Here are answers to some of the questions asked of me so far…ask your own questions…if you dare.
Shane asks: “What are some of your favorite comics in your personal collection not counting Swamp Thing?”
Hoo boy, lots and lots…Groo the Wanderer is about as perfect a comic book as has ever been created, and my complete Groo run is one of my treasures. Other favorites include my runs of Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Not Brand Echh, Zot!, Grimjack, It’s Science with Dr. Radium, Love & Rockets (including the original self-published #1), Nexus, Ralph Snart (the good ones, by Marc Hansen), Howard the Duck, Man-Thing, Don Rosa’s duck books, the Carl Barks library reprints, anything by Kim Deitch…I could probably go on and on. (You know, like I usually do.)
As for favorite individual issues, here are a few I’ve discussed in the past: Justice League of America #200, Detective Comics #500, and Flash #300. I loves me the anniversary issues.
Gordon asks two questions: “If there is one trend that you would like to see flourish – that is starting now in comics, and that you want to see continue -what would it be?”
That’s a hard question, really…the one trend I would like to see continue is the prevalence of original, inexpensive graphic novels, such as those from AiT/Planetlar and Oni. That’s hardly a new trend, I know, but it’s one I encourage. (Note, to some folks who might take this wrong way…that doesn’t mean I want the monthly books replaced by GNs…I like my monthly funnybooks!)
Gordon’s question #2: “Plus, who would win in a fight – the Incredible Hulk or Rush Limbaugh?”
In a fistfight, Hulk obviously has the edge. In a battle of wits…well, that would probably be a draw.
Mark asks: “Mike Allred’s adaptation of the Book of Mormon sells like hotcakes here in Utah. Indy hotcakes, but hotcakes nonetheless. Is it even a blip on the radar in your store?”
I thought I’d mentioned this on the site before, but all I actually did was link to a story about a Utah store selling loads of the thing. At our store, our regular Mike Allred fans tried out the first issue…and none of them came back for the second installment.
Roger asks three questions: “1. How much do you spend annually on your own (personal, not store) comic (or comic-related) collection? A rough breakdown by the stapled stuff, graphic novels, and other stuff. Breakdown by Marvel, DC and other.”
Oh, goodness, I hate thinking about how much I spend on my funnybooks. As much as I love comics, it just depresses me. Anyway, I don’t spend nearly as much on comics as I used to (being a homeowner can do that to you), but a rough estimate would be about $20-$25 weekly, so, maybe, $1000 – $1300 a year? (I get more than that sounds, since I get a significant discount through the store.) Plus, there’s the very occasional action figure, which can bump up the weekly total a bit.
I’m a longtime DC fan, so I spent a lot more on that company than on Marvel…if I were to break it down, it would probably be about 50% DC, 40% other, 10% Marvel. I mostly buy stapled comics, with the occasional graphic novel…not sure of a breakdown there, unfortunately.
“2. If you weren’t a comic book entrepreneur, what would you be doing?”
I haven’t the foggiest. Starving writer, maybe? Most likely, I’d probably be a librarian…I enjoyed my library-employment days.
3. What was the first comic book series you ever collected?”
I’d been reading comics pretty much as long as I’ve been able to read, so I had my fair share of Donald Duck and Superman comics as a very young child. But, I think the comic book series that actually got me interested in trying to get all the issues and follow the month-to-month narrative was Marvel’s Star Wars spin-off in ’77. I’m sure being gobsmacked by the Star Wars movie had nothing to do with it.
Milo asks: “How often is Endemic Treponematosis discussed in the store?”
Not nearly enough, Milo. Such is our shame.
Feel free to ask me more questions…get more thrilling and insightful answers like the ones above!
