Well, due to circumstances beyond our control, we’ve had to have our comic shipments sent to the store by UPS rather than picking them up at the warehouse like we usually do. Last week, the boxes arrived at opening time, which meant we were frantically breaking down our order while trying not to let our big mess get in our customers’ way, which was a bit tough. This week, the UPS shipment came early…alas, one of the boxes apparently ended up in Laguna Hills, so we were shorted several DC titles and some of our reorders. Crud. So if you happen to be in Laguna Hills and spot a Diamond Comics Distribution box wandering the streets, lonely and confused, send it up our way, would you?
Some brief thoughts about the new comics we did get:
- Justice League: Another Nail #3 – it’s about 128 pages of story squeezed into 48 printed pages, and it’s all a confused jumble, but it’s also Alan Davis and Mark Farmer drawing everyone and it’s all absolutely beautiful.
- Doom Patrol #2 – an improvement over the first issue, as we get more of a straightforward story here and more of a focus on the original DP members. But, if I were a cruel man, I would note that using the cover blurb “REBORN OUT OF DISASTER” shows a marked lack of self-awareness, given the general reaction to the JLA run this book spun out of (and I actually kinda liked, so don’t give me any grief). And as noted by the oft-mentioned pal Dorian, “REBORN OUT OF DISASTER” is not at all like “CRAWLING FROM THE WRECKAGE.”
- Crisis on Multiple Earths Vol. 3 TPB – As stated before, I’m a sad old fanboy, and there’s nothing I love more than the old Justice League/Justice Society team-ups…and this volume includes the three parter from issues 100 to 102 with the Super-Soldiers, and the later story with the Earth-X Freedom Fighters. The writer of these stories, Len Wein, provides an introduction which gives some nice behind the scenes details on the conception of these stories. Very nice. The first two-parter in the book, though, is written by Mike Friedrich, and it’s…well, it’s pretty campy. In fact, it’s really campy, and that’s just fine, because it’s bit of a hoot as well. You gotta love Batman saying, in an actual dialogue balloon, “Dick (Robin) Grayson!”
I hope they continue doing these JLA/JSA team-up reprint volumes…these were always some of my favorite superhero stories. At the very least, I hope they get to reprint the George Perez-drawn crossover from the early 1980s (featuring the first appearance of this version of the Ultra-Humanite) and, my favorite, the JLA/JSA/AS..er, All-Star Squadron crossover featuring Per Degaton.
- Superman: Birthright #12 – so Superman now has sewing vision*? That’ll go great with his “Repair Great Wall of China-vision!” (video clip of said power at the bottom of the page)
- Other goodies: Luba by Gilbert Hernandez (always a lot of fun…seems like we’ve been seeing a lot of comic work from Gilbert lately); Uncle Scrooge #332 (with Don Rosa’s “Life and Times of Uncle Scrooge Chapter 10B” – maybe going to the well one too many times, but by God, Rosa gives us Scrooge teaming up with Teddy Roosevelt, so who am I to complain); DC New Frontier #5 (finally gives us context for Jordan’s refusal to kill during wartime – still beautifully drawn, though there are still elements in this comic certain to tick off the more thin-skinned comic fans); and the Free Comic Book Day edition of A Bunch of Baboons (a little late, but sent for free to those West Coast retailers who ordered it and didn’t receive it for the actual event).
Other random notes from the day:
- It’s a couple hours before we open. I’m sitting in the store doing some computer work while waiting for UPS. Most of store’s lights are off. (Most of the stores in the surrounding area are also closed at this time in the morning.) There are two closed signs in the front door and window. A truck pulls up with a dad (presumably) and his little son (about 7 or 8). They both look at the front of the store, right at the closed signs. The dad turns off the motor, and sends his son out of the truck. The son tries the door, finds it’s locked, and returns to the truck. They drive off.
- Okay, so I lied: for no good reason, the following tagline for a possible Jack Black Green Lantern movie popped into my head: “BLACK IS THE NEW GREEN.” If this movie is real, I can almost guarantee this is the tagline they’ll be using. You know I’m right.
EDIT: Someone beat me to it. Note to self: “Google before post!”
- Pal Dorian was just a little miffed over not getting a post in General Smallnut’s Squirrel Army, so with help of the Squirrel Name Generator, Dorian’s squirrel name has been determined to be – “Baron Bushkisser.” Oh, the irony**.
- Pal Ian dropped by the store and regaled us with his tales of Comic Con derring-do…which you can be following too, should you go to his website.
- And Pal Corey and Pal Tom dropped by as well, which I only mention in order to plug their sites.
