§ August 4th, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on Sadly, there was no Swamp Thing Quarterly.
Been going through some Green Lantern comics at home…you know, I kinda miss having this old Green Lantern Corps Quarterly series on the stands:
Actually, come to think of it, I miss most of DC’s quarterly anthologies. They had a good variety of short stories, by many creators…sure, a few stories weren’t quite ready for prime time, but the good generally outweighed the not-so-good. So, what were the other quarterly titles?
Justice League Quarterly,
Ms. Tree Quarterly…keep feel like I’m forgetting one. Liked all of three of those, at any rate.
Here’s something to annoy you: these extra-sized comics cost $2.95.
And hey, remember this redesign of the Golden Age Green Lantern?
Woo boy. That particular image was drawn by Jim “
Tarot” Balent, by the way. “Get out of there, Alan…your ring is haunted!”*
Inside this issue is a brief reminder of which decade you were in, in case you forgot:
Oh, why, hello, the 1990s!
Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #4 (Spring 1993) – cover by Kirk Jarvinen & Terry Austin
Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #6 (Autumn 1993) – cover by Jim Balent
interior panel from Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #6 by Ruben Diaz, Travis Charest, Ray McCarthy & Agop Gemdjian
* Your Not Safe for Work context, sir.
§ August 3rd, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on The "naked eBay" link is probably Not Safe for Work.
Had this item show up in a collection recently: a UK Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back hardcover annual from 1980, reprinting Marvel Comics’ adaptation of the film.
However, turns out that across the top strip of the first page, three of the creators involved signed the book:
Well,
I thought that was pretty neat.
And here’s something that just now occurred to me as I was scanning this item: what is that reflected in Darth’s eyes, there:
Are those reflections of the artist himself? Reflections of the Hoth landscape before him, even though he’s only symbolically looming over Luke and his Taun Taun and isn’t supposed to be
literally there? Visions of Vader’s life aboard the Death Star or some other Imperial vessel?
Accidental naked eBay pictures? Who knows? I bet one of you clever people can clear this up.
§ August 2nd, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on Just a few words about a handful of this week’s comics.
Batman and Robin #1 3rd Printing – We probably still have enough 1st and 2nd printings to go around, but there’s always someone who wants each and every variation, or perhaps wasn’t attracted by a previous cover and likes the new image, or just plain didn’t see it the first few times it was offered. Even the most unnecessary reprints (like, say, the recent spate of X-Men and Amazing Spider-Man 2nd prints) are usually good for a couple of sales.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #27 – Sales have been dropping very slightly on this series, and I’ve noticed a minor uptick in requests for the trade paperback collection from the folks who are just coming in specifically for four-color versions of Joss Whedon properties.
Captain America: Reborn #2 – Sales ended up being fairly strong on the first issue, after a slow start, but, as I’ve stated previously, it was mostly to the regular clientele. By and large the general public doesn’t seem to be as interested in Captain America returning as they were by his apparently murder. Why, it’s as if there’s a preference for stories of death and tragedy. That’s totally unlike human nature.
Doom Patrol #1 – Well, you know what they say – fifth time’s the charm. Or is this the sixth? I’ve lost count. Anyway, I’m a sucker for all things Doom Patrollish, so I’ll check it out. Hopefully some of our customers will as well. Mostly, though, I’m looking forward to the Metal Men back-up stories, which promise to be pretty entertaining.
Fallen Angel: Reborn #2 – Nearly sold out of the first issue, specifically because of the Buffy/Angel tie-in. Will those people be back for installment numero dos?
Greek Street #2 – Sold a good number of the first issue, thanks to the promotional $1 price tag. Not sure how #2 will do now that it’s at the normal three bones…given that it’s an ongoing Vertigo title that’s not related to the Fables franchise, I don’t expect too much, but we’ll see. I hope it does do well…the line could use another strong monthly seller. (Hell, most lines of comics could use more strong monthly sellers, but let’s not get into that!)
Green Lantern #43 – Okay, that’s just a restock we’re getting this week, but man, we’re getting deluged with requests for Green Lantern and all things related to the GL-centric Blackest Night event. Had a few people even tell me that they got into these comics after seeing whatever BN-related set-up DC had at the San Diego convention. Customers are way excited about Green Lantern. There’s a sentence I don’t get to say often enough.
Irredeemable trade paperback and issue #5 – Having a low-cost trade and a promotionally priced 99-cent issue come out at the same time is a smart move on Boom Studios’ part, I think.
Justice League: Cry for Justice #2 – Yeah, it’s just this side of being kinda dopey, but I liked the first issue anyway. It entertained me, and really, that’s all I ask from my superhero funnybooks. Also, the first issue sold really well for us, so hopefully those folks will be back for the new ish.
Solomon Grundy #6 – Ah, the series only Tim and I are reading. Hey, we think it’s pretty good, right Tim? Right. Still not getting the “Swamp Thing” vibe that this series was allegedly going to be bringing to the DC Universe, but it’s a good series nonetheless.
Star Trek Alien Spotlight: Q – This is one of those series that I think I like more in concept than in execution. I appreciate that there’s a series of comics each focusing on a different alien race. As a Trek fan since apparently before birth (hey, my mom watched the original 3rd season when she was pregnant with me…what can I say), I can dig the effort, here. But the comics themselves have never really grabbed me. It could just be that I’ve read enough Star Trek comics in my lifetime to last me, is all. “It’s not you, it’s me, baby.” But we’ve had plenty of customers like ’em just fine, so don’t pay attention to ol’ Downer McDownerson at the keyboard here.
Ultimatum: X-Men Requiem #1 and Ultimatum: Fantastic Four Requiem #1 – So every time a new issue of Ultimatum came out, I’d flip through it, and as far as I can tell it was about characters killing and occasionally eating each other. Not saying there’s not an audience for that sort of thing, but…. Anyway, now in terms of resetting things in a franchise for an imminent relaunch, this sort of “scorched earth” approach seems a tad extreme. But then again, given that the Ultimate line exists apart from Marvel’s main merchandise-and-media-tie-in driven “regular” Marvel Universe, there’s more freedom to really shake up the status quo, especially since now the stated purpose of the Ultimate line (to provide a jumping-on point for new readers coming in from the movies) has been moot for years. Just kinda wish that revamping of the status quo was a bit less…nihilistic, maybe? Ah, well.
War Machine #8 – Whoa, totally forgot this was even a thing. Well, hold on there, little funnybook…Iron Man 2, guest-starring War Machine for what I’m sure will be a very exciting 5 or 6 minutes, will be out soon enough.
