You can tell Mike’s mismanaged his blogging time when he resorts to the “ask him a question” post.
I’m sorry, D, I am working on a reply to your question about what else I read from Aardvark-Vanaheim and Renegade Press, but it’s running long (shocking, I know) and frankly I’m not sure if the post is hanging together as much as I’d like. So…sorry about that! It’s still in the hopper, and I’ll get to it next week.
So, since I’m stuck for a post now that it’s (checks watch) way past my bedtime, let’s make this a Question Time, since, you know, turning your questions into posts is about half my content lately anyhow!
Thus, ASK ME A QUESTION, preferably related to comics or the comics industry. Just leave it in the comments there. If it’s too personal, or asks me to reveal rocket secrets, I may demur, but otherwise I’ll try to answer your question in a future post. Unless you’re D. SORRY D
And please, ONE QUESTION PER CUSTOMER. To reiterate:
ONE QUESTION PER PERSON, PLEASE
Take it easy on your pal Mike.
I’ll get to these questions over the next few weeks (or months, let’s face it). And don’t worry, D…I’ll respond to you before I start on any of these!
Thanks, pals! Just leave a comment with a question in the comments here.
Which are your favorite creative-combo takes on the Swamp Thing character in the comics?
Actually, what I would really like to read would be a few blog posts with your deeper analysis of the more significant creative runs on the character & comic series, if I could make that request.
MIKE: ONE QUESTION PER PERSON, PLEASE!
ME: Oh no! Just one question? Think carefully. Just one question… just one… Oh this is too much pressure!!!
MIKE: ONE QUESTION PER PERSON, PLEASE!
ME: Mike, are you sure I can only ask one question?
MIKE: Yeah, only one question per person.
ME: OK, OK, OK. I’ve got this! Mike, I was wondering if you think DC will…
MIKE: ONE QUESTION PER PERSON, PLEASE
ME: Wait! What?
MIKE: You already asked your question.
ME: No I didn’t!
MIKE: Yes, you did. “Mike, are you sure I can only ask one question?”
ME: Dammit!
Do you think the real-world pandemic, the need for social distancing and masks, and the blunders on the part of multiple national governments in dealing with this crisis will soon be commonly depicted in comics, as well as in TV shows and movies based on same? In other words, do you predict we will see characters OTHER than superheroes and supervillains wearing masks in comics and onscreen for the foreseeable future–and, if so, how profoundly will this change the storytelling landscape?
Wow – if I’d known I was gonna be name checked this many times I would’ve chosen a sexier letter for my name. Like Q or something.
What is your reaction to Gerry Conway’s recent screed?
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/punisher-creator-gerry-conway-cancel-every-existing-superhero-comic/
Since you e opened your own shop., what’s the oddest/most random request for a back issue you actually had in stock?
Do you, like me, think the Joker is played out as a viable character?
From time to time, Marvel and DC would launch a series that stood on its own, then later fold it into their regularity continuing – I’m thinking here of the Eternals, Omega the Unknown, and such. If you could pick a series now embedded in a larger continuity (regardless of whether it began that way or not) and pull it out to be its own stand-alone thing for ever after, what’d you go for?
What comic event series left you holding the most stock, and do you still have it?
Now that Big Bang Theory is receding into the mist of yesteryear, do people still do that “Where’s Sheldon” routine in your store?
What back issue would you most like to own but know you never will? (And I don’t mean, like, a 9.0 Action #1. Something that is theoretically attainable but unlikely due to JUST being out of your price range or because it’s just hard to find one.)
Can you make sense of a non-reductionist view of theoretical entities? Please convey your answer in the form of a cipher. Oh, and who would win in a fight; Zeep the Living Sponge, or Color Kid? Darn, that’s two questions – just worry about answering the first one.
If you could break down your comics hobby (as a reader, collector, retailer, whatever) into discrete phases, what would they be?
Congratulations, DC has decided you are the perfect writer to helm The Muck-nificent Swamp Thing!(NOTE: I don’t work for AT&T/DC and the preceding sentence is a bald-faced lie)! You even get to pick an artist and a back-up feature starring a mystic and/or horror DC property. Which artist and character do you choose, and who would you choose to draw the back-up? Since those three questions fit into one inquiry, it looks like one question to me. If you disagree, feel free to discard the part about a back-up.
You, for whatever reason, suddenly find yourself the opportunity to launch your own line of comics. What genres do you choose, and what five creative teams do you hire to run them?
Speaking of Cerebus, how do you personally handle separating art from the artist? It’s a question I struggle with and I find my own takes sometimes vary, case by case.
Where was Spider-Man coming from?
Did you get the CDs I sent you?
This tomb holds Diophantus. Ah, what a marvel! And the tomb tells scientifically the measure of his life. God vouchsafed that he should be a boy for the sixth part of his life; when a twelfth was added, his cheeks acquired a beard; He kindled for him the light of marriage after a seventh, and in the fifth year after his marriage He granted him a son. Alas! late-begotten and miserable child, when he had reached the measure of half his father’s life, the chill grave took him. After consoling his grief by this science of numbers for four years, he reached the end of his life.
How long did Diophantus live?
What’s your take on the Mark Miller run of Swamp Thing?
Hi Mike, I hope the eyes are healing well. My question is kinda twofold – being a Swamp Thing completist,what’s the oddest/most obscure/most surprising comic you’ve ended up buying just cos Swampy’s in it, and secondly, what’s the best comic you’ve bought that you wouldn’t otherwise have bought, again just because it had it had your mucky mate in it? Thanks.
Mike: what single comic (or related item)do you hold on to for no good reason? For example, I have a copy of INSIDE COMICS#1 (I did work for #2 and #3), and until a few years ago I never realized I had nothing in that first issue. Wolverine and Venom by Sam Kieth as cover art. BUT. I’m holding on to it because it has a fold-out poster of Shaft. I keep waiting to use it as a gag gift or something.
You must have something that it is easier to just keep in a box than get rid of and right away find out you could have given it to X or Y?
Hi Mike! What are your thoughts on Valiant? Since they came back in 2012 they, more than any other company, seem to have been on a see-saw of highs and lows in terms of output and popularity. How do they do in your store?
What is your favorite non-Swamp Thing work by Rick Veitch?
Hi Mike, I was wondering what your favourite comics lie is. Which completely untrue rumour pleases you the most?
What is one change you’d make to the comic book industry right now to improve it?
You did a bunch of posts a couple of months ago about intercompany crossovers after I asked about them, but I think you promised one more post about them that you never got around to?
Hey Mike! If you could create a line wide crossover for Marvel, what would your idea be?
Any column that runs a picture of Ditko’s Question is a good one.
The first time I saw him was in Charlotte Bullseye. I think I found it in a quarter box. I flipped through, and even though it wasn’t by Dicko, I was struck by the character. He was so unique. My immediate thought was, “I have to buy this! I have to know more about this character. Who is he? What else has he been in?” I think I have only felt that once that strongly.
So I guess my question is this: Have you ever picked up a comic and felt that way about a new (to you) character (or artist or writer) where you knew you needed more right away? Or maybe as a store owner you’ve seen it?
If that’s technically two questions, feel free to pick one.
Will already asked about your experiences as a completist, I was curious about your experiences selling to other completists (like myself).
What’s the oddest/most obscure character/thing someone has told you they’re a completist for? Earlier this year you helped me get an issue for my Blackwulf collection but there’s gotta be weirder wants. (I need for there to be weirder wants.)
As we’re around the same vintage when it comes to the early days of our comic appreciation – what Bronze Age characters From the big 2 have you always liked, but feel they didn’t receive the spotlight They perhaps deserved? I’ve always liked Ragman from DC in his original incarnation as a sort of blue collar Batman, I hate the recent mystical role he’s been place into. From Marvel I’ve always loved Jack of Hearts as a powerhouse that never received much respect, I suspect the artists just didn’t want to draw that costume!
How ya feelin’, Mike?
— MrJM
Any fantastic promotions or incredible deals currently being offered at Sterling Silver Comics?