Mike Sterling's Progressive RuinEspousing meaningless platitudes since 1969

“Suddenly, twenty-one years later….”

§ December 5th, 2024 § Filed under suddenly... § 22 Comments

Somehow I’ve made it to 21 years of comics blogging, with some of it even worth reading! A big thanks to everyone still hangin’ in there and dealing with my excessive typing, unnatural ideas, and questionable morality. I know actually reading a thing is mostly passé, when it’s easier just to endlessly scroll through TikTok or, if you have the patience of a thousand saints, sit through a four minute video on YouTube, so it’s heartening to know that there are still folks out there who are willing to plow through all my nonsense.

Before we get started on the “me me ME” portion of this post, let me at least thank my family and my girlfriend for supporting this weird endeavor, or at least not shaming me out of it. I also thank all of you reading this, plus Comics Blogger #1 Neilalien, the Longbox Heroes podcast pals, and of course I thank all my customers who may or may not know about this blog but they support the store and believe you me, I appreciate that.

And speaking of my store, Sterling Silver Comics, in beautiful Camarillo, CA, had its 10th anniversary in November. In addition, I had my 36th anniversary of working in comics retail in September. Either way you slice it, that’s a good chunk o’time, for varying definitions of “good.”

And so…this past year. Well, I did finish up the Final ’80s Countdown, in which I discussed 1980s comics that you voted for. The top spot should be no surprise to anybody, and was my personal choice, but boy oh boy the first runner up almost got my vote, too. (And just to be clear, if you ask me on any other given day, I’ll probably say Groo or Grimjack are my favorite books, I mean, I don’t know, I like ’em all.

Plus, let’s not forget podcasts, where you can hear me on Vintage video talking about the 1982 Swamp Thing film, and, at long last, I watched Blade Runner to chat about it on Cinema Shame.

Another thing I did this year was move my microblogging needs away from Xwitter for good, and moved on over to Bluesky, a much happier and easier-going place! And here’s some dumb stuff I said there over the last year…well, six months, anyway, it was taking a long time to scroll that far back:

First, I’m reminded of the high esteem in which my chosen career is held:

I’ve been doing this long enough to not fall for this sort of thing:

I’m going to have to wait for everyone else involved to be dead and/or in jail before I do this:

Gotta get my shots in at Cybertrucks now while it’s still legal to do so:

C’MON DC:

I find myself asking this of kids buying these books all the time now, trying to break into the conspiracy:

Honestly, this makes me think I know what I’m doing:

Seriously, the backlog I’ve got:

Yes, this really happened and I really said this [EDIT: fixed the image]:

It’s not l like I don’t get calls for this comic literally daily:

Some people inexplicably want to know every tiny detail about my business, especially bits that aren’t any of their business, and invariably they don’t spend a dime:

Occasionally I’ll hit you with a bit of my in-depth film commentary:

Once in a while I’m a bit salty about not being your first choice:

Now I can’t remember which film this was:

This is an old Xwitter joke from the 140-character limit days that I expanded for Bluesky:

Still getting customers from the old shop discovering my store now and again:

Another reunion with a long-lost customer:

Yes, someone really asked me about this once, in ye olden tymes when the X-Men, the most popular superhero comic, was completely unknown outside of fandom:

Another reminder that I’m old and am likely to stay that way:

By the power invested in me by having seen the original film in a theater in 1977, I am the final arbiter upon all things Star Warsian, also The Acolyte was good:

This is the real reason why no one will give me a job writing comics:

I wrote this after having sorted out the multiple series with this same name in the back issue bins, and the actual editor of Uncanny X-Men replied “Are there?” and augh:

And finally, here’s, well, this:

Okay, enough social media, here’s some antisocial media where I point out some Entries of Note over the past year from this very website. I didn’t include links to the recent “Question Time” posts where I’m answering, or at least discussing, your inquiries, but you can find them at that link.

DECEMBER 2023

In which I promise to tell you when I’m quitting, the Watchmen parody covers will continue until morale improves, more sins of the 1990s, Beach Blanket Bazongas (I apologize).

JANUARY 2024

Pretty proud of the “fold-out” joke in the title of this 1990s Sins post, the very disappointing normalman Omnibus, hoo boy things very likely have changed quite a bit in regards to Miracleman haven’t they, wamp Thing pins and stickers and podcasts oh my,

FEBRUARY 2024

Where oh where has my Comic Shop News gone, apparently I was right about the non-Red Band versions not selling as Marvel stopped doing them, grocery store comic shenanigans parts one and two, in which I discuss the impending Marvel/DC crossover omnibuses, yes the DC treasury reprints are nice but seriously Marvel get on reprinting yours, the new ECs and some of the older new ECs.

