Cover
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Spring
Loaded: A Message From the Editor
Hello and
welcome to Pezhead Monthly!
While I only
got one new Pez dispenser in August (that being the Vampire Pez...
more later, you can "Count" on it!), I added four new
autographed Pez to my collection at Chicago Comic-Con. In fact,
the story of how I came to get each of these autographs is the
main feature in this month's issue. Also in this issue is a Pezhead
Monthly salute to Super Mario, who turns 25 this month, and a
Pez Almost-Quote. And let's not forget this month's cover
image, which commemorates (and Pezzifies) the new iPod Touch
that came out this month (even though the picture is from a previous
generation iPod). I don't have one yet, but soon, oh yes soon,
it shall be mine.
Thanks for
reading, and see you next month!
Joe Durrant
Editor, Pezhead Monthly
joe@pezheadmonthly.com
Chicago
Comic-Con: All Signs Point To Pez
Only in recent
years have I deciced to add autographed Pez dispensers to my collection.
I am not sure why I didn't think to do so sooner. A lot of it
might come down to being in the right place at the right time.
Indianapolis is not exactly a magnet for celebrities, much less
celebrities who are associated with Pez dispensers. So it requires
a bit of vigilance to see who is coming to town, along with a
willingness to travel in some cases, as time and money allows.
And, in some cases, there is a need for some creative leaps to
connect a particular celebrity with a particular Pez dispenser.
The first
Pez dispenser I had signed was an Elvis Pez dispenser. Now, it's
not too hard to do the math: Elvis Presley died in 1977, and the
Elvis Pez set was released in 2007. Getting Elvis to actually
sign my Pez would be rather impossible, short of procuring a plutonium-powered
DeLorean that hits 88 mph. However, a unique opportunity presented
itself in January 2009, when my girlfriend took me to an Elvis
Tribute Artist concert. After the concert, I met one of the three
artists, Donny Edwards. He was a little surprised when I pulled
out an Elvis Pez dispenser for him to sign- and I can guarantee
he had never signed one to that point- but he gladly did it for
me. Here's a
picture of me, Donny, and the signed Elvis Pez, as first reported
in the January 2009 issue of Pezhead Monthly.
The next month,
I caught word of a celebrity coming into town for a car show called
World of Wheels. That celebrity was one of my favorites, Henry
Winkler, best known for portraying Arthur "The Fonz"
Fonzerelli on the landmark show "Happy Days." Alas,
Pez has not (yet) released a Fonz Pez dispenser. So I got to thinking:
when you think of Fonz, you think of cool. This, combined with
my name being Joe, brought me to the obvious conclusion that I
needed Henry Winkler to sign my Joe Cool Pez dispenser. He was
a really nice guy in person, and, like Donny Edwards, was surprised
when I presented Joe Cool to him (and, I can safely say, had never
been asked to sign a Pez dispenser before), Here's a
picture of the signed Joe Cool dispenser, as first reported
in the March 2009 issue of Pezhead Monthly.
Since the
Fonz experience, I went a long while without adding more autographed
Pez to my collection. That streak ended in August 2010, when I
had the chance to attend the Wizard World Chicago Comic-Con. While
this epic convention did not have the scope or media attention
that the San Diego Comic-Con has, it nonetheless played host to
a variety of celebrities, artists, and vendors. I endured the
crowds and anxiety in Chicago to experience 6 hours of pop culture
bliss, meeting a variety of celebrities from TV and film. And
as a Pezhead, I had a unique opportunity to get autographs for
a number of Pez dispensers at one event. Prior to the Chicago
Comic-Con, I wrote a
piece for my favorite pop culture blog Pop Candy, outlining
my plan to get autographs from five celebrities.
So, did all
go according to plan? Well, not quite, but it was still a grand
occasion.
The first
celebrity who I got to sign a Pez dispenser was Jake Lloyd, who
played 9-year-old Anakin Skywalker in the first "Star Wars"
prequel, "The Phantom Menace." As every person in the
universe knows by now (also, spoiler alert!), Anakin Skywalker
grows up to be one of the baddest bad guys ever, Darth Vader.
So of course, in this glorious moment I had no doubts about presenting
him with a Darth Vader Pez dispenser to sign (the same Pez dispenser,
in fact, that was the subject
of Pezhead Monthly's second ever Five Questions feature). He was
a great kid and was happy to sign Darth Vader Pez.
Right next
to Jake Lloyd was Daniel Logan, who played young Boba Fett in
the second "Star Wars" prequel, "Attack of the
Clones." He was, of course, an ideal candidate to sign my
Boba Fett Pez dispenser! When it was my turn, I asked Daniel's
assistant (who, it turns out, was also his father) if it would
be okay if he signed Boba Fett Pez for me. His response nearly
knocked me off my feet: "Are you JoePez?" It turns,
Daniel enjoys reading Pop Candy and was quite enthused when he
saw the piece I wrote the day before! He was quite excited to
meet me. Allow me to repeat... young Boba Fett... was excited
to meet... me!! This had to have been one of the most geektastic
moments of my life. Daniel happily signed my Boba Fett Pez dispenser
and posed for a picture. They even waived the autograph fee for
me!

