This post brought to you by Licensable Bear™.
Something I don’t get: I was processing a collection of recently acquired (read: dumped on us) comics, and there was an issue of Amazing Spider-Man that was taped…taped…to the backing board it shared its polybag with. A big piece of double-sided tape was stuck in the middle of the back cover, and then the comic was affixed to the backing board before being bagged.
And it wasn’t plain ol’ Scotch tape either…it was some kind of unholy, gnarly sticky tape that wasn’t going to let go of the paper, which meant tearing the back cover of the comic in order to deboard it. Luckily, it was a recent issue that we already had plenty of…and, also luckily, it was dumped on us, as I said, so it’s not like we had any money into it.
But still, taping your comic to your backing board…that’s not recommended comic book care, friend. Nor is hot-gluing the comic to the board, or stapling it. NO CGC 9.8 FOR YOU.
In other news:
- At last! New Groo for me and you! Groo the Wanderer is returning late this summer in a 25th anniversary special, to be followed by a new mini-series (Groo: Hell on Earth). One of my Frequently Asked Questions at the shop is “When’s the new Groo coming out?” — and now I have an answer. Thank goodness.
- New Mary Jane Watson cheesecake statue announced, shit hits fan(s). I know everyone’s already seen this statue (and the outrage it’s created) by now, but my pal Cully (who only follows one comics weblog – this one) probably hasn’t, and he’ll get a laugh out of it, I’m sure. Please note it’s already sold out, even prior to shipping, so look for more statues along these lines to follow. (“Aunt May…as you’ve never seen her before!”)
My favorite response to the statue is this post that pal Dorian dug up. Damned funny.
- You know what you people need to cheer up? You need a Licensable Bear™ animated short:
It’s yogurty!I’m also going to shamelessly plug some Licensable Bear™ comics, because 1) that’s what Licensable Bear™ would want me to do, and 2) pal Nat, who’s responsible for unleashing Mr. Bear™, is a nice guy and I want to help him out.
Retailers are placing orders this month for two comics starring Licensable Bear™ that are coming out in July. One is Licensable Bear™ #4 (p. 215 of the May Previews, order #MAY073114) and the other is Liberty Stories #1, with a short full color Licensable Bear™ story (p. 310, MAY073516). Tell your retailers quick, since orders are due soon.
…
Now that’s a plug!
- More plugging: no link…but last night’s episode of Heroes featured a pile of comics Micah was looking through, the most prominent being Silver Surfer #1 (1968), mentioned by name in dialogue. There’s your stealth plug for the new Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie, one of the show’s sponsors. In fact, an extended preview of the film was advertised during last night’s show as airing during the Heroes series finale.
Nice in-joke: the comic initially at the top of the pile was an issue of the Hulk: Gray mini-series, which was drawn by Heroes staff artist Tim Sale.
- For those of you who like your political commentary unsubtle: “Superheroes sing for peace”
“Singer-songwriter August Bullock loved comic books as a child. Superman, Batman, and other heroes he admired never tortured their victims, never struck the first blow, and always adhered to the highest ethical standards.
“He composed a protest song, ‘Heroes of America — an anti-war anthem,’ around this idea, lamenting the loss of America’s moral compass.”
[…]
“‘Heroes of America’ was instantly popular, but the music video he made from it really made it fly. ‘The whole process was serendipitous,’ explains Bullock. ‘At first I was just going to wear a Superman costume while I sang the song. Then I had the idea of filming other ‘superheroes’ in public places on Halloween. Then I added protesters at a huge peace rally in San Francisco. When I spliced everything together I discovered I had a made commercial for the peace movement.'”
You can read the whole press release at the link…note that there’s an embedded YouTube video that will automatically play.
This YouTube clip, in fact: