{"id":14739,"date":"2014-10-01T15:49:04","date_gmt":"2014-10-01T19:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/?p=14739"},"modified":"2014-10-01T23:03:44","modified_gmt":"2014-10-02T03:03:44","slug":"kicking-off-our-countdowntohalloween-coverage-for-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/?p=14739","title":{"rendered":"Kicking off Our CountdownToHalloween Coverage for 2014!!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CC_Halloween<\/p>\n

It’s hard to believe (but I’m awfully excited to say) that it is once again October 1st and here at CollectingCandy.com that means it’s the beginning of our most exciting month of coverage as we participate in the annual CountdownToHalloween<\/a> extravaganza!\u00a0\u00a0 This marks our third year taking part in the month-long blogging event along with nearly 200 other websites covering all manner of facets and perspectives on the holiday.\u00a0 To mark the occasion, I thought I’d offer a bit of background and insight into how I came to be a part of this special event.<\/p>\n

Though I first participated in the CountdownToHalloween <\/a>tradition in 2012 after launching CollectingCandy.com earlier that same year, I’d been aware of it for at least a few years before that.\u00a0\u00a0 My introduction to the Countdown came primarily through the\u00a0 blogs of two friends; Todd Franklin and Shawn Robare.\u00a0 Todd’s wonderful NeatoCoolville blog<\/a> (re-christened NeatoGhoulville during the Countdown month) had been entertaining me for years and Shawn’s expansive BrandedInThe80’s<\/a> was a regular delight and inspiration for me.\u00a0\u00a0 The passion, enthusiasm, writing and willingness to share of those two guys is what brought my initial awareness of the wonder of the CountdownToHalloween<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Neato

Neato Ghoulville<\/a> – Branded in the 80s<\/a> – CountdownToHalloween – 2014<\/p><\/div>\n

But once I became aware of it, imagine my surprise when I learned that the mastermind behind the Countdown was a gentleman I’d met nearly two decades earlier, John Rozum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My first job out of college was all the way back in 1994, working as a marketing representative for DC Comics here in New York City.\u00a0 To me, the best part of that job was getting to know all of the wonderful people at DC Comics as well as working all of the comic conventions and getting to meet so many of DC’s talented creators and passionate fans. It was during one of those conventions that I got to meet a DC Comics writer named John Rozum.<\/p>\n

\"Chicago

Chicago Comic Con – DC Comics Marketing Crew – David Vinson, Jason Liebig, Vince Letterio, Maureen McTigue – 1994<\/p><\/div>\n

At the time, John had just created and launched the successful Xombi book for DC’s Milestone imprint.\u00a0\u00a0 Considered one of the smartest and most unique books on shelves at the time I assumed that, as its creator, John would be a bit stand-offish and intimidating.\u00a0 But he turned out to be just the opposite.\u00a0 John was warm and gracious, and willing to do whatever he could do to help us (the DC marketing team) promote his book.\u00a0 Not only that, but I found John to be a perfectly approachable, sharp and witty guy.\u00a0\u00a0 As I recall, we had quite a few laughs at the DC booth that weekend.<\/p>\n

\"John

John Rozum of CountdownToHalloween and DC Comics Xombi<\/p><\/div>\n

Years later, when I was a new editor at Marvel I recalled how much fun I had meeting John and how much I enjoyed his work – so I called him up to ask if he’d be willing to contribute to an anthology I was putting together at the time.\u00a0 Once again, John proved to be a pro and once again he contributed to making my job easier.<\/p>\n

After that, it would be years before we’d again cross paths but we eventually would through our shared love and appreciation of pop culture, monsters and Halloween.\u00a0 So now, John Rozum has inspired what’s become the most exciting month for CollectingCandy.com each and every year.\u00a0 I guess you could say I owe him one… or maybe a few.\u00a0 Thanks, John!<\/p>\n

\"CountDownToHalloween.com

CountDownToHalloween.com 2014 Snapshot<\/p><\/div>\n

And that about wraps up my personal background with, and how I came to be a participant in, the CountdownToHalloween<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The actual process of the Countdown is left to each individual participant blog.\u00a0 Being involved doesn’t mean you need to post every day or even every week.\u00a0 The only demand is that you have fun with it.\u00a0 Here at CollectingCandy.com we have tried to keep up a one-post-per-day regimen, and while it’s a lot of work, it’s also a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

The format and goal I set out for our Countdown in 2013 was to alternate between vintage Halloween candy and contemporary Halloween candy coverage, which worked out pretty great.\u00a0 So that’s going to be format we endeavor to follow this year as well.<\/p>\n

\"Gathering

Gathering Halloween packages for CountdownToHalloween Coverage – September 2014<\/p><\/div>\n

Over the past few weeks, that’s meant a lot of digging through files and quite a lot of scanning and Photoshop work.<\/p>\n

\"Set

Set up for scanning – CountdownToHalloween Coverage – September 2014<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s also meant a good deal of shopping for the new stuff that’s being released this year.\u00a0 As a candy collector, the Halloween season is a particularly exciting and enjoyable one, as the packaging and designs for Halloween releases tend to be some of the most fun and inventive.<\/p>\n

\"Halloween

Halloween shopping for CollectingCandy Halloween Coverage Candy Shelves – September 2014<\/p><\/div>\n

The new year has also meant a tweak to our CollectingCandy.com Halloween banner.\u00a0 Each year I’ve opted to tweak our seasonal banner rather than completely redesign it, as I’m quite fond of the overall look of the 2012 original.\u00a0 I hope you enjoy this year’s tweaked version.\u00a0 Here are all three in sequence:<\/p>\n

\"Halloween

CollectingCandy.com’s Halloween masthead evolution – 2012-2014<\/p><\/div>\n

The new logo is something I pulled from an old 1970’s Dubble Bubble bubblegum Halloween package, which I’ll be showcasing later on this month during the Countdown.<\/p>\n

And that’s everything I’ve got on the background and origins of how CollectingCandy.com came to be a part of this wonderful annual celebration.\u00a0 I hope you’ll be joining us throughout the month to check-in on what interesting and creepy corners of confection we’ll be sharing.\u00a0 It’s going to be a lot of fun!<\/p>\n

See you next time!<\/p>\n

\"Halloween

Halloween shopping for CollectingCandy.com Halloween Coverage – September 2014<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s post has been part of CollectingCandy.com\u2019s 2014 Countdown to Halloween. To check out other sites celebrating Halloween all month long, check out the official CountdownToHalloween site.<\/a>\u00a0 For more of CollectingCandy.com’s CountdownToHalloween posts, just click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"CCC_Collecting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s hard to believe (but I’m awfully excited to say) that it is once again October 1st and here at CollectingCandy.com that means it’s the beginning of our most exciting month of coverage as we participate in the annual CountdownToHalloween … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[589,252,50,1],"tags":[321,316,328,351,332,14,324,78,333,1225,1222,21,1120,15,348,11],"class_list":["post-14739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-countdowntohalloween","category-halloween","category-holiday-2","category-uncategorized","tag-candy-collecting","tag-candy-collection","tag-candy-collector","tag-candy-wrapper-collection","tag-candy-wrapper-collector","tag-collectible","tag-collecting-candy","tag-confectionery","tag-confections","tag-countdowntohalloween","tag-halloween","tag-packaging","tag-seasonal","tag-sweets","tag-vintage-candy-wrapper","tag-wrapper"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2aFGk-3PJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14739"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14772,"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14739\/revisions\/14772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}