Gimme Qs to A.
I’m well on my way to having the new End of Civilization post ready…but alas, there’s too much stuff and I’m not going to get it done in time for Monday.
So what do you get? You get QUESTION TIME! Yup, that’s right, ask me a comics-related question (just one per person, please) in the comments, and I’ll do my best to give you an answer. Hopefully I won’t take as long as last time, where I dragged out the proceedings for about, what, 20 years or so?
Anyway, ask away in the comments, and I’ll give you answers as opportunity arises. Again, just ONE QUESTION PER PERSON, PLEASE. Or just one topic suggestion…I’ll take those, too! I do reserve the right to reject questions/suggestions, because I’m a jerk.
Okay, back to producing the End of Civilization…I’ll have it up shortly.
What is the current winner in the “Longest Delayed Issue” contest? Completion of a mini-series, etc. Please feel free to discourse on this title as much as you wish:
Dark Knight: Boy Wonder
After the series was on hiatus for nearly two years, DC Comics announced on April 2, 2010, that Miller and Lee would return to the series in 2011. Instead of falling under the “All Star” print, the series will be re-branded as Dark Knight: Boy Wonder, and would run for six issues, completing the story Miller originally intended to tell.[24] Although DC publicized the series as starting in February 2011, it has met with additional delays as Jim Lee focused his efforts on the new Justice League series, part of DC Comics’ relaunch that began in September 2011. In October 2015 at the New York Comic Con, Miller announced that he had “just started” working on the sequel with Lee.
Let’s talk about that evergreen topic, The Bat Penis.
Maybe I’m cynical, but it seems like the image was provided just to garner controversy (and sales) for that issue. The image does not play into the plot, and is basically superfluous. It’s only there to either satisfy the kinks of the creators or stir up word of mouth and demand, which if it was the latter, it did magnificently.
My question is this. I know you touched on this briefly in your post on the subject, but, as a retailer, do you feel that DC left you out to dry in this case. I am old enough to remember the Friendly Frank’s raid when it was current events, and while a lot of things changed since then, a lot of things stayed the same. I know the book was advertised as mature readers from the get go, but it seems DC didn’t let retailers in on just how “mature” the book really was. And there is a difference between “expletive-laden” mature readers and “Let’s look at the Batwang” mature readers, and parent would be far more upset if the latter landed in their kids hands.
I’m just wondering if you wish DC was more upfront about what the mature content was beforehand or if it didn’t really make a difference. I’m not a censorship guy, but an informed retailer can better avoid any potential legal entanglements that might cause. I’m curious on your opinion on the matter.
Thanks!
Bill.
1. What is your name?
2. What is your quest?
3. What is your favorite color?
4. Probably something that you’ve discussed before, but I’ve missed it, but I’m curious how you go about sorting back issues in the age of constant reboots and New Number Ones (including volumes that slightly change the name on occasion and then change it back). Being a fellow child of age of long runs, where a title might have hundreds of issues to be put in the bin together, I’m curious how it’s done differently when major titles aren’t aiming at Major Anniversary Issues (I got out of buying in floppy a decade or so ago, so my own long boxes aren’t as bad as I’d imagine some newer collections are).
I like it when you discuss old independent comics that I’ve never heard of (a la Jupiter most recently).
Anything else you’ve read and enjoyed but maybe not talked up on the blog in a while (or at all)?
I’d love to be pointed in the direction of something interesting, wacky, weird, or just plain awesome.
Thanks!
Which comic book had the best stories about exploring new worlds?
Following up (sorta) on Paul’s question, maybe write about some never-to-be-finished comic book stories/series. (And not just Sonic Disruptors.)
Outside of nostalgia and/or habit, why should I buy single printed issues instead of digital or print collections?
Where did your love of Swampy & Sluggo begin & do you also love Sgt. Rock ( please say yes )?
Greatest hero who got their powers from a space wizard horse:
Alex Power, Julie Power, Jack Power or Katie Power?
So, you’ve been doing this comicbookin’ retail thing for quite a while now. Although it’s clearly kept you virile, young-looking, and famously wealthy, I’m curious about your plans for the future and, eventually, retirement. I’ve ssen a number of retailers retire over the years (most of them very successfully). Do you envision calling it quits at a certain age?
As a comic shop owner, what do you see as the biggest challenge for your retail establishment over the next year? Over the next five years?
Who can drink more? Thor or Hulk?
Who’s right about the Lucky Dime, Magica or Scrooge?
Mad Magazine has been a ‘thing’ that has seen many phases and highs and lows. But it has a place in so many of our consciousnesses.
What has been the heyday of Mad for you?
What novel that has never gotten a comic book adaptation do you think deserves one?
Do you visit other comic book establishments to see how they do things? What disguises do you normally use? A rubber mask, a la Mission Impossible, or stage makeup and wig, a la 50’s Batman?
Considering the TWERPS shout-out you must have at least a passing knowledge of pen & paper D&D and their ilk.
Have you ever read any Knights of the Dinner Table and if so, who’s your favorite character?
Is it selling at your store?
Are all these monster mega digital comics sales making it harder for you to sell trade paperbacks?
Realizing that Progressive Ruin is pretty much a one-stop shop for all the comics info I need, I do still like poking around the web reading other sites. Do you have any favorite websites for comics news/reviews/reporting? It seems so bleak out there.
If you could bring back one cancelled title that did NOT start a muck-encrusted mockery of a man, what would it be and why?
(That counts as one question because I only used one question mark.)
If NANCY ever crossed over with PEANUTS, do you think Sluggo and Pig Pen would be friends?
Will either of the Big Two ever again have continuity that stretches all the way back to 10 years ago?
— MrJM
As a purveyor of back issues, would you like to see more editor’s notes*? They seem to disappear as a more “cinematic” story style took hold, and I remember those notes occasionally driving a search through the local stores’ long boxes to get the rest of the story.
* e.g. “Way back in Avengers#28!!”-ed
Ok, question. As a shop owner and collector and a guy who spends A LOT of time around comics, have you ever lost a substantial amount of money by accidentally damaging an issue of something yourself? Spilled coffee on Amazing Fantasy 15, opened a package containing Journey Into Mystery 83 and ripped the cover, that sort of thing? Not to wish you ill will or anything…