X-men, Superman, Spiderman and his amazing friends, The Hulk, Justice League, Dragon ball Z, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Thundercats, Bravestarr, Thundarr the Barbarian, Ironman, Fantastic 4, and so on and so on. I’m 33 and I’m addicted to superhero cartoons and movies.

I mean every since the invention of the DVR (digital video recorder), I can’t get enough of all the crime fighting stuff. Am I alone, and does anybody else like an overload of Spidey or X-men? Maybe I’m jealous, and it’s the fact that kids today are spoiled silly, and as a kid I was unable to watch toons quite as much. I remember watching a little bit of cartoons before school, a hour or so after, maybe.

To be honest Saturday morning was the main time of the week to get your fill of cartoons. But in this day and age of 1,000,000 cable channels, there are several that just show cartoons. Which means that at any given time, a kid can just turn it on and watch away. I use to call my son in the room, just so I could say, ” I was watching superhero shows with him”. Now I just don’t care anymore, and I DVR everything. Justice League Unlimited is my favorite right now and it’s like the soaps for dudes or something.

I never knew watching Superman and Batman could be so drama filled, and everybody has a girlfriend. But enough about me and what I love, what is the message that superheroes convey. I think that heroes appeal to the good inside of everyone. We all would like to think that if we somehow gained unlimited power, that it would be used for the good of all mankind. I mean dedicating your entire existence to helping others, that’s what a hero truly is. Which brings me to my favorite part of the comics, the Super Villain.

It’s amazing how most of the villains were all good at one point, and there is always a specific chain of events to turn them evil. Is that the truth about most of mankind, and does everybody have just a little bit of evil hidden deep inside of them? Most villains are extremely rational, too rational and blinded by there desires. In desperate situations they can often be reasoned with for the good of everybody involved. But some evil knows no boundaries, an chaotic evil characters are the best example of this. Some beings just don’t care about money, wealth, or assets. There only purpose and deepest desire is the watch everything and everybody burn.

When I was younger and read about Superman’s battles with Darkseid, superman asked him, “what is was that he was after”. He replied, “the Anti-Life Equation”, and I’m like 8 years old but I fully understood what he sought! Total and complete devastation, and nothing less would be acceptable for him. Superman then replied,” I will never stop fighting and I will always be here to stop you. The world NEEDS heroes like that! It could be said the firefighters and red cross volunteers are real life heroes.

Courage in face of danger and hopelessness, that’s my definition of a hero and I love them for that. I think I just enjoy watching the struggle between good and evil. It never seems to bore me, and I just can’t get enough of it. I’m always open to a discussion with anybody regarding, superpowers, best heroes, villains or anything else DC or Marvel related.

New Funnies Is Excellent Golden Age Comic Book Run

Let’s talk about New Funnies comics, one of the best Golden Age comic book series in my opinion.

New Funnies is a Golden Age comic book series that started off just called The Funnies. With issue No. 64 (in 1942), the comic began focusing on Walter Lantz characters, such as Andy Panda and Oswald the Rabbit. With issue No. 65, it was renamed New Funnies.

Woody Woodpecker was also one of the Lantz characters who appeared in the book. He was such a new character at the time, he was a guest-star in the Oswald the Rabbit stories for a year or two before he received his own comic strip in New Funnies. At first, Woody’s strip was only one page. With issue No. 87, he began receiving a longer strip. Of course, as time went on, Woody Woodpecker became Walter Lantz’ biggest star and was featured on most New Funnies covers from the mid-1940s until it was cancelled in the early 1960s.

New Funnies is a great series. Not only are issues fairly easy to find–something surprising for a Golden Age comic book series–but many issues are not too expensive. Of course, the most sought-after issues are the earliest issues from the time the book switched from its early format to featuring the Lantz characters. The earliest Lantz-centric issues can cost hundreds of dollars in near-mint condition. Some issues that are highlights include issue No. 65 (the first issue of New Funnies), No. 69 (nice Halloween cover with Andy Panda, Raggedy Ann, and Felix the Cat), No. 89 and No. 101 (both World War II war bond covers).

In my opinion, some of the best covers are the ones that feature three great Lantz characters together: Woody Woodpecker, Andy Panda and Charlie Chicken, a character who only appeared in a few cartoons but was featured in the comics from the 1940s to the 1970s. He’s one of those forgotten characters who never received large-scale fame. Charlie Chicken appeared in two Andy Panda cartoons in the 1940s: Andy Panda’s Victory Garden and Meatless Tuesday. Oddly, he fought Andy in both cartoons. They chased each other around Andy’s farm. I call this odd because in New Funnies (and Andy Panda’s own series) Charlie was Andy Panda’s pal.

Charlie first appeared in print in New Funnies No. 79 as a small chicken. As far as I can tell from my research (I don’t own all the issues), Charlie was a full-grown chicken by his next comic book appearance. He was one of the stars in New Funnies for decades, even getting his own comic strip in the series.

Yes, if you are a fan of Golden Age cartoons, Golden Age comic books or the Walter Lantz characters, I recommend picking up some old New Funnies issues via online comic book stores or eBay. You will not be disappointed in the prices or quality of the stories. Also, we need to keep the classic Golden Age characters alive!

I am an owner of Halloween Hill, an online store that sells haunted house props, as well as Halloween decorations. I am also a comic book collector and have been for more than 25 years!

Pluto – Mickey’s Loyal Best Friend

Pluto, also known as Pluto the Pup, is Mickey’s pet dog in the Walt Disney world. He is not like Goofy, as he cannot speak and he walks on all four legs. Despite this, he shows off his personality as a pet dog in cartoons and comics. He communicates by barking accompanied with his facial expressions. He is a very loyal and friendly dog, and follows most of the general characteristics of a perfect dog and pet.

