Overlong Punchline Theatre Presents…
…this last panel of a gag strip from a Golden Age book I forgot to note the name of:
“I’m not going to miss you — with this punch!” I’m totally using that in my next fistfight
…this last panel of a gag strip from a Golden Age book I forgot to note the name of:
…as I’ve been otherwise occupied:
[EDIT: YouTube yanked the video.]
Not ideal viewing conditions, admittedly, but I liked hearing the crowd’s reactions to the trailer. And the movie itself doesn’t look terrible…so far.
“Funny, we seem to be able to sell Countdown just fine…it’s meeting, and occasionally exceeding, our sales on 52. — which no one on the internet liked at first, either.”
“Wait wait wait…so the guy’s defense of the Watchmen movie was that the promo poster looked cool? Wha-huh?”
One or two people wouldn’t be enough to keep Devil Dinosaur‘s off-kilter feel intact. Sure, Jack Kirby was just one person, but he’s Jack Kirby…normal human laws don’t apply to him. So I think a new Devil Dinosaur series would work best with a rotating creative team. In fact, with a randomly selected creative team for each issue, DC Challenge-style. That’s keep everyone just a little off-balance, adding a bit of needed surrealism to the proceedings.
However, unlike DC Challenge, where all the creators volunteered to be in the pool of talent from which the random selection was made, anyone in the comics industry can be called for the book at any time, and service is mandatory. It’d be kind of like jury duty.
“Jim Lee, you must draw Devil Dinosaur #12.”
“But I’m working on All-Star Ba—“
“GET CRACKIN’, LEE.”
I’m in the process of prepping some neckties for consignment sale on the eBay on behalf of one of our customers, and…well, I’m not much of a tie-wearer (as in “almost never”), but if I were to wear a tie, let it be a Dr. Doom one:
I kind of like this tie, too…Employee Aaron dubbed it the “Crisis on Infinite Earths tie,” what with the multiple Supermen and Earths an’ all:
Employee Jeff just sent Employee Aaron a text message from the San Diego Con, where he’s at the Joe Quesada panel. Apparently everyone’s hounding Big Joe for a new Devil Dinosaur series.
EDIT: Jeff says there’s word that more Frank Frazetta-inspired comics are planned, including one called Creature in which Teddy Roosevelt fights monsters. Hey, why not?
EDIT 2: Grant Morrison writing Final Crisis. Okay, it’s probably already on the big news sites by now (haven’t checked), but Jeff reports it, I pass it on.
Okay, I promise you, I have no financial stake in this book or this publisher (aside from selling the books at the shop), this isn’t a paid ad, no one asked me to do this…but I loved the last book these guys did, and by God, I want to see more. So, out of a bit of enlightened self-interest, hoping this new volume will sell well enough to justify reprinting more off-brand horror comics, I give you this coupon you can print ‘n’ clip and give to your retailer:
“Say, what’s Batfatty been up to,” you’ve been asking. Well, Batfatty, AKA pal JP, has been tracking down some Bat-rarities, including:
A couple San Diego Convention tidbits, pulled from online sources as I’m not there, due to my inability to “socialize” or “afford anything” at the moment:
“‘…What’s the point of having 150 reporters with access to millions of readers sitting here?’ asked another critic, joining the pile-on. ‘You have the announcements. You can give them out. Instead you are going to hold them to give to people who have to pay to get into a convention.'”
The San Diego Con itself is summed up in this three-line description:
“Hundreds of years ago, Comic-Con was a sweet little comic book convention. But it’s been totally co-opted by the studios, and now, for four days each year, it’s the center of the cultural world.
“This year Comic-Con expects about 120,000 blogging geeks, who will rake in whatever the studios shovel out about upcoming movies and TV series.”
I didn’t recognize a single name in the cast, save for “Billy Crudup,” which I only remembered because of the odd last name, not because I can remember anything he’s been in.
It’s the End of Civilization as we know it, and I feel just dandy, thank you. Come with me as I journey through the August 2007 edition of Diamond Previews and attempt not to weep openly. (The last two and a half years’ worth of this masochistic endeavour are linked in the sidebar.)
p. 45 – Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope Photo Comic:
p. 412 – Star Wars Reader A Queen’s Diary SC:
p. 429 – Punisher Sterling Silver Symbol Ring:
p. 432 – “Teenage Nightmare Bitch from Hell” Women’s t-shirt & “Disco Zombie Pimp” black work shirt:
p. 448 – Harry Potter 12-inch Hermione Granger Action Figure with Sound:
p. 454 – Upper Deck Authenticated Venom Bust:
p. 454 – Gladiator Original Design Mini-bust:
p. 460 – All-American Cheerleader Statue:
p. 460 – Sinful Suzi Statue:
p. 464 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer The Essense of Willow Statue:
p. 466 – Lord of the Rings Classics Gimli Bust:
p. 471 – Star Wars Classics Momaw Nadon Hammerhead Bust:
p. 481 – Bart Simpson 10-inch D.I.Y. Previews Exclusive Qee Vinyl Figure:
p. 490 – Chocotto Sister Choco 1/8 Scale Whit Cat PVC Figure:
p. 499 – Alien Kubricks Powerloader Deluxe Set:
p. 513 – Pez Elvis Gift Set Case:
“Each container holds 3 Elvis Pez dispensers (one from each decade: 50’s, 60’s & 70’s)….”
