STRANGE TALES #120.

I picked up a copy of STRANGE TALES #120. This is another title that I've been actively pursuing for a few years. I haven't managed to build up a big collection of them, but I have been chipping away at it. I want all of the pre-hero issues that feature art by Kirby and Ditko, of course. But I also want the issues that feature Dr. Strange stories during Steve Ditko's run on the title. I don't want any of the issues featuring Dr. Strange written by anyone other than Steve Ditko.

A lot of the Human Torch stories in STRANGE TALES were written by Dick Ayers. He was not my favorite writer and some of his stories just weren't very well written. I had forgotten that this issue features a story written and illustrated by Jack Kirby. I think Kirby did this one because he wanted to do a cross-over tale with his new creation, the X-Men. In this story he does a team-up yarn with the Human Torch and Ice Man, which is a natural! The characters worked well together in the story. Another fine bit for me is that, while the rest of the team isn't in the issue very much, the rest of the Fantastic Four does make an appearance and there is some good interaction between Johnny Storm and his teammates.

My copy of STRANGE TALES #120. Great cover!

The establishing shot is right out of the pages of THE FANTASTIC FOUR!

The way Ditko opens this book you almost get the impression that he's written a story that merely has Dr. Strange as a narrating device. Very reminiscent of Ditko's weird stories for the title before the superheroes took over.

I love Ditko's comic pages! He did wonders within the otherwise pedestrian grids that he set up to tell his stories!

Another Great Campsite.

Too busy today for much of a post. Maybe later.

For now, a photo of what we have decided is our second-favorite campsite (and campground) of our experience with our Casita: Hurricane Campground in southwest Virginia.

Our great campsite at Hurricane in southwest Virginia. A National Forest facility.

Next Vacation

Carole and I will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this weekend. We'll be taking a trip to a lodge in the NC mountains where we've wanted to stay for some time. I hope it's cool up there above 5,000 feet!

Plus, we're planning our next mountain vacation. We've settled on a spot in Virginia where we've also never been. But we have to get the trailer ready for the trip. Two of the unfortunate things that happened on the latest trip (Outer Banks) is that a leak developed between the water heater and the onboard water tank. It's apparently an easy fix for an expert, but far beyond my ability to repair. It's not a problem for us if we have city water hookups since the leak is only between the onboard water tank and the water heater. But we need to have it fixed ASAP because we like to use out of the way campgrounds that don't have water hookups.

Second, those notorious winds at the Outer Banks tore off our canopy on the trailer and utterly destroyed it. I had to trash the entire unit. Replacing it will cost me somewhere between $700 and $800. Sad, but true.

So...there are mountains in our vacation future.

The wind utterly destroyed our canopy.

Feels weird to see the Casita without its awning.

High country, we're on the way!

Uncle Scrooge #13

Another day and another addition to my comic collection. Although I have been focusing on Silver Age comics by Jack Kirby, I still keep my hand in on other types of old comics. Today I got a copy of UNCLE SCROOGE #13. This book straddles the line between the Golden Age of comics and the Silver Age. Technically speaking, it's (barely) a Silver Age book. But it's classic Golden Age Disney.

I got this issue at a good price on Ebay. However, the seller is a novice and has absolutely no idea how to ship a collectible comic. The package arrived ravaged and bent. But the book is relatively unscathed from the damage, but only by some miracle. All it takes to keep this from happening is to add some sturdy cardboard. It doesn't add to the cost of shipping and only takes a few minutes. I'll know to steer clear of that seller in the future.

When I was a kid, this was one of my favorite Barks Duck stories. It features Uncle Scrooge, Donald, and the nephews as they go below the crust of the Earth when Uncle Scrooge becomes paranoid about earthquakes. Below, they discover a vast cavern of immense proportions and are introduced to some of the most clever creatures of Barks' imagination: The Terries and the Fermies. These roly-poly creatures are the cause of most of the earthquakes on the planet as they engage in duels much like those of Bighorn sheep. They smash into one another, thus causing earthquakes.

A great story ensues as Scrooge and the lads try to extricate themselves from the world of the Terries and the Fermies. When I was a kid this story was probably my favorite of all of the brilliant Barks yarns. It's nice to have the original (March 1956) in my possession once again.

My copy of UNCLE SCROOGE #13.

How one tells a Fermie from a Terrie.

Two interesting things about this back cover: First of all, that Dell (and Disney) thought it important to include what amounts to a very short story on the back cover. They did this often in those days. Often Dell kids comics had a clever little joke of a tale on the back cover. Second is that Dell Pledge to Parents. This was in the worst part of the anti-comics paranoia being generated by the likes of John L. Goldwater (owner of Archie Comics) and the equally slimy asshole, Frederic Wertham (SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT). Dell wanted the parents to know that their comics were wholesome and safe!

FANTASTIC FOUR #8.

