From the Archives

Last week I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days at the Library and National Archives of Canada in Ottawa. It’s just a couple of blocks west of the Parliament buildings on Wellington and backs onto the Ottawa…

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Barry Smith on the road to Windsor

Barry Smith is a rarity in comic book artists. His first work was X-Men # 53 and was very much like many artists who came into comics at that time, a student of Jack Kirby. This issue in and of itself is really remembered because it was Barry Smith's first work , not because of the Blastaar story it contained. He did a few short stories in Marvels' horror comics, Tower of Shadows, Chamber of Darkness, a three issue stint on Daredevil(#50 -52) and then came Kazar and ...Conan.
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Undervalued Spotlight #199

Dell Giant #48, Dell Comics, July 1961. Dell Giant #48 is also known as Flintstones #1 and represents the 1st comic book appearance for the gang from Bedrock. Don't you love it when you go through a box of comics you haven't gone through in years and end up finding little gems you forgot you even had. That's what happened to me with this book, as soon as I pulled it out I said "they that's Flintstones #1"! I've always loved this comic probably because I've always been a Flintstones fan.
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Superman – Good Ol’ Farmboy

Superheroes come from all walks of life. There are millionaires and billionaires. There are scientists, geniuses and really smart people. There are soldiers, spies and former bad-asses who walk the thin line between right and wrong. There are also angst filled teenagers, and people with emerging powers trying to find the balance between being a hero and a normal person. But there is only one who I immediately think of who is a farmer... and that is Superman.
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Scenes from Fan Expo Vancouver 2014

Fan Expo Vancouver rolled into town on April 18 to 20. This was the third edition of Fan Expo in Vancouver and it was another big success. This year's Expo was expanded to three days instead of two, and it was a little unusual to fall on the Easter holiday weekend. Like the upcoming 2014 Fan Expo in Toronto, this year's Fan Expo Vancouver was scheduled on a holiday long weekend, and this may have prevented some folks from attending. On the bright side, the organizers seemed to have solved the long line-ups problem from last year, as this year's wait lines didn't seem as long as the ones from last year.
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For The Love Of Collecting

So how do we make wise decisions as collectors and as businessmen or women? I really don't have a magical answer to that question. I have both bought and sold books, and afterward wondered why I did either, but invariably a lot of it comes down to money. Moulaaah, cash flow! Even if I have a great copy of an issue, when I see one that is a little bit nicer I can justify buying it with no problem whatsoever.
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GTA Comic Con 2014

April 19th/2014 was the inaugural GTA Comic Con at the Sheraton Hotel in Toronto. The show was organized and presented by RPG Events, who also organizes the Canadian ToyCon and Burlington Toy Show. This was their first foray into being a straight comic book convention, with of course, attractions for all fans of comics, toys, collectibles and general "nerdery".
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