HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

CHIEF & FIZBEE ROAD MAP

FLEA MARKET FRIDAYS #64

Today was slim pickings, but I managed to find this cool 1960s Clark Oil & Gas road map featuring the short lived ad mascots of Chief and Fizbee.  

Not much info out there on Chief and Fizbee and unfortunately a quick search didn't net any old TV commercials.  According to this website the two ad mascots were voiced by Mel Blanc! OK internet, you need to produce a commercial of these two.

SEARS THE WINNER SHOES BUILT BY CONVERSE

Along with my Toughskins, I wore the shoes of winners.  Converse made a specially branded shoe for Sears called The Winner.  Any of you suffering from March Madness should appreciate these 1975 ads.

THE DAY I MET MOEBIUS

I was sad to hear that Jean (Moebius) Giraud passed away on March 10.  I'm sure most Neato Readers are familiar with the famous comic and film concept artist.  (If by chance you are not, click here and here.)  I was introduced to his work from reading about his involvement in Tron. Then later when he worked on various Marvel projects like the fantastic Silver Surfer book with Stan Lee.

In 2006 at the San Diego Comic-Con I met Moebius.  It was a once in a lifetime chance and one of my most cherished comic-con moments.  I realized the importance and the rarity of my brief meeting.  There I was, just some guy from Missouri meeting an art legend from France.  Ah, the beauty of Comic-Con!

Moebius was listed to appear at a signing for Marvel's Halo Graphic Novel.  It contained a collection of short stories based after the popular video game.  Supposedly his son was a fan of the video game and convinced him to draw one of the stories.  I jumped in line and waited for my opportunity.  The line started to move and I eventually found myself standing in front of him.  Of course I recited the fan boy anthem, "It's an honor to meet you and I'm a big fan of your work."  Even though he's heard that line a million times, he smiled and said thank you, like it was the first time he had ever heard it.  I handed him a Star Wars Galaxy card for him to sign.

I'm terrible at remembering conversations, but he did mention something about trying to get the artwork just right because he enjoyed the film so much.  (I wish I had had a recorder with me at the time or at least a better memory.) 

Since 2001, I've been carrying a sketchbook with me to comic conventions.  I presented it to Moebius simply asking for a signature.  He smiled and took the book from me and started to draw.  He said something like, "I think you'll like this better than my autograph."  Not only was I getting one of the most important sketches in my book, it was thrilling to watch him actually draw it.  

I'll always appreciate his kindness for sharing the cool looking guy with the silver shades that now lives inside my sketchbook.

He will be missed.  RIP Moebius.

BILLY THE KIDDER IN MAGNA-COLOR

FLEA MARKET FRIDAYS #63

A couple of weeks ago I captured Billy the Kidder for only a couple of bucks.  Boy was I lucky to bring him in alive!  He's missing his magic wand, but that's OK 'cause he's so darn neat even without his wand.

It's appropriate that I post a flea market item today with a western theme 'cause I want to point you in the direction of the Meridian Bridge.  It's an all western blog by my pal Rich and he just posted his first flea market friday item.  Click here to see what he found!