Archive for April 5th, 2007

The Ephemerist goes international

Thursday, April 5th, 2007

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When they linked to my Spirou post of a while back, the kind people at the Forbidden Planet International Blog Log asked me very nicely if I would like to write for them on eurocomics on a regular basis. Would I !

So, starting this week, tune in to “From our Continental Correspondent” on theForbidden Planet site for news and interesting (I hope) tidbits on the wonderful world of comics on the continent.

Oh, and Joe, many thanks for the kind introduction. You made my day !

What the hell is going on here ?

Thursday, April 5th, 2007

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Hi there, or as Andrew Marr would say, Hello !

You probably have noticed that I’m quite lacking in the posting rhythm department. I could say that my paying job has been demanding my full attention (which it has) or that I’ve been developing other things in other places (which I have), or even that I wanted to find out what would happen to my visitors rate if I simply stopped posting (it dropped like a brick), but the fact of the matter is, I just got lazy. There, I said it. I couldn’t be bothered.

Being the completist that I am, I’m overwhelmed by a depressing horror vacui when I see non-clickable dates in my blog’s calendar, so I’ll probably fill up last week with fake posts from the fill pile. You’ll see.

Anyhoo, it’s not that I’m doing nothing. Here are some things I’ve got in store for the near future :

  • I have, or rather my dad has, been able to get access to a fabulous collection of Liebig illustrated cards that I’m going to try and scan one series at a time.
  • My collection of DC public service announcements is almost complete. My goal is collecting each and every strip DC published from the 40’s to the 70’s and present them all on a separate page. It’s probably been done before, but I just wanted to have a list here as well.
  • While dusting out my “to classify” pile, I came across a book I had lost a long time ago - “Johny & Annie” by Renaat Demoen. I inherited my copy from my mom, who literally read it to shreds. Somehow, I lack the last two pages, but I’m currently trying to locate them. So expect this gem later this year here, with scans and translations by yours truly.

Modesty Blaise Film

Thursday, April 5th, 2007

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In 1966 20th Century Fox released a movie based on the comic strip Modesty Blaise, starring Terrence Stamp and Dirk Bogarde. I haven’t seen it myself, but based on what I read about it, it puts Austin Powers to shame when it comes to 60’s kitsch. The poster, if anything, is first class…

Baden Powell stamps with Jije art

Thursday, April 5th, 2007

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On april 30, the Belgian Post plans to issue two stamps celebrating the centennial of the Boy Scout Movement. The stamps will feature art by Belgian cartoonist Joseph Gillain, or Jijé. Besides creating great comic books like Spirou Et Fantasio or Jerry Spring, Jijé also produced a series of biographical books about inspirational people, such as Don Bosco, Christopher Columbus. And Baden-Powell.

Later this year, more stamps are planned that are interesting to the comics ephemerist :

  • May 11 : a special sheet featuring all Tintin albums by Hergé
  • June 18 : a special sheet celebrating Belgian presence on the South Pole featuring art by François Schuiten
  • July 9 : a set of holiday stamps by Jan van der Veken
  • October 15 : a set of stamps about writing by Ever Meulen