Hoping for ANOTHER most EXCELLENT holiday season for ALL of us!!

                                                               

Hard to believe--- yet ANOTHER year has pretty much ZIPPED on past us once AGAIN!!! Also, this has been ANOTHER year of MANY bumps and unexpected curves on 'life's road' for--- not ONLY the two residents that now call 'Ferrell-Supreme-Crime-Fighting-Headquarters' home--- but I'm SURE a LOT of YOU!!

Despite all of that, I can STILL say I feel TRULY blessed and fortunate! AND--- I'll just bet, that if ALL of you--- the faithful, TEENY-TINY-few that follow this here bloggy-woggy-thing-thang-thingy--- would stop and give it some thought for just a moment.... you'd find you're pretty blessed and fortunate yourselves! Hey, if you're up and able to read all my usual posts of  NERDINESS and GEEK-OUTS every month, that's (nearly!) TWO blessings right there!!!

So---- once AGAIN, here we all are, and once AGAIN, 'ol Loydster wants to wish each and EVERY one of you out there a VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY--------

AND--- (of COURSE!) a BLESSED and WONDERFUL upcoming NEW YEAR, to ALL of you!!!!!

'Bat-Santa' DEFINITELY approves!

Hopes and PRAYERS for a MOST EXCELLENT and AMAZING 2024 gang! See you NEXT YEAR!

Giving an old friend a DESPERATELY needed 'face-lift'!

 

The image that's been put up on the walls of at least 3 different versions of the Loydster's 'hobby-room-hide-out' over the decades! The '89 version of Michael Keaton's Dark Knight! STILL VERY cool, even all these years later! 

If, like me, some of you have had to do the whole 'long-term' storage - thing with stuff--- you'll know what it feels like to find something you've LONG treasured--- busted-up, damaged or in some other kind of mangled-up state! There's that almost 'sick' feeling, when you unwrap or unpack something---- and it's WRECKED!

In the case of the 'Batman '89' image--- a 'cut-out' that I've schlepped from one location to another for WELL over 25 years or so (the moving it around from place to place hasn't helped it much either!!)-- it's condition was pretty close to hopeless!

A few weeks back, I'd been shuffling some stuff in our storage unit around, and--- frankly-- deciding to sort through it and get rid of a sizable amount of it! I unpacked some of the larger 'cut-outs' and character stand-ups, to just check on how this latest stretch of 'long-term' storage was treating them! That's when I discovered exactly what kind of SORRY shape 'ol 'Bats was in!

Even though I'd been careful to nestle the 'cut-out' in-between other stand-ups and larger, more sturdier pieces of cardboard--- he'd somehow STILL managed to sustain some fairly serious damage! Check out the images below, to see just what SAD kind of shape the Caped Crusader was in!----

Previous stretches of time in storage, as well as just being banged-around in various moves over the years, had NOT been very kind to my MUCH-loved image of the Gotham Guardian! This latest stay in storage, REALLY did a number on the ears of his cowl! BOTH were badly cracked, the left one nearly broken completely off!
Also, check out the nearly quarter-inch-sized NAIL-HOLE, close to the top of the cowl! I haven't been very careful with how I've mounted this thing to the wall over the years, obviously!

 I carefully re-packed the other cut-outs and figures, and, with an equal amount of caution, gently placed the 'Keaton-cut-out' into the back of our van. I decided it was time to bring it (at least temporarily) home to our current digs, and at least TRY to do some R and R (restoration and Rehab) on it! 

This thing is almost like an old friend to me, and holds a LOT of sentimental value! (More on that shortly!), so--- the least I could do was ATTEMPT to do SOME sort of 'fix-up' on it! -----

After mulling over exactly what I wanted to do to 'restore' the 'cut-out' for a week or so---  I printed off a small copy of the image I'd snagged off the internet. Then, with some light gray acrylic paint & a toothpick, 'painted-in' the areas where light sources hit the Bat-suit. (along with the required 'Loydster-chicken-scratched notes', of COURSE!)

Why the 'mini-practice-painting'-session? Well---I decided to paint--- or 're-vamp' --- the suit itself in the image, with acrylic paints. Hopefully, I thought, the end-result would be this NEAT-O 'Andy Warhol / Roy Lichtenstein' - looking, almost 'hybrid' image! It would end-up, I hoped-- to be a 'Line-art' / painting / photo, all mixed together, to make it a REALLY- unique-looking piece of 'wall-art'!

