The Gem Theater: DC Comics

Introduction

Downtown Wichita Falls, Texas, in the mid 1940’s was a bustling metropolis for a boy of 7 just away from the farm and ranch community where he was born. My father, a cook and cowboy by trade, had just started as one of the first cooks for the Casa Manana restaurant in 1947. He moved us to an apartment on Ohio Street, right across from the Gem Theater, between 7^th and 8^th Streets. It’s here that we would stay for the next three years. The Gem Theater became a magic palace for a young mind. But it had to share that distinction with the rest of the magic that was Wichita Falls. I attended San Jacinto and Carrigan elementary schools, as well as Reagan Junior High, and belonged to the Boys Club on 6th Street. Please join, and share your stories and pictures through a Guest Blog, of early Wichita Falls - or your home town. Contact me at fadingshadows40@gmail.com or leave a comment. We could use old pictures of movie houses, drive-in theaters, and other nostalgic pictures related to our youths.

Showing posts with label DC Comics. Show all posts

Sunday, May 14, 2017

DC Comics

DC Comics: Superman changed comic books forever. I remember discovering my first comic books when we moved to Wichita Falls in 1947. I was seven years old and had never seen such wonders before. Although Superman was fantastic, Batman and Wonder Woman became my early favorites – until Captain Marvel and The Marvel Family came along and I discovered Mary Marvel (Sigh). But those were wonderful days. I read comics for 33 years before finally giving them up. Either they had lost their appeal, or more likely I just didn’t care where they were going by 1980. Next year at this time, if I’m still around, I plan on watching the 1948 Superman serial with Kirk Alyn one more time, seventy years after first seeing the serial at the Tower Theater in Wichita Falls in 1948.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Wonder Woman

WONDER WOMAN. For my Wonder Woman fans, here’s DC’s Wonder Woman 57. With the lovely Linda Carter gracing the cover in the role. We watched her in the role during the 1970's TV series.

Friday, June 12, 2015

Batman & Robin

Batman & Robin. Like most of us, I discovered Batman & Robin as a kid. I was 7 years old, in fact, when we moved to Wichita Falls and I discovered comic books and the two biggest names in comics at that time, Batman & Superman. I liked both, but Batman & Robin was it for all of us, I think. We read Superman, but deep down we wanted to be Batman or Robin. And they did have the better costumes. I remained a fan until about 1980, when I gave up all the comic books. But I still hold Batman & Robin in a special place in my heart.

The Gem Theater