fanfare. These are a must-have for any true Kiss fan, and due to their size, are much harder to find in good condition than normal-sized books and so scarcity plays a factor in pricing.
Last but certainly not least, the Marvel World playset that Kevin buys for Walt. If there’s one comic-related “Holy Grail” item that Walt has, it was this one. Many’s the time I’ve heard Walt wax poetic about the Marvel World playset. The verbal picture he paints of his childhood with this toy is an idyllic one, reminiscent of life in Mayberry (For all you young-uns, that was a show featuring a sleepy little town where nothin’ bad ever, ever happened and the worst you had to worry about were invasions of insane mountain folk. The late Andy Griffith was the star of that show…).
I think it was very cool of Kevin to pay that high a price ($600) for a chunk of Walter’s childhood. This set is next to impossible to find in good condition as the simple act of playing with it insures its destruction. It is, after all, only cardboard.
It was great to see Jason and Kevin again at the Stash. It’s always a good time when they drop by.
As always, thanks for reading. I welcome your comments and questions.
And there you go.
michaelzapcic 
Here’s my twocents http://thetwocentscorp.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/comic-book-men-recap-review-tough-sht/
This is my first time reading your blog. I must say it was very interesting. I thought it was very cool for Kevin to buy Walt his childhood, it shows how great of friends you all are. I still think it’s crazy that the dude who brought in the artwork didn’t sell it for $2200 That’s a crazy amount of money and I would have sold in a heartbeat. Anyways, love the show, love the blog. Huge fan
Thanks.
I love your show SO much! It is the perfect ending to Sunday night 🙂 After the ups and downs of horror and gross out (poor hermit guy…but he did make the perfect distraction) with The Walking Dead, to laugh with you about the incredible things that come in to the store, and conversations about comics is awesome.
Glad you’re enjoying it. Stay tuned…season 2b is going to be tremendous.
thanks for this awesome re-cap!!! ive never read any of these before, but im going to go back and search through this site for previous ones.
Thanks. If you subscribe, you’ll get an email every time I post.
Loved the show this week, and you are right…it was VERY cool for Kevin Smith to shell out that $600. Keep up the awesome work!
It’s interesting to see the variety of comics including the Kiss ones.I loved the excitement of Walt with the Marvel set.
Me, too!
Marvel World really *is* the grail. Had one as a kid, and have often thought how great it would be to find one. Oh well, I will just have to go look at my Frank Miller Daredevil splash page hanging on my wall and try to get over it.
Must say I love your show. Norwegian comic book nerd here, and my goal is that when I go to New York, I’ll head over to Jersey to check out the stash myself. Maybe grab a rare comic or two 🙂 Must say I was so touched by our latest episode. Seeing the joy in Walt’s eyes when the Marvel World came in was just priceless. Keep up the good work, and hopefully I get to meet you guys maybe next year when I come to New York.
i loved that kevin bought walt the marvel world, seeing this glimpse of the childlike walt flanagan was magical. but i am now saddened that this was probably taken by sandy. Hope you are all slowly recovering from it all
Did walt’s marvel world survive hurricane sandy?
another great show! i hope walts marvel world survived sandy.
Happily, yes. Walt’s collection was unscathed.
Hey Michael,
I have some Laird/Eastman art circa 1983-84 that they did for an independent superhero RPG (never produced professional). Includes a series of Laird-drawn full and half-page examples, a brochure, a t-shirt transfer (!) and a full-color comic book-style cover (this is the only thing they both worked on and both signed). Plus, the game itself, which includes b/w art. And an autographed TMNT #1 1st print.
They actually showed my friend and I the TMNT concept sketches in my kitchen…and we thought it was the silliest, never-going-anywhere idea we’d ever seen. We’re the jerks!
My friend and I were 14-year-old kids who wrote this superhero game, and we hired Laird from an ad in a local paper, and we met Eastman later. He treated us like adults (and we did pay him) and didn’t condescend to us, which I always respected.
Anyway, I’ve got it all framed. Something you guys would be interested in seeing for the show?
Hey Michael,
I have some Laird/Eastman art circa 1983-84 that they did for an independent superhero RPG (never produced professional). Includes a series of Laird-drawn full and half-page examples, a brochure, a t-shirt transfer (!) and a full-color comic book-style cover (this is the only thing they both worked on and both signed). Plus, the game itself, which includes b/w art. And an autographed TMNT #1 1st print.
They actually showed my friend and I the TMNT concept sketches in my kitchen…and we thought it was the silliest, never-going-anywhere idea we’d ever seen. We’re the jerks!
My friend and I were 14-year-old kids who wrote this superhero game, and we hired Laird from an ad in a local paper, and we met Eastman later. He treated us like adults (and we did pay him) and didn’t condescend to us, which I always respected.
Anyway, I’ve got it all framed. Something you guys would be interested in seeing for the show?
I still have a copy of the Radioactive Hamster comic! 🙂