Fiction House artwork on display at Geppi's museum

In his Scoop newsletter column, Curator Arnold Blumberg says they've put on display original art from "an installment in an ongoing strip, “Simba, King of the Beasts,” published by Fiction House in Jungle Comics... with art by William Allison."

New exhibit at Geppi's Entertainment Museum is ... new?

Arnold Blumberg in Diamond's Scoop newsletter for June 6th wrote,

Beginning Saturday, June 14, 2008, we’re stepping “Out of the Box” and allowing visitors both young and old to get hands-on with pop culture by giving everyone an up close look at the characters that are popular right now with toys that you can actually touch and play with. It’s the future of pop culture today!

While it may sound strange to shift from a retrospective to something so up-to-date, it’s worth remembering the bigger picture. The mission of our museum demands that we not only take a look at what toys and characters shaped American pop culture and entertainment in the past, but which ones are defining our present and future. After all, those toys you see in the stores today and all those TV shows and movies you’re watching now are going to be the subject of museum exhibitions themselves before we know it, so why not get a head start on the process? It won’t be as easy to play with them when they’re locked behind glass!

Our “Out of the Box” exhibition will run until December 2008, and in addition to the toys and the opportunity to build and play right here at the museum, we’ll also be featuring giveaways, face painting, costumed characters, and much more. You can find out more by calling us at (410) 625-7060, e-mailing us at info@geppismuseum.com, or visiting the museum website at www.geppismuseum.com.

America's first political cartoon appeared today

According to the Associated Press's Today in History, Ben Franklin's 1754 cartoon of the thirteen colonies as a cut-apart snake appeared with the caption "Join or Die" appeared today in his newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette. Why are mention it here? There's an original on display in Baltimore in Geppi's Entertainment Museum. It's tiny, but cool. If you don't live around here, an easy place to see it was in the intro credits to HBO's John Adams miniseries. Special update: Also Richard Thompson redrew it and posted it on his blog.

Speaking of Geppi's, curator Arnold Blumberg and Geppi both appeared in the Free Comic Book Day Jughead issue from Archie. The whole comic is set in the museum.

Geppi's Entertainment Museum reviewed

See "Travel Through Time — One Exhibit at a Time," by William Gatevackes, Broken Frontier April 02, 2008.

Baltimore City Paper reviews GEM's Scrooged exhibit UPDATED

Read "One Quack Mind: Good Duck Artist Carl Barks' Best Work Sadly Lost to The Dustbin," by Christopher Skokna, and then go see the exhibit and make up your own mind.

UPDATE: Andy H of GEM wrote in to note, "The two Carl Barks non-Disney series we have representations from are:

Famous Figures of History as They Might Have Looked Had Their Genes Gotten Mixed with Waterfowl

Kings and Queens of Myth and Legend."

While I agree with the Baltimore City Paper review that these aren't great works of art for all time, I do think for the student of comics or Carl Barks, they're very interesting and rarely seen. So there.

Carl Barks exhibit at Geppi's Entertainment Museum

The Scoop newsletter's article Carl Barks in the Spotlight at GEM: "Scrooged!" has more detail on the new exhibit in Baltimore.

Geppi's Entertainment Museum photos from 'Scrooged' exhibit and more

I, along with some friends, got a tour of the new exhibit at Geppi's Entertainment Museum which opens at the end of January. Curator Arnold and Registrar Andy kindly took us through the whole museum. I'll post more thoughts later, but here's the pictures. As I've said before, it's a cool museum, and there's a lot of Barks originals here that none of us would see any place else. And for fun, a Happy Hooligan toy where the cops beat on him as it rolls and an ad by Winsor McCay in a section not open to the public. The Museum's closed on Monday's during the winter, so watch out for that, but it's well worth seeing. Steve Geppi's got a collection to envy.

Larger versions of the pictures can be seen and downloaded on my flickr site.

A couple of duck oil paintings.

Part of the complete North to the Yukon story that's on display.

The atypical section with non-Disney Duck watercolors, and some other oddities including a landscape.

A Faberge egg offered by Another Rainbow.

Pirate's Gold oil painting.

Duck family statue from Another Rainbow. That's an oil of Donald lying next to it.

Ah, McCay... This was opposite an original Krazy Kat, but this is all I had eyes for.

Happy Hooligan gets bopped by the cops when you roll this toy.

Look at that lovely Winsor McCay ad.

Something to do on Jan 1

At the Renwick Gallery near the White House, the exhibit "Going West! Quilts and Community" has a Comics Quilt, circa 1935, with a bunch of comics characters sewn into it. It's on loan from the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer.

Another option would be the Uncle Scrooge and Carl Barks show that opened right before Christmas at Geppi's Entertainment Museum. I plan on seeing that in January myself.

