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Sluggo Saturday #32.

§ December 12th, 2009 § Filed under sluggo saturday Comments Off on Sluggo Saturday #32.

SLUGGO

FEELS LUCKY TODAY

from Bums, Beatniks and Hippies (1991)

And then there was that time my website was down for nearly two days.

§ December 11th, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized § 1 Comment

…Well, shit.

Who else indeed?

§ December 10th, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on Who else indeed?

house ad from Werewolf by Night #2 (Nov. 1972)

Brother, that’s action!

§ December 9th, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on Brother, that’s action!

from The Champions #7 (Aug. 1976) by Tony Isabella, George Tuska & Vince Colletta

EDIT: Mr. Isabella his own self has a few words to say about this panel.

I actually toned down the cynicism in this post.

§ December 8th, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized § 1 Comment

I suppose I should write something about DC’s new graphic novel initiative, establishing fresh restarts for Superman and Batman presumably to attract new audiences. Or, more likely, to give the old audiences something to complain about since they’ll be the ones primarily buying these. Unless, of course, I’m surprised and these are packaged at an under-$10 price tag and are sold everywhere and thus actually have a chance at getting in the hands of new readers. And, as Chris Butcher says, they’d better look different from the dozens of Superman/Batman books already on the shelves or they’re just going to get lost in the shuffle. I mean, it is DC, which does act like a real publisher most of the time, so I imagine they already realize the problems they’re facing.

As a funnybook seller, I do have some demand for continuity-lite standalone stories featuring the Big Two Characters, particularly with origin stories, so it’s not like I don’t have a market for it at my shop. That’s usually restricted to times when a movie featuring those characters is on the horizon, however, so I guess I’ll be set if there’s another Superman or Batman movie anytime soon.

The other thing is that, at least for Superman, there seems to be a progressively-decreasing amount of time between reboots/fresh starts for characters which is likely indicative of a fundamental problem regarding marketing and consumer acceptance, or at least a sense of desperation at maintaining a decades-old trademark in its original medium in the face of much more lucrative successes in other media. It’s the ol’ “let’s throw it at the wall and see what sticks” strategy, but it’s beginning to seem a little like the flailing arms and thrashing-about of a drowning man just before he sinks beneath the water.

Well, that was a bit of a downer. The graphic novels do seem like they’d be okay, and I do hope they succeed in “sticking” and attracting new readers. I’ve noted before that most people are good with a Batman or Superman or Spider-Man movie about once every few years or so, and don’t need to pop into a comic shop to keep up with the half-dozen monthly comics for each of these characters. A twice-annual graphic novel series seems to be a happy medium between Wednesday “New Comics Day” visits and the (at best) every three years film installments, that allows a new casual fan to follow a character they have interest in without creating a stack of periodicals in the house.

Or, as pal Dorian noted to me as I was discussing this with him, maybe this is all just a test run on publishers switching over to an Original Graphic Novel standard from the increasingly economically-unwieldy periodical standard. That’s a bit of an eye-opener, there.

At the very least, like I said at the beginning, maybe they’ll sell well to people already coming into the shop. That I can realistically hope for, and if additional interest from new audiences actually materializes, all the better. But I’m not holding my breath.

EDIT: Pal Nat and Tom note the importance of the licensing angle, as well.

Also, given who the writer of the Batman Superman [EDIT: Oops!] graphic novel is going to be, I’m going to be very disappointed if those GNs don’t have a hamfisted moral lesson at the end of each story like that same writer’s Brave and the Bold comics, because those are awesome.

An excess of sardonicism.

§ December 7th, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on An excess of sardonicism.

So thanks, internet pals, for the assorted messages of appreciation/congratulations/pity you’ve sent me on the sixth anniversary of this here weblogatron.

A few items of note that were sent my way for the occasion:

Sleestak of That’s My Skull pointed me in the direction of this Swamp Thing gag from a 1989 issue of Comics Scene. (Gosh, I miss that magazine.)

Longtime ProgRuin reader Michael-Sensei posted this foreign Return of the Swamp Thing poster that I think I may have posted here before, but even if I did, it’s always great to see it again! And he linked to this Japanese video cover for the same movie, which made me laugh. “Waugh!” indeed.

Another longtime reader, Old Bull Lee, comments that his favorite post of mine ever is this one, where I mash together Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns with the Greatest Batman of Them All, Adam West. And the only reason I’m relinking it here is so that I can link to Kevin Church’s more extensive remixing of these two versions of Batman, which is completely awesome.

And another bull, Bully the Little Stuffed Bull, presents a rare image from my childhood as I team-up with one of my heroes.