I landed a decent copy of FANTASTIC FOUR #8 for my Kirby collection. There are several things notable about this issue. One of which is how common it is as a back issue. From my general experience in my years as a dealer of collectible comics, it is far and away the single most common issue of the first ten issues of the title. When I was a dealer I was rarely without a copy. I attend comic conventions from time to time and just about every serious dealer of back issue comics seems to have at least one copy in stock.

I can't imagine why it's so common. Sometimes I wonder about the availability of certain back issues and the reasons for their relatively great numbers in current days. The bottom line is that these issues sold more than the issues immediately before and after and thus survived in greater amounts. Was it because more copies were distributed? Was it because there was something more appealing in the cover or in the story inside the book? I have no idea.

Issue #8 features a character who went on to become a long-running villain in the history of Kirby's tenure on the book: The Puppet Master (Phillip Masters). As his name indicates, he can control others through the manipulation of puppet likenesses that he constructs. What attached him inexorably to the heroes of the book is that he is the stepfather of Alicia Masters, the woman who became the love interest of Ben Grimm (aka The Thing).

Jack Kirby chose to show the Puppet Master as resembling a puppet himself, most notably Howdy Doody of TV fame. Perhaps it is this resemblance to that TV star that caused the book to sell so well that month, even though the TV show had been long cancelled by the time this issue appeared.

Kirby was still using as a major plot device the fact that Ben Grimm was a kind of loose cannon among the Fantastic Four, one to be feared. Kirby would also use a similar storyline in the Avengers with his other super-strength-endowed anti-hero, The Incredible Hulk. It was quite an effective device and although Kirby used it time and again in various issues of the FF he was able to keep the stories fresh enough so that it never became tired and predictable.

My copy of FANTASTIC FOUR #8.

In these early issues Grimm would still make the transition from monster to human and back again on a relatively often basis.

We see just how powerful and how scary Grimm can be.

Kirby explains how the Human Torch's powers work.

Harvey Pekar, Again.

I just read OUR CANCER YEAR by Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, and Frank Stack. I'll comment on it tomorrow (if I can find time to write a proper review). For now, I'll only say that it's wonderful work. Very highly recommended.

OUR CANCER YEAR by Harvey Peak, Joyce Brabner, and Frank Stack.

Wherever you go...

The Outer Banks are, of course, part of the South. So it's to be expected, I suppose, that you would run into right wing assholes. We stayed most of the time on the southern portion of the Outer Banks. That section is far less developed than the northern half. This is mainly because Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island have a huge percentage of National Park-protected acreage. Thus, there's no opportunity to overbuild and create a morass of buildings, shopping centers, and parking lots.

In addition, this has made some people unable to (in their eyes) profit from exploiting the land. They feel that their own position would be greatly improved if they could level the forests and carve down the dunes and put gas stations and condo units and retail shops in their places. I kept seeing signs excoriating the National Park Service and the Audobon Society for having the temerity to preserve the best about the Outer Banks.

Asshole right wing dinks. They're everywhere. Fortunately, they don't always win the debate.

Trail. Pea Island Wildlife Refuge.

Freshwater marsh, Bodie Island Preserve.

Large snapping turtle. Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Buxton Woods. The right wing dinks seem to especially hate this spot, because its protection kept many buildings from being built atop the forests and dunes and marshes.

Trail in Buxton Woods.

Dune field, Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Sale Still On!

The first part of my post-apocalyptic zombie COALITION trilogy is still on sale. Grab your copy now! (Or later. It's all up to you.)

Part 1 and Part 2 available now. Part 3 coming very soon!

Found Places.

I enjoy finding new parks in my neck of the woods. Even small parks can be fun if they're based around unique formations or interesting history. While we were at the Transportation Museum we picked up a pamphlet for the local county that had spots to see. One of them was something called "Dunn's Mountain Park". Well, since we were in an area that I would not think of as mountainous I figured this had to be some kind of monadnock or isolated hill and might be worth checking out.

So, as soon as we left the museum we headed out for the park with our trusty GPS device and soon found it after about a ten-mile drive.

Dunn's Mountain is, in fact, a small pluton. Once used as a granite quarry, it's now a county park and also contains a fair amount of acreage protected by a local environmental group. There is a parking area at the base of the Dunn's Mountain (a hill of solid rock about 200 feet tall), a road to the top, a trail to the summit, and a visitor's center on the top.

These folk are serious about protecting whatever it is that's ecologically unique about Dunn's Mountain. The entire park is surrounded by chain link fence. The road to the summit is a narrow gravel way lined on either side by chain link fence. And the trail to the top is also lined or either side by the same chain link fence. There are signs everywhere admonishing you to stay on the trails and not to cross or climb the fence. So you can't really explore the park in any way.

All you can do it go to the top and see the summit and the visitor's center and overlooks. Which is nice enough, but frustrating if, like me, you have an adventurous streak. Near the top of the mountain are a series of natural granite obelisks begging to be explored. But you can't get to them because of the fencing. Oh, well. At least the place is protected.

