Vintage Harvey Comics Covers- Hot Stuff #100

While we are recovering from the NCAA basketball tournament losses for Georgetown, UNC, Harvard, Colorado and well so many teams we were rooting for, we thought we'd post this vintage Harvey Comics cover for "Hot Stuff," issue #100. I believe I have a copy of this comic book, but alas it is not in good condition. We believe this particular issue came out in 1980.
Free Comic Book Day which will celebrated at places like Chapel Hill Comics in Chapel Hill, NC, will be on Saturday, May 4th.

chapelhillcomics.com

Happy Belated Halloween

Since all the public libraries in Roanoke Rapids, NC, (not really where I am at) are closed on Sunday so everyone can attend the radical, far-right fire and brimstone Baptist church of their choice, we were not able to post an entry yesterday.

But today we dedicate this entry to Hot Stuff, the beloved Harvey Comics character, who is also known officially as Hot Stuff the Little Devil. Hot Stuff debuted with Harvey Comics in October of 1957, which makes him almost old enough to get a senior citizens' discount at the Denny's in Lynchburg, Va.

Hot Stuff was created and drawn by the late Warren Kremer (1921-2003) who also drew Richie Rich for Harvey Comics. Howard Post (1926-2010) was also instrumental in developing Hot Stuff's look. Incidentally, I'm not sure how they worked out the licensing agreement, but (acording to Wikipedia) Hot Stuff is the mascot for Dysat High School in El Mirage, Ariz.

Entry 666.........

Since we are blogging from a public library in Mount Airy, NC, (well, somewhere within a days drive from there), we thought it might be wise not to have too much fun with this, particularly after the Koran-burning brewhaha that the whacko Rev. Terry Jones of Gainesville, Fla. stirred up. If I have learned one thing over the years, it is that very religious people, regardless if they are Baptist, Catholic, Jewish, Mormon or Muslim can get offended quite easily.........!!! However, this indeed our 666th entry.

And, should one be interested in "Hot Stuff" (well the Harvey Comics series was popular circa 1975, so they probably don't have any back issues in stock) or any other comic book title and you live in The Tarheel State, I highly recommend a stop at Chapel Hill Comics in Chapel Hill, NC, particularly if UNC's football team is playing in College Park, Md. (well, the logical assumption is that there would be better parking availability).

Chapel Hill Comics is now offering eight different styles Scott Pilgrim t-shirts which would be perfect for a job interview at Bank of America. (For those of you in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, or Provo, Utah, that is a joke)

Things We Learned on Twitter Today....Hot as You-Know-What in Richmond, Va.

On Twitter, this p.m., we learned that Richmond, Va., which is relatively close to the zip code I'm in right now, is literally hot as hell.

According to the Twitter site RVaWx (Richmond, Va., weather), the state capital of the Old Dominion is 95 degrees today. There are winds coming into town from the northwest at 14 MPH with mostly cloudy conditions.

The relative humidity in the city where Dave Matthews used to play for five dollars a night (semi-true story!) is at 44 percent.

In other parts of the world, it is about 82 degrees in Bursa, Turkey, 81 degrees in Puebla, Mexico, and 84 degrees in Billings, Montana (wow, it sure is hot out west too!).

SIDEBAR: We were joking the other day about the ambassador to Syria being on "The Charlie Rose Show" the other night. But, the joke was on us as we found out through Google that there is apparently no official American ambassador in Damascus at the moment, but Chuck Hunter is the Deputy Chief of Mission there. Imad Moustapha is the current Syrian ambassador in Washington, DC. Tonight, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be on Charlie Rose.

SIDEBAR TWO: Kudos to our good friend Moviezzz for taking a vacation. He will not be blogging for a while, but we highly suggest that any of you interested in developments in tv or film take a look at his back catalogue. By the time, you're done, you should know which seasons of "The Barbara Stanwyck Show" are available on dvd. *

*-Ok, it's seasons one and two.

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Antique Car (Our 500th Entry!)

Ahh, this would be a great day to go down to Chapel Hill, NC, to visit Chapel Hill Comics, but as it is they are giving free comic books on Saturday as May 1st is Free Comic Book Day. Acme Comics in Greensboro, NC, is also participating in the event.

Perhaps, someone at one of those two stores has the first issue of "Howard the Duck." Oh right! I almost forgot---I actually have that one (it came out in 1975). It's more economical (which means it's worth much, much less) than the first issue of "Batman." But, I don't have the first issue of the Harvey Comics' icon "Hot Stuff."

It is great to reach the 500-entry milestone. For that reason, we are posting an entry with an image of an antique race car (since many racetracks are 500 miles long). I've only been to one car race in my life and that was at the Franklin County Speedway near Rocky Mount, Va., when I was a teenager.

My Favorite Silly Photo to Fill Space Entry so far for this blog has been (if I can admit this publicly) Barney the Dinosaur, perhaps because a small part of me likes to get on folks' nerves!

My Christmas Gift Wish List 4 Next Year (Satire)

1. Zhu Zhu Hamsters
2. Che Guevara t-shirt (pictured)
3. Glock 19 gun (pictured)
4. Mister Potato Head (pictured)
5. "The Wire" box set*
6. $50 Starbucks gift certificate (s)
7. Chuck Norris' "The Delta Force" on dvd
8. The Octagon Hot Dog Converter**
9. First issue of "Hot Stuff" (pictured)***
10. Subscription to "Mother Jones"

*- I have to thank comic strip artist Keith Knight ("The Knight Life") for that idea.
**- Yes, this is an actual product
***- If anyone can look its value up in "Wizard," I'd appreciate it.


PS_ If anyone in my late father's hometown Istanbul, Turkey, is stumbling upon this blog_ yes, us Americans are insane! But, not many are as over-the-top as me.....

Happy Birthday Mom from Casper the Friendly Ghost

After deliberating of which cartoon character should wish my mother Lila Sullivan a happy 70th birthday, we came up with Casper the Friendly Ghost. It was more or less a completely random choice!


SIDEBAR: Actor Ben Stiller became the 500th person I'm now following on Twitter. I highly recommend him for other tweeters. His Twitter home page is: http://twitter.com/RedHourBen

I'm not sure if he's in any movies this holiday season, but I know he's not in "Avatar."

UPDATE: I'm sure my Facebook friend Andrew Neal would want to tell everyone that Casper and other comic books are available for the holidays at his comic book store on Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill, NC, which is called Chapel Hill Comics. I would say unless you live in North Pole, Alaska, it's worth the drive!

Movies of Our Youth_ (11 of 12) "Ghostbusters"

My good friend Jason Garnett is screening the 1984 comedy classic "Ghostbusters" at the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va., on the eve of Halloween with a midnight show on Friday, Oct. 30.

We'll forgive the kitschy title song by Ray Parker Jr.


PS_ There is a related Harvey Comics image on our sister "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" (check our links below).