Oh, almost forgot: here’s a bit of spam that I got at work on the same day as my sixth anniversary:

“Attention:Beneficiary,

“I am Barrister Micheal Sterling. I have a client Mr.Jeffrey, who bears the same last name with you and a national of your Country who used to work with The Arcadia Group London, on the 22nd of May 2005, my client, his wife and their three children were involved in a car accident along Manchester Express Road. All occupants of the vehicle unfortunately lost their lives.”

And then it goes on about how I’m the only relation to the family they could find and boy howdy, do I have a lot of money that’s waiting for me to just jump through the necessary hoops. But frankly, I couldn’t get past the misspelling of “Michael.”


Here’s an odd thing a customer said to me the other day:

“Huh, so they’re making up new characters, are they?”

Said in reaction to the cover of the Marvel Previews catalog. Specifically in reaction to the Ultimate Comics X image on said cover. So 1) I didn’t quite know how to respond to someone expressing mild surprise that comic publishers are making up new characters, and 2) he was looking at an image that essentially had a Wolverine-type character, with hand-claws. I almost responded with “sure, they make up new characters all the time…they’re all variations on Wolverine” but withheld my excess of sardonicism.

To give the benefit of a doubt, perhaps this customer was simply resisting the need for Marvel and DC to push new characters into the marketplace, and not just being amazed that maybe, for whatever reason, a new character just might get created and pop up in a book somewhere.

I am using “new” loosely here, since the character does indeed appear to be another Wolvie knock-off, but it’s drawn by Art Adams and therefore will be right purty.

Sluggo Saturd…er, Sunday #31.

§ December 6th, 2009 § Filed under sluggo saturday Comments Off on Sluggo Saturd…er, Sunday #31.

NO ONE APPRECIATES

DIZZY GILLESPIE COSPLAY

from Nancy Eats Food (1989)

"Suddenly, six years later…."

§ December 5th, 2009 § Filed under suddenly... Comments Off on "Suddenly, six years later…."

Six years. Daily updates.

Send help.

If you’ve read the previous five times I’ve gone though this particular preamble, there probably won’t be much here new to you guys. But as always, I wanted all of you to know how much I appreciate your readership, your comments, your e-mails, your banners, and so on. The feedback and the back-and-forth is part of the enjoyment I get out of putting together material for this site every day, and thank you for that.

Plus, I once again thank my long-suffering girlfriend Nora for putting up with this particular obsession of mine, my parents for me even being here in the first place, pal Dorian for being my continuing partner in crime and a swell friend, and employees Aaron and Timmy and former employee Kid Chris for allowing me to exploit them for the entertainment of others. Well, not “allow” as such, but they haven’t sued yet, so I figure I’m okay.

And, as always, I must pay homage to he who came before: the enigmatic Neilalien, First among Comic Bloggers, for showing us how it’s done and for all the helpful advice he’s provided. Thanks, Neil! (Can I call you “Neil?”) (Er…I mean, Mr. Alien. Sir.)

A little something different happened over this last year as well…internet pals Ken and Mark, just as a goof, cooked up the parody grammar/journalism advice Twitter feed Fake AP Stylebook back in October, and invited a few other friends to participate, including me and some other comic bloggers you might recognize. It turned out to be a big hit; within a few days we had thousands of followers and multiple agents contacting us about pursuing a book deal. And now, a month later, we have nearly 71,000 followers (as of this writing) and we’ve got an agent and things are happening and it’s all very exciting. Turns out this internet thing has its uses. But seriously, I couldn’t have been a part of this if it weren’t for this goofy site of mine here and building the online relationships I have with all these talented folks. (Read more about the Fake AP Stylebook in this recent article.)

So again, thank you to all you folks who continue to tolerate my internet presence here day after day. I’m still trying to have fun with this hobby and this business I’ve been involved in for more years than I care to think about, and I hope you’re having fun with me.

