You are currently browsing the archives for November, 2005
So Liberality for All was featured on the Fox News Channel, which should come as a surprise to no one:
“Immediately after the airing, ACCStudios.com was inundated with visitors placing orders for issue #1. Several panicked emails were also received from comic shop owners who had apparently failed to order, or did not order enough of, the first issue.”
We’ve managed to sell one copy…to employee Pope Nathan, who was amused enough by the synopsis I linked to last week that he felt compelled to pick it up. The debate rages on (well, between Nate and me) whether or not this is all being done completely straight-faced or if it’s a spoof of conservative attitudes. Either way…absolute genius.
Hey, Zen Intergalactic Ninja is still around:
“For the past 18 years, Zen has only had one facial feature: a pair of large, almond-shaped eyes. But now he also has a nose and a mouth.
“‘Zen wakes up to find he’s sprouted some new orifices,’ says writer/creator Steve Stern, ‘and anyone can witness the transformation for free by visiting www.ssscomics.com. It’s all logically explained—in comic-book terms, naturally.'”
Naturally.
C’mon, a press release to announce that your character now has new orifices? I call that 100% fan-tastic.
§ November 7th, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on Your Monday post of random stuff.
Here’s an ad I found in Reggie and Me #75 (Dec ’74):
Okay, first, “America’s Most Beautiful Doll” is a pretty high standard to live up to. And second, yeah, that’s some tan.
This doll suddenly became more interesting to me when I saw the top part of one of the panels in the ad:
…but once I took in the rest of the panel, disappointment set in:
Hey, I have a new installment of Behind the Counter at the new Comic Book Galaxy, in which I have some tips for the new employees. (“I’ve got wanderin’ hands, and you’re just gonna have to get used to ’em.”)
We recently acquired a sizeable collection of Archie comics, mostly from the last decade or so…”acquired” as in “we just wanted to buy the Archie digests, but the beat-up comic books we didn’t want got dumped on us anyway,” which of course means plenty o’website fodder here.
Anyway, in this collection was a particular cover I’d been wanting to address for a while, but haven’t had access to the issue almost since it originally came out. It’s Betty #8 (Sept. 1993), and while the Archie gals have always been drawn in an attractive fashion, this cover has Betty being drawn in a little more prurient style than usual. Or maybe I just have some kind of “upside down diving bikini girls” fetish I was previously unaware of. But it does feel a lot racier than most modern Archies tend to be.
And I don’t have a larger scan of that, since the original I was scanning from is completely thrashed and that’s about as large an image I can manage and still have it look passable.
I do like the coloring on that cover quite a bit…it’s actually quite pretty, though this Betty cover (#28, Aug ’95):
…is even more attractive, I think. Quite a switch from the flat-colored/cluttered covers Archies usually have nowadays.
Hey, Kid Chris finally posted again, finally, since he was too busy having a life and all to goof around on the internet. I’m disappointed he didn’t mention running into The Nelsons at a record store. That lucky bastard.
So finally I took home my copy of the Comic Book Guy’s Book of Pop Culture, and, as I feared, it’s made my site redundant. That’s okay, though, since the book kicks off with a reference to famed letterhack T.M. Maple, so they start off in my good graces. They cover some of the same ground I’ve covered here over the last couple years, such as the various types of customers, but they’re funnier about it, and they have illustrations, so they’ve pretty much got me beat. (I totally forgot about our own “Stinky Money Boy”-type customers…though it’s more likely to be “Wet Money Boy,” given our proximity to the beach.) There is lots and lots and lots of nerd humor packed into this tiny hardcover…well worth the price.
I should note that every comic shop owner and/or manager secretly envies the Simpsons’ Comic Book Guy. Every one. They might deny it, but they’re lying. If the owner of your local store denies it, badger him day and night until he owns up. Don’t badger me, though, because I freely admit it. Oh, to be that freely superior in my full-on nerdiness….
Oh, and for you interested parties, our store’s Midnight Madness sale is on Saturday, November 19th, from 7 PM until midnight (natch), or even later if demand warrants it. 2379 E. Main Street in Ventura, CA…drive on down. Or up. Or take a plane. Come visit, you.
§ November 6th, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on Speed-weblogging!
I’m running a little behind today, so I’m knocking out this post fast like the bunny. I’ll fix typos, logical gaps, etc., later.
With pal Dorian having made good his escape from the wonderful world of comics retailing, I find myself having to be a bit more aware of what books have come out when, and whether we have them in stock. Not that I was totally unaware, but whatever I couldn’t remember off the top of my head, I could usually ask Dor and he’d remember. So now I must expand my brain power to remember everything, everything…soon I’m gonna look like this guy. I’ve already got the green skin.
It’s been a few years since our last “Midnight Madness” sale, and I finally got around to arranging for a new one in a couple weeks. I’ve printed up the flyers, started handing them out…and what’s the reaction I get from a bunch of our customers? “Oh, I’m out of town that week…can’t make it!”
Well, crud.
So last I checked, Absolute Watchmen is still out of stock at Diamond, as is Complete Bone…and guess which two items I’m constantly asked about?
And, about four months ago, I had a customer order a copy of volume 8 of the Fruits Basket manga…I checked Diamond’s stock list every week since then, and finally, two weeks ago, it showed up again. Every other volume was generally available, but #8? Pffft. Nada. (I’m guessing every Borders and Barnes & Noble in the country had as many copies of #8 as they could stand.)
This one isn’t Diamond’s fault, but it’s annoying that I can get every issue of the Green Lantern: Rebirth series from Diamond except #3, which is of course the one I’m out of stock on at the store. Rebirth is still selling as a back issue, but it could probably sell better if I had a full run to offer to the customers.
Speaking of back issues…the various Batman comics based on the animated series (the good animated series, not the new one they’re running now) are selling insane amounts for us right now. I have one young person who comes in every week and buys a pile of them, which is driving the majority of the sales, but there are several other kids buying them as well. I was wondering what was driving these sales, and for a moment I thought it was perhaps kids rejecting the regular continuity-heavy Bat-comics in favor of the simpler TV-inspired series, but it’s probably simpler than that. It may just be that the Batman in the comics based on the cartoon is the Batman they’re familiar with, since that’s the one they grew up watching. Or maybe it’s just because the animated series comics are just better than the other Bat-books. That’s why I read them.
Redboots.net…your Lois ‘n’ Clark reference site. Includes an article decrying “Clana” sex. (“Clana?”)
§ November 5th, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on The Archie gang is sorry. Sorry like you wouldn’t believe.
from Jughead #192 (May 1971)
Jughead is the one they’re being sorry at, in case you’re wondering where he is.
§ November 4th, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on Snuggles, the emotional development of Superman, and more scary Swamp Thing stuff.
An exchange with a customer I had a on Thursday:
Me: “I’m a seething cauldron of rage.”
Customer: “You? You’re a seething cauldron of snuggles!”
Sigh. I am imposing to no one.
Also, following my aborted attempt at rapping, new employee Pope Nathan informed newer employee Nicknameless Aaron that my rhymes were far too phat to bust.
Yeah, that’s the kind of day we were having.
During another conversation I was having with Nathan and Aaron that day, we were discussing the bizarre, seemingly inconsiderate and insensitive behavior of Superman, Batman, and other characters in stories from the ’50s and ’60s. I noted that it’s not so much that they were supposedly inconsiderate, as, since these comics were aimed at children, all the characters (heroes, villains, supporting cast) were written as children, with childlike motivations and emotional responses. Probably an obvious point, but not one I ever articulated, or considered, until yesterday.
As Nathan noted, it’s kind of frightening to think of someone with powers like Superman with the emotional development of an eight-year-old.
People seemed to like my “Ten Scary Swamp Thing Moments” post (and thanks to Johanna for saying such nice things about it) and, as I’d hoped, people chimed in with their own favorite moments.
One people mentioned is the sequence from Alan Moore’s initial Arcane story, where Arcane had possessed Matt Cable, and the “just say ‘uncle'” revelation of his true identity of Matt’s wife, Arcane’s niece Abby. I was tempted to include that, but my list was Arcane-heavy as it was, and the two page splash of “Matt,” his damned-soul pals, and the color-overlay of Arcane was too big for me to easily scan. That whole issue (#29 of the second Swamp Thing series) was darned creepy, as Abby slowly puts together what’s wrong with Matt, and just who his coworkers are. One of my favorite bits of that issue is the panel of Matt and Abby sleeping together in bed, and Matt’s reflection in the mirror is that of a corpse. And I believe the whole incest thing, of Arcane being intimate with his own niece, is one of the reasons the Comics Code passed on this issue. Well, that and the big freakin’ two-page zombie splash.
