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§ August 15th, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on "The Wildest Super-Hero Ever — Because He’s REAL!"
Apparently based on a real, live, honest-to-goodness stuntman, I can find precious little information on him on-line. However, I did find
these pages of photos of the real Human Fly in full-fledged stunt action.
A letters page in the third issue has this editorial note: “We have no plans of turning the Human Fly into a crime-fighter — simply because, in real life, he isn’t one!” And this commitment to accurately reflecting the Human Fly’s life can be seen in this team-up with Ghost Rider:
Okay, I’m being a jerk…that same letters page owns up to the fact that they’re taking some liberties with the Human Fly character by having him team up with Marvel heroes, but still….
Now, those pages I linked above relate this statement about the eventual fate of the real Human Fly: “according to Marvel Comics, he apparently changed his life direction and was last seen playing guitar somewhere in a Canadian Coffee House.” And perhaps there’s some foreshadowing of that in issue #11, as the Human Fly cradles dying rock musician Willie Silver:
…and proceeds to play a song in tribute to the fallen star:
Please note that they couldn’t even wait for Willie’s carcass to be hauled off the stage before Mr. Fly takes over the show.
Most interesting of all is the caption at the end of the story, which reads “the Human Fly — stuntman extraordinaire — will soon become a recording artist as well.” I’m gonna guess no such album ever came out, but man, what I wouldn’t do for a copy of “The Human Fly Sings.” You know that would be fantastic.
Okay, these are just a couple random thoughts about the Human Fly that came to mind as I was dealing with some copies of these at the shop…for additional info, try this page about the comic series, featuring a zip file of cover scans, a description of the series by writer Bill Mantlo from the first issue, and even a screensaver. Or this page about the Human Fly’s rocket-cycle, which even gives a real name for the Fly (“Rick Rojatt,” which is a nice Marvel-esque secret identity monicker, don’t you think?)…that was news to me, but my Googling around shows that it’s not exactly a secret.
§ August 15th, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on Things I Did Today That You Didn’t.
I sold a full run of Marvel Vision to a customer today. You know, the 1990s version of Marvel Age? Yeah, that one. Sold ’em all.
Now if I could sell a full run of Marvel Age to someone, that would be the greatest day ever.
I kinda miss Marvel Age, come to think of it. Oh, Lordy, I’m nostalgic for Marvel Age…that’s probably not a good sign.
§ August 14th, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on
So, to clarify my post from Friday, I have no problem with people picking out nice copies of comics for themselves. Even I still have the habit of reaching two or three down the stack to get a copy for myself, and I’m getting my comics before we even open the store’s doors for the business day. Most people want to get a reasonably good condition new comic for their money, and I know my customers don’t want to buy comics off the rack that are obviously pre-read.
The point that was being made that the people who carefully examine each and every spine for microscopic damage may be taking that behavior to a slight extreme.
Which reminds me: pal Dorian spotted a reference in a toy magazine regarding condition grading, in which a comment is made regarding defects that may not be visible to the naked eye. Um, if it’s not visible to the naked eye, is it really a defect? “I spotted a dent in the plastic bubble through my electron microscope…it’s not mint! It’s not mint!“
In case you’re wondering, the cover of choice for Supergirl #1 is the Michael Turner variant. More than once we’ve been left with nothing but the Churchill cover left on the rack.
By the way, there’s a second printing coming.
The comic still isn’t any good.
Random thought: the whole Robotech thing is pretty much dead for good, isn’t it? It used to be that Robotech was one of those comics that used to sell as a back issue rather than a new one…it would just sit there on the rack, but as soon as it was in the backstock bins, people couldn’t get enough of them.
But now? That last attempt at publishing Robotech comics (by Wildstorm, I believe) couldn’t have been more of a dog if it had fur and barked.
A couple days ago, we had a mother drop her son off at the store to shop, while she drove off and disappeared for about an hour or so to (presumably) do some shopping herself. Well, she came back, clearly unhappy about having to actually come into the store to get her son, and impatiently waited for him at the register while he paid.
As Dorian rang her up, she apparently said to her son, under her breath, “You shouldn’t be reading these…you don’t want to end up like these people.”
Like whom, exactly? The small business owner who’s run a business in this town for a quarter of a century? Like the doctors, lawyers, policemen, and the assistant district attorney we have as customers? Like the people who simply enjoy reading comics for the fun of it, and aren’t hurting or bothering anybody?
Like a woman who dumps her unsupervised child off on us for an hour while she runs off to do God knows what, and then comes back to give us a superior attitude? Well, okay, in that case, she might have a point: you don’t want your kid to grow up to be like that.
You know, it’s stuff like that which really makes me wonder why we bother. Dor touched upon this on his site a while back, echoing a common lament of mine: some of our customers just don’t know how good they have it. We run a nice store, clean, relatively organized, well-stocked, family-friendly…and apparently that’s not enough for some people. Just the very fact it’s a comic book store is enough to elicit contempt from the petty and small-minded. And when she said it, it’s not like we had a store full of freaks or something to trigger that response…Dor and I were just working, and we had a couple perfectly normal people quietly perusing the racks. No peculiar shenanigans were going on.
So, to my friends on the Comicsweblogosphere who recently opened their own stores…you have that to look forward to as well.
§ August 13th, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on A word of advice to my friends on the Comicsweblogosphere who just opened their own stores, from a guy who’s been selling funnybooks for a long time.
Sometimes, when you’re asked for your copies of the “Death of Superman” comic, it’s from someone actually looking to purchase it. Most of the time, however, the person asking is just looking to price their copies that they most likely paid too much for all those years ago.
§ August 13th, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on
from Real Pulp Comics #2 (1973) – art by Charles Dallas
§ August 12th, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on
A while back, the weblog Listen to Us, We’re Right posted “An Open Letter to Guys That Check The Spine of Every Comic”, and I do have to say that I’ve had my fair share of customers like that over the years. It doesn’t really bother me so much…if it makes them happy, if they’re spending money, and it’s not interfering with other customers purchasing comics, hey, go to town. I do agree with Listen to Us’s assessment that, ultimately, the condition of the comics being purchased probably isn’t going to make much difference since the prices on the books in question aren’t, in most cases, going to skyrocket…unless comics become huge again, with million-copy print runs, and people start trying to snap up back issues that had print runs of about 30,000. That doesn’t seem terribly likely, however.
It did remind me of a story I used to hear a lot when I was younger, generally second or third-hand, about folks who’d go to the local newsstand, pick out the best copies of the “hot” comic to buy, then damage the rest of the books to ensure that they’d have the best copies in the local market. Like I said, it’s been a while since I’ve heard about someone doing this (last time I heard the story make the rounds around here, it was about Thor #337), and I think Mark Evanier may have related a similar story, either on his site or in one of his books. I haven’t seen anyone try to pull this in our store (God help them if they do) so hopefully this is one of those fan behaviors that has died, or is dying, out, if it was ever that prevalent before.
When the topic comes up at the shop, I like to tell people that given how these comics are printed and shipped, it’s a miracle they show up in as good as a condition as they do.
§ August 11th, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on
My weblogging routine still isn’t back to normal due to the relocation to the new house (we’re about 95% moved, and about 5% unpacked), I still don’t have my much missed DSL connection (I cajoled my ISP into giving me a dial-up connection in the meantime, and they say they’re working on the problem), and I appear to be getting even more grey hair, but surely that’s a trick of the light.
At any rate, I owe people a couple reviews of items they were good enough to send me (I’ll get to ’em, I promise!), and I’ve been meaning to link to a bunch of weblogs…in fact, here are a few right now: Ramblin’ with Roger, Face Down in the Gutters, Eddie-torial Comments, ViComics, and (probably my favorite weblog name in a while) Nobody Laughs at Mister Fish. So go check ’em out…tell them I said “hi.”
I’ve been keeping up on my funnybook reading lately, though…there’s always times for comics.
I did pick up the new Supergirl #1, being the longtime fan of the Superman family of comics. I took the Churchill variant cover, which I wasn’t thrilled about, but vastly superior to the Turner cover with the “going tharn” look in Kara’s eyes. As for the interior…oh, good heavens, this is appalling. Cluttered layouts, dependence on old continuity…it’s everything pal Dorian feared it would be. The little girl customers we have shopping at our store who want a Supergirl comic aren’t going to want this. Okay, good on DC, I suppose, for bringing Supergirl back to the “Superman’s cousin from Krypton” premise, but if this is what we’re going to get, I’d rather we’d stuck with the slightly more convoluted version Peter David was writing.