And now, let the self-indulgence begin…well, continue: a selection (i.e. about 80%) of my posts from the past year that you may enjoy revisiting. BEHOLD:

The return of the Conquistador, the most patience-testing series of posts I’ve ever made (1 2 3 4 5 6 7), The Spirit movie promo items, I was totally implying that was urine, secrets of my magazine-writing past…revealed, Swamp Thing and Sluggo – together at last, Mike’s BBS days, the death of customer Sean and the arrest of the suspect , Green Arrow’s bullbleep, more of Mike’s BBS days, the worst Watchmen (unofficial) merchandising tie-in ever, 2008 Prediction follow-up (1 2), dude, the Hoaxmaster, Biblical UFOs, Grundy ain’t no Swamp Thing, Spider-Obama mania, a tribute to Porkins, the fans react to Mopee, QUESTION TIME 2009 (0 1 2 3 4 5 6), Swamp Thing fights a giant purple monster, SGT. SHARK, raw mutants in vicious nightgowns, no it’s not weird at all that I have children’s size Swamp Thing slippers, I knew not what I asked: Defense of Rob Liefeld and Youngblood Week (0 1 2 3 4 5), possibly my favorite comic strip panels ever, the “After WATCHMEN” initiative, the 3rd Annual Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk Day (soon to become All Star Batman Day), in which I posit the Watchmen reading experience in serialized form is different from trade form, original Watchmen solicitations, I’m totally making a urine joke here, the amazing 10 IN 1 SCOPE, I saw the Watchmen movie for free and really late at night, I turn 40 and immediately drop dead, Who Eats The Watchmen Cupcakes, the Watchmen/A-Team crossover, BIG-ASS KIRBY STYLE MUTANT DOG, the senses-shattering Frog by Day, Progressive Ruin Regrets the Error, screw you – the Sneezler is awesome, Swampy by Birdie, Swamp Thing monsters and vans, America’s favorite comic strip about a comic shop The Ruin, oh that crazy Twist, I bought the Howard the Duck DVD – what’s it to ya, someone keep Jor-El away from the bottles, rejected by Marvel, Rogue vs. Dazzler’s apartment, Legion of Super-Heroes stickers, pal Cully asked for Galactus Week and lo, I delivered (1 2 3 4 5 6 6 1/2 6.75), I’ll have you know that my original joke for the Female Force comic in this End of Civilization installment was going to be “THIS ISSUE: A Female Force member dies!” – yeah, I know, Look at My Butt and listen to my podcast interview, Free Comic Book Day aftermath, the very first Sluggo Saturday, Klingons off the starboard bow Captain, Doiby Dickles – badass, Yul Brynner’s puppet show comic: the cover and the hideous nightmare inside, what YOU can do with comics, so anyway, Ben Grimm is in his 90s, I don’t post about Dr. Doom enough, I kick a guy out of the shop, and my friends turn into jerks, Hell-Rider is awesome, man , never look Popeye straight in the face, the strip that could only be called Fumpy, behold the wiener ring, hangin’ out with my governor, this issue of Sgt. Rock sponsored by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron, I answer more questions (1 2 3), nobody in the Justice League knows when to shut up, I thought my Question joke was funny, I ponder a very hypothetical situation regarding a reduction in books starring the same properties, and a follow-up, Casper cosplay or something like that, I still get a lot of traffic going to the page with naked Jughead, dig the Drag-U-La, a Beatle, Stonehenge, UFOs, and nose candy, Kung-fu Kirby, I didn’t completely hate Transformers 2, in which I fail to explain why Nancy and Sluggo appeal to me, the “Which Is Nerdier: Star Wars, Star Trek or Doctor Who” debate…settled at last, Employee Aaron looks a bit like Johnny Depp’s Willy Wonka in that first pic, gaze into Darth’s eyes and see…something, still waiting for TRUK: Rebirth , the many faces of Ch’p, the day the Bat broke, behold Cardboard Batman, the hideous terror of Sweet Sue, a handful of True Retailer Stories, whoa what the hell Reed, and now – some Beatles quotes, boy, people really didn’t care about Models Inc., this Metal Men series had nice covers anyway, Kirby covers Comics Reader #100 , Arisia says what? (and the follow-up), yet another Sluggo/Swamp Thing mash-up, I am inappropriately amused by dead Green Lanterns, CRACKBUSTERS, what’s new from DC in July 1986, did someone say…Puffy Conan Stickers, Swamp Thing fire truck patch, ’90s Avengers dangly shelf-talker thingie, my terrible Dick Tracy villains, Hugo, man of really only one face but a variety of extra features, I lived through the Death of Robin, but barely remember it, the Clone Saga will never go away, it’s like they don’t want fans to find the comic, Linus is coming down from a bad trip, man , the metaphysical horror of Frisky Fudgie, Jaime draws purty, my favorite Gilbert panels ever , Mike Organism Designed Only for Killing , Sentient Weaponized Amorphous Man-Plant Designed Only for Killing, Flintstones vs. Indians, the inherent humor in bird death , the deadliest animal in the sea, MONSTEREX, NANCODOK and SLUGGODOK, Sgt. Preston is making damn sure you’re PREPARED, Holy Batman bookmark, this is probably the best thing about those late ’80s Superman cartoons, Swamp Thing pog kinda sorta, I bought way too many of these Aliens toys, this is a terrible Superman poster, you know what’s great? Writing at length about tampons, even superheroes love Crumb, the worst alien ever, Casper’s mom and his eternal doom, yes yes “Dan Cooper” I know, when a man and an elephant really love each other, this is the grooviest Veronica has ever been, when Dutch Spaniard Cowboys ruled the beaches, Joker loves his bootleg Jerry Lewis manga, and Shmidlapp has a bad day.