I also sketched-out an idea for repairing the busted / cracked ears on the cowl. A simple fix there, really--- a couple of long paint-mixing sticks, glued over the cracks from behind. If this thing gets damaged in the future, it will NOT be the ears of the cowl that get busted!!! See below, to witness just WHAT I did to hide / repair those cracks / breaks on the image itself!

One of the long paint-mixing sticks, used to do the 'repair' on the 'cut-out's ears!

The 'cut-out', in the process of getting it's 'make-over'! Not only was I able to smooth-over (with just regular 'ol wall-repair spackling, no less!) those NASTY breaks / cracks in the ears, but I also managed to cover up the nearly DIME-SIZED hole, where nails and screws had been stuck through it over the years! In the (hopefully NEAR) future, I'll glue a 'picture-frame' hanging bracket on the back, near the top-- for safe, UNDAMAGING hanging / display purposes!
After the spackling set-up over night, I dived in--- with various sized brushes, going over the whole 'suit areas' of the image--- with LOTS of black and different shades of gray acrylics.

After around 3 days of thrashing away at this little 'rehab' project, I finally propped it up against the wall, here at the 'ol 'cracker-box'--- to scope-out my handy-work! 'WHEW'! I'm very glad and VERY much relieved to say..... I think it turned out alright!----

The now RESTORED, and-- yes-- now UNIQUE 'cut out' of  'Keaton-as-Bats'! Hopefully it will be on display SOON, in yet ANOTHER version of the 'Loydster-hobby-room-hide-out'!

As I was saying up above, this 'cut out' has become QUITE a sentimentally-valued item to me! My sister Lisa & her hubby, Brian--- somehow snagged it at a 'Suncoast Motion Picture Company' store--- (remember them??? If so, you're an old GEEZER like ME!) and gave it to me. That was, as I also related above-- well OVER 25 years ago! So, I was VERY happy that this 'restoration' effort turned out SO well! 

It's now back in storage--- THIS time VERY carefully packed in it's OWN 'storage container'! I plan on PROUDLY displaying it on one of the walls of my next (hopefully NEAR-future) 'Secret Sanctum & Crime-Fighting-Headquarters'!

Just a bit MORE evidence of my continued SHAMELESS GEEKY-NESS folks! (As if you REALLY needed any proof of that!) I just recently finished up a couple more 'custom T-shirts', complete with transfers ---that I printed-up right here at the 'Temporary-Ferrell-Supreme-Headquarters', on my handy-dandy printer / scanner!

There's just NOT enough cool merchandise featuring these two GREAT characters around these days! At least not the AFFORDABLE kind, anyway! So--- I simply did some cruising around online, found some NIFTY images and logos, blended them together (utilizing the EVER-so-useful 'Paint' program on my lap-top, as well as 'Word-pad' --for some additional lettering!) then printed the resulting images I cobbled up, onto some 'iron-on transfer' paper!------

The front of this one sports the 'Masked Rider of the plains', while the back quotes the opening narration of the old series! FUN stuff  INDEED! (AND-- yes, 'Fiery' is REALLY spelled like THAT!)

It's a bit hard to tell, with this kind-of-GRAINY  'cell-phone-taken' photo--- but the 'Black Beauty's head-lights, as well as some trim-areas around the image, were dabbed with a bit of GREEN acrylic! This being a GREEN T-shirt (that I'd picked up EXTREMELY cheap, of COURSE!)-- it just practically SCREAMED for this transfer to be created to slap onto it!

That's all for this month's installment of the 'Loydster's tour through his kingdom-of-absolute-NERDOM-without-shame'! See you NEXT time gang! Stay safe, sane and HAPPY!

The OTHER 'Ferrell kid' gets MARRIED! (Or--2 weddings in LESS than a year!--'WHEW'!)

 

The happy young couple! Now, they've BOTH got the SAME last name! (and a DARN good last name it IS, if I don't say so myself!)

Just over a month ago now, My son and his lady-love, Chloe--- said their vows! Also now making it official, that the 'ol 'Ferrell nest' is empty. Of course, that's not completely true---- being that the lovely wifey and myself are still living here at what we only HALF-jokingly call 'the cracker-box'!

