Fulfilling this website’s requirement of “one mention of ‘The Death of Superman’ every four weeks,” here is the two-sided shelf-talker for that storyline and related one-shots:
Here’s the granite tombstone-esque reverse side:
A few more goodies from the store vaults…some of the shelf-talker boards that would be placed behind or under the new comics.
This first batch got quite a bit of usage, as you might be able to tell from the images:
Some of you young’uns may not remember a time when Ghost Rider was a popular guest-star in Marvel Comics. Say, does Darkhawk need a sales boost? Well, throw America’s favorite flaming skull-headed antihero into the book, and watch it just fly off the shelves. That second one was for all your X-Men related guest-shots (“In this issue…Caliban!” “YAY!”), and as for the Wolverine one…well, I was showing these to the other guys at the store, and one of my customers commented that nowadays, we’d find more use for a shelf-talker that read “This issue NOT guest-starring Wolverine.” Man, ain’t that the truth.
“Hi, X-Factor!”
For some reason, we had approximately one billion of these Secret Defenders signs. We didn’t order these…they were just sent to us as part of Marvel’s promotion for this title. I don’t recall the Secret Defenders making enough guest-appearances to require using these signs on multiple titles…and I wasn’t about to fill multiple shelf spaces with the same issue of this comic. It is a neat looking card, though.
Now this was a bit peculiar…this could have been used as a generic shelf-talker for any given issue of Electric Warrior, as it was unlikely the customers would ever see anything more of it than the “Shocker of the Month” bit at the very top. That DC decided this series needed the extra push that only a shelf-talker designed for a specific issue could give…well, that was just a little surprising. (Electric Warrior isn’t a bad series, by the way.)
Marvel may have dipped in the “Infinity” well a few too many times, but this first series was fun…and that backer is pretty cool-looking, I think.
I am filled with the urge to color that picture. I don’t know why.
Oh, Good Lord, did we need to use these. Ah, crud, I just realized, I should have used it for comics that tied into that last Secret War series.
This part of the Secret Wars II card was never required. We never sold out of any tie-in. I could probably still put together a full set from our store stock even now.
Um, not that anyone would want one.
Me: “It used to be that the readership turnover in comics was pretty high…a kid would read comics for a few years, grow out of it, and be replaced by another kid, and so on. When that was happening, the publisher didn’t have to overly worry about keeping continuity straight for years, or decades, on end. If something in issue #144 was contradicted by something in issue #418, it wasn’t likely anyone in the audience was going to notice.
“The turnover isn’t so high anymore…there’s not a whole lot of new blood entering the hobby, and there are more and more people dominating the comics market who are like me, who’ve read comics for decades, and who, sad to say, notice when something in Superman/Batman #1 contradicts something from the 20-year-old Man of Steel mini-series. It for people like that, like me, that continuity-cleaning series like Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis are created.”
Nathan: “So you killed Superboy!”
Okay, how would you describe the premise of Infinite Crisis to someone who doesn’t read comics? (I mean, aside from “nerds who worry too much about things that happened in comics 20 years ago get a series just for them.”)
Now I did enjoy Infinite Crisis, but then, I’m right there in that target audience (about the same age as its writer, Geoff Johns, and read all the same comics he did…plus, there’s the whole “worrying about things that happened in comics 20 years ago”). Plus, I’m a sad old DC fanboy and am thus a sucker for events like this. However, I’ll admit that IC may be a challenge to summarize.
Commenter Dwight gave it a shot:
“Twenty years ago, reality got hard-rebooted. Now, a few survivors of those who had to make that reboot happen in the first place have decided they’re not happy with the results, so they’re gonna do it again. Mayhem ensues.”
Per Bully’s suggestion, I’d replace “reboot” with, I don’t know, “rebuilt?” “Restructured?”
How about
“Twenty years ago, the shared DC Universe was rebuilt from the ground up. Now, a few survivors, left out of the new restructured reality despite helping it come about, have decided they’re not happy with the results, so they’re gonna do it again. Mayhem ensues.”
That still uses fan-concepts like “shared universe,” but I don’t think that’s too bad.
You folks have any ideas?