There was
one small snag, though. If you read the Pop Candy piece I link
to above, you'll see that I initially wasn't exactly enthused
to get Jake Lloyd's signature on Darth Vader Pez. This was mainly
due to the fact that I felt the prequels somewhat tarnished the
Star Wars legacy. Realistically, this could not be blamed on a
single person (unless, arguably, that person's name is George
Lucas), much less a child. But that didn't keep me from opening
my big mouth in the Pop Candy piece.
Immediately
after I met with Daniel, I went back to Jake and apologized profusely.
The same geek inside of me who was overjoyed at Daniel's recognition
was absolutely mortified that about what I wrote about Jake. I
felt terrible. Fortunately, Jake had no idea what I was talking
about as I babbled and stammered my way through the apology (or
at least he put on a good show of it). If nothing else, it was
a stark reminder to watch what you say on the Internet, especially
if there's a chance that you will meet that person face-to-face.
I somehow
collected myself after this incident, and soon thereafter was
on my way to the biggest Pez dispenser autograph ever. That's
right, I said ever. I am referring, of course, to the legendary
Adam West, who played Batman in the campy, fun, wacky Batman TV
show and movie of the 60s. I had done my homework prior to this
event: a very knowledgeable and friendly dealer at Pezamania 20
warned me that Adam is only contractually allowed to sign the
original, blue comic version of Batman. I had my Sharpie all ready,
and a roll of Pez stuck in the sleeve so that it wouldn't snap
as he was trying to sign it. As I got closer and closer, though,
my plans of showing him a picture of my Batman
Pez shelf were forgotten as I got more and more nervous.
When I finally
met him, I was pleased that he was such a cool and classy guy.
However, when he saw the Pez dispenser, he said that he didn't
think he could sign it. I let out a quick flurry of words explaining
that this was exactly the Batman Pez dispenser that he could sign
(I managed to avoid the word "needed," although I don't
know how). He waved his hand and went ahead and signed it. Yes!
What a thrilling moment. I was so excited. He handed it back to
me, and I thanked him and told him that he was the reason I came
to Chicago Comic-Con. I think he appreciated that, even without
seeing a picture of my Batman Pez shelf.
Here's a picture
of me and the signed Batman Pez just after the autograph. Notice
that he also signed my Batman DVD, although that got a little
smudged. I'm not complaining- the Batman Pez autograph is perfect!

(That picture
was taken just before I almost got run over by former Illinois
governor Rod Blagojevich and an army of cameras, but that's a
whole other story.)
The final
Pez signature happened courtesy of Julie Newmar, who along with
Lee Meriweather and Eartha Kitt was one of the three actresses
to play Catwoman on the 1960s Batman show. Julie has always been
my favorite, and I was so thrilled to meet her in person. While
there is sadly no Catwoman Pez dispenser (yet!), there is a Halloween
Black Cat dispenser (who happens to be another Five
Questions subject). When I presented this to Julie, she was
stunned. She asked what it was, and at first I thought she was
wondering which set it came from, or which trademarked property
it was (as I learned ealier, this is sometimes an issue). But
as I explained that it was a Pez original not affiliated with
any other company, I came to realize that she was asking what
a Pez dispenser was! Surely she had come across one at some point.
Maybe she did a while back and forgot. So I had the joy of explaining
(or perhaps re-explaining) what a Pez dispenser was to Julie Newmar.
She was happy to sign the dispenser for me. I thanked her, and
also got a picture and her signature on a Catwoman photo. Alas,
she did not sign it "To
Joe, Thanks for everything, Julie Newmar." But she did
sign it "Purr-fect." Yes, I'd say so!
Lou Ferrigno,
also mentioned in the Pop Candy piece, had to bow out of the convention
at the last minute due to a family illness. I'll have to track
him down at some other event and have him sign my Hulk Pez dispenser,
if he is willing and able of course. As for William Shatner, he
was undoubtedly the biggest star of the show and the crowds around
him were crazy. I did get within a few feet of him but did not
manage to get his autograph on a Captain Kirk Pez dispenser. Perhaps
I could have waited in line, but after the events earlier in the
day, I decided that I had reached my limit.
All in all,
Chicago Comic-Con was a fantastic event, not just for a Pezhead
but for a pop culture junkie such as myself. I met all kinds of
celebrities and had some crazy adventures along the way. And,
I added four more autographed Pez dispensers to my collection!
Here is a picture of all of my signed Pez dispensers to date.

So, who will
be the next person to put Sharpie to plastic and sign another
Pez dispenser for my collection? Only time will tell when another
opportunity will present itself. But I sure am looking forward
to finding out!
(Editor's
Note: In addition to all of the above craziness revolving around
Pez dispensers, Joe experienced much more at Chicago Comic-Con.
For a non-Pez photo gallery filled with great pop culture pictures,
click here.)
Pezhead Monthly Salutes Super Mario
The classic
Nintendo game Super Mario Bros. turns 25 this month. Super Mario,
it turns out, has been on the pages of Pezhead Monthly more than
once. The first instance is in this Five
Questions feature, when Super Mario Pez astutely notes,
"Video
games nowadays are so complex, so graphic and intense. Pez dispensers
are relatively simple things: you load them, you dispense them,
and you load them back up again. They are so much fun to collect,
display, and share. I'll take that over an angry mushroom any
day of the week."
In addition,
as part of this
Pezhead Monthly photo essay on video games and Pez,
the bricks in Mario's world are made a
bit more colorful. And sometimes, Super Mario enjoys Pez so
much that he just can't stop jumping
for joy.
So happy Birthday,
Super Mario, from Pezhead Monthly!
Pez Almost-Quote of the Month
"There's
no time like the Pezzin'."
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