MARCH 2024

Surprise “Venom” appearance, some background on said “Venom” appearance, what counts as an actual “first appearance,” zero memory of ever giving my dad this bottle of Valiant beer, no one introduced a character quite like Kirby, the nigh-forgotten Archie TV pilot, the long history of scratch-and-sniff bananas, Carmine Infantino’s infamous list of cover elements that sell comics, comic book adaptations of other media vs. original stories based on said media, Dick & Bill & Ted (with a post title I’m particularly proud of).

APRIL 2024

That period piece 2001: A Space Odyssey as per Jack Kirby, the various strata of back issues, a trio of Marvel movie comics, The Truth Is in this post about X-Files comics, I notice the Labyrinth reprints removed the old cover price right away, take a look at this old Nancy book, oh right Cerebus is an aardvark (plus discussion of Art Vs. Artist, sorry), more Cerebus talk, and even more in this wildly wordy post, Crisis and the Superman reboot and the Kents, Lex Luthor pre-and-post-reboot, could’a had Alan Moore on a Super-book, an autographed Bill Griffith mini-comic.

MAY 2024

Superman and Batman – best pals…or are they, my most successful Free Comic Book Day yet, Luthor’s fancy armor suit, the dreaded Luthor/Brainiac/Ambush Bug/Cheeks team, Archie’s facsimiles and Atari Force‘s Dart in doll form, superheroes who kill — or do they, Steve Lombard gets his act together just in time for the universe to end, more about superhero killin’ and just-before-pre-Crisis-Superman, another Peanuts comic book rack.

JUNE 2024

The probably-should-have-been-untold tale of Supergirl’s husband, the Superman Crisis tie-in issue — hoo boy, Dr. Mikehatten, the post-Byrne-reboot status of Superman’s secret identity, the revealing of same to Lois, and then there’s the whole Jimmy thing, comic collecting in 1970, the power duo of Little Lulu and Kleenex, Jor-El and Lara just before — and after — the reboot.

JULY 2024

The Superman/Blue Devil team-up you demanded, the art on this last World’s Finest was far better than it needed to be, signed by the real Spawn, I liked this Dark Knight mini-comic, I now own original Zippy the Pinhead art by Bill Griffith, so long Bob (same as the previous link, but wanted to single it out), the last Peepshow, maybe someday we’ll get an actual Crisis adaptation, I briefly had a full run of I Dream of Jeannie comics.

AUGUST 2024

Original Angelo Torres art(!), does Gordon know Batman’s ID (parts one and two), retailer ordering tips from March 1986 (parts one and one and a half, and two and two-and-a-half), yet more ‘zines for the org.

SEPTEMBER 2024

The Comic Reader #76/#77 conundrum solved at long last, hey it’s Don Newton’s signature, so long Bernie, more retailer ordering suggestions this time from late ’84/early ’85 (parts one and two and three), so long John (same as the previous “three” link but again, wanted to single out the obituary), back on my “pronounce ‘Constantine’ properly” b.s., check out these nice racks, only the hottest Dazzler news, Marvel ads of the distant past.

OCTOBER 2024

Hey Dr. Fate comics, a brief look at Marvel’s equally brief dip into video games journalism, I absolutely read this Batman comic, Lobo parodies and the real thing, comic book paper stocks, the Questprobe games and comics.

NOVEMBER 2024

Byrne’s pulse-pounding prose in living audio, back on my Metron B.S., look I’m sorry GRIPS is terrible, Ron Randall’s behind-the-scenes on this issue of Swamp Thing and why that story’s important, I’m pretty set on Silver Surfer #50 2nd prints, does Swamp Thing now have to carry around a JLA ID card?

DECEMBER 2024

Whoops, just more “Question Time” posts for the early part of this month, here’s the link.

For any normal human, that seems like plenty, but not for me! I’ve got more comics talk to throw your way, more dumb jokes to crank out on Bluesky, and I’m sure more retailing adventures ahead of me. Thank you for sticking around, whether you were here from the beginning or you’re just starting with this post, God help you.

And, as always, for reading all that, here’s a picture of a giant tortoise I took the last time I was at a zoo. (I mean, I took the picture, I didn’t take the tortoise, though I was temppted.)

Thanks, pals, and I’ll see you again soon.