I would also like to take issue with the premise of this ad, from the same Batman Forever campaign:
As I recall, the Bat-frenzy that hit during the initial Tim Burton Bat-films release didn’t repeat itself for the following films in the franchise. I think we may have seen a slight bump in interest when Batman Returns came out, but the Batfilm-bump was pretty much no longer a sales influence by the time Forever was released. (And is it just me, or does that picture of Batman anticipate the post-Flashpoint redesign nearly 16 years ahead of time?)
And, from 1997…yeah:
“There might be Batman and Robin memorabilia in this store? We better not go in!”
1. Both shirts “available in XL only!!” — so enjoy, kids!
2. Hey, at least Wonder Woman’s breast and arm made it into the ad…thank goodness they’re not blocking our view of Remarkably-1990s Superboy. (In fairness, she does appear to be more properly represented on the shirt.)
3. I wonder if DC did have a cap to match off against Marvel’s Wolverine hat…if so, it probably featured Lobo, keeping the shirts’ theme of matched-up characters being in the same sequence on each. (NOTE: cap is “fresh.”)
4. You know, looking at the shirt designs now (and admiring Marvel’s “this is what the winners will be showing off!” blurb)…I can’t recall the outcomes of all the battles between these characters. I remember who won between Superman and Hulk, and the Wolverine/Lobo battle (which should have been just crazy violent, but ended up being pretty lame, as I recall), but no idea on the Wonder Woman/Storm or Superboy/Spider-Man battles. Time has taken those precious memories away from me…but not from Google, I guess, if I ever feel like looking it up.
I do seem to remember the Batman/Captain America fight was bit of a cheat, too…like it was called in favor of one of them without really doing a proper fight. I need to get a look at that again and see if it makes any more sense to me now. …Because as a fully-grown adult, I demand satisfying resolutions to my superhero battles.
5. Of course, the real disappointment was no Swamp Thing/Man-Thing fight. I guess Marvel and DC just plain didn’t want to sell any comics.
Promotional flyer for retailers to copy and distribute, circa late 1996/early 1997:
Had Thunderbolts originated within the last five years, it probably would have been the original Avengers, since, you know, apparently we need as many Avengers titles as possible.
The “original X-Men” idea is pretty much “X-Factor, Part II,” which I’m sure was the intended gag. And having the big reveal be “it’s a dude from the New Warriors, plus a bunch of new guys!” would have been a tad disappointing, I think. But Team America…now we’re talking! Not enough motorcycle-riding superhero teams in comics nowadays, for my tastes. (I was going to say something about using a fairly insular gag about an obscure comic in a flyer intended to attract new readers, but…well, “insular” is pretty much implied whenever you talk about most modern superhero funnybooks, isn’t it?)
Pal Dorian’s been looking at classic spooky movies all month with some nice analytical reviews. This particular one is finally going to get me off my duff and rent the darn thing, after being curious about some of the stills I’ve seen from this film over the years.
Bully, the Little Stuffed Bull Who Is Being Chased Through A Hall in and out of Lots of Doors While Pop Music Plays, dares to bring us Scooby Doo Week. And it would have worked, too, if it weren’t for that meddling bull!
Seemed like an appropriate image to post, considering our current travails. It comes from the cover of Miracleman #7 (August 1986), published by Eclipse Comics as it was attempting to recover from a flood that devastated its offices and much of its comic stock.
We’re recovering okay from our own flood, as not a lot of actual store stock was lost…most of the unrecoverable items were personal materials from the back office. The primary issue is needing to move stuff out of the back so that we can clean up the mess, and that’s a lot of stuff. Thankfully, we have a lot of people helping out, so everything should be back to normal relatively soon. Still, it’s a huge pain and a significant disruption to the business, but thankfully our customers have been very understanding, gracious, and sympathetic, for which I am very thankful.
• • •
Let me note a few new comical-type things that came out this week:
Some nice archival stuff turned up this week, including Gahan Wilson’s Nuts! from Fantagraphics (a somewhat nostalgic/somewhat terrifying look at childhood), volume five of the Complete Bloom County, a third volume of John Stanley’s Libary: Nancy Vol. 3 (with our favorite ruffian on the cover), and the fourth volume of Prince Valiant from Fantagraphics (beautiful as ever).
In the “people in capes punching each other” department, the second issue of Batwoman shows that the art continues to be the star of the show, but thankfully the writing isn’t too bad, either. Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. is still full of monsters fighting monsters and being strange about it, which is okay in my book. And Green Lantern #2…you know, if this just becomes a Hal Jordan/Sinestro buddy-cop series, I’d be okay with that.
The Shade #1 is probably best read without trying to think about how it fits into the New DC’s superhero continuity, because…yeah, no way. I mean, it spins out of the James Robinson Starman series, the very premise of which isn’t possible in DC’s “no Golden Age heroes in continuity” thing, if I’m understanding that right. Unless the Starman series now retroactively takes place on DC’s forthcoming Earth-2, where the Golden Age heroes are going back to, but that would mean the Cry for Justice series, referred to in Shade, is also on Earth-2…AAUGH. Mike no like think. Anyway, just enjoy it as a Starman follow-up…which was totally written without any of this new 52 business in mind. Don’t try to figure out how it fits with everything else. DON’T MAKE MY MISTAKE.
As an aside, here…speaking of things that didn’t account for the new 52 relaunch…I guess that big ol’ Firestorm cliffhanger from Brightest Day #24 is no longer an issue, given the character’s complete reboot.
I’ve been enjoying the new Hellraiser series from Boom!, which treats the whole premise with a little more seriousness and respect than most of the movies have. Clive Barker being involved in the book, even just a little, certainly helps.
• • •
In other, other news…I shaved my beard and dyed my hair. No, not because I’m on the run…the girlfriend and I wanted to see how it’d look, and by that I mean “she made me do it.” Hair is perhaps a shade…too dark, probably from not rinsing it out fast enough. I mean, “teak” is a nice color, right? As a result, I’ve been frightening the populace with my dark brown hair (a color that’s never been on my head, by the way) and my shorn face. I’ve also been called “Aaron” at least once, which I don’t understand since my face at least gets touched by a razor once in a while.
Photos possibly to follow, because if it’s one thing the internet needs, it’s more pictures of my mug.
So we had a bit of a flood in part of the store’s backroom late Monday night/ early Tuesday morning…not a whole lot was damaged, considering how filled to the brim with stuff the Mystery Area of Lost Souls is back there. But still, we had a long, long day of cleaning, rearranging, pulling up the carpet, and such. I ended up having to take this week’s new comic shipment home since there was no room to process it at the shop, breaking it down in my dining room and pulling comic savers.
Basically, it’s been a long day, so this is going to be it for Wednesday’s entry. …Hopefully, it won’t be locusts at the store next.