With some slight modification, you could probably change the ’70s one into a pill dispenser.
p. 513 – 300 Life-sized Leonidas Cape Limited Edition Prop Replica:
p. 517 – Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise:
If it’s July, it must be time for the yearly onslaught of Nightmare Before Christmas stuff. Here’s one of three and half pages of related merchandise in this month’s catalog:
Marvel Previews p. 25 – Howard the Duck #1 (of 4):
“Just when you thought it was safe to read comics again…and Marvel has to do THIS?!?”
Probably the least self-aware quote in Marvel’s catalog this month. It’s a good thing it says “Howard” on the character’s shirt, because otherwise I never would have recognized him. And, nothing against Ty Templeton, but Howard not written by Steve Gerber is like Charlie Brown not written by Charles Schulz.
Marvel Previews p. 84 – Marvel Milestones Howard the Duck Statue:
Marvel Previews p. 85 – Marvel Minimates PX Zombie Iron Man & Black Panther Two-Pack:
Yes, I’m twelve years old.
Jonah Hex is on his way to the silver screen, it seems. The headline of the article I linked actually reads “Comic anti-hero ‘Hex’ comes to the big screen,” which immediately made me think of this Hex, which would be fantastic.
I mean, honestly, how cool would that be? Everyone’s sitting there, watching what they think is yet another western flick, and suddenly Jonah’s whisked away into a distopian, Mad Max-ian future, with ray guns and giant mutant insects and gals in space bikinis. That’s the movie I want to see.
Apparently the actual direction they’re going with the Jonah Hex flick is based on the supernatural-themed Vertigo series by Joe R. Lansdale and Tim Truman, which is fine, too, I suppose. This means no giant robots, so don’t get your hopes up. Also, if some “tail wagging the dog” results from this Jonah Hex movie, as it usually does with most comic book movies, we’ll likely see a change in Hex’s facial scars to reflect whatever slightly more feasible scarring we’ll see in the film. Because, honestly, as has been pointed out several times before, there’s just no way that flap of skin over the side of his mouth would not have been cut off by Hex long, long ago.
I don’t imagine we’ll be seeing the Winter brothers on the soundtrack album.
The seemingly just on the verge of being confirmed rumor that’s sweeping the nerdinet is that Heroes villain Zachary Quinto is one pointed ear away from playing Spock in the next Star Trek movie.
That would be good casting…Quinto has a bit of an otherworldly look about him, handsome yet sort of off-kilter, and just plain kind of Vulcany, that would make an interesting interpretation of Spock. ‘Course, the handful of Trek fans still alive will probably have conniptions that they’re recasting the original crew, and the producers are taking the chance the reboot won’t attract a new audience while alienating the old fanbase and being left with nobody for their newest Star Trek attempt. But, who knows…people do like Quinto, and maybe a “going back to basics” approach will revive interest in a franchise that’s become increasingly insular and resistant to fresh fans.*
I still think a new animated Trek series, like Cartoon Network’s Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoon, would be the best way to get people (especially kids) excited about the Trek franchise again. Well, the real best way would be to let the franchise rest for about twenty years, and revive it with an actual fresh start like they did with Battlestar Galactica, but I doubt Paramount’s going to want to let one of its prime cash cows, diminished as it is, lay fallow for any longer than necessary.
For some reason, I just had a vision of the new Star Trek movie, with an entirely new set of actors and actresses portraying the Original Series characters, with the exception of Walter Koenig still playing Chekov. I picture him sitting behind the same old console, muttering “well, crap” under his breath the whole time.
I received an e-mailed press release for a forthcoming comic/celebrity convention, which had this to say in a short bio for one of the guests:
“Chris [Noel] co-starred with Elvis Presley in ‘Girl Happy’ and is the only actress to appear on the cover of a regular issue comic book.”
I suspect there’s some kind of qualifier missing, there. Doesn’t Dell’s I Love Lucy series count as a regular comic book, each issue of which featured a cover photo of Lucille Ball? Or how about, as Kevin suggested when I mentioned this to him, Dale Evans?