Speaking of Supes, the new issue of Action makes reference to old Doom Patrol continuity, a continuity that no longer exists in the DC universe due to the recent DP revamp…and, for that extra little tad of irony, said issue of Action is illustrated by the person responsible for the DP “reboot.” Nobody else at DC is paying the slightest bit of attention to the revamped condition of the Doom Patrol, are they?
I wanted to buy The King by Rich Koslowski, a new Top Shelf graphic novel, but I just can’t swing a $20 graphic novel at the moment (I need to buy curtains, still, and get landscaping for the backyard, and hair dye…oh, wait, did I say that?) but it looks swell, and I loved Koslowski’s last book Three Fingers. And it’s about an Elvis impersonator (or…is it?), which is story gold, as far as I’m concerned.
I would be remiss if I didn’t bid pal Ian a fond farewell, as he leaves Ventura County for some really outlying environs, up there in the far-flung wild jungles of Northern California. As pal Sean likes to say, “vaya con pollos,” my friend.
Yes, that’s right, “go with chickens.” Don’t ask.
Most of the issue takes place in Ronnie Raymond’s mind, as he is mentally cut off from the outside world by some terribly shocking event he doesn’t remember. The other half of Firestorm, Professor Stein, must talk Ron through his memories, leading him to eventually recall (and gradually reveal to the reader) just what it was that put him in such a state.
Hmmmm, wonder what it could be…maybe it has something to do with the scene on the cover, with Ronnie’s dad being blown up real good.
§ August 9th, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on
So, no, no internet access at home yet, so here I am, using the store computer after hours to keep in contact with you all. I suppose I can justify it by it by linking to the store auctions that I just put up today…lots of undergrounds and Starting Lineups, so bid early, bid often!
One of the auctions I listed today was Robert Crumb’s Big Ass Comics #2, which has this description in Jay Kennedy’s Underground Comix Price Guide:
“1st [printing]. […] Has a glossy cover.
“2nd. […] Has a less glossy (almost matt) cover.”
It ain’t easy telling the difference between the two unless you have both versions right in front of you, and the five copies of this particular printing I have in the store right now are all exactly the same…and my vague memory is that even the glossy cover isn’t as glossy as most normal comic covers, and the fourth printing I have of this comic is definitely a matt cover by comparison, so here I am, gently stroking Big Ass covers, trying to decide they’re glossy or more of a matty/glossy, and isn’t this the most fascinating thing you’ve read on a comics weblog all day? Sure it is. Anyway, I’m calling it “glossy” and a 1st print, and if the winning bidder doesn’t like it…well, I suppose I can offer their money back or something.
So, on Tuesdays, DC and Marvel Comics send out their retailer newsletters, and I get to see them as soon as they come in, but usually by the time I get home, they’ve already been discussed to death and I don’t really have anything to add. However, the Mad Magazine announcement (which you can also presumably see here, even though it’s not loading at the moment) struck kind of an odd note with me:
“This November, MAD launches MADKIDS, a new magazine for
6 – 11 years olds. […] MADKIDS […] will feature both age-
appropriate classic MAD MAGAZINE parodies as well as fresh, new content….”
It seems to me that 6 to 11 is the prime age for a kid to discover Mad Magazine…by which I mean your standard Mad, not some watered down “age-appropriate” version. Of course, in this day and age, where hypersensitive parents (who, ironically, probably read the unexpurgated Mad as young’uns themselves) don’t want their precious darlings exposed to anything unpleasant, a Madkids appears to be necessary. That strikes me as just a little sad. (Of course, that won’t stop some parents from being offended by it anyway…some people out there just aren’t happy unless they’re being outraged by something.)
Of course, there’s the more-specifically targeted advertising, which is probably the primary reason for Madkids‘ existence.
Good luck to them, anyway…and let’s hope actual kids don’t reject the mag the same way they’re rejecting Marvel’s kids line in favor of the original books.
§ August 8th, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on Experiencing technical difficulties…please stand by.
They tell me the DSL at the new house is working, but it ain’t! And the bastards took away my courtesy dial-up, so I don’t even have that now. Well, crap.
Hopefully this will be sorted out soon (as in “I’m goin’ to the cable company for my DSL if the phone company doesn’t get it fixed”), so I won’t have to mooch off the work internet (or my parents’ internet, like I’m doing right now) for long.
In the meantime, here’s Spider-Man versus the Tickle Villain in the superhero room, while children are protecting their gold, apparently.
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