Don't let the opening paragraph above lead you, oh gentle readers of this here bloggy-thang-a-ma-rang--- into thinking the intrepid Mrs. Debbie and I are the lonesome and heart-broken parents-of-the-groom! We're tickled SILLY that our son has hitched himself up to such a lovely young bride! We couldn't have hand-picked anybody any better, for him to say those ALL-IMPORTANT vows to!

The ceremony and reception was held at the BEAUTIFUL 'Spain Ranch', near Jenks Oklahoma. Deb and I had NO idea this venue even existed, before Wade and Chloe told us about where they'd decided to have the wedding / wing-ding! As you'll see in some of the pics below though, it's just about the PERFECT spot to put on this sort of affair. Compliments / thanks to the staff and administrators of the facility! A real CLASSY (without being too 'hoity-toity'!--- and that's IMPORTANT folks!) operation!

Anyhow-bow-wow,  similar to what I did with the images from my daughter's wedding--- (LESS than a year before our son's!-- YIKES!)--- I'll just jump right into the 'slide-show' of this latest EPIC event in the lives of us 'Ferrell-folk', and restrict my comments (MOSTLY!) to the little teeny-captions below the pics! Away we go!!!-----

The NEAT-O little display, off to one side of the entry into the 'chapel area'--- that greeted the guests! The pic in the frame is one taken the day Wade proposed to his sweetie!

The QUITE handsome groom, escorting his still-QUITE-beautiful mom (my Mrs. Debbie, of COURSE!), down the aisle! (I'm maybe a little MORE than partial here, gang!)

Another handsome young gentleman, my nephew Hayden Pope-- escorts my daughter Shelby (also one of the 4 bridesmaids) to the front of the chapel.

The bride's little niece, Charlie--after doing the 'flower girl duties'. Notice the lollypop she's enjoying! That, I've been told, was the ONLY way to keep her focused / locked-in on the job! (Hey, she IS a toddler after all!)

My son's reaction to seeing his bride make her entrance! He told me later: 'It was like all the emotions leading up to this day were over-flowing from me all at once! Coupled with the relief that It was FINALLY happening!' Believe me, bud.... 'ol dad knows how you feel!

Chloe and dad, Chuck--- making that 'grand entrance'! The bride was obviously nervous--- but as you can see--- also VERY happy! (AND-- is this young lady not as PRETTY as an old classic Hollywood movie star or WHAT???)

As with Shelby's ceremony, the bride and groom asked the 'ol Loydster if he would say a few words in prayer before the start of the actual ceremony. Of COURSE, I was MORE than happy and proud to do so! (AND-- yes, that's a little 'cheat-sheet' I'm reading from! You DO NOT want to make a prayer up on the spot, at a time like THIS!)

A nice shot of the 'whole gang', shortly after the bride and groom finished their vows. The ones they personally had written for each other (which had tears welling-up in the Loydster's eyes, I'll freely admit!), as well as the 'formal ones'. My bro-in-law, the Reverend Duane Barnett--- did an excellent job officiating the ceremony! (By the way, that's Chloe's folks, Jenny and Chuck seated on the far left, Deb and I to the far right.)

'.....AND--- now you may kiss your BRIDE'! As well as the now-HITCHED couple being presented as 'Mr. and Mrs. Wade Ferrell'! Their choice of 'exit music' was also most EXCELLENT!--- 'Mr. Blue Sky', by E.L.O.! 'It's a beautiful new day!' INDEED!

Now, we can't have a wedding ceremony, complete with an excellent photographer, (who I found out just before the ceremony, was a MAJOR Batman fan! He won points with ME right there!) without taking a few 'somewhat formal' shots of the couple and their wedding party / family members! I think you'll agree though, that these turned out pretty NIFTY too!---- 

---And now, I have TWO daughters! Shelby and her 'new sister' pose together. So, Wade and I are now outnumbered by the females in the fam! I don't think dad OR son mind one bit!

A genuinely SWEET moment with my daughter and son! I know I've said it here before--- but their 'ol dad is SO proud of how these two young people turned out!

The beautiful bride with her folks, Jenny and Chuck Conkling. Deb and I just met them this past summer. I can already tell you though, that they're the 'real deal'! Just a down-to-earth, authentic couple, with STRONG values and generous, open-hearts!

