Hot Thing Summer: Fantastic Four First Steps magazine

One of my first comic book buying experiences was at my local Foodland, a grocery store which I think has been out of business for, like, 20 years at this point (I should have tried to get their spinner rack when it closed). I wanted to get one of those Spider-Man 30th anniversary hologram cover issues (the heart wants what it wants), and my mom balked at the cover price, which, I mean, was fair. But hey, Amazing Spider-Man #365 introduced Spider-Man 2099 to the world, so they provided some lasting cultural value.

Anyway, comics, and printed magazines in general, probably won't see a return to the newsstands and racks that I barely witnessed growing up, at least not in the way people get nostalgic for, but every once in a while you do see superhero comics show up in some unlikely-ish places. This summer, Marvel released a Fantastic Four: First Steps magazine, and I found it at the grocery store!

This issue came, in true comic book form, with two different covers. Both of the covers have previously published art, which is kind of disappointing, but at least they picked two good compositions. The cover on the left of the picture above has art by Phil Noto, and the one on the right is by Art Adams.

The interiors, similarly, barely have any original content, but I guess the potential audience for these is different than your regular comic book reader. I say this as someone who has no idea who picks up magazines from the checkout line.

The magazine mostly serves to reprint three separate, 21st century Fantastic Four issues, each of them the first chapters of storylines that are probably easily found in trade format.

I know that Alex Ross gets a king's ransom for his page rate, but Marvel publishes whatever he does over and over again, ad infinitum, so they get their mileage from it. Pages 1, 3, 4 and 5 are all Ross, from previously published works.

There are only a few short articles in this magazine, and they serve to tie the comics into the movie (hey, there's more Alex Ross art). I would have liked to see more pictures from and information about the movie, but I'm glad that there's a big focus on the comics throughout the publication.

Each comic issue has an introduction page that precedes it. Fantastic Four #60 might be the most published FF story since the '60s. This was sold as a 9-cent issue back in 2002.

The other two stories are from the Hickman/Eaglesham "Solve Everything" run, and the first issue of the 2022 series. All of the stories look really nice printed on glossy stock.

Around this same time, DC put out similarly sized and formatted collections for Superman and Batman, and I just saw a Teen Titans Go! issue out on my last trip to the store. It's great to see comics show up in places like these, beyond the standard Archie fare.

I wonder how many of these magazines were sold, not just because of reader interest, but because of the hefty price tag that accompanied them. These issues were $14.99 each! By comparison, some trade collections, with more material and a complete story, often run at around $9.99. So this was not what I'd consider an impulse buy. Since the DC issues are priced the same, this is apparently the cost of getting the rack space. I was supremely motivated to both find and buy these, but I was still taken back by the price, especially since there's almost no new content to be had. If you compare these to DC's 100-page Wal-Mart comics from five years ago, which had new lead stories and cost five bucks, these come up a little short.

The back cover was an ad for the movie, which was the natural choice.

I'm glad these exists, and was excited to see Fantastic Four comics outside of a comic shop! I definitely sorted through the entire stack to make sure I got the ones that were in the best shape. They're aimed at new readers, but I bet that collectors and existing comic fans were the ones to snatch these up.

Palisades Park and the Batman Slide

 

Let me tell you all a little about Kennywood Amusement Park. Wedged somewhat uncomfortably into the Homestead area of the greater Pittsburgh region, Kennywood is nevertheless a premiere amusement park for Western Pennsylvania. With more than 120 years of history, Kennywood has roller coasters both old and new, from wooden rides like the Jackrabbit and the Thunderbolt to steel coasters like the Phantom's Revenge and the Sky Rocket. And, like any self-respecting Pittsburgh-area institution, there's also a healthy Steelers presence in the new-ish Steel Curtain ride. It's a destination attraction for the area, and a great mid-level amusement park all around.

When I moved from Pittsburgh to the eastern side of the state a few years ago, I knew that I wanted to visit some of the nearby New York City-area amusement parks, namely Luna Park at Coney Island and Palisades Park. I had Coney Island in mind because it's a world-famous park and a real slice of Americana; why not visit somewhere that's been immortalized in different forms of media over the last several decades?

