Fleshing out the pitch, and other things you shouldn’t say.
Going after a few more of your questions today. Didn’t really mean to power through so many in short order, as I meant to space ’em out a bit, but it is what it is. You know, folks can still add more questions to that linked post above!
Paul spooks me with
“How would you reboot the Harvey Comics Universe to make it appeal to the youth of today?”
That’s…a good question. My immediate reaction would have been, if we were still in the world of the CW attractive-20-something-year-olds-playing-teenagers TV shows, saying “make ’em all high schoolers with weird powers or obsessions or wealth” and go all Riverdale with it.
Or (and this isn’t inconsistent with my previous statement) take the supernatural characters (Casper, Hot Stuff, Wendy, Spooky, etc.) and make ’em paranormal investigators. The other kids (little Lotta Little Audrey, Little Dot) as part of their support team…Little Lotta would be the muscle when necessary, of course. Richie Rich is the money guy behind the team, funding their work and passing out assignments.
Not sure how, like, Baby Huey would fit in. But if I’m remaking the Harvey characters into an ersatz BPRD, then Baby Huey could be our Hellboy analog. “DUH, I HATE BOGGARTS AND NAZIS.”
And I’m really not sure how Stumbo the Giant works here. Maybe a recurring antagonist that the team has to take down?
Anyway, I’m kinda vague on details with some of the characters, I know, but if someone’s willing to give me a paycheck, I’ll flesh out the pitch.
William Gatevackes opens up with
“Who would be on your ‘Mount Rushmore’ of comic book creators?”
Assuming we’re limited to four giant heads on a mountainside, my kneejerk reaction if “Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster.” I know, I know, that’s a whole lotta white guys, I’m sorry. Maybe replace Ditko (who almost certainly wouldn’t have wanted a giant representation of his face carved into a mountain) with Osamu Tezuka. But then we’re stuck with all guys, still. So, what the hell, add a fifth head, and make it Ramona Fradon.
I mean, it’s hard to represent everyone who should be up there, especially if you’re limiting the number of visages. I’m not denying that so many people are worthy. However, I’m pretty insistent that Jack, Jerry and Joe have to be on there. And Bob Kane’s face can be on the trashcans for the tourists.
googum googumed.
“Hey, was ACTION COMICS WEEKLY direct sales only? I didn’t think it was newsstand, but just checking; figured you’d know!”
I am unsure. My source for checking this is the Grand Comics Database, where the Action Comics Weekly entry shows under the “Cover Scans” section no separate entries for “newsstand” and “direct” covers. (Compare to Fury of Firestorm, which does have separate scans for these variations.)
Here, on the cover of the first weekly issue, #601:
…you can see the little box that’s usually used for a UPC code, but instead it lists the names of the featured characters. Other issues retain the box but in a non-UPC shape. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen one with the UPC code required for newsstand sales, and Googling about doesn’t seem to turn up any.
If I had to put my thirty nickels down, I’d say Action Comics Weekly was not distributed to newsstands because, like, your local convenience store or supermarket wouldn’t want to deal with a weekly book, or, since they weren’t used to dealing with weekly comics, take the previous issue off for stripped cover returns and replace it with a new issue, giving that old one only a weeklong sales window. I mean, I don’t know if that would’ve happened. And Marvel’s biweekly series Marvel Comics Presents had newsstand distribution for most of its run, so a quicker publication pace wasn’t a problem for them, I don’t think.
If anyone’s got more information on this than I do, I’m all ears. (Ew, gross.)
Derek Moreland expands his territory with
“How are the ENERGON UNIVERSE (Transformers, G.I. Joe minis, Void Rivals) selling for you? Corollary question: is Transformers doing better now than the MtMtE/RiD days at IDW?”
They’re actually doing relatively well…the “name” series (Transformers and G.I. Joe doing the best, with Void Rivals trailing behind). My numbers on TF/GIJ were startlingly small when they were at IDW, but all it took was slapping an Image logo on them (and some smart marketing/creative team decisions) and suddenly interest is up again. Let’s hope it keeps up, as I can always use more good-selling books.