If you are curious about geology and are looking for a peaceful place to spend a couple of hours, Dunn's Mountain Park is pretty cool.

Overlook near the top of the old quarry.

The very nice visitor's center on the very summit.

Off in the distance you can see the outline of the Uwharrie Mountains, to which this hill is probably geologically connected.

Flooded section of the most recent quarry activity (before the park was formed).

99% of the park is off limits to exploration.

Man, I would have loved to explore the big granite outcrops up there.

Of course with access to the rocks, the locals would probably take the opportunity to spray them with graffiti.

The nice people of the county have provided you with FREE shuttle rides to and from the top of Dunn's Mountain if you don't want to use the walking trail. Very cool!

Everyone

There are few things that make me feel proud to be an American. Among these things are our National Park System (we were the first nation to create such), and some of the individuals who helped to make the country and the world a better place.

These two things coincide with the Wright Brothers Memorial at Kill Devil Hills. I wish every American could see this place. It took me almost 57 years to witness it. I wish I'd seen it sooner, but better late than never. I won't get into a lot of details about why this is such an Earth-shaking spot, and why we should all see it, and why we should be happy and proud that it happened. All I'll say is that if you ever get the chance, you should stop and see this place and listen to what the Park rangers have to tell you about the Wright Brothers and what they accomplished.

You really should.

The happy couple at one of the granite monuments where the first flights took place.

Kill Devil Hill. It was once a wandering sand dune. But the Park Service has seeded it with various plants that have locked it in place. 110-feet tall, it was once the tallest sand dune on the east coast (Jockey's Ridge has that distinction now). The Wright Brothers walked up this damned hill over 1,000 times! To launch their glider prototype!

The Wright Brothers Memorial on the summit of the hill.

Looking down on the National Park site. Below, at the far end of that concrete pathway, is the original airway where Orville and Wilbur Wright finally saw their flying machine take flight.

Carole descends the hill ahead of me (blue blazer). Beyond the trees is the overbuilt monstrosity of Nags Head. Thank Jove the Park Service saved this site from development.

Ironically, as I was getting ready to walk off the hill, a Navy AWACS plane flew almost directly overhead.

The Wright Brothers built their own freaking wing tunnel to test their glider's capability when the one they had constructed on older specifications wouldn't work.

 

They couldn't find anyone who could supply them with the type of engine they needed for their Wright flyer...so they created their own! American ingenuity? Screw that...American genius!

Jockey's Ridge

Another interesting spot we visited on the Outer Banks was Jockey's Ridge State Park. This is at the northern part of the Banks where there is a lot of commercial development. I did not like that part of the island chain because of the overbuilt construction and auto traffic (and crowds). There is still a lot to see, and I wouldn't want to dissuade anyone from going. It's just that it wasn't the kind of place I generally like.

But it does have some exceptional sights to see, one of which is Jockey's Ridge, the biggest, tallest sand dune on the east coast of North America.

Sand dunes don't generally come to mind when I think of geological formations, but they are. Just as with any such anomaly of earth and physics, they can be as impressive as any mountain or canyon. The height of Jockey's Ridge apparently fluctuates quite a bit, going as low as 80 feet above sea level to as high as 110 feet above sea level. And the dune is enormous, taking up a vast amount of space there in the island. You can see far in every direction from the bare summit of the ridge.

The beginning of the trail to the top of Jockey's Ridge.

Surprisingly, there's a small freshwater pond lodged between several of the big dunes. It was full of minnows and tadpoles. I even saw some birds land there briefly while I was among the dunes.

I continued around the pond and assaulted the ridge.

For a good relation of the size of this gigantic dune (only partially seen in this photo), those tiny dots near the top are people.

Again...if you look closely you can see some figures on the top of the far dune. Those are people with hang gliders waiting for a good wind for launch.

Here is an image that's a good illustration of the nature of dunes...they "walk". In this case they are walking over this pine forest and will, I assume, completely cover it at some time.

As I headed back I had to round the pond again. You can see a crowd of tourists on the wooden overlook, some of them having descended like ants to tackle the Ridge. I had been lucky and had shared the dune with only one family--parents and a daughter.

Almost alone up there!

Streamliners!

Carole and I went to the NC Transportation Museum today to see a once-in-a-lifetime display of old streamliner locomotives. I'm not a huge railroad fan, but we figured we should see this before the vast number of operational machines are all carted off to various museums around the nation.

Details tomorrow. Maybe.

The bulk of the locomotives were on display in this area.

There were more than 40 of these grand streamliners at the museum. Almost all of them are operational.

Absolutely gorgeous machines.

In the old locomotive repair building at the museum.

This locomotive was probably my favorite of the lot. So Carole and I got a fellow to take our photo with it.