They welcomed our son into their family quite a while before he ever 'popped the question' to Chloe. A heart-felt 'thank-you' and MUCH appreciation goes out to them! That's for BOTH welcoming Wade into their brood, AND-- all the hard work and prep that went into getting these two young folks HITCHED! mondo-thanks guys!

The groom and his proud and VERY happy parents! As with Shelby, last October--- The Loydster was nearly popping the buttons off of his shirt on this day too!

The son and his daddy-o!

What would any grouping of wedding pics be, if at least ONE image of the couple slicing into their wedding cake wasn't included?!?!? This 'cake' was actually a 'set' of cakes, on individual pedestals. VERY original idea. A big shout-out to Mrs. Savanah, who did a bang-up job on the cakes / arrangement!

The newlyweds, together in a NIFTY black & white image! 

Like I was saying above, now that Wade and Chloe have started their life together, Deb and I have an 'empty nest'. While that means there's just a bit of sadness, as we've watched our youngest take that leap into being 'all grown-up'..... the over-all feeling here at 'Ferrell Central' is one of BOTH happiness--- and HOPE! 

We're happy that now BOTH of our kids are with mates that truly and deeply love them, AND-- we hope, and yes--PRAY-- for MANY, MANY long and joy-filled years together for them. May the love they share, grow nothing but DEEPER and STRONGER! 

Just another image to leave you giggling, gang!

CONGRATS, once again to the HAPPY couple! Mr. Wade and Mrs. Chloe Ferrell! 'Tied their knot', September 7th, 2023. Long life, LOTS of love, laughter and happiness to you BOTH!

ONE MORE THING!!--- (But it's IMPORTANT!)---

HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY--- to my dad, Loyd Ferrell Sr.!!! Who reached that MILESTONE number on October 9th. I know it's been a ROUGH past few years for you, but I'm VERY happy you're STILL around and kicking--- and hope to have you here for at least another 80 YEARS!!! Love you Pops!

Loyd's BONUS audio goodies!---- # 11!--- 5 NIFTY 'Wings' tunes!

 

Paul McCartney, then-wife Linda, and his 'Wings' band-mates-- in the early 70s.

Like I've said before, here on the 'ol bloggy-woggy-thang--- I was a 'solo-Beatles' fan, before becoming a fan of the Beatles! This was, of course in my junior high school years. GOOFY teenaged Loydster that I was, I didn't realize that Paul McCartney had even been in another band before forming the group 'Wings'! 

Fellow 'music-heads' that I hung out with back then, fairly quickly educated me about 'Sir Paul's 'previous band'! I've been a 'Beatles-GEEK-A-ZOID' pretty much ever since!

BUT--- I've always retained a fondness for a LOT of the tunes in the 'Wings' catalogue!--And---WHY NOT? It's just DARNED GOOD music! The following are just 5 of my favorites from Paul, his late wife Linda-- and their VERY talented musical cohorts!

By the way--- the first tune, is my ALL-TIME favorite 'Bond movie-theme'. I read an account, several years back, that the movie's producers ALMOST turned down Paul's offer to provide this now-CLASSIC title song! Because--- I guess kinda like the early-teenaged Loydster-- they didn't realize / know WHO he was!! I for one, am EXTREMELY glad they changed their minds!!----

Showing off my SHAMELESS-GEEK-side in a whole NEW way! (for me anyway!)

 

Besides 'brain-storms'--- stuff to do with my most FAVORITE fictional-character of ALL TIME  takes up a LOT of  'thinking-space' in the 'ol Loydster-noggin! Heck, MOST of the 'brain-storming' has to do with him (OR his various gadgets & vehicles!) too!

If you've been checking in here with me lately, you'll know that I recently mentioned the complete TRASHING of one our vehicles! Back in May, a collision with a HUMONGOUS deer, turned the fairly nice old 2001 Ford F-150 'Super-Crew' pick-up I'd been driving--- into pretty much SCRAP! 

Ah well, that's one of the kinds of 'twists & turns' that life can sometimes throw at you! Although, it SURE seems like it's been happening a LOT to us Ferrells!!!