I've since checked that off my list. I've rode the Cyclone and enjoyed it, though I've yet to ride the Wonder Wheel. It's a park that's quaint and quite overpriced, though it's a place I'd recommend seeing at least once, and it's directly off of NYC's most popular beach, south of Brooklyn. I bought a hot dog there! I got the whole experience.

Palisades, New Jersey is located near the George Washington Bridge, across the river from northern Manhattan. It's definitely a town for people who want to live in the city but don't want to pay a million dollars to get a condo there. The commute across the bridge is a relatively easy one.

There were two reasons I wanted to check out Palisades Park: the first is, okay, the 1962 Freddy Cannon pop bubblegum hit of the same name:

Can I just say that "I gave that girl a hug/In the tunnel of love" is a pretty awkward attempt at a rhyme? Anyway, the second reason is that I've gotten used to seeing the following ad in old copies of certain DC Comics:

Any amusement park that's good enough for Superman is good enough for me, right? So I thought that the park would be fun to check out.

This particular ad comes from 1967's Green Lantern #56, which features the second appearance of Charlie Vicker, the actor who played Green Lantern on TV and was deputized as a real GL when his brother was killed (revenge being a central tenant to wielding the ring). This half-page ad also comes with a coupon for the park to (gasp) cut out and use for a free admission:

The coupon was also good for one trip on the Batman slide! Now, one might wonder why Superman is the only figure in this ad and not Batman, if the ride was named after the Dark Knight, especially since the extremely popular Adam West Batman show was on the air at this point. But I suppose you just have to accept that Superman is a world-renowned character and just go with it.

One thing I learned while planning a trip to the semi-world-famous Palisades Parks is that...it's been closed since 1971. Over 50 years! In its place now sits, would you believe it, a high-rise apartment complex, which, okay, now that I type it, I can very much believe it. I'm sure it remains prime real estate.

So what WAS the Batman Slide at the forever-closed Palisades Park? From the information you can find online, it seems like it was a pretty standard slide tower, rising to heights of about 20 feet; kids would take a burlap mat up a flight of stairs and slide down while riding it, just like...you know...just like Batman. I found a video that briefly shows the slide, complete with the Batman logo. Here's a grainy screenshot!

I suppose my dream of riding the Batman slide has been forever dashed by the fact that this park closed down before I was born. To be honest, though, they probably wouldn't have accepted my coupon, anyway.

Interestingly enough, right after I snapped the picture of the ad, I sat down to read a copy of Marvel's Sleepwalker #1, a new and possibly masochistic purchase. Where does Rick and his best girl go on date night? To Coney Island, of course. Let me know if the Wonder Wheel is worth it, Rick.

pictures from the 2021 Comic-Con Special Edition, part 2

 Is it time to look at more pictures from the 2021 version of Comic-Con? It is! These are all from Saturday, the second day of the show.

For a number of obvious reasons, this Special Edition show was much more stripped down than what you would expect from a regular, pre-2020 convention. The banners were even more low-key, with the toucan taking top billing, rather than having the usual Marvel movie franchise as a sponsor.

Black Widow gets set up as doors open.

Here's a Kingdom Come-era Wonder Woman costume!

I was surprised that I didn't see more costumes that incorporated masks at this show. Here's a perfect example of what you could do with a great costume that you happen to be wearing during a pandemic. What a great Shredder!

The huge SDCC banner made its return to the front of the convention center!

I hear that there are a few Toys R Us locations still functioning in Canada. Maybe Geoffrey is starting the long trek.

HBO's Peacemaker show was by far the most popular offsite event, and it's one of the few things that got close to feeling like how things used to at the show.

And true to Comic-Con fashion, this line took forever to get through. I didn't make it on Saturday, but I kept an eye on this site all weekend.

The barbell is a nice touch. I wonder if he could've brought it in during a more normal year?

Sam Wilson's Captain America and Spider-Punk!

If you moved, she shot you, straight up.

Is this War Machine/Punisher mashup canon? Also, look at this War Machine/Punisher mashup's cannon!