By the way, not that I’m one to sing my own praises, he said in his sixth annual anniversary post, but I think I deserve some kind of reward for that Rob Liefeld week. Sainthood at the very least.

And for reading all that, here’s a picture of me in the Virginia woods as a child, borne aloft upon my cranberry flares:


Thanks to everyone for continuing to read, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

And yes, don’t worry, there will still be a Sluggo post this weekend.

"Waahoowaxuma!"

§ December 4th, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on "Waahoowaxuma!"


It had completely slipped my mind that the volume 3 hardcover of Beanworld, out this week from Dark Horse, was going to be brand-new stories. I spotted it on the invoice earlier in the week, went “oh, more reprints, hope they start doing new stuff soon,” and continued on my merry way. But, nope, it’s 200+ new pages advancing the Beanworld storyline even further along, and I couldn’t be happier.

It’s also a strange experience to be reading an extended Beanworld storyline after about a decade and a half of the title’s publishing dormancy (aside from some short bits here and there). Once again my need’s been awakened to see how the whole Beanworld story eventually works out, while at the same time never really wanting it to end.

In conclusion: huzzah, more Beanworld!


Some other stuff came out this week, too, but all I’ve read was Beanworld and…

  • Blackest Night: The Flash #1 – I’m glad these Blackest Night tie-in mini-series are 1) only three issues long, and 2) only $2.99, so it’s not that much a dent in a pocketbook. And this series is Barry versus the Rogues, and that’s very welcome. It repeats that bit of business about the Rogues having a “secret cemetery” for their comrades in the Flash’s stomping ground of Central City…seems to me that given the number of times the Flash “searched the entire city” at super-speed for a bomb or a missing person or what/whomever, he would have noticed the secret cemetery. Unless there’s a brief explanation for this I missed and/or forgot that you’re all about to tell me in the comments.
  • Adventure Comics #4 – Yeah, I know, this came out a few weeks ago, but I put in a reorder and apparently got the last copies the distributor had…which all turned out to be the 1 in 15 variant cover. Huh.
  • The Boys #37 – Did glance through this…may singlehandedly set back relations with the French a few years. But, it looks funny, and The Boys is a good comic, so sorry, France!
  • Fall of the Hulks Alpha – I haven’t yet talked myself into picking this up, yet. A flip-through didn’t impress, but I may need to get it just to know what’s going on in the regular Hulk titles. Feh.
  • Glamourpuss #10 – I continue to be the only reader of this comic at this store. I guess after everything, I still like watching Dave Sim draw stuff. Plus, this comic is just so damned peculiar. Fashion model parodies mixed with classic comic strip art appreciation…a strange mix, but fun nonetheless. Also, this issue has a swell Gene Colan cover.
  • JSA All Stars #1 – People sure liked showing me pages from this comic on Thursday…in particular, all the ones with Power Girl in various positions and states of dress. I haven’t gone looking for the online outrage, but I’m sure it’s there.
  • Little Lulu Vol. 21 – Another great book from Dark Horse this week. Classic John Stanley comics in color? Okay, sure, I’d like that.
  • Popeye Vol. 4 HC – Plunder Island – Another collection of the classic strip, and it continues to be great. I’ve been going through it and I swear, I’ve probably found a dozen contenders for the sidebar icon pic on my site.
  • Siege: The Cabal – Was trying to explain to a friend on Twitter that crossovers of today are a different animal from the ones in the ’90s, in that they all tend to lead more or less smoothly from one into another…there’s no year-long break while the next Event gets slapped together. Everything feeds either one crossover or another. Anyway, that’s what I have to say about this comic, which I’m sure is fine at what it does.
  • Thor #604 – Well, let’s see if the non-JMS Thors continue to sell well.

Oh, that Shmidlapp!

§ December 3rd, 2009 § Filed under jack kirby Comments Off on Oh, that Shmidlapp!

from Super Powers #5 (Nov. ’84) by Jack Kirby & Greg Theakston


 
 
(updated 8/2017)

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