Having to sell the truck for junk, I ended up having to fall back on another of our vehicles (and thank the good LORD that we had it!)-- a kinda-beat-up / WELL-worn 2004 Honda Odyssey mini-van. Not the most 'exciting' mode of transport in the world, and it's definitely seen better days! But, it's mechanically sound, and still runs pretty well! MOST important, it's getting me back-and-forth to my job! Otherwise, life would be even MORE full of those aforementioned 'twists & turns' than we could probably handle around here at 'Supreme Ferrell Headquarters'!

Anyhoo-dooky, after a little under a month of driving it 'as is', I decided to a do a bit of 'fixing up' on it-- mostly 'cosmetics'--- since, as I said, it's in pretty decent mechanical shape! I gave it a good sanding all over (it has the 'peel-and-fall-off' paint-problem, that a lot of early 2000s Honda vans have! So... LARGE areas of 'exposed' factory primer were showing, all over the body--giving it a WEIRD, 'shaggy-polka-dot' look! YUCK!), and went over the whole thing with a matte-finish 'colored primer'. Not exactly 'beautiful'.... but WAY better than it's previous appearance!

One of the very FIRST things I decided to add to it, after my 'back-yard-paint-job'--- to show-off the 'shameless-geek' side of the 'ol Loydster---- (and because it just made me giggle when I spotted it on E-bay!), was this NEAT-O 'custom license plate' and frame for the front bumper!---

Little did I know, after bolting that item onto the 'old Battle-Wagon', that it would lead me into the decision to throw even MORE 'geek-tastic' items onto to it--- as perfect proof that not ONLY am I PROUD of my 'Bat-fandom', but now---- the old van may STILL be an old van, but at least it sure isn't a BORING old van!!

Not that the decision to go with the items I did, was completely based on 'impulse' and without any kind of 'thinking it over'! No---  I already had been thinking of putting on some sort of stickers or decals, (even though it's something I've NEVER done with ANY vehicle I've EVER had!... More about that later!) BUT----I knew I didn't want to do just the normal, kind-of-CLUNKY looking decals or bumper-stickers, plastered all over the back windows and rear-bumper of my vehicle! 

I wanted whatever I decided to go with, to be a little on the smaller side, (3 to 4 inches at the largest!) and near the bottom and edges of mostly the rear-windows of the van. Something that wouldn't really catch somebody's eye, unless they were behind me at an intersection, or passing the van in a parking lot! Something that would hopefully make other folks giggle to themselves, and bring a smile to their face! (Not to mention make ME smile, every time I glance at the van!)

That's when, thanks once AGAIN to the wonders of E-bay, (and others-- more on that shortly, too!) I discovered the WAY-COOL items known as 'transfer-decals'! Now, I've seen these things on other vehicles in the past few years, but didn't really understand how they worked. OR-- after I'd done a bit more research on them--- how EASY they are to put on the windows of your car! 

The first two, shortly after arriving in my mail box-- were popped into their spots, in about 20 minutes or so, on a Saturday morning! Check out how THEY turned out!----

By the way, the kinda-hard-to-make-out license plate frame says: 'Ain't pretty, but it's paid for'!

                         ---AND-- here's what they look like, up close!---

I also snagged some NIFTY decals for the rear side-windows! The passenger side is simply a smaller version of the 'Bat-symbol', without the 'ellipse' (or--'oval-shape'!) surrounding it. Check out this MONDO-cool one for the driver's side though!----

'ol Bats 'emerging from the shadows'! The decal made me think of all of those COOL Neal Adams or Don Newton-drawn comics I read, way back when I was 're-discovering' Batman comics in the early-to-mid 80s! Just a VERY NEAT-O image!

Now, what kind of 'TRUE-Bat-fanatic' would I be, if I didn't at least TRY to find another spot or two, to place SOME kind of decals that show my LOVE for my ALL-TIME favorite 'Bat-ride'? (If you don't know that it's the '66 TV show-version--- BOY-HOWDY, you just HAVE NOT been paying attention to THIS blog!)

Thinking that finding a decal representing that exact version of the Batmobile was going to be simple, turned out to be all-the-way WRONG! I had to do some SERIOUS digging around, to find a source that would supply the teeny-tiny-sticker version of that LEGENDARY Bat-vehicle I wanted, to slap onto what's now becoming known--- as the 'GEEK-wagon'!

Finally, by searching around on Etsy--- another NIFTY source for this kind of 'NERD-related' - type stuff---- I finally came across one of the sources for some VERY cool '66 Bat-ride' decals! A little business known as 'The clothed eye' hooked me up with the first set, which I immediately started putting to use! 

