The post that should have gone up this morning.
My condolences to the family and friends of Seth Fisher, who left us too soon.
More new comic day notes, before I forget:
The Fogel’s Underground Comix Price Guide is finally out…the first thorough price guide for underground and adult comix since the nearly quarter-century old Jay Kennedy guide. Flipping through it, I can see that they’ve attempted to include more recent titles ignored by Overstreet…the Eros Comix titles, for example, and some Drawn & Quarterly books. An interesting touch is, along with the standard Good/Fine/Mint pricing columns for each title, the inclusion of a “Highest Realized Price” column that notes the highest price a certain comic may have achieved in, say, an online auction or other sale, usually far in excess of the “Mint” price. (I wonder if any of our UG auctions on the eBay made it into this book?)
I kinda wish it didn’t have the mostly-nekkid girl on the cover, though…makes it tough to rack. I suppose I could order the Odd Bodkins variant cover, but the $39.95 price tag on the variation is a bit dear…$29.95 for the regular edition is high enough.
Hellboy: Makoma #1 – It’s nice to finally have a Hellboy story that isn’t filled with footnotes and references to previous Hellboy comics. There are footnotes, but they’re explanatory, not pointers to previous funnybooks.
Thunderbolt Jaxon #1 – I know pal Dorian has said that the publishing of these revivals of old British superheroes is probably an attempt on DC’s part to keep Alan Moore happy…but I was wondering if, maybe, some small incentive for publishing these titles is the hope that one of them will turn out to be yet another Miracleman (a previous British superhero revival that achieved some small measure of renown). Just a random, barely-supported thought.
Green Lantern #8 Neal Adams variant cover – Oh goodness, that’s not a good drawing. Okay, I mean, technically, it’s fine, I guess…I think the (presumed) editorial direction had more to do with its inherent creepiness than any of Mr. Adams’ artistic ability. “Okay, they have to be struggling with the evil plant creature, but they have to look happy while they’re struggling….” The big grins on GL’s and GA’s faces just plain disturb me.
Welcome to Heaven, Dr. Franklin is a story by William Messner-Loebs (originally serialized in Cerebus many years ago) about Benjamin Franklin’s experiences in the afterlife. Bizarre, funny, and highly recommended…follow that link for a sample of the artwork. I didn’t pick it up myself, since I already have the story, but I’ve managed to hand-sell a few copies of this at the shop to some likely suspects.
Marvel Romance – So I was looking at this reprint of “classic” Marvel romance comics, when this idea popped, fully formed, into my twisted little mind.
“The Marvel Comics Romance Podcast,” starring Stan Lee.
I want to hear Stan Lee reading his own romance comics aloud, particularly the ones told from the first person perspective of the female lead. To hear Lee say something along the lines of “Why doesn’t Johnny love me? Why? Why?” would be a little bit like heaven.
Just spotted this interview with Steven Grant on a DVD review site…mostly about his work on the Punisher, but hits a couple other topics as well. Interesting reading. (Though, just to check, I went to his Comic Book Resources column and saw that he plugged it there, so you probably already know about it. Ah, well.)