And that’s plenty for today. Thanks for reading, pals, and I’ll be back on Wednesday, with any luck.
C’mon, if you’re talking Mt Rushmore of creators, no matter what your personal opinion of him may be, you would have to have Stan Lee there.
If it’s your own personal Mt Rushmore of creators, wouldn’t it be Ernie Bushmiller, Len Wein, Bernie Wrightson, and Richard E Hughes?
The Harvey characters could work fine as is without too much Tomfoolery, think of the popularity of My Little Pony, Adventure Time, current day Nancy, hell, even Bluey and treat them with the respect, smarts and a nod and a wink to adults that those shows/comics do
Interesting concept for rebooting the Harvey Comics Universe. I would say that most of those characters are good as they are and could still be featured in comics for kids…or even have many of their old stories reprinted. Maybe Richie Rich is a character who is somewhat problematic in today’s world…but Casper, Spooky, Hot Stuff, Wendy, etc. seem like they still have potential. I think whoever has the rights to the Harvey stuff should release some facsimile editions–and not only of the above mentioned characters, but of Harvey’s pre-Code Horror books, and the original Black Cat, Girl Commandos, and other Golden Age superheroes.
The “Mount Rushmore” of comic book creators is an interesting topic. For sheer artistic creativity and developing distinctive and iconic visual styles Kirby and Ditko make sense. I would be inclined to add Wally Wood as well. And maybe Will Eisner. But if one were to go with early Golden Age comics only, probably Kirby and Eisner would still make the cut and then Jack Cole and C.C. Beck would be added–Cole for creating Plastic Man, Midnight, The Comet, The Claw, Silver Streak, etc. and for his distinctive comedic drawing style. C C. Beck for co-creating the original Captain Marvel, Ibis the Invincible, Spy Smasher, etc. and basically kick-starting Fawcett Comics into gear–and O. G. Captain Marvel was more popular than and outsold Superman.
In fact, even though Siegel and Shuster are important, I kinda think that Gardner Fox was the MVP for early DC for co-creating The Flash, Hawkman, Dr. Fate, the JSA as comics’ first superteam, etc. And then there was all of his Silver Age work as well.
Action weekly was absolutely newsstand. we didn’t have any LCSs inside 20 miles from my house back then, and i still got them from the one bookstore and the spinners in the ..ahem…general store. I know that sounds old west but the place was formally named Kenny General Stores
Isn’t the point of Mt. Rushmore is that these are pivotal patriots? Transformative figures? By that standard, our Mt.
Rushmore should include John Byrne and Rob Liefeld.
@ScienceGiant
Liefeld—nah, but a Bronze Age 1980s comics Mount Rushmore would include John Byrne, George Perez, Frank Miller, and Jose Luis Garcia Lopez for artists–or Alan Moore, Chris Claremont, Frank Miller, and Marv Wolfman for writers.
Mego will be producing Atlas/Seaboard Comics characters figures…
https://13thdimension.com/grim-ghost-will-be-among-megos-new-atlas-comics-figures/
Well, there’s one on-line store which has made a habit of splitting listings for newsstand and direct editions (and overpricing the newsstand, which in my day were considered the less desirable version if any differentiation was made) to the point of making their listings increasingly unreadable, and they only have one version of the 42 ACW issues, while they do have newsstand and direct versions of Action up to #600 and from #643 on.
Comics Rushmore? Jack Kirby, Osamu Tezuka, Charles Schulz, Robert Crumb. If Crumb is too problematic (surely not worse than Teddy Roosevelt and two men who thought they had a right to own human beings?) then maybe Carl Barks. Hergé if you want a European, but also problematic and no one knows what he looks like.
