Mister 8

culpable

/kulpb’l/

1. deserving blame.
2. describing a weekend in which your esteemed host got to meet I Spy star Robert Culp.

This weekend was the New York Comic Con, and my wife and I made the drive down…partially because I enjoy comic books (obviously) and partially to meet with a client for whom I do web design (in news that is unrelated, I’m sure, Queen & Country author Greg Rucka’s website has a new design as of this week). I made some pretty good purchases, and saw a few things that I thought you folks might be interested in seeing.

First was the booth for the Geppi Entertainment Museum in Baltimore, Md. What first caught my eye were these Gilbert James Bond toys:

And then I noticed this picture amongst those on the booth wall:

…a corner of an exhibit completely dedicated to ’60s spy toys and memorabilia! The Geppi Museum’s website states that their mission is to: “[present] the story of popular culture since the nation’s earliest days in an entertaining and educational fashion so that our guests have the unique opportunity to walk through a timeline that parallels and is entwined with history as a whole.” If anyone lives near Baltimore, please check it out and let us know how you liked it.

Second is a series of translated reprints that I’d like to which I’d like to call your attention. Cinebook is dedicated to bringing Franco-Belgian comics to English speaking countries, and had on-hand at the convention a number of books that were simply beautiful to look at. A few of them were secret agent related, including Clifton, a series of comical mysteries starring an ex-spy turned Scotland Yard detective, and IR$, about a rogue internal revenue agent (I opted for neither of these, but instead Blake & Mortimer, an adventure book with a beautiful style, similar to Hergé). The folks behind Cinebook are enthusiastic about their product and put out great quality work. I highly recommend them based on my purchases today.

Third, and perhaps most awesome. While looking for an artist and wandering the labyrinthesque aisles of the comic con, I rounded a corner and spotted Robert Culp, the 78-year-old actor who played Kelly Robinson on the classic espionage show I Spy. While other comic book dorks gathered around William Katt (The Greatest American Hero, on which Culp played FBI agent Bill Maxwell), I had my picture taken with, and purchased an autographed I Spy script from Mr. Culp.

In honor of the sheer serendipity at finding Culp so unexpectedly, I’m making this I Spy week here at Mister8.com. To get you in the mood, here’s a three-hour interview that Culp did with the Archive of American Television, where he spends a good amount of time talking about I Spy (thanks to Wes Britton for letting me know about this!):

…I also picked up some free things from the Marvel booth, including some nifty magnets of the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo that I’m thinking of giving away in a contest here. I know, I know…giving away freebies in a contest? We’re in an economic downturn…what can I say? Stay tuned this week for details on how to win, if you’re interested. Hopefully, it will be the first of many contests to come!