Still here!

Just a brief post to let all of our regular readers know that we’re still here.  It is just that various projects and life has gotten in the way.

I’m currently typing this from a hotel room in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where Mrs B and myself are staying as we travel homewards to Chicagoland following our bi-annual participation in “MINI Takes The States”, a cross-country rally for MINI Coopers of every stripe. This year we rallyed in our MINI Cooper Roadster S. We had around 900 MINIs participating in the official route which started in Albuquerque, New Mexico on July 13th and finished in Seattle, Washington on July 21st 2024. We will have driven close to 6,000 miles including the time to get to the start line and finish lines, over a period of 2-3 weeks. If you’re a fan of driving 400-500 miles every day for two weeks, this is the hobby for you!

Here are a few photos from the event. I loved the Mini Roadster with the Rocketeer logo, particularly.

Love this photo of the Rocketeer MINI Cooper Roadster.

On the road from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Durango, Colorado

Our Roadster in Ouray, Colorado

Of course, taking part in such an event cuts into blogging time on the SuperStuff blog, so apologies for that.

However, things continue apace in the SuperStuff bullpen. My co-editor (and pal of fifty-plus years Nigel Brown) is busy putting the finishing touches to the print edition of Fantasy Unlimited #54, the Alan Austin memorial edition of that wonderful fanzine from the 1970s and early 1980s.  That should hopefully see print later this year.  Once it is ready, we will post an update here so that fans can buy a copy from Amazon, priced “at cost”.

I’ve (baggsey here) been continuing to research the history of the Atlas Publishing and Distributing Company Ltd, known to UK fans of American comics as the company responsible for the SuperAdventure, Superboy, Superman and Batman annuals we in the UK would see in the 1950s and 1960s.  Atlas Publishing and Distributing Company Ltd (no connection to the company which was the precursor of Marvel) was responsible for the publishing of US pulps in the UK from as early as 1915, before moving into comic reprints in the late 1950s, and the more I dig into the personalities and events behind the company, the more intriguing it gets. I’ll probably blog a summary about it here, but it really warrants a book or paper of its own to ensure that all of the research data is captured for posterity.

Of course, the big news here is Joe Biden dropping out of the Presidential race. Whatever your political affiliation, this is a time of great political upheaval in these United States. I grew up in the UK and spent half my life there (I’m hoping to get to age 80 at least :-) ). Recently, I’ve become more aware that my political views have been greatly influenced by the messages of DC and Marvel comics of the 1960s and 1970s; messages that heroes with strength have an obligation to help the weak, for example. Or the message that it is incumbent on us to not discriminate on basis of religion, or colour, or sexual orientation, or any other divisive criteria.  I fervently hope that any of us aging reprobates that revere the comic stories of the sixties and seventies embrace those values. Any thoughts on this, please respond in the comments section below.