Found in an old t-shirt catalog:
I’ll give Marvel’s Civil War series this: it’s a lot easier to explain to the uninitiated than Infinite Crisis.
“What’s Civil War about?”
“There’s a superhero-related disaster that kills a lot of people, which causes the government to step in and attempt to regulate the heroes, which then divides said heroes into two camps…for regulation and against.”
“What’s Infinite Crisis about?”
“Well, when DC’s multiverse was collapsed down to a single universe as a result of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Superman of Earth-2 and his wife, Lois Lane, the Superboy from Earth-Prime, the son of Lex Luthor from Earth-3 survived, but return to the modern DC universe to….”
“Whoa, hold on, I think my nose is bleeding.”
Pal The Ferrett, inspired by that discussion I found, poses a question of his own: which superhero has the largest…er, manhood?
Ever get the feeling that arguing about comics is like two crocodiles fighting over a rapidly evaporating stagnant pond at the height of an African summer?
Thank goodness for the Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes comic, so that I have at least one Supergirl comic on the stands that young girls would be interested in. Because it sure as heck isn’t the regular series.
And yes, that means I have young girls buying Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes at our store.
The thought occurred to me that Marvel’s Sentry character is similar in some respects to DC’s ’90s character Triumph, in that they were both past superheroes forgotten by the rest of the heroes in their respective universes, and reintroduced into modern continuity…but it looks like Wikipedia beat me to it. Darn, and here I was thinking I was all clever and insightful and stuff.
Via the godfather of comics-weblogging, Neilalien, comes Peanuts characters drawn as Marvel characters. This one is my favorite:
So I have on my hard drive a folder filled with thousands of scans of items that I’ve listed on the eBay over the years…no, I have no idea why I still have them either, but you never know when you might need a scan of a Transformers comic pre-pack:
This next photo is a tad blurry, so you’re just gonna have to take my word that on this pair of X-Men holographic glasses, Wolverine is facing off against the Juggernaut…or something like that, anyway. Nothing says “cool” like a pair o’ these:
Several years ago, we had one of these figures opened up at the store…”I’ve got claws, I can use them” was a catchphrase around the shop for perhaps a little too long:
You know, as promotional freebie gifts go, a flimsy little foil sticker is kinda lame:
Rob Liefeld’s 7-inch Shaft…old joke, still funny:
And now…10-INCH GIANT MAUL:
Surely the person who started this thread knew it wasn’t going to end well:
“not trying to be gay or anything…. “
“….but has anyone else noticed that on the blue beetle cover #2* his ‘package’ so to speak seems to….
stand out……..” “It’s okay, most men check out the competion at the gym. Or urinal. Or comic book cover,”
“No I think both of you guys are gay. I don’t check out other ‘men’ at the urinal or at the gym. Non of my male friends check out other ‘men’ at the urinal or the gym. As a matter of fact, the idea to check out any part of another man’s body has never occurred to me. So my guest is you are both gay. Well maybe not the first guy who might have noticed it by accident. That is to say without looking at the cartoon’s package. The second guy who defended the idea of looking at a cartoon and taking a peep at the guy next to you at the urinal. The second guy is gay.”
“don’t believe you and i think you might be gay as you seem very afraid of it.”
“No I never have. I went to catholic school we had a gym locker. I showered next to other guys in school. I never looked at another guys joint. […] The idea of looking comparing or whatever gay term you want to use for checking out a guys package has never been in my head. But, I grew up in Brooklyn N.Y. I guess other parts of the world are naturally more gay.”
“Dude- you are so gay. How much time do you spend thinking about how Not Gay you are? Couple hours a day?”
Okay, back to the topic at hand:
“I think it is a codpiece. I haven’t looked at it myself, but a lot of armor designs have codpieces to protect men’s bits and intimidate the enemy. It is sort of like an athletic supporter with a cup inside of it. It is most likely part of Blue Beetle’s armor/exoskeleton that protects his bits from being kicked or punched.”
“i looked at the cover and the costume is not thin enough bec. i cannot see the 2 balls distinctly bec. i am quite sure there should be”
“Maybe the new Blue Beetle is the new gay character? Or he could be the DC counterpart to Spider-Man who makes people gay by looking at him?”