He started out as an unknown bloodhound, but eventually he became a permanent character as Mickey’s pet dog. His name was given in 1931 in the cartoon “The Moose Hunt”. Ever since then, he has been appearing in almost all of the cartoons and comics with Mickey and the gang. After he was shown, he has become the fifth most popular Disney character, just following Goofy. And he was also named the number one greatest animated pet of all time.

Pluto also had his own cartoons and had a set of doggie friends like Fifi the Peke, Ronnie the St. Bernard, and Dinah the Dachshund. Fifi was his first girlfriend, since she was the pet dog of Minnie Mouse. Later, he fell in love with Dinah the Dachshund. With his friends, he escaped from people like Black Pete and Donald Duck, who tried to capture them at various times.

Pluto, along with the other Disney Characters, appeared in the video game “Kingdom Hearts” and is still Mickey’s pet dog. He goes around helping Mickey and delivering things. In the sequel to the game, he stays with the character Kairi and follows her around.

Andy Panda – Unsung Character From the Golden Age of Cartoons and Comics

When you mention Andy Panda, many people respond, “Who?” However, there was a time when the bear was a major player in the world of cartoons. He is a character from the Golden Age of animation, and a great one, too.

Andy was created by the legendary Walter Lantz, the same creator of the famous Woody Woodpecker. In fact, Woody first appeared in an Andy Panda cartoon. But, let’s get back to the little-known Panda.

Andy was actually quite popular in the 1940s. His first cartoon was Life Begins for Andy Panda in 1939. He starred in multiple cartoons in the 1940s and had his own comic strip in New Funnies comics from the 1940s to the 1960s. He even had his own comic book series as recently as the 1970s. One thing I loved about the comics is he had a sidekick named Charlie Chicken. They were a little like Abbott and Costello to me.

I always liked Andy and Woody cartoons as a child, and they were rerun continuously in the 1970s and ’80s. I have fond memories of watching 1940s’ Andy Panda cartoons before and after school. My favorite cartoon is Apple Andy. In the cartoon, Andy fights with the good and bad side of himself. The good side is a panda that looks like an angel. The bad side is–you guessed it–a panda that looks like the devil.

In the cartoon, the bad side convinces Andy to skip school and steal a farmer’s apples. He eats so many apples that he passes out and dreams he goes to Hell. In the end he wakes up, defeats his bad side and goes back to school. Yes, some early cartoons were eerie and amusing at the same time. I am glad they were still shown on television in the 1980s.

Andy is not completely lost to limbo, though. Recently, DVD sets of old Woody Woodpecker and Andy Panda cartoons were released for sale. You can’t keep a good character down forever! a comic book collector and have been for more than 25 years!

If you remember Andy, feel free to comment! I would like to hear your memories.

Comics 101 – What Are Super-Heroes?

A super-hero is a fictional character – typically an adventurer or vigilante of some sort – with superhuman powers or abilities (physical, mental or spiritual in nature), whose exploits are chronicled almost entirely in comic books or other media adaptations of those comic book adventures. These are typically children’s cartoons, but several super-hero movies have been released in the past 10 years.

Some common characteristics include:

• A brightly-colored, skin-tight, often thematic costume (Batman’s costume resembles a giant bat, Captain America’s costume is in patriotic red, white and blue)
• A need to keep his or her identity secret. This is often in an attempt to protect the hero’s loved ones.
• A strong moral code. A hero will often do something with no more motivation than, “It’s the right thing to do.”
• Weapons or other gear that are impossible with current science.

Not all super-heroes fall neatly into those characteristics (The Fantastic Four, for example, do not operate with secret identities), but most do.

Super-heroes can trace their history to the pulp heroes of the 1920s and 30s.

Specifically, elements of Doc Savage, who was the peak of human evolution, can be seen in Superman’s abilities in his earliest adventures; and Batman’s dark tone can be drawn to The Shadow, while his costume has more in common with comic strip hero, The Phantom. The Phantom predates Superman, but because Superman has super-human powers, he is generally considered the first super-hero.

The vast majority of super-hero comic books produced today are published by either DC Comics or Marvel Comics. In fact, they co-own the copyright to the term “super-hero.” No other comic book company can use “super-hero” or any variation of the term.

Super-hero stories lend themselves well to other genres, from the “intergalactic cop” science fiction of Green Lantern to the Law & Order kind of police procedural in Powers.

Most modern super-hero stories continue to feel the impact of The Watchmen. Characters that were written primarily for children for 40-70 years are now dealing with much more mature themes including political corruption, betrayal, madness, and what happens when the “bad guys” win. Lex Luthor has been President of the United States, and Norman “Green Goblin” Osborn is, as of this writing, currently one of the most powerful politicians in the Marvel Universe.

The future of super-heroes is as uncertain as super-hero comics. As independent comics and graphic novels gain a greater foothold in the industry, DC and Marvel are taking more chances with their properties, allowing creators the opportunity to dramatically kill off all but the most recognizable properties if it suits the needs of the story.

R. Wesley Smith has been involved with comic books for over twenty-five years. He is a freelance writer and regularly submits columns on the comic book industry to Examiner.com. You can find his most recent columns at http://www.examiner.com, keyword: “Wesley Smith.”

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Dave runs Collectible-Jewelry.com, where you can get information on all types of different collectible jewelry gifts. Be sure to check out the Disney Character Charm Bracelet, the perfect gift for the Disney fan!

Visit me at http://www.halloween-hill-props.com (where I sell Halloween props and decorations) and at http://comicbooksandthings.blogspot.com (where I discuss Walter Lantz characters, cartoons and comics).

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Now that you have taken the time to read this post, take the time and read my many other posts, am sure you will find what you need.

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