Oh, “SPOILERS,” by the way.
Craig mentions the sequence where Swamp Thing discovers the paperwork explaining his true origin (that he was never Alec Holland at all, just a plant that thought it was Holland…it makes sense in context, honest) and his reaction to General Sunderland’s frightened query of “like it?” That really is a terrifying sequence, as this is the first time that we, as readers, who are sympathetic to the Swamp Thing’s plight, actually see Swamp Thing as a monster. Man, I don’t even need to open the comic to see those jagged panels, that extreme close-up of Swamp Thing’s face as he’s screaming in rage. That probably should have been on the list.
I also almost included Polite Scott‘s mention of the Monkey King, a creature from Jack Kirby’s Demon series that makes a return appearance in Alan Moore’s ST run. The sequence of the different fears that it forms, mentioned by Scott, are indeed scary, but I remember getting bit of a chill when we first see the Monkey King in its normal form: just a small, white monkey, looking up at you. Don’t know why it bothered me like that, but it did.
There’s another bit that I probably should have mentioned, since it’s one of the first things I think of when I ponder that period of Swamp Thing…those latter Marty Pasko issues, just before Moore took over, with Steve Bissette and John Totleben on art. Those insanely horrifying monsters that are randomly attacking Swamp Thing and his pals, that we later find out are creations of Matt Cable’s mind…I’d not seen bizarre monsters like that in comics before, and they really stuck themselves in my brain. (And, on a related topic…when we see Cable in that same issue, whom we haven’t seen since the original ’70s series, drunken, unshaven, slurring his words. Very upsetting.)
Anyway, thanks for your contributions, folks…it makes me want to pull the comics out of the vast Mikester Comic Archives and read them again, for like the two-dozenth time. And if you haven’t read them yourselves…do yourself a favor and check them out! Yes, even you, Kitty!
§ November 3rd, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on New comics day shenanigans.
This was my first new comics day in quite a while without pal Dorian helping out, which means I was a little more swamped than usual. The new guys (Pope Nathan, and Nicknameless Aaron) are working out fine, but they don’t know the ins-‘n’-outs of new funnybook day yet, so on top of the duties I had, I also had to cover some of the responsibilities Dor used to have as well. One of those things Dor did was rearrange the new comics racks to accommodate the new arrivals…that’s something I used to do before Dor worked here, but apparently I’m a bit out of practice. It didn’t seem like it was this difficult before!
Holy crud, I had too many books come in that I wanted to buy:
1. Simpsons Comic Book Guy’s Book of Pop Culture – As a funnybook seller, I have a special affinity for the Comic Book Guy character. I would say “there but for the grace of God go I,” but I’m not out of the woods yet. This book, including articles on running a comic book store, and a day in the life of Comic Book Guy, would appear to make big chunks of my site here redundant. At the very least, I need to put off reading it at least until I finish my next article for Comic Book Galaxy (which shares initials with Comic Book Guy…coincidence?).
2. Showcase Presents Jonah Hex – Ah, finally. I’ve been pushing for a reprint of Jonah Hex comics for a while now (under Jan. 11), so I’m glad we finally got ’em. It looks great in black and white, as I thought it would. On a related note, we can’t keep the Metamorpho and Superman Showcase books in stock. Green Lantern just kind of sits there, though…which is a shame, since the Gil Kane art looks great in B&W.
3. Complete Peanuts Vol. 4 – I don’t know what to say about this book that I haven’t said already. It looks spectacular, it’s a classic strip at the peak of its form…if you don’t love this comic, you’re dead to me, dead, I say.
4. Invincible Vol. 5: Facts of Life – Just plain ol’ superhero fun. It’s the extra sketchbook pages that keep me buying this series as trades instead of single issues…and the comic is more satisfying in larger chunks, anyway.