“i think the gay community can give dc artists some advice on how to draw the bulges on a gay superhero to avoid adding any more art mistakes to the many in infinite crisis 1-7.”
“I have the utmost faith in Phil Jimenez as both artist and consultant when it comes to package design.”
THE TRUTH REVEALED:
“i just made a topic based on a friends observation because i figured someone would get a laugh out of it, but guess this has turned into the psychology of being gay class, its very odd…..but hey who am i complaining its kinda funny seeing the reactions of evryone on this board”
The final word:
“Frankly, I think you’re ALL gay.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
PLEASE DON’T FEED THE FETISHIST – found while forum-hopping…no link, it’s pretty much just this:
“I was just wondering if anyone can post a scan of supergirl using her frost/super breath if not how about her eye beam?”
So Employee Nathan was putting away this comic today:
Your out-of-context quote from new comics day:
“Devo sweat? You’re soaking in it!”
Okay, so it was I who dared to say such a thing, while I was reminiscing with pal Tom about how I saw Devo during their first reunion tour in the late ’80s. I was pressed up against the dead center of the stage, with Mark Mothersbaugh flinging his Devo sweat right upon me. AND I NEVER SHOWERED AGAIN.
Anyway, back to comics:
Kid Chris speaks briefly about that comic book-themed UCLA radio show he was on yesterday morning. I only got to listen to it for about half an hour, just long enough to hear pal Ian‘s call and his vain attempts to get a word in edgewise what with all the excitable college students and uncooperative equipment. Plus, I heard Kid Chris totally slam Swamp Thing. Hey, Chris, remember that “former employee discount” you used to have….?
Oh, relax, Kid Chris fans, I’m just joshin’ him. Maybe.
52 #1 – Well, here we go, the first installment of the next year of your comics-readin’ life. I do like the idea of a weekly comic, and this issue is a strong start, with a nice interweaving of several characters and plotlines (and a cameo appearance by Mr. Mind, a fave of mine). Nice art, strong creative team, interesting concept…I think there’s a danger of some weekly-comic fatigue from the fans after a few months, though, particularly from the people who don’t want to still be thinking about the impact of Infinite Crisis nine months after the fact.
But I’m not some ordinary, weak-kneed, lily-livered comics fan. You think a weekly comic can break me? Bring it, suckas.
Quick shots:
Mad Magazine #466 – Since Stephen Colbert has been in the public eye of late, I thought I should note that the new ish of Mad contains screenshots and a transcripts of The Colbert Report‘s birthday tribute to Fold-In master Al Jaffee.
Angel Spotlight: Illyria – A sorta sad and quiet issue, um, aside from the action scenes, nicely written by Peter David.
Spike: Lost and Found – An improvement on the last one-shot, which was pretty crappy, with a story more of interest to longtime fans, regarding a second Gem of Amarrah. Don’t worry if you don’t know what that means…I do, but then I’m a professional nerd.
Last Planet Standing #1 – Employee Nathan pointed out Galactus’ use of the term “Final Solution” in this comic, which we all agree seems like kind of a bad idea.
Will Eisner’s John Law: Angel’s Ashes Devil’s Dust #1 – No comment about the contents…just wanted to say I got a real Kitchen Sink Press vibe off the way this comic looks.
Crisis on Multiple Earths Vol. 4 – More crazy JLA/JSA team-ups, including one that throws in the Legion of Super-Heroes too. They better have given artist Dick Dillin hazard pay for that story.
You know, doing these really brief comments about various comics make me want to do another discussion of every comic that comes out in a single week (here’s the last time I did it). But then I wait a while, and the feeling eventually goes away.
In other news:
E.C. Segar’s Thimble Theatre is being rereleased in hardcover. GOOD. I missed Fantagraphics’ reprinting the first time around (though I’ve been able to borrow and read ’em). Six affordable volumes, which I think are going to reprint the whole run…this is good news. Tom Spurgeon promises more info, so watch this space. Or, rather, Tom’s space.
Via pal Dorian:
It’s…(sniff)…it’s okay.
I just heard Kid Chris openly mock Swamp Thing on UCLA Radio.
He’ll pay for this. Oh, how he’ll pay.
