R.I.P. Hulk Artist Herb Trimpe

I was devastated when I heard that Herb Trimpe had passed away. He was one of my favorite Hulk artists. The first issue of The Incredible Hulk I remember having was #191 (Sept. 1975).

I really wish I could have met him at one of his convention appearances. Rest in peace Mr. Trimpe.

See a complete list of his work on ComicBookDB.

From New York Post --

Prominent comic-book artist and Wolverine co-creator Herb Trimpe died at his home in upstate Hurley, N.Y., on Monday. He was 75.

Trimpe is credited as being the first comic-book artist to sketch the Wolverine character for publication back in 1974, when the clawed crusader made his debut in an issue of The Incredible Hulk.

During his time as an artist for Marvel Comics, Trimpe drew for other titles like Spider-Man, G.I. Joe, Godzilla, Captain America and Iron Man.

Before he started earning a living at his trade, Trimpe served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He enrolled at Manhattan’s School of Visual Arts upon returning home.

“He loved drawing but his real passion was airplanes,” said his wife of seven years, Patricia Velasquez-Trimpe. “He loved writing fiction, and had actually been writing just before he died.”

In the weeks and months after the 9/11 terror attacks, Trimpe, an Episcopalian deacon, worked at the World Trade Center site, serving as a chaplain. He also worked to clear away rubble.

“That was just his nature,” said Trimpe’s step-daughter, Natalia, 25. “He just wanted to help out, so when 9/11 happened, he just felt like he had to do whatever he could.”

His work after 9/11 earned him the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, an award given to artists in comics and animators who work tirelessly in their private lives to serve society.

After leaving monthly comics, Trimpe continued producing art and making public appearances at comic book conventions around the world.

He had just been meeting and greeting fans in New Jersey over the weekend at the East Coast Comicon at the Meadowlands Expo Center.

“He enjoyed people recognizing his work and seeing his fans,” his wife said. “We had a wonderful life together.”

How I Spent My Easter

Back on March 28, my wife and I went to Eggshelland!

Easter morning baskets. Lots of candy and a few packs of trading cards.

My wife tried a new way to color eggs. Shake an egg in rice with food color. It makes a speckled egg.

I went the traditional method with a good ol' Paas kit.

My wife made ham and her famous beans for Easter dinner at my in-laws.

My mother-in-law made deviled egg peeps.

The food was messy, but very good!

How was your Easter?

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter everyone! 

What's your plans for today? I hope to color some eggs this morning (I boiled them yesterday). Also, we are making a ham and beans for Easter dinner at my in-laws. I hope everybody has a swell day!

Pictures courtesy of GeePeeKay.com.

I Went To The LEGO Store

This past Saturday I went to a LEGO Store for the first time. I was amazed! I'm kinda glad I don't collect LEGO, I would be seriously broke! Besides all of the really cool Marvel, DC and Star Wars sets, the store has a build-your-own-mini-figure station, a wall of buckets filled with individual pieces you can buy and professionally built scenes and vehicles. I did buy a Mini-Hulk key chain. The only way to get the big Hulk is to buy the sets and I don't wanna.

Happy Birthday José Luis García-López

Today is comic book artist José Luis García-López's 67th birthday! He's a Spanish artist that has done most of his work for DC Comics. I met him way back in 1989 at a local comic book show where he drew this picture of Batman for me. The paper is 11 x 14.

Of course, my favorite book that he drew is DC Special Series #27: Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk (1981).

Looking For 'Rue Morgue Radio Presents Hymns From the House of Horror Vol. II'

Back in July of 2011 Rue Morgue posted a free download of a compilation called 'Rue Morgue Radio Presents Hymns From the House of Horror Vol. II'. Unfortunately, it's long gone from their website. Someone emailed me looking for a copy of it and truthfully, I wouldn't mind having it also. I'm sure I had it at one time, but I lost a lot of files on my old computer. Hopefully someone can help. Thanks!

Gallagher And His Sledge-O-Matic

My wife and I saw Gallagher at The Funny Stop in Cuyahoga Falls, OH on Friday night. We wore protection and I even got his autograph on the piece of paper that came with the poncho! It's too bad he didn't have a t-shirt in my size. The club had plastic all over the walls, ceiling and floor. I had a really good time, but my wife was a little upset that she got Spaghetti-O's on her boots. :)

Unfortunately I heard things didn't go so well at Saturday nights show. Gallagher walked off stage before he smashed anything.

The Retroist Junk Box

What is The Retroist Junk Box? It's a box full of retro "junk" from the 70s, 80s and 90s that gets mailed from one person to another. Once you get the box, you take out anything that you like and put in some of your own unwanted retro stuff and then mail it off to the next person. Pretty cool, huh?

This is actually my second time getting the box. I first got it almost a year ago. There's still a couple of things in the box that I put in there back then! :) Here's a link to my first time with the Junk Box.

The box is sponsored by the fine folks at I See Robots and Retroist.com.

First up, here's what the Junk Box looked like when I received it. It was pretty beat up. Unfortunately, a couple of items were broken. But, I got a brand new box to put the junk in.

Here's what I took out of the box. A few Gremlins and MAD trading cards. Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance rubber bracelets.  An Applause PVC Joker from 1989. A couple of The Empire Strikes Back wax wrappers. Jaime Sommers Top Secret folder. School House Rocks DVD. The Rocketeer candy head. Dick Tracy movie key chain. Robotech comic book. An old Milton Bradley game catalog.

 I also took this poster from an old issue of Dynamite magazine.

I also let my brother take a look through the Junk Box. This is what he grabbed. Four comic books and an Overstreet Fan magazine. A couple of old video games and an 8-track tape.

Here's what I put into the box. Spaceballs and Mortal Combat VHS tapes. Angelica and Hulk toys. A couple of Masters of the Universe mini comics. A couple of video game cases and a 45 adaptor.

 I also threw in a bunch of comic books. Most of these came from my brother.

Plus, there's still a whole bunch of stuff from other people in the box. I didn't take a picture of it all because I want it to be a little bit of a surprise for the next person that gets it. The Retroist Junk Box is currently on its way to California.


Edit: Sadly, I found out that I was the last person to get this junk box. He's retiring it. It was fun while it lasted. Maybe someone will start another one some day.