Oct 26: Halloween at Geppi's Entertainment Museum

Superhero Halloween presented by Fathead and Geppi’s Entertainment Museum

Fathead launches Marvel and DC Characters inviting public to come as their favorite Hero


Who: Fathead®, the fast-growing sports and entertainment brand best-known for its life-size wall graphics, is partnering with The Geppi’s Entertainment Museum, voted the best non-art museum of Baltimore, to unveil the Fathead Heroes line. Superheroes will literally take over Camden Yard to help Fathead launch the Marvel and DC Comic characters just in time for holidays. Fans can see for the first time anywhere Fathead images of Superman, Batman, The Hulk, The Thing, Wolverine and of course 3 versions of Spiderman: The Movie.

Where: Heroes and doers of good are joining forces at Geppi’s Entertainment Museum. 301 W. Camden Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 410-625-7060 www.geppismuseum.com In celebration of Heroes Geppi Entertainment Museum will be free and open to the public.

When: Friday, October 26, 2007 from 5-10 PM. The perfect Pre-Halloween Festivity for the whole family

What: Parents, Kids, Heroes and fans alike are encouraged to participate in the excitement and wear the costume of their favorite Superhero. The Fathead Hero Celebration is open to the public and parking is free for anyone not flying in! Fathead images will be featured throughout the museum, complete with Tricks or Treats for the kids and goodies provided by Marvel and DC Comics, along with a few surprise guests. There will also be a contest for the best adult and child super duo, who will win their choice of Fathead Heroes. To get a sneak preview of our honorary super guests that will be on display, click on www.fathead.com.

About Fathead LLC: The Livonia, Mich-based company whose products are commonly referred to as Fatheads, has become the preferred home, personal and lifestyle décor purchase for sports and entertainment enthusiasts of all ages. The most popular Fathead product line consists of a colorful vinyl wall graphic of popular sports stars, NASCAR race cars and entertainment characters. Fathead LLC maintains license agreements with WMG, the NFL and PLAYERS INC., Collegiate Licensing Company, Licensing Resource Group, Inc., MLB, MLBPA, MLS, NASCAR, WWE. NBA Properties Inc, NHL and NHLPA, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Lucasfilm, Ltd., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Time, Inc., Marvel Characters, Inc., Warner Bros., Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., and Spider-Man 3, the Movie.

About Geppi’s Entertainment Museum: Located at Camden Yards in historic Camden Station, Geppi’s Entertainment Museum is only two blocks away from Baltimore's famous Inner Harbor attractions. Founded by Stephen A. Geppi, Owner of Diamond Comic Distributors - the largest English-language comic book distribution company in the world - Geppi's Entertainment Museum is the home of “pop culture with character,” an incredible trip through so many cherished childhood memories. We hope you’ll want to be part of the journey.

CONTACT: Melissa Geppi- Bowersox (410)625-7060
bmissy@geppismuseum.com
Brian Stevenson (734)386-5911
brianstevenson@fathead.com
Megan Tarsha (734)386-5924
megantarsha@fathead.com

Geppi's Entertainment Museum news

The Star Wars exhibit is extended until early October - GEM reports, "The Force™ is with Us: 30 Years of Star Wars® opened June 23 and will run through October 7, 2007 due to overwhelming response. Geppi’s Entertainment Museum at Camden Yards is located at 301 W. Camden St., Baltimore, MD 21201. For additional details log on to www.geppismuseum.com or call 410-625-7060. Group tours are welcome, and admission is free to museum members."

Remember, they're having the launch of Arnold Blumberg's zombie book soon too. Everyone who reads this blog semi-regularly or more should visit this museum.

Also, they've made a promotion from within, which I reprint without comment:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Date of release: Sept. 17, 2007

Melissa Bowersox named executive VP at Geppi’s Entertainment Museum

BALTIMORE – Melissa Geppi Bowersox has been appointed executive vice president at Geppi’s Entertainment Museum at Camden Yards (a k a “GEM”). Previously, Bowersox served as director of Events & Special Promotions for the 17,000-square-foot pop culture mecca, providing critical expertise during the museum’s pre-launch and first year of operation.

In her new role, Bowersox will lead a team of experienced professionals in developing new programs and special events while at the same time overseeing both permanent and changing exhibits. Bowersox said an important goal is spreading the word to civic groups, schools and the travel and tourism industry that Baltimore has added yet another world-class museum to its atmospheric landscape – one that appeals to all ages.

“We have the location, the exhibits and the support of the community,” Bowersox said. “My goal is to raise GEM’s profile so it is recognized not only locally, but also on a national and international level as an outstanding destination for families, students and tour groups.”

