Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Holy shit is that Captain America in Hayward California!?

Highway 580 Hayward California
So all the stuff you see below this opening photo was stuff I was planning on posting along with a Black Panther movie review which I already have tickets to see on opening weekend. But when my buddy Sammy (fellow comic book/sci-fi fanboy) text this photo from earlier today while he was cruising down 580 I was like fuck it it's time for a new blog posting right now. According to Sammy this guy was really hauling ass but I betcha even a minor accident would have been a quick wake up call to this idiot that he's not a super soldier with an indestructible shield on his back. Among all the cities in the San Francisco metro area Hayward is certainly not one of the ones that you're likely to see some thing cool like this but once in a while you get lucky kinda like I did last fall when I saw the Batmobile at a down town vintage car show . . .
http://suicidesquadtaskforcex.blogspot.com/2017/09/black-power.html

Ya know it's funny, probably a third of the back issues I buy from discount boxes are of comics I had back in the 80s but some where along the way over the years lost or traded away. Sometimes I think it's worthwhile to pick something up again and give it a second look with a fresh pair of eyes.
One such issue is Avengers 253 which was kind of a cool issue aside from the ROM connection. In it, The Vision's conscience enters a number of global computer networks around the world in an ill conceived plan in order to take over the world and make it a better place. There's clearly some elements of TRON in that concept as well as the computer intelligence taking over the world narrative which have spawned a ton of sci-fi movies like The Forbin Project, The Terminator, I Robot or The Matrix.
For those of you who've read ROM 43 remember that The Living Computer Quasimodo had possessed ROM's armor but was driven out by the mind controlled Brandy Clark who was merged with the Starshine armor at the time. Now they never really explained after having been driven out what happened to Quasimodo his conscience represented as this ghost image just kinda disappears in the air and keep in mind all that shit happened at some kind of secret base in The Soviet Union (or call it Russia if you prefer but who gives a fuck same difference).

Avengers 253
Back in the mid 80s when I first had this issue I completely missed this. Despite the absence of a foot note (dumb ass writing over site) it's pretty obvious Quasimodo is making a reference to ROM 43 which I was able to confirm on the Quasimodo entry page in The Ultimate Marvel Universe Handbook (issue 10 Vol. 2).
Avengers 252
Oh and look at this clip art from the previous Avengers issue. Even though it was written in 1985 talk about no truer words ever spoken in the current political climate of this country. Chris Evans has done such a great job with the Captain America role it makes me want to see him run in 2020. Pretty sure unlike trump, Chris Evens wouldn't get an endorsement from that racist and anti-Semitic piece of shit david duke.


In case you didn't happen to have seen this before. Oh my goodness how could you not love the 80s? Poly bag sets, spinner racks, comics at your local liquor store and 7-Eleven not to mention none of this $2.99 and $3.99 cover price bullshit.


Also pretty cool in case you didn't happen to have seen this before. Now I know what some of you might be thinking right something along the lines of "hey wait a minute those are dire wraiths from IDW and you had that ROM in name only reboot".
Yes that's true, however the dire wraiths from Marvel were shape shifters as well so if we stretch our imaginations a bit one might say this is the original ROM busting up and banishing these fools. Anyways, I found this on deviant art and the guy who staged this has a bunch of other cool toy scenes based on comic book clip art. Especially cool if you're an 80s Transformers fan . . . 
https://urbn1nja.deviantart.com/gallery/


Ok it's back to more Star Wars stuff. I recently recovered this old passport (long story don't ask) I had as a kid I totally forgot about it. It was valid from 1978 to 1983. I'm guessing I was around 8 or 9 when I did this Empire Strikes Back doodle and clearly at that age you don't understand that it's not legal to be drawing fan art on federal documents.

11 comments:

  1. That is awesome! Thanks for featuring my stuff. I'm not a super huge Rom fan but I have been researching and learning about both Marvel and IDW takes on him. He's pretty interesting :D. Also with your fan art heheh, you were a kid. It passes and look how strong that Star Wars influence was! :D

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    1. always happy to show case any sort of cool new ROM related stuff here so believe me when i say it was my pleasure. i hope you'll continue your research of the ROM character by the way. as for Star Wars, yeah it was pretty much a staple part of my child hood in the late 70s and through out the 80s. i must have been around 8 or 9 when i drew that on my passport.

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  2. That little Star Wars montage is just too cute for words, ha ha.

    Shit, the more I see that ROM figure, the more it tempts me. Can't find it on Amazon and I don't do Ebay, so there goes that.

    I have seen that 80's comic packaging before. So simple, yet so powerful based off the nostalgia factor. Not cover with Antman ain't too shabby either.

    I guess Cap's just making sure he gets a good seat to watch his buddy T'Challa's movie ;)

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    1. yeah like i said before the first thing i realized after getting the figure was how unflattering the photos for it on the internet had been. i'm glad to see better photos having turned up for it and i'm glad to have also done my part to that end. so what's up with you and ebay Dale? gotta be a story behind that statement. hopefully nothing quite as angst driven as you and farcebook :)

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  3. No, nothing like that, I just don't trust the whole ebay process or the concept of Paypal. I've heard experience both good and bad about it, and just decided to avoid it altogether is all.

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    1. I've never had a bad experience with buying something on eBay or using PayPal to pay for it. There's stuff on eBay I've never seen for sale any where else like that Hasbro 80s set not too mention a loose Rom figure from it. In all these months I have yet to see any of it at any of the cons or comic/ collectibles toy shops I've been to. Seems to me you're cutting yourself off from a good source for finding cool and rare shit.

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  4. I love seeing your illustrations from the 80's. I have a hard time getting rid of anything I had as a kid, right down to my Crystar collection. Every time I think I should get rid of some of the comics (usually when I'm moving) I push through, pack it up, and assign it a closet. Even though I could really use the space. To me it's just a piece of a really wonderful childhood and a connection that has carried through into my mid-life. It reminds me I'm the same person. And I like that.

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  5. the Star Wars passport made me smile so hard i nearly cried :)

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    1. i gotta nice little smile and chuckle out of your postings about the dinosaurs and with the wise man. and actually a couple other recent ones as well you should have a look at the comments i left.

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  6. That last picture is precious buddy!

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  7. That Cap backpack is cool! Whoever thought of that idea is genius. Now if they just offered Winter Soldier robot arms that would be great.

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