One went on the cover for a little Samsung tablet I use for goofing around on, when not on my trusty lap-top! The other ended up in THIS spot, near the top of the rear-window!-----

VERY cool decal, for only 3 INCHES wide!

Next on my agenda, was finding a slightly larger set of decals of the '66 car, to go onto the area near the bottom-front of the windows, on the van's sliding doors. I wanted those to be around 4 - 5 inches wide. Not TOO large, but still easy to spot by the other drivers at intersections and in parking lots, etc., like I mentioned earlier!

My source for those decals turned out to be this ULTRA-nifty on-line service, known as 'Sticker Mule'! You upload pretty much ANY kind of design--- as long as it's pretty 'straight-forward' and simple-- and they'll stream-line it a bit further, let you check out a 'proof' of it. (you can even submit changes you want to make in the design at this stage, until you're happy with the design!) Then they produce it, and mail however many copies of it in 'decal-form' to you that you want! How cool is THAT?!?  Here's the design I uploaded, which was just an image I grabbed on-line, and tweaked a little!----

                           

I ended up paying a bit higher price, because I only needed the two decals (one for each sliding door). BUT-- still, it only set me back around 20 smackers-plus-postage. For a TOTALLY unique set of decals, I didn't figure that was too bad!

At any rate, here's how the final product turned out--- this one's now mounted-up on the driver's side sliding door-window. (the other one-- on the passenger's side-- is identical, facing the same direction---the front of the van-- meaning it had to be the REVERSE of the 'driver's side' decal!-- VERY tricky stuff for an 'over-fifty'-type like ME to remember! Luckily, I did! I'm pretty proud of the results!)------

Yes, I'm a bit disappointed that the 'Bat-mags' couldn't be reproduced, complete with 'Bat-spinners'---on the decal (TOO small a detail, they said!), and that the side 'body-line' under the car's side-fin also didn't show up! STILL though, a very NIFTY and UNIQUE decal! Over-all, I'm a happy camper! 

 

One more NIFTY little decal--- and I do mean LITTLE--- this thing is less than 2 inches wide!--- This one is mainly visible to just me, (on the bottom-right side of my windshield) as I'm cruising down the road! Something that's called a 'chase' sticker. Folks mostly slap these around the edges of (the inside of) their windshields and rear-windows. I also snagged this one from 'The clothed eye' on Etsy. They have several VERY fun 'Batman-related' stickers! (ALL only an inch or two wide / tall!) Including: the '60s TV Bats & Robin, climbing up a teeny-tiny 'Bat-rope'!

The itty-bitty '89 Bat-ride really caught my eye though, and I've gotta admit, it's just a BLAST glancing over and seeing it as I zip back and forth in my drives to and from work! (an other wise pretty DULL drive!)-----

Now, as I was saying before, in the past I haven't been much of a 'bumper-sticker' -- OR window-decal kind of guy! That's STILL true for our main vehicle, that the wifey also drives. But---- the the mini-van had to be forced into service as my 'schlepping-back-and-forth-to-work' transport! AND, let's face hard facts, it's kind of a BLAH set of wheels--- I figured I'd try to add a bit of fun GEEKSTER-related identity to the old beast! 

For me--- this is something I haven't done before!--- and it's just been NEAT thinking about and planning, where to slap all of these 'Caped Crusader'-related decals onto my 'work-ride'! Besides, as with everything that's GEEKY-NERD-OID-related that I do--- it sure brings a smile to my face! As they say, a smile's WAY easier on your face, than an 'ol scrunched-up frown, RIGHT?

Don Newton, the somewhat overlooked comic-art MASTER!

Don Newton, sometime in the early 70s. One of only a TINY handful of pics I could dig up of the man! AND---yes, that IS a (home-made!) 'Captain Marvel' costume he's wearing! 'Cap was apparently Mr. Newton's favorite comics character. More about that, down below!

It's time once again, gang--- to hop into the 'way-back' time machine, and have a peek at just what I was REALLY digging and groovin' on, circa 1984-1986 or so! That GOOF-BALL time, between graduating high school, and my enlistment into the USAF!