Other new comics day notes:
The first customer of the day asked me why Powers #14 had a $3.95 cover price, since it didn’t seem any thicker than normal. I had no idea, and wasn’t expecting a price increase…and it was invoiced at $2.95. I called Diamond to confirm (just to make sure we wouldn’t get a note next week saying “hey, you know those Powers comics you were selling at $2.95? They actually were supposed to be $3.95, so we’re charging you the extra amount this week. Hope you didn’t sell too many at the wrong price!”), and yes, it was a typo on the cover. I wonder how many copies were sold nationwide at the $3.95 price?
Another surprise was getting a second helping of Seven Soldiers: Klarion #4, which we already received previously. According to our distributor rep, these are replacement copies for the previous issues which were misprinted. A side-by-side comparison shows no obvious printing errors, beyond the colors in the newer books being slightly richer. Was it just the coloring? The rep didn’t know, and I didn’t catch anything on the comics news sites about it (not that I look at them much, anyway). Any of you folks know?
And hey, while that Marvel Team-Up #14, teaming corporate movie/toy tie-in Spider-Man with the creator-owned Invincible was kinda neat, I don’t imagine Invincible’s creators are going to be too happy with the fact that the copyright information says nothing about Invincible not being a Marvel character. Maybe there’s a gentleman’s agreement behind the scenes regarding this, but the indicia does clearly state “all characters featured in this issue and the distinctive names and likenesses thereof…are trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc.” Maybe we can look forward to “Stan Lee Presents Invincible #1″ soon. Or maybe they’ll just rename Gravity. (Oh, relax…that was just a joke there, Sparky.)
Seven Soldiers: Bulleteer #1 – People complain about apparent sexism in comic. Fans of comic defend against allegations, stating writer knows what he is doing regarding point he’s making. Original complainers state that fans of writer are groupthinkers, blindly defending everything he writes. Fans of writer call complainers chowderheads. And so on.
Liberality for All #1 – I don’t know what to say about this comic that this synopsis doesn’t already cover. It’s almost like poetry. (Hey, Dad, if you’re reading this…click that link. You’d probably get a kick out of it.)
House of M #8 – So was that an intentional slam against DC’s Identity/Infinite Crisis in there, or am I reading too much into it? (The bit about magic not being able to remove a memory.)
Donald Duck & Uncle Scrooge: Somewhere in Nowhere – There’s a piece of personal correspondence in here from Carl Barks, shortly before his passing, and it’s just sad to read. He still seemed mostly on the ball, with some thoughts about the internet’s impact on comics, but his note that he wasn’t interested in studying another cartoonist’s work because he doesn’t draw anymore…well, that depressed me. I realize that at nearly a century old, he probably had his fill of drawing, but still, sad. He didn’t care for Pokemon, either, apparently.
§ November 2nd, 2005 § Filed under swamp thing Comments Off on The Least Scary Swamp Thing Moment.
from Super Friends #28 (January 1980) by E. Nelson Bridwell, Ramona Fradon & Vince Colletta
Updated 4/2017
§ November 1st, 2005 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on
I’ve written a lot on this site over the last week or two, and hopefully one or two of you have read what I cranked out here…but today, just some linkage, to give myself (and you!) a break:
So a lot of you saw this Monet Does Swamp Thing Photoshop contest entry at Worth1000, and immediately thought of me, judging by the number of e-mails I received telling me about it.
But you know what the sad part is? Before I received a single e-mail about it, my Swamp Thing-sense had already taken me right to that page. I had even downloaded the image for use as a desktop picture (or “wallpaper,” to you Windows-ites).
That doesn’t mean “stop sending the Swampy links,” by any means. You see anything Swamp Thing-related that perhaps I may not have seen, pass the link along, by all means!
I’ve been meaning to point you folks in his direction for a while, but Scott Saavedra posted several pencil sketches over a five-day period (which you can see here, here, here, here, and here). Good stuff…go check it out.
“The monsters look nasty, but artist Bernie Wrightson says they are fun to draw”
Interesting news bit from that interview: Wrightson is working on a revival of the ’90s cartoon Biker Mice from Mars, and is redesigning the main characters.
“One mess begat another: confusion reigns supreme in the latest DC Comics debacle”
“I couldn’t resist buying Infinite Crisis, DC’s new piece of crap. I read it with mixed feelings […] Throughout most of the story I was lost, but it ends in such an unexpectedly memorable way that it suggests that DC may be ready to pull its head out of its ass.”
Newer Entries »
