Monday 3 October 2011

TBC: Old-Timey Hockey Tales

I'm very happy to help the promotion of this title. HBIC friend and colleague Rob Ullman is probably best known for his work over on his site, Atom-Bomb Bikini, but Rob also publishes some of his work in various forms. One such form is his latest comic book called Old-Timey Hockey Tales, written with Jeffrey Brown and published by Wide Awake Press. Inside the covers, there are ten illustrated stories of some of the most interesting events in NHL history. Rob and Jeff have done a marvelous job in bringing these stories to life through their comics, and the stories become much more vivid with the pictures accompanying them.

From the Atom-Bomb Bikini site, "Robert Ullman pays the bills as a freelance illustrator for a plethora of publications, such as Virginia Living, The Stanger and The Washington City Paper. He creates comics in his spare time (of which there never seems to be enough), including Atom-Bomb Bikini, Grand Gestures, Old-Timey Hockey Tales and the upcoming Sellout, which will see print one of these days." Mr. Ullman is a longtime friend of HBIC, and HBIC is proud to regularly feature his work when he has a new hockey-related idea. Rob's a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, and he's picking the Penguins over the San Jose Sharks in this year's Stanley Cup Final (for the fifth year in a row).

Old-Timey Hockey Tales has ten individual tales of hockey history spread over the 32 pages of this comic book. Some show lots of detail while bringing the story to life while others seem to be a little more rough. Regardless of the artwork, you get ten fabulous stories with some excellent visual delights to help the stories come to life!

There's a story about the famous Richard Riot in Montreal after NHL President Clarence Campbell suspended the high-scoring winger for the remainder of the season and the playoffs for striking referee Cliff Thomson. There an excellent tale on Michel Briere, a Penguins player few know about, but who has his number retired by the Penguins. And there's a great story on the invisible names worn by the Leafs in 1978. You might remember a story about that right here on HBIC. Well, it was Rob Ullman who prompted me to do the research, and he turned it into a spectacular comic strip!

Honestly, Old-Timey Hockey Tales is a fun way to read up on some of the NHL's history. Mr. Ullman and Mr. Brown go deep into the archives of the NHL and unearth some gems that they transform into fun, education comic strips. Adding this to your night table or bookshelf won't set you back a pile of dough - Old-Timey Hockey Tales is a mere $6!

I'm very happy to help Mr. Ullman promote some of his excellent work, and I bought myself a copy along with a poster of the Richard Riot comic. The work put into these Old-Timey Hockey Tales is excellent, and they the stories, albeit briefly, of some of the most memorable moments in NHL history. Because of the work done by Mr. Ullman and Mr. Brown in both the stories and the strips, I'm proud to give Old-Timey Hockey Tales the Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval. Get on over to Rob's site and pick yourself up a copy!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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