tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15861891.post113197084339849520..comments2024-03-28T03:24:03.551-04:00Comments on MYRANT: SRBissettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14426874992235196378noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15861891.post-1167440796611352222006-12-29T20:06:00.000-05:002006-12-29T20:06:00.000-05:00Greetings from a fellow writing(mostly tie-in nove...Greetings from a fellow writing(mostly tie-in novels, MechWarrior, Age of Conan, Marvel's Generation X, Star Trek, etc.) Steve. I stumbled in here because, as it happens, I was just thinking of Hamilton's Invaders too, and Google-linked into this post.<BR/><BR/>As a child, I had one of the smaller bugs, the tank, and the helicopter. I lusted after the Sears Catalog playset, more for that cardboard cave than Horrible Hamilton himself, who I thought was a bit goofy looking.<BR/><BR/>But my holy grail from the line is an item that might not even exist. I've never seen a picture of it, or seen it listed in any price guide or fan site. I have only my childhood recollection of it in a Dollar Store window. To my (possibly inaccurate) recollection, it was probably the Blue Defender's answer to Hamilton himself, their ultimate weapon. As I recall it, it was large, battery operated, and had rubber tank treads. There were flying saucer disk launchers (like the ones on those spring-launched saucer guns that were everywhere back in those days) on the upper deck. Multiple launchers, possibly as many as four, though I'm not sure. It had a bubble cockpit for the driver, like the other vehicles in the line.<BR/><BR/>I'd love to find some proof that this thing existed, a picture, or even just somebody else who remembers it. My guess is that if it indeed exists, it may have been released late in the line's run, possibly in limited numbers, and may be very, very rare. If anybody has any clues, I'd LOVE to hear from you.<BR/><BR/>Drop by my occasionally updated blog, or my weekly web-comic "Minions at Work," both linked through my web page:<BR/>www.yorkwriters.com<BR/><BR/>-SteveJ. Steven Yorkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00005909772287389627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15861891.post-1152143185376093612006-07-05T19:46:00.000-04:002006-07-05T19:46:00.000-04:00Great story. My mom bought me the delux Horrible H...Great story. My mom bought me the delux Horrible Hamilton playset at Jefferson Store in North Miami Beach, FL in the early 1960s. Guess I was spoiled and threw one of my "I want Horrible Hamilton! I want Horrible Hamilton!". Anyhow, my mom spanked me, I cried some more, she felt guilty, and presto, she bought it for me! Helps to be an only child. Guess what, I still have Horrible Hamilton in mint conditon (he still works and scares the heck out of my mom's cat). Got all the other bugs too. However, the blue soldiers, the helicopter and tank and the box are long gone. Had the helmet too, but gave it away years ago. Great to remember the good old days, they seem alot better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15861891.post-1132147937368753412005-11-16T08:32:00.000-05:002005-11-16T08:32:00.000-05:00Thanks for the blog link, Gene; yes, Arctic Luke, ...Thanks for the blog link, Gene; yes, Arctic Luke, David is a genius!<BR/><BR/>Mike, thanks for sharing your con story. The writing was on the wall in '97 when the direct sales market implosion left Diamond the only standing player; this is the inevitable result. Arbitrators of taste wielding the self-prescribed "power of the market" is a form of despotism to be despised. I look forward to seeing those comics when we next get together.<BR/><BR/>When a lone distributor controls an entire marketplace (whether by design or proxy is of no consequence), this is the inevitable result. <BR/><BR/>Would the current Diamond board have sanctioned the entry into the market of a young Robert Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, Rory Hayes, or (more to the point and time frame) Mike Diana or James Kochalka? Trying to imagine a comic history sans ZAP, RAW, etc. -- comics that existed completely outside of then-current distribution venues -- is a pretty dire verdict.SRBissettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14426874992235196378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15861891.post-1132014979903788102005-11-14T19:36:00.000-05:002005-11-14T19:36:00.000-05:00I too had the Hamilton Invaders...still have the t...I too had the Hamilton Invaders...still have the tank, but the bugs are long gone...had the helmet too I think...<BR/><BR/>I want to relate a little story which may or not be of interest. I attended the United Fan Con over the weekend and was chatting with the creators of a indie comic. I had done a story on them about a year ago as they're local guys who are doing a full-color standard sized book and selling it at conventions.<BR/><BR/>The book is well-drawn in a cartoony way and is fun - imagine that something called a "comic book" actually has a sense of humor!<BR/><BR/>Anyway they have produced their third issue and I asked if they had signed a deal with Diamond for distribution. They told me that Diamond had rejected them because the art was inferior and there was no call for the book in the current marketplace.<BR/><BR/>I didn't know that Kreskin worked for Diamond, but I guess their review board are all psychics. How would they know what the public wants unless the public gets the chance to actually see a new product?<BR/><BR/>This is, of course, the problem with the comic book industry. Everyone knows that a book can catch on fire with readers once they discover it, but if they're not being given a chance, then no one benefits. <BR/><BR/>Of course if they had tossed into seome sex or nudity and placed an adults-only tag on it, they might have gotten past the selection board.Mike Dobbshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00694483252375913277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15861891.post-1131983230645163422005-11-14T10:47:00.000-05:002005-11-14T10:47:00.000-05:00Nice interview with you, Steve - I've blogged it, ...Nice interview with you, Steve - I've <A HREF="http://blog-machine.blogspot.com/2005/11/read-it-interview-with-steve-bissette.html" REL="nofollow">blogged it</A>, so the traffic should increase by, oh, one or two people ;-)Gene Kannenberg, Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04557131306122319206noreply@blogger.com