My own, personal Mt. Rushmore is Bill Sienkiewicz, Jack Kirby, Gene Colan, and Alex Toth. A Mt. Rushmore that takes into account all of comics is probably impossible, and even one for all of American comics is extremely difficult. Charles Schultz, Alex Raymond, Milt Caniff, and Hal Foster? If you limit yourself to super-hero comic books only, Mike’s list is pretty good. I’d cheat, and have a Siegel & Shuster head set up like Two-Face or the Bi-Beast, though, since they account for one (historic, pivotal) idea. The fourth head can go to…. Geez, I keep coming back to Alan Moore. That doesn’t feel right. Probably Wally Wood, even if his super-hero work wasn’t his very best.
Yeah, 4 is a tough number of favorites/big names. So much easier to pick 1 or to list 10.
My personal Mt. Rushmore: Claremont, Morrison, Perez, and Byrne. Do they all deserve to be memorialized forever in stone? Probably not. But they were all incredibly influential on my comic book-reading history.
looking on ebay- there are four pages of action comics 601- none of them have a upc code. Another argument for no news-stand on that title.
“My numbers on TF/GIJ were startlingly small when they were at IDW, but all it took was slapping an Image logo on them (and some smart marketing/creative team decisions) and suddenly interest is up again. Let’s hope it keeps up, as I can always use more good-selling books.”
Sorry Mike, but I don’t think you should count on that. It’s likely just relaunch fever. GI Joe ARAH is literally the same book, expect now 15 issues (#286-300) are being skipped in trades for some reason.* It makes no sense for its sales to be up, yet based on Skybound’s claims, they are.
Marvel’s relaunch of Star Wars did gangbusters, but from what I recall before the death of Diamond monopoly, sales on Marvel’s books were basically down to Dark Horse levels. That’s basically the level of sales on those books when there’s no hype, so why expect Energon Universe to stay where it is?
Again ARAH is literally the same book, and I’m skeptical that whoever is writing TF now as doing as good a job as James Roberts* did.
*If I sound angry towards the Skybound relaunch, I am. I buy Hama’s ARAH in trades. Skybound skipped 15 issues in trades. I came to Roberts’s run late through trades. I have them all, but I’m an huge evangelist for his run being one of the best comics period of the 2010s, but the trades for most of his run are now hugely expensive on the secondary market. Skybound should be reprinting them over third/fourth editions of early Marvel issues.
adrian and BobH: I was able to get Action Comics Weekly from the LCS, which in Chicago was “specialty shops”. I cannot recall the barcode area.
But there was a 7-11 nearby and the owner would pick up books there. Then when I worked at a shop in the early 90s, the owner called me late one night and told me to “try” and get to the Venture store at X Street (I don’t drive, but maybe a half-mile walk).
To get their copies of the first printing of Robin. Then he marked them up. If I was the only one there, unless it was one of those I need three copies for my future bride and dead uncle rest his soul, well,they’d get one marked-up copy. The average 16 yr old kid would get it cover price.
adrian and BobH: I was able to get Action Comics Weekly from the LCS, which in Chicago was “specialty shops”. I cannot recall the barcode area.
But there was a 7-11 nearby and the owner would pick up books there. Then when I worked at a shop in the early 90s, the owner called me late one night and told me to “try” and get to the Venture store at X Street (I don’t drive, but maybe a half-mile walk).
To get their copies of the first printing of Robin. Then he marked them up. If I was the only one there, unless it was one of those I need three copies for my future bride and dead uncle rest his soul, well,they’d get one marked-up copy. The average 16 yr old kid would get it cover price.
This was of course when there was already a second printing on the way.
Official Mt. Rushmore: Kirby, Wood, Ditko, Eisner.
“My personal Mt. Rushmore”
Tim Truman, Keith Giffen, John Bryne, Bernie Wrightson, John Ostrander. Yes, I allowed five.
“Mego will be producing Atlas/Seaboard Comics characters figures”
GREAT SCOTT!
“My personal Mt. Rushmore”
ooops, I forgot Jim Starlin!
SIX! THERE WILL BE SIX!