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.
Let's look at pictures from Saturday at Comic-Con!
I got to the convention center on Saturday morning at around the same time I did on Friday, and lo and behold, I pulled up right next to this giant truck-bed robot. Hey there, work buddy.
Who was in charge of obscuring the Comic-Con logo? Now the escalator shot is ruined!!
My first order of business on Saturday was to get in line for limited drawings. I wanted to see the Thomas Lennon panel in the Horton Grand Theatre later in the afternoon, so I took my spot in the way, way back, as usual. But I ended up getting tickets with no problem after a little bit of a wait.
Rogue was in a hurry to get in line.
Are we sure this isn't the actual actor from Deadpool 2?
Spider-Punk. Fight the power.
I enjoy both this Orko puppet as well as the emotionless stare from the puppeteer.
Conan...the Bavarian.
What I'm saying is, a lot of people in costume walked by the booth on Saturday.
This is a MEGO Batman, yes?
Here's a guy who had his entire arm covered by Steeler greats. As far as tattoos go, this is a good choice.
I met up with Patric Verrone of Futurama and Disenchantment fame! The second season of Disenchantment is now on Netflix, and I am absolutely loving it.
Okay. This is a seriously fantastic Shepherd Book outfit. Kudos to this guy.
There's something for everyone at Comic-Con.
Not for nothing, but Beaker put a lot more work into his costume for the show.
I went outside for a bit (probably for the Taco Truck) and saw the Game of Thrones group picture setup.
I'm convinced that these are video game characters!
These fine folks were one of several who dressed up as Disenchantment characters on this day. Good on 'em for getting the whole group.
Kyle Rayner is the best Green Lantern! This is a fact.
Look at these! These are great Skeletor and She-Ra costumes.
I saw a group of Batmen as I hung out at the New England Comics booth. Apparently I decided to get all of their pictures individually. Here's Batman Beyond!
Movie Batman!
Marionette Batman! Or is this supposed to be Bat-Mite?
Catwoman!
Oh, and here's a bejeweled Stormtrooper.
Mixed media!
A Terrifics-era Plastic Man!
Fiona and Cake!
By the Power of Grayskull!
As the afternoon was winding down, I went outside and walked to the Horton for the ticketed panel. We all float at Comic-Con.
Lastly, here's a crossover that would be fun to see. There are more pictures from Saturday to come!
In another "exciting" addition to this series, here are some of the many superhero drawings my students create in the shallow hope for bonus points on their final exam booklets. I often ask to see the Hulk (probably the most well-known green-themed character), but when a student brings in a less environmentally friendly blue book (for shame), I allow them to choose a different blue-themed character. In a stunning apparent rebuke of the American educational system, it seems that plenty of my students can't follow simple directions as this year's crop was all over the place. But let's start out with some renderings of the Incredible Hulk:
A couple students showed that they have more than a cursory knowledge of comic book characters and chose Green Lantern as their green superhero.
Someone drew this fairly impressive Super Grover, though why they chose a blue character for a green book is beyond me.
And someone went way off script and drew Link from the Legend of Zelda video game:
This terrible Captain America is actually drawn on a blue book, but for whatever reason, the light blue covers always come out looking a pale green in pictures. Extra points for putting Cap next to the "American Made" logo.
This Superman was probably the best drawn out of all the submissions. Now if only it was on a blue book and not a green one. Whatever.
A few students even drew characters I've never seen before. Here's "Alienman":
No, student, he's not. You are a liar.
And this one is on a blue book with the title "Marvel". Could it be the Blue Beetle? It kind of looks like Night Owl from "Watchmen". But who knows.
And this blue book has a drawing of...could it be The Tick?? Maybe? Perhaps we'll never know.
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