Among the more positive things that happened to me during that time-period (trust me, there weren't that many! Let's just say it was a pretty miserable spell for me--- trying to figure out what to DO with my life, and all that kinda stuff!--- and leave it at THAT!)-- was my re-discovery of the JOY of reading and collecting comics! 

During high school, I'd moved away from reading / following the adventures of my childhood heroes, to more of the things--- DOPEY high-school kid that I was--- that I felt were more 'adult' in nature! Things like: pursuing relationships with young ladies, dreaming of my first car, what jobs / 'careers' to look for / look into, after high school, etc...! ( In other words, BORING 'ol 'grown-up stuff'!) Man, was I in a big, hot rush to be 'all grown-up'!-----

The then-19-year-old Loydster and his FIRST ride! A '73 Mercury. (Just look at the GIANT pile of HAIR on my already OVER-SIZED noggin!) A short year-or-so before re-discovering my passion for comic books and the heroes of my little-tot days! Working for my first 'real' paychecks, as well as saving-up for that first vehicle, took a BIG priority, over following the adventures of the heroes from my childhood!

It was fairly shortly--maybe a year or two--after high school, and during my first steps into the world of 'trying to earn my own living' / trying to venture out on my own--- that I fell back into the habit of reading the exploits of the characters I'd ALWAYS loved! ---Even during that silly 'high-school-semi-adult' period! (Just didn't stay up with the comics!)

It turned out that all of that 'earning a living' stuff, was a pretty GRINDING and fairly TEDIOUS experience! Comics were the PERFECT 'antidote', or --- a temporary escape-- from at least SOME of all of that!

SO---I began to try, (as stated above, around early-1984 or thereabouts!) for really the FIRST time, to build a 'serious collection' of comics, focusing on those aforementioned 'childhood favorites'. Batman (of COURSE!) was my MAIN focus, as he'd ALWAYS Been my number ONE favorite character (well--DUH! he STILL IS!)! 

It was during that 'slow-build-up' of my 'Bat-collection', that I also discovered the absolute WONDER, that was the artwork of Mr. Don Newton! A guy who VERY quickly became one of my ALL-TIME favorite 'Bat-artists'! Oh, but it would take years--- no DECADES--- before I would learn just how much More versatile, talented, and yes-- downright PROLIFIC--- this artist REALLY was!

The apparently RARELY photographed Mr. Newton, (apologies for the CRUMMY pic-quality! Again, it's one of the very FEW images I could find of him!) and a Newton-penciled image of the guy I most associated him with, back in the late 70s / early 80s! It would take me DECADES to realize how much MORE (and just how MANY more characters!) the man had actually drawn!

Let's jump in and move forward with our trusty time-machine for a bit--- to just a couple of years ago, in fact--- when it's the current era of the-GRAY-whiskered Loydster! I stumbled across some fairly extensive coverage, in one of my FAVORITE comics-related mags 'Back Issue'-- of Mr. Newton! 

Issue number 19 of that eye-opening magazine, gave details of the artist's life, his (pre-comics) career as BOTH a high school art teacher, and nearly LIFE-LONG comics-fan & 'fan-artist'! He drew HUNDREDS of images for the covers of a number of 'fan-published' magazines, before finally breaking into comics as a pro.

I was also ignorant of  a number of his early art-assignments as a pro! One of his earliest 'pro-gigs', was as the regular penciler / cover-artist, on 'The Phantom' for Charlton comics. Amazing fact: for NO extra pay, he PAINTED the covers of every issue he penciled! For eight issues, from 1975 thru 1977, fans of 'The Ghost who walks' were treated to BEAUTIFUL covers, like THIS one!! (The FIRST issue featuring Don's art, by the way!)---

Now, SOME of the info about Mr. Newton's association with the character of Captain Marvel, I knew about. Like him being the artist on the character from around '78 - '82, for example (the SAME period of time he was also drawing all those 'Bat-tales' I was DIGGING on so much! Like I said, the guy was PROLIFIC!). What I wasn't aware of, 'til reading that 'Back Issue' article, was that he was also a LIFE-LONG 'Cap-fanatic'

Along with producing numerous pretty SNAZZY pieces of 'fan-art' of the good Captain, (see below!) Don also created his own Captain Marvel costume, wearing it proudly to comics conventions and other fan-gatherings! From what it says in the article, the gig drawing 'ol Cap, as well as the rest of the 'Marvel family' & related characters, was INDEED a dream come true for the artist!