Bowersox has had a lifelong passion for pop culture and her native Baltimore. The daughter of GEM’s founder and CEO, Stephen A. Geppi, she began working in the “family business” at age six. “In the early days, my dad had a comic book shop in the basement of a TV repair shop in one of the city’s suburbs,” Bowersox said. “I would go in on weekends, sweep up or count comic book bags, which used to sell for 100 for a dollar – someone had to count the bags. Even as I got older, I continued to work at his retail shops, eventually being ‘promoted’ to working behind the counter, handling subscription orders and assisting the customers.”

As her father’s commercial ventures grew and prospered, Bowersox was always there to pitch in and do her part, whether it was working summers in the back of the warehouse, collating orders for Geppi’s Diamond Comics, or later working as a receptionist for another Geppi firm, Diamond International Galleries.

Bowersox is particularly proud that she represents the first of the Geppi children to join her father’s businesses in an executive capacity. “I know that it was always my dad’s fondest wish that one of his children would want to be involved in his businesses, but he would not have thrust it upon anybody,” Bowersox said. “He wanted us to come to him and let him know if we were interested.” Bowersox recalled that the right moment came in February when she represented the Geppi companies at a major comic book industry event, the New York Comic-Con. “I saw all the people I recognized from my youth when I was working for my dad. I saw the excitement in their faces when they realized that a younger Geppi was involved now, and I realized the timing was perfect. I invited my dad to lunch and told him what I wanted to do, and he said, ‘This is what I’ve been waiting to hear. You’ve just made my day.’”

Steve Geppi remarked, “We are very pleased to have Melissa taking on these new duties at GEM. We look forward to her continued enthusiastic efforts to get the word out about the museum, its facilities, and what we have to offer.”

GEM’s president, John K. Snyder Jr., praised the patient, lifelong course Bowersox has followed en route to her new position with the museum. “Melissa has spent years studying the whole foundation of collecting, interacting with the people who collect and learning how the element of emotion fits into the hobby,” Snyder said. “She’s an idea person, very much like her father. She has taken the knowledge she acquired during the time she spent working in the gallery and watching how her father does things, and is now eminently capable of moving into this high-level position. She spent her time in the arena of learning – it was a baptism of fire, so to speak. Now she’s getting her chance and bringing in a fresh approach that we all wholeheartedly welcome.”

Geppi’s Entertainment Museum is located at Baltimore’s world-famous Camden Yards, immediately adjacent to Oriole Park and across the street from the Baltimore Convention Center. Its displays are arranged in a timeline fashion, incorporating pop-culture memorabilia from the late 18th century through contemporary times. Among the many characters permanently “residing” at GEM are Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Howdy Doody, Betty Boop, Hopalong Cassidy, Elvis Presley and the original hand-made prototype of G.I. Joe.

To learn more about GEM, log on to www.geppismuseum.com. Tel. 410-625-7060 or
e-mail info@geppismuseum.com.

Oct 4: Geppi's Entertainment Museum booksigning and party with free admission

I'm not into zombies, but Arnold's a real nice guy and this museum is totally cool, so if you're around the area, check this out.

Date of Release: September 18, 2007

From: Geppi’s Entertainment Museum at Camden Yards

Contact: 410-625-7060

Geppi’s Entertainment Museum hosts the US book launch of Blumberg and Hershberger’s Zombiemania: 80 Movies to Die For on Thursday, October 4, from 6-9pm

BALTIMORE – From White Zombie to Land of the Dead … 80 zombie movies that shaped a horror subgenre and left us all with a mortal fear of flesh-eating ghouls clawing their way out of the cold, dark earth. Zombiemania takes an in-depth look at one of the most popular horror film categories of all time. What is it that makes us so scared of and yet so attracted to the living dead? Why is it that shambling corpses with a taste for brains, or mindless automatons controlled by a voodoo master still retain such relentless power? Illustrated with many photographs, some published here for the first time, this is one film guide that will leave you with a restless urge to walk the night in search of living flesh.

Geppi’s Entertainment Museum will host the official US launch party for Zombiemania, published by the UK-based Telos Publishing Ltd (www.telos.co.uk) and co-authored by GEM Curator Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg and GEM Registrar Andrew Hershberger. The party will take place on Thursday, October 4 from 6pm to 9pm. The museum is offering free admission during party hours to all attendees, Halloween-themed food, and the chance to chat with the authors and get a signed copy of Zombiemania.

Zombiemania not only covers 80 of the best and worst zombie movies in exhaustive detail with behind-the-scenes trivia, plot synopses and reviews, but also features a comprehensive title index with over 570 films described and cross-referenced with all alternate titles. The 500+ page book also features a cover by illustrator David Aikins.

The book is available now from Telos or via Amazon.com for $22.95 (ISBN 1-84583-003-2). The book also has an official website at www.zombiemania.com.