Bob and Linda Belcher continue to be a solid middle-aged fan costume, and the masks add another fun element to these.

What...what is this Captain America statue? An anime thing? It looks like an anime thing.

I asked these folks for their pictures because at first I thought it was a weird Planet of the Apes/Gilligan's Island combo. I quickly realized that they were actually dressed as characters from an anime series. It was too late for me to back out. I took the picture.

I went to some panels this year! I usually plan on going to a bunch but then never find the time. This one was about the Comic-Con museum and their new Gene Roddenberry display.

This was the best group costume by far. How did they get 10 people to go to Comic-Con and all dress up? I don't think this could've happened in a regular year. 

These shots are mandatory.

I don't know what "Under the Oak Tree" is, but good on them for getting the strongest man in the world to help out at their booth. Also, it was great to see a big, gaudy Comic-Con display under any circumstances!

Here's another good use of a costume with a mask. Sub Zero here also had a vape pen that he used to blow smoke for pictures, which certainly broke a lot of convention floor rules, but, okay, it did look like he was breathing out frost.

This was a great Adora costume!

It didn't get much busier than this on the show floor, which is of course a wild departure from years past. You can see here that there also wasn't any carpet on the convention floor. I miss the crowds! But it was nice to be able to walk wherever you wanted to on a Saturday.

Here are a couple of space cowboys.

I guess these are also space cowboys?

Toward the end of the day, I went back outside and checked out the Peacemaker display again. In addition to the trailer/obstacle course that was the main attraction, they also had a food truck set up with free food for the whole day. That was quite a throwback! When I arrived, there were maybe 10 people in line, and everyone could get one item from the menu...but you were allowed to get back in line as many times as you wanted to. Did I try everything on the menu? No, but I did all right. The mozzarella sticks were great! 

Peacemaker's sidekick Eagley was on hand, too, complete with a really thick Brooklyn accent. 

Eagley was also available for more formal pictures.

I enjoyed getting to hang out at this offsite for a little while as the show was nearing a close. I was determined to get in to the actual obstacle course the next day.

There were a number of themed tables and chairs set out on the lawn. It was all very laid back. I definitely enjoyed it.

NBC's La Brea also had a small offsite nearby. I have not seen La Brea. I hear it's about falling into a sinkhole and finding a new world inside the earth? Like hollow earth theory stuff? I mean, okay. Anyway, I got my picture in front of the glowing logo, pretending to sink into what I imagine is prehistoric earth for some reason.

The whole thing took about three minutes to get through, if you took your time. You walked past the logo and saw some wreckage, like a stop light and street sign.

And, uh, an ambulance. The folks working the display gave away from branded swag from the back of the ambulance. I got a water bottle and a portable charger.

And there was also a Wooly Mammoth skull? And some mysterious fog. This was a weird event.

I went back in the convention center for an after-hours panel and found this dancing robot just hanging out and having a good time. It's Comic-Con, baby!

Hawkpeople!

I almost never make it into the Marriott Hotel for a regular year of Comic-Con, despite them having some things that I'm interested in. It's just hard to find the time (and it takes so long to wind through the crowds to get there)! This year, though, in the time between the end of the show and my panel, I got to check out some of what they had to offer, including this awesome (and dimly-lit) pinball room. The machines were set up to play for free, and I played for a solid hour before leaving. It was a lot of fun, and something that I miss out on during a normal year. 

Back to the convention center, where I ran into Mr. Nimbus. A shudder to think what it was like walking around shoeless all day.

Up the escalator.

And into the panel room, where I saw this guy casually walking around with a copy of Action Comics #1. Now, is this the 1938 original? Let's not ask so many questions and just believe that it was.

The panel I was so excited about attending was the Dr. Horrible Sing-Along Blog! One of my favorites. There was no after-show karaoke this year, for the standard reasons, but I hope to make in back in 2022 for another round.

The night ended and I took the trolley back to my room. I waited with Magneto and wondered why she couldn't simply pull the trolley to us with her incredible powers. It was a long day for everyone, I guess.

That's it for the middle day of this Comic-Con adventure. There are more pictures to come!