While hunting around for those elusive actual pictures of Mr. Newton, (kinda hopeless! There's just NOT hardly ANY in existence!) I instead stumbled across a number of VERY cool pieces of art he created over his life time! Including the NIFTY Captain Marvel piece below! Also amazing, is that this is apparently a 'private piece', not done for a comics cover or anything! Cap looks like he's about to just leap right off the canvas!-----

While not having the 'photo-realism' of the paintings of Alex Ross, Don Newton's paintings still pack a powerful punch all their own! There's a sense of action that's 'about to happen' in this Captain Marvel piece!
This and the Phantom painted cover above, give you a sense that the characters are 'poised and ready for ACTION'! Even though those characters may be standing completely STILL in the moment captured in the paintings!

Once again, the 'way-back' machine zooms us back to the days of a MUCH younger Loydster-- with a LOT more (darker) hair! Back when I discovered this 'Newton guy,' who was penciling the Dark Knight's adventures when I'd dived back into actively collecting comics. Something about the artist's drawings just reached out and grabbed me back then!

His Batman seemed just a bit more dynamic, his women were ALL beautiful! Even Robin seemed to be more of a 'real' young man, under Mr. Newton's pencil. Other artists have done an excellent job of penciling the Caped Crusader, some with a LOT more flash and 'showiness' than others! But--- Don Newton? The man made my ALL-TIME favorite character just feel more 'alive' to me! Just check out this NEAT-O panel, from a Newton penciled / Dan Adkins-inked Bats story!----

It's like a 'still-frame' from a movie, RIGHT? Don Newton's Batman was graceful, sleek, and athletic! Yet he also retained a 'classic', almost 'Golden Age' look!

AND--- here's a couple of my favorite covers, from Newton's run on 'Batman' and 'Detective Comics'! Sadly, the artist did only a small handful of covers during his time penciling the slightly less than 80 or so 'Bat-stories' he produced! That's kind of a shame, 'cause it's OBVIOUS that he had a real knack for composing an 'action-packed' cover image!---

Yet again, let's look at more samples of Mr. Newton's Batman. This time within the comic's pages themselves! The full-page 'final panel' image below, is actually STILL one of my ALL-TIME favorite drawings--- by ANY artist--- of the 'Dynamic Duo'! (Inks by Alfredo Alcala, by the way!) ---

Check out these uncolored pages, with inks ---once again here, by Alfredo Alcala (who, along with Dan Adkins-- in my opinion-- was one of the BEST inkers of Don's pencils!). Just BEAUTIFUL stuff!---

I think I've pretty much proved my point! That Mr. Don Newton was INDEED a talented artist, who did an OUTSTANDING job as penciler on the tales he produced--- for all TOO brief a time--- of the Gotham Guardian! 

Sadly, shortly after I discovered this wonderful craftsman, and his equally beautiful art--- Mr. Newton passed away, at the ALL-too-YOUNG age of only 50 years old--- in August of 1984. BUT--- he left behind a good-sized body of work, that is STILL just as fun to look at and be amazed by! Even nearly 40 YEARS after his passing! I just recently re-read a good-sized chunk of his run on the Batman series, and, needless to say--- his art's just as much of a BLAST to look at now, as it was all of those DECADES ago!

I'm also planning on--- in the hopefully fairly NEAR future, tracking down more of the other comics featuring his craftsmanship-- in particular, his runs on the Phantom & Captain Marvel! I wonder what  he would think, of comics fans enjoying his art nearly 4 decades after he left us? I'd like to think--- since he was such a BIG fan of comics himself--- Mr. Don Newton would be proud of THAT kind of legacy!

One MORE image of this man's AWESOME artistic skill! One that's MOST appropriate to finish-off this post, considering how much I closely associate Mr. Newton with that guy in the 'Bat-suit'! Another 'private piece', done before he broke into 'the pros'. This one featuring a 'Golden Age' version of the character! Here's hoping it inspires even MORE comic-art fans to hunt down the work, of this kind-of-UNDER-appreciated artist! He was INDEED a TRUE comic-art MASTER!---- 

This post is dedicated to the memory of Don Newton (1934-1984). May his art CONTINUE to be enjoyed and cherished for GENERATIONS to come!