To learn more about GEM, log on to www.geppismuseum.com. Tel. 410-625-7060 or
e-mail info@geppismuseum.com. The museum is located at 301 W. Camden Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.

Baltimore City Paper article on Geppi's Entertainment Museum

It's the Baltimore City Paper's comic issue*. Can anyone grab me an extra copy?

For the big GEM story - read "Iron Men: Geppi's Museum May Preserve Comic Book Heroes in Amber, But They Don't Need the Help" by Violet Glaze, Baltimore City Paper (September 12, 2007).

I love this museum, but one should remember what blog one's reading, and take that as it's worth.

The issue has an intro, and there's another comics column too - "Comics and Me" by Vincent Williams, and somewhere in there, they have a comics jam which isn't online, although a description of it is.


*and shouldn't the DC City Paper have one? They're not owned by the same multi-media conglomerate though.

Baltimore Comic-Con UPDATE 2 - now with more pictures

Because YOU (well, Richard Thompson at least) demanded it, here's some pics with commentary to follow later. I will say this is the busiest I've seen the con.

Greg LaRocque was sitting, possibly with his son, sketching. I always liked LaRocque's smooth style in the 1980s on the Legion of Super-Heroes and the Flash. I bought some DC tryout pages he'd done of Batman facing down Darkseid - lovely work. He should be still getting all the work he can handle. He's working on a new book for a small company - when I find the ad again, I'll mention it as he's a Northern Baltimore creator.


Me with Al Feldstein, EC artist, and Mad editor in chief during the glory days.



Jim Shooter, former Legion of Superheroes writer, Marvel Editor-in-Chief and Valiant EiC.


Jim Shooter was quite friendly - one of the guys in front of me had a pile of Avengers comics to be signed. Shooter told an anecdote about 3 of them. In one, artist George Perez added in art that wasn't in the script, like a nun answering the door when the Avengers were in hot pursuit. So Shooter called someone at the local Berlitz and had the Beast speaking correct Latin to the nun. He said they were planning to pay, but the translator was so tickled to be in a comic, he didn't want it. The issue of the Avengers with Ant-Man shooting up full-size and hitting other Avengers? Rob Liefeld told Shooter it was the best comic ever. Finally, in the first What If series - What if the Avengers Never Existed? - Archie Goodwin provided the main plot for the story by telling Shooter, "You have to kill Iron Man." Shooter spoke briefly about the fun times the old Marvel Bullpen was, and then signed my Avengers: The Korvac Saga and the DC Legion of Superhero Archives 6-7 - without mentioning this! "OFFICIAL: JIM SHOOTER RETURNS TO DC'S LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES"
by Matt Brady, Newsarama (September 6, 2007).

Don Rosa, heir to Carl Barks on the Disney Ducks.


Herb Trimpe drawing Wolverine.

John Romita Sr. and Herb Trimpe getting together.

The line for Herb Trimpe was always long, which I was pleased to see. He had written an article for the NY Times a year or so ago about being forgotten by comic book companies, but people reading comics in the 1960s and 70s saw his work all the time, especially on the Hulk. When John Romita Sr., the former Marvel art director stopped by, they hugged and then kept giving each other credit for creating Wolverine. Apparently Trimpe came up with the character and Romita the costume. Trimpe's got a book out - The Power of Angels: Reflections from a Ground Zero Chaplain. I had him sign that and a copy of Origins of Marvel Comics that my wife had signed for me by Stan Lee in 1991. Trimpe took a great pleasure in asking if he could sign the page over the top (ie higher) than Stan Lee. Fine with me.

Joe Kubert, caught at his Kubert School table, signs a few comics, but not for me, sigh.

Claire was quite taken with the Girls with Slingshots table decor.

More photographs, courtesy of Joel Pollack of Big Planet Comics:

Arnold Blumberg, curator of Geppi's Entertainment Museum
Sergio Aragones
Kyle Baker
Joe Kubert
James Jean
Frank Cho

And here's a press show interview, "Catching Up with Baltimore Comic-Con's Marc Nathan," by Tim O'Shea, September 5, 2007.

Star Wars exhibit opens at Geppi's Entertainment Museum

A few days ago I was lucky enough to attend the opening of a Star Wars toys exhibit at Geppi's museum in Baltimore. I'm not a Star Wars aficianado although I'm the right age to be one, but it was fun to see Thomas Atkinson's collection and hear about how he turned his whole house into a museum. I was hoping to get a few pics up, but my friend who accompanied me still has them. You can see some pics and get some details at the Scoop site here and here.

Geppi's museum is awesome. There's a fantastic selection of material on display. Original comic strips, movie posters, a whole room devoted to comics and Big Little Books, a ton of historic comic memorabilia from the Yellow Kid, Buster Brown and others... it's well worth seeing.