Anyway, a visit to her site reveals that the comic she appeared on was this issue of The ‘Nam. You know, I must have seen this cover a hundred times, and never realized the woman on the front was based on an actual person. That’s what I get for not reading it, I suppose. Well, I don’t have that excuse any more, since a PDF file of the story in question is available at that second link.
The whole site is actually a lot of fun, and Ms. Noel does good charity work for vets, so I’m glad that odd statement from the convention folk got me to seek out her site for more info. Plus, she dressed up as Margo Lane for a taping session for an upcoming documentary about the Shadow, and you can’t say that’s not cool.
A blank, for your infernal convenience:
EDIT: Here’s a list of folks putting words into Ol’ Scratch’s mouth…if I missed you, let me know:
Golfwidow’s Ministry of Silly Walks
Mr. Dan Kelly (and the Mr. Dan Kelly Dancers)
So Employee Aaron came up with Crypt of Daylight, and I countered with Pantry of Terror, and then, suddenly, I’m trying to come up with a list of less-than-compelling horror comic titles. Here are a few:
Vault of Home Mortgages
Chamber of Stories (ahem) ‘Borrowed’ from EC Comics
Adventures into the Quite Well-Known, Actually
The Three Bedroom, Two and a Half Bath, Spacious Backyard, Close to a School and a Shopping Center, Newly Constructed Home of Horror
Richie Rich Vaults of Mystery — oh, wait, that one’s real
Weird Tales of Your Mom
All The Stories End with Ironic Twist Endings Monthly
A few quickie linkies:
What fresh hell is this? Weekly World News…shutting down? Bat Boy…homeless? Ed Anger…even angrier?
Weekly World News has had several connections to the comic book world, such as editors Paul Kupperburg and Bob Greenberger, writer Andy Mangels, and, of course, Peter Bagge’s run of initial “Bat Boy” comic strips, among others.
The supermarket just won’t be the same without Weekly World News staring back out at you at the checkout line. Another little piece of Americana slips away.
(First spotted via Metafilter.)
A couple more follow-up questions from the ’90s bust discussion:
“One thing I’ve started wondering about your memories of the speculative boom – how much cash would your average collector buying multiple copies for investment value actually have sent down the toilet, in terms of purchase price versus current value?”
That’s a hard question to answer. Well, maybe not…the general response would be “a lot,” but it would depend really on what multiple copies they purchased (and assuming they kept them in sellable shape, which, as I noted Friday, was rarely the case).
But even if they did end up investing in a boom-era comic book with some current demand and a reasonable aftermarket price — say, for example, Spawn #1 — is the 30% to 50% (if you’re lucky) of that aftermarket price you’re going to get by selling it to a dealer, or on eBay, worth the fifteen years you’ve stored them? And if you have a lot of them, you might run into the problem I mentioned here…you might be able to sell 5 or 10 or even 20 copies of Spawn #1 to the same buyer, but it’s not likely you’ll be able to sell a full case of a couple hundred copies to that buyer. At least, not without taking an enormous loss on them. I can use some Spawn #1s for the shop, but I’m not going to tie up a lot of money in 200 copes that might take me a decade or more to sell. If you want me to buy a full case of Spawn #1, it better be cheap.
And if you’ve got something nobody wants, like, say, Brigade #1, you’ve gone from the “you may make a little bit of your money back” situation with Spawn to the “too bad it’s not soft enough to use as toilet paper” side of things. Sure, the price guide might say it’s worth cover price or so, but they’re not actually selling for that. To anyone. Ever. They’re not even selling in our bargain bins, much less at full price. Anyone who invested in Brigade will find themselves…well, I believe the technical term is “losing one’s ass.”
Speaking of asses and the loss thereof…another thing to consider, when it comes to value of many of the boom books…some of you folks may remember that our shop was clearing out some backstock, selling about 100,000 units to somebody who needed comic books in bulk, regardless of title or publisher. We unloaded tons of ’90s crash-era comics at the princely sum of one shiny nickel per funnybook. Alas, I doubt you’ll see that pricing reflected in the listings of your favorite price guide (“SECOND LIFE OF DR. MIRAGE #1 – $0.05 in NM condition”).
So, anyway, to actually answer the question: while I’m sure there are some success stories, the vast majority of people who invested in multiple copies probably only realized pennies for each dollar spent, if even that.
“Do you think 52 would have sold as well if DC published it as a monthly trade rather than a weekly pamphlet?”
If they had gone the monthly paperback route, 52 would have been a drastically different creature. (For one, they would have called it 12.) It was designed as a weekly serial, with cliffhangers, and its impact (and novelty) would have been diminished had it been yet another monthly publication. Not saying there isn’t room for DC to experiment with a superhero story serialized as a monthly trade paperback, but 52 was primarily designed to take advantage of the weekly new comic pamphlet release schedule, which contributed to its sale success.
Another good sequence from Adventures into Darkness #14: