tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61275842010-02-22T20:15:56.697-08:00Mike Sterling's Progressive RuinImages will not load via feeds.Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comBlogger2959125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-6854837801828940342010-02-22T20:12:00.000-08:002010-02-22T20:15:22.322-08:00REMINDER! Update your Progressive Ruin feed links!Hey, you guys and gals what read my site through the Bloglines and the Google Readers...my site's transition to Wordpress means a different link for my RSS feeds, so hie yourself hither to here:<br /><br /><h2><a href="http://www.progressiveruin.com/feed/atom/">http://www.progressiveruin.com/feed/atom/</a></h2><br /><br />...and resubscribe! Thanks, pals!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-685483780182894034?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-10638868049898298502010-02-06T13:49:00.000-08:002010-02-22T20:15:56.709-08:00Hey! New feeds for my site!With the change to Wordpress comes new feeds for your feed readers, so please resubscribe here:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.progressiveruin.com/feed/atom/">http://www.progressiveruin.com/feed/atom/</a><br /><br />Thanks, pals!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-1063886804989829850?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-57743692553851420562010-02-03T00:01:00.000-08:002010-02-03T00:43:14.556-08:00Blogging about Wordpress is a sin.Gang, I'm finally in the process of making that jump to Wordpress from Blogger, due to Blogger's impending removal of certain publishing tools that I use to produce this award-winning content day in and day out. (NOTE: No awards have actually been won by this site.)<br /><br />As such, I spent most of my Tuesday evening transferring posts from one spot to another, messing around with templates, and not coming up with a post for today. So I apologize, and hopefully soon I can finish up and get at least a barebones Wordpress version of my site going. Not sure if my rotating "since 1969"/"what people are saying about PR" thingies will make the transition, but we'll see. <br /><br />Another problem is the comments, which may not make the transfer and makes all that <a href="http://www.progressiveruin.com/2009_12_20_archive.html#5130805135566052363">hoohar</a> about the changing comments system sort of moot. I <i>think</i> there's a Wordpress install for the comments system I'm using, but I'll look into it this evening. (I'm writing this at past midnight Wednesday morning, by the way...say, don't I have to break down a new comics order in a few hours?)<br /><br />One question I want to ask you folks...the Wordpress theme I plan on using (essentially the same one <a href="http://www.postmodernbarney.com">pal Dorian</a> is using, but with one sidebar) has the option of an 800 pixel-wide display, or a 1024 pixel-wide one. I'm leaning towards 1024, but I want to hear what you folks think, so please let me know. <br /><br />Thanks in advance for your patience over the next couple of days as I try to make this transition.<br /><br /><hr><br />A handful of links:<br /><br /><ul><li>It's <a href="http://www.thevariants.com/2010/02/the-variants-web-series-episode-7/">episode 7 of <cite>The Variants</cite></a>! It's like <i>your</i> comic shop, but funnier!<br /><br /><li><a href="http://warrocketajax.com/2010/02/01/episode-19-luchadore-a-go-go-w-el-gorgo/">War Rocket Ajax interviews</a> the boys from <a href="http://www.elgorgo.com"><cite>El Gorgo</cite></a>! Stick around through the end of the interview to hear an awful, awful question I submitted to be asked of these poor guys. <br /><br /><li>Over at Coimcs Alliance, <a href="http://www.the-isb.com/?p=3221">Chris Sims</a> has a new installment of <a href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/02/01/chris-vs-previews-february-2010/">Chris Vs. Previews</a>, which is kind of like <a href="http://www.progressiveruin.com/2010_01_24_archive.html#9005140647551440533">my End of Civilization posts</a>, except that son-of-a-bitch gets paid for it. Plus, he totally borrowed a joke from my <cite>Previews</cite> write-up for his article, which he asked if he could do, and I of course said yes, because why? Because Chris and I are BROTHERS IN COMICS, that's why.</ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-5774369255385142056?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-28166958155802136322010-02-02T00:01:00.000-08:002010-02-02T00:07:19.872-08:00Pied Piper Graphic Album #1: Hero Alliance - End of the Golden Age GN (Pied Piper Press, 1986).<center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/heroalliancegn1.jpg" width="419" height="543" border="1"></center><br />I remember an extensive preview in <cite>Amazing Heroes</cite> catching my attention for this graphic novel (by Kevin Juaire, David Campti, Ron Lim, Michael Whitherby, and others) and subsequent series. In a way, it was kind of a proto-<cite>Astro City</cite>, throwing the reader into a generational superhero saga with just a touch of poignancy and a focus on how superheroes and "the real world" interact. This initial installment focuses on Victor, one of the last original heroes still active, and his encounter with the villainous son of a former comrade. Here's a quick shorthand sequence of how Victor experienced the passage of time and changing attitudes:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/heroalliancegn2.jpg" width="499" height="601" border="1"></center><br />This came out during the period of reimaginings of superheroes in "realistic" terms, trying to play out the implications of superheroic activity and relationships to their logical ends. <cite>Watchmen</cite> and <cite>Marvelman</cite> and even Mark Gruenwald's <cite>Squadron Supreme</cite> series were part of this movement, if not outright defining it, and <cite>Hero Alliance</cite> kind of falls within this spectrum. Maybe more toward <cite>Squadron Supreme</cite>'s more "traditional superhero" end than the "dismantling of the genre" end of the Alan Moore works, but it's definitely an attempt at a more mature superhero story. <br /><br />The follow-up monthly series from Innovation unfortunately didn't keep my interest for all of its short run (I only bought 11 of the 17 issues), and it did have maybe a <a href="http://www.comics.org/series/3955/covers/">few too many cheesecake-y covers</a>, which wasn't unusual for this particular publisher. But for a while there, <cite>Hero Alliance</cite> was an interesting series, and a reasonably successful experiment in an alternate take on superheroic funnybooks. I wouldn't mind seeing this reprinted in a volume or two for modern audiences, someday.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-2816695815580213632?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-82615078064938592842010-02-01T00:01:00.000-08:002010-02-01T00:01:02.087-08:00This is pretty much exactly what Samuel Taylor Coleridge had in mind.<center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/batman142mariner.jpg" width="467" height="656" border="1"><br /><h5>from <cite>Batman</cite> #142 (September 1961)</h5></center><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-8261507806493859284?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-60031030106225592652010-01-31T00:01:00.000-08:002010-02-01T00:24:07.937-08:00And you thought "Paste Pot Pete" was a terrible villain name.<center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/phhorace1.jpg" width="456" height="259" border="1"></center><br />Not only does "Parade-Hater-Horace" have a remarkable name, get a load of his swank costume:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/phhorace2.jpg" width="153" height="340" border="1"></center><br />His mom so totally made that for him. "Oh, Horace, why must you be so negative? Why can't you <i>like</i> parades?" "<i>Mooooom</i>, just put what I told you on the <i>sweater</i>!"<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/phhorace3.jpg" width="435" height="395" border="1"></center><br />This is the Iverson they're talking about...how could Parade-Hater-Horace hate a parade comprised of <i>these</i> fine pieces of modern engineering? <br /><br /><b>EDIT:</b> Just been informed that the weblog Comics Make No Sense <a href="http://comicsmakenosense.blogspot.com/2010/01/you-look-like-real-cowboy-wednesday.html">addressed the Parade-Hater-Horace situation</a> just recently. You know, I swear I Googled it before I posted. Ah, well.<br /><br /><hr><br />In other news:<br /><ul><li>Andrew Weiss has <a href="http://www.armagideon-time.com/?p=3362">unleashed another installment of "Growing Up 2600"</a> - his ongoing series about the classic and not-so-classic games of the Atari 2600 video game system. I'm proud to say this particular installment was inspired by yours truly, so I invite you to <a href="http://www.armagideon-time.com/?p=3362">go check it out</a> and find out just how cheap I can be. <br /><br /><li>FOLLOW-UP to the story of the mystery certificates/coins/dolls from <a href="http://www.progressiveruin.com/2010_01_24_archive.html#1521972147630407578">last week</a>: turns out these girls were somehow offended by Employee Timmy when he did not invite them to his birthday party, and thus formed the Anti-Timmy Force 4 (hence the ATF4), dedicated to...making out certificates for the store and, um, dropping coins outside our door, and...basically, having no impact on Timmy at all, since I'm the person cleaning all this up. <br /><br />Or, to sum all that up more succinctly: high schoolers. So there you go. <br /><br /><li>DC is <a href="http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/01/26/who-doesnt-want-to-wear-a-flash-or-green-lantern-ring/">offering Flash and Green Lantern rings</a> to tie into the Brightest Day promotion connected to <cite>Flash</cite> #1 and <cite>Green Lantern</cite> #53. Seems odd to me that another green ring is being offered so shortly after the last one, and a small part of me (probably the pinkie toe) thinks that we're in fact getting a <i>white</i> ring in this promotion, and it's simply being advertised as a green ring for the time being to avoid spoilers for future issues of <cite>Blackest Night</cite>. If so, there would still be plenty of time for DC to go "hey, it's actually a <i>white</i> ring" and for retailers to adjust their final orders, after the point when spoilers are no longer a worry. <br /><br />Of course, this all assumes there's going to be a white ring to begin with, which may be sorta kinda implied by some of the <cite>Brightest Day</cite> ad art. But just so we're clear...I'm fully aware this is likely just a bunch of crazy talk on my part. <br /><br />...This is what I think about instead of <i>important</i> things. <br /><br /><li><i>Here</i> are some important things...some important <i>Swamp</i> Things, that is:<br /><br />1. Jim Kingman writes a brief history and appreciation of Swamp Thing supporting character <a href="http://www.comicsbulletin.com/effect/126456523754362.htm">The Patchwork Man</a>.<br /><br />2. <a href="http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryRoom.asp?Page=2&GSub=66043&Order=Date">Comic book-themed wedding centerpieces</a>...including a couple of...well, guess who.<br /><br /><li>Dear Superman: NEVER do this again:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/worldsfinest241inhale.jpg" width="343" height="446" border="1"><br /><h5>from <cite>World's Finest</cite> #241 (Oct. 1976) by Bob Haney, Pablo Marcos & John Calnan</h5></center><br />Not magically altered, not under the influence of Red Kryptonite...Superman here is revealing the superpower of being able to balloon up to enormous site after inhaling, well, in this case, a sizable amount of human-breathable atmosphere.<br /><br />Oh, Bob Haney, you nutty guy!</ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-6003103010622559265?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-85094834416596850252010-01-30T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-30T00:01:01.855-08:00Sluggo Saturday #39.<center><span style="font-size: 160%;">YOU MUST BE THE SLUGGO<br /><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/gandhisluggo.jpg" width="342" height="530" border="1"><br />YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><h5>from <cite>The Best of Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy</cite> (1988) - thanks to <a href="http://www.zizzoff.com/">pal Andres</a></h5></center><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-8509483441659685025?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-29693347386879744442010-01-29T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-29T00:01:00.429-08:00Mean Cat (Steve Lafler, 1981).<center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/meancat1y.jpg" width="441" height="600" border="1"></center><br />This 24-page, magazine-sized, black and white comic is Steve Lafler's second publication, as per his introduction on the first page. Our titular aggressive feline is featured in a couple of stories within...here he is in action:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/meancat1z.jpg" width="326" height="468" border="1"></center><br />...though half of the book is devoted to other characters and features, such as "Angry Young Carrot," "Crazy Eddie," and "Naked Avenger," as well as a page of poems by Steve Beaupre. <br /><br />I spent a lot of the eighties and the early nineties being a Steve Lafler completist, or at least as best as I was able. I think I'm still missing a couple of the <cite>Dog Boy</cite> comics he published under his Cat Head imprint, but I've got his short-run and one-shot books like <cite>Femme Noire</cite> and <cite>Out the Next</cite> and a complete run of his <cite>Buzzard</cite> magazine, and so on. When <cite>Bughouse</cite> came out in the mid 1990s, it didn't really do anything for me and, for whatever reason, I just sort of fell out of following his work after that. But I still have fond memories of getting big laffs from Dog Boy and Benb and his other crazy comics, so thank you for that, Mr. Lafler. And the man is still producing plenty of comics, which you can learn about <a href="http://www.stevelafler.net/">at his official website</a>. <br /><br />This copy of <cite>Mean Cat</cite> turned up in a very large collection we acquired at the shop in the late '80s, from a collector who didn't do very much to protect his comics from the elements. For example, by not bothering to invest a couple of bucks in some comic bags, his entire run of <cite>Iron Man</cite> had a half-inch of water damage at the bottom of each issue. You can probably see the water spotting in my scan above, though the paper of the cover is heavily tanned as well, particularly on the inside. There was a copy of <cite>Guts</cite> (another early Lafler book) in this collection, but seeing as then-coworker Rob was also a Lafler fan, he and I split the acquisitions and he took the <cite>Guts</cite>, and I took this goodie. (Come to think of it, Rob's kind of been out of the comics world for a while...I wonder if I can get it back from him? If he even still has it.) (This is a terribly selfish geek-thing to think, by the way.)<br /><br /><hr><br />I'll be taking another weekend break from my journey through my collection, but I'll be picking up again on Monday if nobody objects or shows up on my doorstep with rakes and torches. Thank you all for reading and, hopefully, enjoying my show-and-tell.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-2969334738687974444?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-90051406475514405332010-01-28T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-28T00:23:14.937-08:00Previews #257 (Diamond Comic Distributors, February 2010).<cite>Previews</cite> was a catalog used by Diamond Comics Distributors, the largest company of its kind in the country...and possibly the world, I have no idea. Anyway, this catalog contained a wide variety of items, and not just comic books...you could also find t-shirts, games, videos, naked Japanese girl statues, action figures, candy, naked Japanese girl statues, iPhone covers, posters, naked Japanese girl statues, and naked Japanese girl statues. So it pretty much had everything, as you can see. <br /><br />One of this catalog's many cultural impacts was the entirely petty and unjustified fun-poking immature folks on the internet would inflict upon some of the items listed within. As difficult as this may be to believe, one person even believed said items to be indicative of some kind of symptom of humanity's decline...markers of an "end of civilization," you might say. <br /><br />Well, let's take a look at this February 2010 edition of <cite>Previews</cite> and find out ourselves, shall we? Links to previous examinations of the publication may be found in the sidebar of this webpage. <br /><br /><b>p. 55 - 12" Barb Wire Figure:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p55barbwire.jpg" width="301" height="439" border="1"></center><br />Not saying I couldn't probably sell this to a customer or two, because hey, bosomy blonde gal, but even so...a Barb Wire figure does seem a bit...late-ish, wouldn't you think?<br /><br /><b>p. 128 - Michael Keaton as Batman Bust:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p128keaton.jpg" width="361" height="395" border="1"></center><br />Yup, those are Keaton's abs, all right. A stunning likeness!<br /><br /><b>p. 134 - JLA Trophy Room Wonder Woman Tiara, Bracelets and Lasso Prop Replica:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p134wwtrophy.jpg" width="334" height="350" border="1"></center><br /><blockquote><i>"Wonder Woman's tiara, bracelets and lasso are prop replicas ONLY and are not meant to be worn or used as weapons."</i></blockquote><br />And would be totally embarrassing to have noted in your coroner's report. So please, friends, use your safewords. <br /><br /><b>p. 193 - Sarah Palin Rogue Warrior:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p193sprogue.jpg" width="264" height="411" border="1"></center><br />Okay, I'm hardly a fan of Sarah Palin, but there are just some things I wouldn't wish on anybody. <br /><br />(Then again, there's <i>still</i> an audience for all these political spoof comics, so who am I to judge?)<br /><br /><b>p. 198 - Archie and Friends #143:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p198archiefriends.jpg" width="235" height="359" border="1"><br /><br /><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p198archiefriends2.jpg" width="350" height="136" border="1"></center><br />"Chuck, I feel that I have been 'molded' by your 'dissing' of me in your 'gags.' I believe you must 'do me a solid' and 'own up' to this offensive 'burn.'"<br /><br />"Sir, please, your slang usage is inhibiting our ability to communicate."<br /><br /><b>p. 212 - Faith #1 Jesus Christ:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p212faith.jpg" width="233" height="370" border="1"></center><br />Man, these unauthorized biographies are getting way out of hand. Wait 'til Jesus' lawyers hear about <i>this</i>!<br /><br /><b>p. 334</b> - Here is a little blurb beneath the Graphitti Designs listings:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p334bigbang.jpg" width="303" height="220" border="1"></center><br /><blockquote><i>"On Dec. 7th, our Violet Lantern T-shirt made its screen debut on CBS's blockbuster series THE BIG BANG THEORY."</i></blockquote><br />And nobody watching the show, aside from the already-initiated, knew what it was. "Hey, cool starburst design. If I had any idea what it was called or where to get one, I could have a shirt like that, too!"<br /><br /><b>p. 337 - Zombie Shakespeare Alas Poor Yorick and Zombie Che Viva La Dead t-shirts:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p337zombieshirts1.jpg" width="541" height="223" border="1"></center><br />Surely someone's already drawn a connection between the fictional spread of the zombie plague and the real spread of the zombie fad. Except the fad seems even more insidious and widespread. At least the fictional version usually only spreads by bites and blood infection. <br /><br />REMINDER: <cite>Previews</cite> regularly uses this slug on some of their listings:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p337zombieshirts2.jpg" width="255" height="111" border="1"></center><br /><b>p. 348 - Hellboy Fan Toffee Doll:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p348hellboything.jpg" width="349" height="375" border="1"></center><br /><blockquote><i>"...The Hellboy Fan Toffee Doll is something many a fan can related to, dressing up in their own unique style to emulate a character they love."</i></blockquote><br />So it's a doll of someone dressing up as another character. It's a cosplay doll. Okay, I know <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Action">Captain Action</a> did it, too, but I don't know that the good captain was explicitly a <i>fan</i> of the characters he was dressing as. It's...it's just...look, I'm just going to say this is weird, and leave it at that, okay?<br /><br />And don't tell me this has been going for a while in Japan. I don't want to know. <br /><br /><b>p. 361 - Achilles 1:5-Scale Statue:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p366achilles.jpg" width="295" height="456" border="1"></center><br />"Dammit, this statue is broken by the foot, too! Well, pack it up and we'll ship it back to the distributor."<br /><br /><b>p. 361 - Phantom of the Opera Life-Size Resin Bust Kit:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p361phantom.jpg" width="250" height="335" border="1"></center><br />You know, you really need one of those on a nightstand or a bureau right next to your bed, so that the Phantom's comforting presence and gentle gaze are always nearby. And each morning, as your eyes slowly open and the sun's warm glow peeks between your curtains, you can look up at your friend the Phantom and greet him as you begin your brand new day. <br /><br /><b>p. 362 - Arcade Mini-Bust:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p362arcade.jpg" width="298" height="346" border="1"></center><br />So <a href="http://www.postmodernbarney.com">pal Dorian</a> and I were discussing the Marvel bust line (insert joke about the White Queen statue on the same page of <cite>Previews</cite> here) and how it really seems to scrape the bottom of the barrel sometimes. I mean, a Magneto bust? Sure, okay. A Bi-Beast bust? Sales of that are going to depend on the Marvel bust completists more than some vast and silent network of Bi-Beast fans coming out from hiding to place their preorders. <br /><br />Now, an Arcade bust seems to fall between the two extremes there...I'm sure there are plenty of Arcade fans out there, somewhere, and whether there is a large enough subset of those fans who are also buying statues to make a significant impact on this item's sales, I have no idea. But then there's the larger base of X-Men fans and completists, who will probably comprise the majority of sales, or at least match the folks who buy <i>every</i> bust, regardless of character. <br /><br />Regardless of the reason, if you buy this bust, you're going to have a guy that looks like <i>that</i> sitting on your mantelpiece. With that tie. That's a decision only <i>you</i> can make. <br /><br />I do like that metallic sphere base, though. That's kinda neat. <br /><br /><b>p. 365 - Star Wars Animated Slave Leia Maquette:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p365slleia.jpg" width="367" height="328" border="1"></center><br /><blockquote><i>"This version of Leia has been, by far, the most requested character in Gentle Giant's Star Wars Animated series."</i></blockquote><br /><i>NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO</i>. Wait, let me try to contain my surprise. Because seriously, I could have sworn the Ugnaught Animated Statue would have been, at the very least, neck and neck with the "Nearly Naked Strong Female Character Forced to Be in A Submissive Position" statue. Just goes to show you, man.<br /><br /><b>p. 374 - Creators Labo #24 Tsukasa Bullet - Compact Hog PVC Figure:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p367hog.jpg" width="361" height="353" border="1"></center><br />After all that build-up at the beginning about "naked Japanese girl statues," I suppose I should throw one in here somewhere. Okay, she's not naked, but does feature "such exquisite details from her helmet, shoulder armor, and leather outfit to her soft, supple flesh" so I guess this will do. Well, thank goodness her shoulder is armored. And is there a more flattering name than "Compact Hog?" I submit that there is not. <br /><br /><b>p. 382 - DC Comics Blackest Night Buttons:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p382glbuttons.jpg" width="396" height="289" border="1"></center><br />I understand Marvel's got a deal where if retailers send 'em fifty of these buttons, they'll get one rare Deadpool pin in return. <br /><br /><b>p. 383 - Serenity Blue Sun Travel Poster Set 2:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/p383serenity.jpg" width="388" height="323" border="1"></center><br />Perfect for college students trying to out-obscure their roommates with posters they won't know a damned thing about. <br /><br /><b>Marvel Previews p. 68 - X-Men Second Coming:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/mp68xmen2nd.jpg" width="456" height="208" border="1"></center><br />"Second Coming?" When have the X-Men ever been away long enough to <i>have</i> a second coming? Hell, the comic even went into reprints for a while in the early '70s instead of getting canceled, so we couldn't even get rid of them <i>then</i>.<br /><br />On the other hand, maybe this is a crossover with that <cite>Faith</cite> comic book I noted above. <br /><br /><b>Marvel Previews p. 109 - Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk TPB:</b><br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/mp109ultwh.jpg" width="314" height="458" border="1"></center><br />For an authentic recreation of the story's original telling, after reading chapter two put the book aside for about three years and read a bunch of other Wolverine and Hulk comics in the meantime.<br /><br />...Yeah, yeah, cheap shot, I know. Hey, I'll be making the same joke about my much-beloved <cite>All Star Batman</cite> soon enough.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-9005140647551440533?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-12135106159448422202010-01-27T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-27T00:34:22.121-08:00Kandykorn-Jackhammer #1-#3 (Pneumatic Press, 1990-1).<center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/kandykorn1a.jpg" width="366" height="578" border="1"><br /><br /><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/kandykorn2a.jpg" width="280" height="436" border="1"> <img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/kandykorn3a.jpg" width="280" height="436" border="1"></center><br />This was a local 'zine published by artist/writer/mad genius Johnny Brewton, featuring his work as well as contributions from the remarkably various and the most definitely sundry from across Ventura County and distant parts beyond. It was a potpourri of cartoons, fiction, interviews (with the Jeff Dahl Group and Bob Forrest), reviews, clip art, poetry...basically, if it could be printed on a page, it was fair game for the magazine. The second issue even had an additional mini-comic stapled to the inside back cover. <br /><br />Brewton would later move on to the <a href="http://www.xraybookco.com/index.html">X-Ray Book Company</a>, a publisher of high-end, limited edition books and art pieces. <a href="http://www.xraybookco.com/back_issues/back_issues_5.html">One book he published</a> had a swell cover by Jaime Hernandez, and <a href="http://www.xraybookco.com/back_issues/back_issues_4.html">another</a> had some copies hand-signed by Hunter S. Thompson! Pretty neat.<br /><br />Somewhat less neat is the following cartoon, which appeared in issue #3 of <cite>Kandykorn-Jackhammer</cite>. Yes, it's a contribution from a 21 or 22 year old version of yours truly, your pal Mike, upon whom Johnny took a great deal of pity and willingly wasted one valuable page on my amateurish scribblings, which by all rights I should be too embarrassed to show you: <br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/kandykorn3b.jpg" width="393" height="453" border="1"></center><br />Behold the obvious jokes! The terrible hand-lettering! The inkjet-printed computer lettering! The <a href="http://www.politedissent.com/archives/2060">head mirror</a>! (Actually, I still kinda like how that doctor came out.) And isn't that cute, I actually put a little © on it, like someone was going to steal it.<br /><br />Well, maybe it's not <i>that</i> bad, and it <i>was</i> a precursor to my brief stint as a mini-comics creator under the <a href="http://www.progressiveruin.com/2007_08_12_archive.html#4796727226078902858">Full-Frontal Harvey publishing banner</a>. But I always did appreciate Johnny's inclusion of my comic, and I was quite happy to see it in print, and certainly proud to have been at least a tiny part of this interesting project. <br /><br />And before you ask...no, that first issue did not have nude pictures of Ed Asner as promised on the cover. Nor did the other two issues. Sorry to disappoint.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-1213510615944842220?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-59153887338256195912010-01-26T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-26T00:01:02.057-08:00Marvelman Special #1 (Quality, 1984) and Warrior #4 (Quality, 1982).<center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/marvelmanspecial1z.jpg" width="387" height="555" border="1"></center><br />This black and white British magazine fits early into Alan Moore's Marvelman/Miracleman continuity, after the events in "Zarathustra" (from <cite>Warrior</cite> #11, reprinted in <cite>Miracleman</cite> #3). A four page wraparound story, by Moore and Alan Davis, shows a two-man clean-up crew moving in to tidy up a secret government installation devastated by some Marvelman-created mayhem, and discovering a library of videotapes:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/marvelmanspecial1y.jpg" width="501" height="437" border="1"></center><br />We then get a handful of original 1950s Marvelman stories from Mick Anglo's studio, including "Invaders from the Future," a rescripted version of which was used in Eclipse Comics' <cite>Miracleman</cite> #1 (providing an innocent contrast to the grim 'n' gritty revamp that followed, as well as simply introducing the character to an audience that may not have been familiar with it). In the context of the Moore's modernization of the character, these are some of the falsified adventures used as "programming" for Marvelman and his superpowered compatriots. <br /><br />Rounding out the mag is a story starring the more-lighthearted <a href="http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/b/bigben.htm">Big Ben</a> character, which is also presented as a video being watched by the cleaning crew. <br /><br />Eclipse Comics did reprint this special (sans the Big Ben story) as the <a href="http://www.comics.org/series/3081/"><cite>Miracleman 3-D Special</cite></a> in 1985.<br /><br />I acquired this particular magazine shortly after the launch of Eclipse's <cite>Miracleman</cite> comic, as it had been sitting on the shelf at the comic store for several months and, being quite taken with the comic and character, finally decided I needed to have it. It's been 25 years, so I don't remember the <i>exact</i> timing, but I think I may have bought and read the magazine before the Eclipse reprints reached that point in continuity. It must have been a tantalizing glimpse of events yet to come, if in fact that was when I bought it. I <i>do</i> remember that owning this magazine is the reason I never bought the <cite>Miracleman 3-D Special</cite>, since, hey, I already had it, and didn't need to wear the special glasses to read it. <br /><br />Speaking of glimpses of things yet to come:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/warrior4cover.jpg" width="324" height="462" border="1"></center><br /><cite>Warrior</cite> #4 contains the story "The Yesterday Gambit," which is unique in that it's the only Alan Moore <cite>Marvelman</cite> story not (yet?) reprinted in the U.S. Also, it takes place <i>much</i> later in Marvelman continuity, hinting at events that wouldn't arrive in the Marvelman storyline for a few years to come. In fact, the original <cite>Marvelman</cite> run in <cite>Warrior</cite> would never reach that point...it wouldn't until Eclipse Comics finished reprinting UK-published material and started running first run work created by Moore and his collaborators. Specifically, "The Yesterday Gambit" takes place during the events of issue #15, published in 1988. However, instead of reprinting the original story, Moore and artist John Totleben take a handful of panels to essentially retell that adventure's events. <br /><br />The story itself is about Marvelman and a Warpsmith (a teleporting alien) traveling through time and trying to find sufficient energy and power for their final battle against a reawakened and totally evil Kid Marvelman. This is where the "tantalizing glimpse" aspect of the story comes in, because if I've figured the timing right, this story basically interrupted the adventure in progress from previous issues of <cite>Warrior</cite>...which just happened to be Marvelman's <i>first</i> clash with the corrupt Kid Marvelman. <br /><br />In essence, Marvelman clashes with past versions of himself, which allows the Warpsmith to gather the energy from those battles to bring back with them to the Kid Marvelman battle in the future. You know, writing it all out like this sounds completely convoluted and just a little nuts, but it all works in context, I swear. Anyhoo, one battle is drawn by Paul Neary, the other by Alan Davis (his initial work on the character), and the framing sequence for the whole thing is by Steve Dillon. Here's a panel from the end of the story by Dillon, where Marvelman and the Warpsmith have returned to their own time to resume the Kid Marvelman battle:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/warrior4panel.jpg" width="566" height="375" border="1"></center><br />And the story ends right after that, leaving the fans hanging for six years. And you folks who read <cite>Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk</cite> thought you <a href="http://www.progressiveruin.com/2009_02_22_archive.html#6214459883953405908">had it bad</a>. Well, you <i>did</i>, but not for reasons of delay. Er, anyway.<br /><br />I didn't buy <cite>Warrior</cite> #4 in the shop...I wasn't even aware* that there was an unreprinted Moore Marvelman story until relatively recently, so I had to depend on the eBay to bring it to me. And I'm not bothering with the usual Amazon links on this, since I didn't find <cite>Warrior</cite> after spending, oh, a whole 30 seconds looking for it, and the Special is under a handful of different names at prices ranging from $35 to (egads) $90. I paid $2 for mine, which is probably about right. And if you <i>have</i> to have the story, the U.S. 3D version should be relatively inexpensive. Oh, and I paid around $9, including shipping, for the <cite>Warrior</cite> mag, in case you're wondering. And I know you are!<br /><br /><h5>* Or perhaps forgotten, because now that I think about it, it may have come up in the letters page at some point, and I'd just forgotten about it as the years passed and <cite>Miracleman</cite> remained a defunct title out of sight, out of mind.</h5><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-5915388733825619591?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-18386039992851968202010-01-25T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-25T00:01:00.797-08:00Comic Book Confidential #1 (Sphinx Productions, 1988).<center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/cbconf1a.jpg" width="375" height="565" border="1"></center><br />This 16-page black and white comic was a promotional item for Ron Mann's documentary about comic book creators <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_Book_Confidential"><cite>Comic Book Confidential</cite></a>, and features a cover and first page by <cite>Yummy Fur</cite>'s Chester Brown. Here's one panel from that first page: <br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/cbconf2a.jpg" width="403" height="363" border="1"></center><br />Most of the rest of the comic is comprised of very brief biographies and samples of art for all of the film's interviewees, plus one representational quote apiece:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/cbconf3a.jpg" width="396" height="550" border="1"></center><br />I'm not certain how these were distributed, as I've never seen it in the wild. Presumably stacks of them were placed at various locations where they were likely to grab the attention of the film's target audience (comic shops, indie record stores, Protestant churches, etc.), and the inside front cover of my copy here has a sticker with information on where you could see the film: <br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/cbconf4a.jpg" width="534" height="314" border="1"></center><br />I happened to find this in a dollar box at a convention, a bit late to attend that particular screening, wherever it was. In fact, despite knowing about this film since its release, despite having had a copy of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Comic_Book_Confidential.jpg">movie poster</a> on my wall for a few years, I've never actually seen the film. Not on purpose...I was always open to seeing it, but for one reason or another I never got around to it. Checking the Netflix, I see that it's supposed to be added to their "Watch Instantly" streaming library on February 1st, which is pretty good timing since I just happen to be thinking and writing about this film at this very moment. Thus, added to the queue, and maybe I'll have a word or two to say about it here after I finally see it. <br /><br />Couldn't find the comic on Amazon, but, left to right, here are ads for the DVD, streaming Video on Demand, and the old Voyager CD-ROM:<br /><br /><center><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000067IY3&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B0033W23Q6&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000A7HFYC&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-1838603999285196820?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-15219721476304075782010-01-24T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-24T01:05:57.532-08:00"Pretty crazy cool."So last Sunday I was working late at the shop...we were still open, technically, but I was at the computer prepping some reorders and waiting for closing time to come around. And suddenly, a young woman, blondish, in her early 20s or maybe very late teens, black-framed glasses, hunched over like she's trying to avoid my getting a good look at her, dashes in the front door, plants a plastic baby doll on the counter, and rushes out, to sound of giggles and such outside from her partners in...whatever it was she was doing. <br /><br />Now, "why a doll" I have no idea. But there it was on the counter, and I figure it was just some prank by local kids, and no big whoop. I took the doll off the counter and continued working. <br /><br />A few minutes later I hear the clatter of what sounds like a lot of pieces of plastic something-or-other being dropped outside the door. By the time I get out the front door, I find a whole bunch of plastic coins like this scattered around the sidewalk:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/getluckycoins.jpg" width="393" height="184" border="1"></center><br />...and no sign of whoever put them there. Now this annoys me a little, because now I have to clean up after these people. But just a little...again, it's just kids playing pranks, and it only takes me a minute with the broom 'n' scoop to sweep it up. <br /><br />Finally, we're closed, so I kick out the last couple of customers...er, I invite them to leave but please return tomorrow, I meant to say, I lock the front door, and then I go to the back room for a bit to grab some of the paperwork I need for the end-of-day procedure. <br /><br />I reemerge to find one of the last customers of the day knocking at the locked front door, trying to get my attention. I go to open up and see what his deal is, when I notice this certificate has been shoved under the door:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/besteveraward.jpg" width="472" height="361" border="1"></center><br />And it had one of these attached to it as well:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/superreaderaward.jpg" width="251" height="493" border="1"></center><br />I've no idea what the ATF4 stands for, by the way, unless this person/these people are really into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATF4">the gene</a>. <br /><br />Anyway, the customer says a young lady (the same from earlier in the evening, from how he described her) ran up and shoved these under the door. <br /><br />Now, I don't know who this girl is. I got a pretty good look at her, despite her attempts to hide herself during the first bit of business with the doll, and as far as I can remember, she's not a customer. She was doing this with at least two other girls, whom I never saw, so I don't know if they're customers or not. But for whatever reason, these girls have decided to be "fans of the comic shop," I guess, for better or worse. And this isn't the first incident...we've had other notes and "surprises" left for us before over the last few months. <br /><br />It's not really anything worth calling the police over...yet. It's mostly harmless, though I wish they'd stick to doing things that didn't require <i>much</i> cleaning up. <br /><br /><hr><br />So Employee Aaron brought his button maker to work, and since we had a bunch of junked comics that would have been tossed/recycled/whatevered, I let him cut pictures out of those for button face material. <br /><br />One of the first he made was, of course, Swamp Thing, as a bribe for me to allow him his continued life:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/swampthingbutton21.jpg" width="255" height="257" border="1"></center><br />The buttons measure about an inch across, by the way, and sorry about the glare in the scans. <br /><br />Here are a few more buttons he made(which, by the way, aren't for sale, since that, I imagine, would be a Bad Idea) and which amused me:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/crombutton.jpg" width="286" height="264" border="1"> <img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/glgabutton.jpg" width="270" height="272" border="1"><br /><br /><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/hellcatbutton.jpg" width="288" height="267" border="1"> <img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/scarletwitchbutton.jpg" width="274" height="258" border="1"></center><br />I asked Aaron to make this button mostly because I just wanted to see what it would look like:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/pariahbutton1.jpg" width="262" height="268" border="1"></center><br />And here's another button I specially requested, because man, just <i>look</i> at it!<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/blackracerbutton1.jpg" width="274" height="261" border="1"><br />BEHOLD YOUR JEALOUSY.</center><br /> <br /><hr><br />So remember that publicity stunt of Marvel's, where they're trying to make it look as if DC's <cite>Blackest Night</cite> series is tanking in sales by letting retailers turn in their BN extras for one of their <cite>Siege</cite> variants? (I talked about this deal at length <a href="http://www.progressiveruin.com/2010_01_10_archive.html#695312293377190143">last</a> <a href="http://www.progressiveruin.com/2010_01_17_archive.html#7449630433552047094">week</a>.) <br /><br />Well, <a href="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/siege-3-dc-variant-100122.html">here's what the variant looks like</a>. Go ahead, if you haven't seen it, check it out. I'll wait. <br /><br /><i>hmmmm hmm hmmm hmmmm hmmm</i>...oh, you're back. So, what'd you think? ...Yes, yes, you're right, it <i>is</i> kind of dumb-looking. I realize nobody is getting these super-limited variant covers for their artistic value, but merely for their commodity as rarities, so it really doesn't matter <i>what's</i> on the cover, but good gravy that's unappealing. <br /><br />Well, here's hoping folks who get this variant can realize a $100 sale with it, just to break even on the wholesale cost of the BN books that were traded in. Even better, if they can get the full $199.50 retail. I suspect that won't be a problem, because I don't imagine there are going to be too many copies of this variant out there, and there are plenty of people who'll pay a lot of cash for something that's collectible just because it's hard to get. <br /><br />And as <a href="http://www.postmodernbarney.com">pal Dorian</a> said to me the other day, someone out there is probably going to list it for $75 or less, and thus effectively <i>lose</i> money in the deal. Well, unless they were just buried in BN overstock and losing a little money in turning that dead weight into cash is preferable to losing <i>all</i> that money. But I suspect if that were the case, "losing money" is a situation that would not be unfamiliar. <br /><br /><hr><br />Johanna gets her mitts on the <cite>Howard the Duck</cite> DVD, and proceeds to <a href="http://comicsworthreading.com/2010/01/23/howard-the-duck/">give her positive review</a> on the film's surprisingly-deluxe presentation. (See, I'm not the only one <a href="http://www.progressiveruin.com/2009_04_12_archive.html#9136622344455220274">who likes it</a>!)<br /><br /><hr><br />A couple of Swamp Thing links:<br /><br />First, Twitter pal <a href="http://twitter.com/misterjayem">@misterjayem</a> points me in the direction of Todd Klein's lettering weblog, where <a href="http://kleinletters.com/Blog/?p=7425">Swamp Thing's logos</a>, among others, are discussed. <br /><br />And there there's pal Cully, who let me know that <a href="http://coveredblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/jimmy-giegerich-covers-swamp-thing-98.html">Covered featured one of their cover redos</a> of a Swamp Thing comic.<br /><br /><hr><br />REMINDER: You've read it online, now get it in that new "printed on paper" format that's all the rage! <a href="http://elgorgo.com/2010/01/22/el-gorgo-issue-3-now-shipping/"><cite>El Gorgo</cite> #3</a>, now available for order in physical stapled-and-folded form! Get all 3 issues for a special deal! Buy two sets, and give one to Grandma! I love this comic, and I think you will too. As always, you can <a href="http://elgorgo.com/read/">read all the issues online</a>, but throw the boys some cash for all their hard work and spectacular results!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-1521972147630407578?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-27645073455177058052010-01-23T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-23T23:08:37.656-08:00Sluggo Saturday #38.<center><span style="font-size: 200%;">THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE<br /><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/sluggobucket.jpg" width="424" height="453" border="1"><br />OF SLUGGO<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><h5>from <cite>The Best of Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy</cite> (1988) - thanks to <a href="http://www.zizzoff.com/">pal Andres</a></h5></center><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-2764507345517705805?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-67990298017209702872010-01-22T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-22T00:34:45.765-08:00Space Ghost Coast to Coast "Vol. 1 No. 2" (Cartoon Network, 1994).<center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/spaceghostpromo1.jpg" width="409" height="566" border="1"></center><br />This is an eight-page, full-color, slickly-printed promotional comic advertising the then-new <cite>Space Ghost Coast to Coast</cite> comedy/talk/cartoon show on Cartoon Network, and I have no idea how I got this in my collection. I don't remember acquiring it, I don't remember seeing it "in the wild" and deciding to add it to the collection, I don't remember it being given to me. And yet, there it is, in all its shilling-ness. I also don't have any idea why it's #2, unless it's an oblique reference to one of the Space Ghost comics <a href="http://www.comics.org/series/name/space%20ghost/sort/alpha/">that came before</a>.<br /><br />The story (writer and artist uncredited) gives the origin of the Coast to Coast talk show, presenting Space Ghost as a superhero whose enemies have all been caught, his friends all moved on (sidekicks Jan and Jace gone to college, space monkey Blip on an extended leave to be with family). He's adrift in life, listless and without purpose:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/spaceghostpromoz.jpg" width="329" height="327" border="1"></center><br />...Until he discovers while studying broadcasts from Earth that a horrible disaster is looming:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/spaceghostpromo2.jpg" width="508" height="349" border="1"></center><br />Oh, Space Ghost, if only you'd come back and take care of our <i>current</i> talk show problems. <br /><br />The inside back cover has a description of the show, noting the fictional crew ("Musical Director ............... Zorak"), the premise of the series, and a list of promised future guests. The back cover has Space Ghost requesting that <i>you</i>, the reader, contact your cable operator if you're not already receiving Cartoon Network. <br /><br />I didn't find any copies on either eBay or Amazon during my brief investigations at either site, so I'll just put up an ad for the DVDs for the <cite>Coast to Coast</cite> show:<br /><br /><center><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B0007GADU4&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><br />This was a pretty good show, I thought, if occasionally very uncomfortable when one of the live-action guests didn't get into (or, alternatively, plain just didn't <i>get</i>) the gag of being interviewed by a cartoon character...except that <a href="http://snard.com/sg/guide/?ep=01&fmt=0">Bee Gees episode</a>. That was awesome.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-6799029801720970287?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-54953173429736462672010-01-21T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-21T00:01:01.228-08:00"GJDRKZLXCBWQ" Comics (Glenn Bray/Basil Wolverton, 1973).<center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/gjdrk1a.jpg" width="386" height="536" border="1"></center><br />This mini-comics digest features several full page gag illos of the sort Basil Wolverton was so famous for - portraits of nightmarish grotesqueries:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/gjdrk2a.jpg" width="389" height="528" border="1"></center><br />...as well as a handful of very short (two or three panel) gag sequences. <br /><br />Don't have a whole lot to say about this particular item, other than "drink in the beauty of that cover." I'm pretty sure my initial exposure to Wolverton was via <cite>Mad Magazine</cite>, either from the concluding panel of "The Face upon the Floor" (reprinted in one of those <cite>Mad</cite> comic facsimiles inserted in the specials) or from one of his rare full articles in a '70s <cite>Mad</cite>. However I first learned about him, I would generally pick up any comics that would reprint samples of his work, from the Eclipse <cite>Mr. Monster</cite> that would sometimes present a classic horror tale of his, or Fantagraphics' several reprint books (such as <cite>Powerhouse Pepper</cite> or that <cite>Wolvertoons</cite> collection). <br /><br />This item turned up in the same underground collection <a href="http://www.progressiveruin.com/2010_01_10_archive.html#7096253802875976207"><cite>Das Kampf</cite></a> did, and as I said about that comic, mini-comics and comics digests always catch my eye. A mini-comic by Wolverton? Definitely a keeper. <br /><br />Surprisingly, I found someone on Amazon selling this for $20, which I don't think is entirely unreasonable. I wonder if anybody else is trying to sell it there, but misspelled the name? Wouldn't be hard to do. <br /><br /><center><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00071WUOQ&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><br /><hr><br />I still have a few more scarce-ish items from my collection in the hopper for display on my site. Hopefully you're not sick of these yet!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-5495317342973646267?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-51827950272750240752010-01-20T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-20T00:01:03.082-08:00Fresh-Man: The First Few Years (Scott Easley, circa 1988).<center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/freshmanz0.jpg" width="551" height="365" border="1"></center><br />When I was attending the University of California Santa Barbara, Scott Easley's <cite>Fresh-Man</cite> was a welcome part of every Friday's <cite>Daily Nexus</cite>, the school's daily newspaper. Rocketed to UCSB from the doomed planet of Hometawn, young Chaz Kent lives among us as a mild-mannered college student. But, when danger looms, he cries out his magic word ("Werza-Pardee?") and transforms to the cape-and-underwear clad champion of underclassmen everywhere, Fresh-Man! <br /><br />The strip was a fun and amusingly drawn strip about college life (for which I, as a young college student, was the ideal audience), with problem roommates, classroom woes, some local UCSB references, and, of course, the occasional supervillain. Man, supervillains were the <i>worst</i> part about going to UCSB, I tell you what. <br /><br />Speaking of supervillains, Fresh-Man's arch-nemesis was the dreaded Professor F, seen here in a partial sequence taken from one of the strips:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/freshmanz1.jpg" width="565" height="318" border="1"><br /><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/freshmanz2.jpg" width="536" height="302" border="1"></center><br />(Before you say anything, yes, "surprise" is misspelled in that third panel. Hey, let's see how good your spelling is when <i>you're</i> in the heat of battle!)<br /><br />Professor F was based on an actual professor at the college (and who was given a nod, by name, at the beginning of said strip). A year or two later, I found myself taking an English course with this professor, and all I could think about was the fact that he was the inspiration for Professor F, and hoping that was just a humorous exaggeration of his particular grading preferences. As it turned out, I did reasonably well in his class. And yes, his hair <i>did</i> look like that.<br /><br />Anyway, I really enjoyed this strip, and I'm glad I snapped up this collection from the college bookstore way back when. It's a nice bit of collegiate nostalgia for me. <br /><br />Looking at the Amazon listings, there only appears to be one copy for sale, at $49.95. Goodness...that's a far cry from the $5.95 I dropped on it:<br /><br /><center><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000MPEYUA&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><br />I should note that the book itself has no publication data...no publisher, no year of release, etc. The strip finished its run during (if I recall correctly) my freshman year at UCSB, and I believe the book was published sometime during my sophomore year in 1988. I'm not 100% of that 1988 publication date, but I know it's certainly not the 1980 date I've seen given to it here and there on the internet. <br /><br />By the way, that little green blob with the tongue at the lower left of the cover? That's Glorp, some dorm food Fresh-Man's roommate Oswald brought home and kept as a pet. Again, pretty much an accurate depiction of college life.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-5182795027275024075?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-79016416007280056782010-01-19T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-19T00:03:03.242-08:00Rudy in Hollywood (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1984).Here's another one I've mentioned on the site before:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/rudyhollywoodz1.jpg" border="1" width="455" height="585" /></center><br />William Overgard's <cite>Rudy</cite> is one of the classic overlooked newspaper strips, running only for about a year or so in the mid 1980s. Rudy is a talking chimpanzee, a retired vaudeville star and stage performer, and the strip chronicles his semi-return to the outskirts of showbiz. I first encountered it during that brief period in the <cite>Los Angeles Times</cite>...a paper we didn't get in our household, but one I would look at on occasion at the local library. Even just the few strips I saw there, and a tantalizing review that appeared in a long-ago issue of <cite>The Comics Journal</cite>, instilled in me the desire to track down its one and only paperback reprinting. Well, okay, that's putting it a little dramatically, but I did keep an eye out for it at any used book stores or comic shops I happened to visit. <br /><br />And of course, it takes the advent of eBay for me to finally track down the darned thing, where I managed to score a copy from there a couple of years back. I was pleased to discover that my anticipation for the item did not diminish the experience of actually having it in my hands and reading it...the linework was as finely detailed and elegant as I remembered from the strips I saw decades ago, the writing still witty and understated, preferring the subtle over the slapstick. The book is interspersed with text pieces allegedly written by Rudy himself, offering his opinions on various topics which generally would play into the next sequence of reprinted strips. It's a wonderful presentation for these strips, giving it that touch of "Hollywood Tell-All Autobiography" that fits right in with <cite>Rudy</cite>'s milieu. The only downside is that (I believe) there are still <cite>Rudy</cite> strips not reprinted, which will probably only happen on the extremely unlikely chance someone decides to do a <cite>Complete Rudy</cite> volume. <br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/rudyhollywoodz2.jpg" border="1" width="573" height="167" /></center><br />A quick look at Amazon has prices starting at about $35, and someone actually has a copy for $999. Why do people even do that? Are they <i>really</i> hoping someone will buy a copy for that price? <br /><br /><center><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0030000874&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><br />Anyway, it appears I got <i>very</i> lucky when I found my copy on eBay, as I didn't pay anywhere close to that. <cite>The Comics Journal</cite> enters this story again, after a fashion, as I need to thank former TCJ editor <a href="http://milogeorge.blogspot.com/">Milo George</a> for not getting into a bidding war with me over this very item. He opted not to bid on it when he saw that <i>I</i> was the high bidder, for which I am very grateful.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-7901641600728005678?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-71874156650611360892010-01-18T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-18T00:22:15.268-08:00Maxwell the Magic Cat Volumes I-IV (Acme Press, 1986-7).I'm pretty sure I've talked about my <cite>Maxwell the Magic Cat</cite> books before on the site, but it's been a while, and they seem to fit into my little tour of oddball books from my collection. <br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/maxwellmagiccatz2.jpg" width="575" height="410" border="1"></center><br />This was a series of four black and white staplebound books, measuring 8 1/4 by 11 inches, reprinting Alan Moore's comic strip from <cite>The Northant Post</cite>. The strip ran about seven years, written and drawn by Moore under the homophonic pseudonym "Jill de Ray" (after a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_de_Rais">particularly nasty serial killer</a>).<br /><br />Here's a sample strip from the series:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/maxstripz1.jpg" width="570" height="247" border="1"><br /><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/maxstripz2.jpg" width="376" height="248" border="1"></center><br />A lot of the strips were like this, metatextual examinations of the very idea of a comic strip and its format, but the strip ran the gamut from simple sight gags, to real groaners of puns, to political humor, to outright absurdity (such a favorite sequence of mine, where a snake carries on a torrid with Maxwell's tail). Occasionally...well, <i>mostly</i>...Moore's artistic reach exceeded his grasp, but his gag-writing is solid and usually clever, and the general roughness of the art is just part of the charm. If the drawing were more polished, it just <i>wouldn't</i> be <cite>Maxwell the Magic Cat</cite>. <br /><br />Now, I'd originally bought volumes 1 through 3 (pictured above) as they were released, in the mid '80s. I never saw volume 4 on the shelf, and at the time I just assumed it never came out. <br /><br />Eventually, I discovered that volume 4 <i>had</i> been released, but for some reason it appeared to have limited distribution. I don't know if it actually did, or if it was just hard to find in my neck of the woods, or what the deal was, but several years of casual eBay and Amazon investigations seems to bear out my belief that the fourth book is the rarest of the volumes. <br /><br />Luckily, a few years back a collection came into the shop containing one of these:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/maxwellmagiccatz1.jpg" width="347" height="480" border="1"></center><br />That would be the folder which accompanied the Complete Maxwell the Magic Cat Set of Volumes One Through Four, and indeed, volumes one through four were to be found within. Look, it's number four, and it's real! It exists! And it's totally mine now! <br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/maxwellmagiccatz3.jpg" width="338" height="468" border="1"></center><br />These four volumes comprise the entire series of strips, which ended in 1987. Rounding out the fourth volume were guest artist illustrations, including work by Gilbert Shelton, David Lloyd, Brian Bolland, and this crazily wonderful piece by Kevin O'Neill:<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/maxlawz1.jpg" width="413" height="555" border="1"></center><br />When the Maxwell the Magic Cat revival comes, that's what I want to see. <br /><br />I didn't find <cite>The Complete Litter</cite> set on Amazon, but all four books are being offered individually, hence the Wall o'Banners here:<br /><br /><center><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1870084004&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000LK1PJO&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1870084101&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1870084209&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><br />The first book's pricing starts at about twelve bucks, the second ranges around $30, the third only has one for sale at $65, and good gravy, some hopeful seller has the fourth at $249.99. Plus, a quick eBay search reveals plenty of the first volume, one copy of the second, and none of 3 and 4. I suspect a reprint of these, perhaps collecting all the strips into one book, would be in order...but I wouldn't hold my breath.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-7187415665061136089?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-74496304335520470942010-01-17T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-17T00:28:36.157-08:00Sometimes I felt like italicizing Blackest Night, and sometimes I didn't.Reader deworde <a href="http://js-kit.com/api/static/pop_comments?ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.progressiveruin.com%2F&path=%2F695312293377190143#jsid-1263598413-924">asks</a> for clarification on my statements re: Marvel's <cite>Blackest Night</cite> exchange program:<br /><br /><blockquote><i>"Is that $200 figure accurate? I mean, surely as a retailer you'd have a hard time selling remainder 3-week old Booster Gold stock that you haven't already managed to unload."</i></blockquote><br />Well, okay, no, I wasn't <i>entirely</i> accurate...fifty books at $3.99 a pop actually comes to $199.50 retail (and about half that, more or less, in wholesale). Okay, okay, I'm being a smart-aleck, but he does have a point in that the likelihood of a new comic selling off the rack does drop considerably past the first week or two of its release, and the potential of its full value being realized in the short term dips. However, we've been experiencing fairly consistent demand for Blackest Night tie-ins, so even if we <i>did</i> have fifty copies of the tie-ins left over, I'd be hesitant about giving them up. Particularly if the overages were, by some strange coincidence, fairly even, as it works out to about seven copies per title. Then again, if we were stuck with fifty left over of, say, the <cite>R.E.B.E.L.S.</cite> BN tie-in and one or two each of the rest, yeah, I'd probably go for Marvel's deal. <br /><br />My assumption at this point is that we're probably good for another three or four months of <cite>Blackest Night</cite> back issue activity, so we should stock accordingly. As I've stated before, I'm actually <i>out</i> of most of the tie-is, so I'm looking into getting a few of the second printings via reorder. <br /><br />As I recall, the numbers you had to order to be eligible for the bags o'rings promotion weren't all that onerous anyway. On most titles, like <cite>Justice League</cite> and <cite>Doom Patrol</cite> and such, we were hitting those numbers anyway. On the other hand, a title like <cite>R.E.B.E.L.S.</cite>, which I personally like but doesn't sell terribly well, we ended up quintupling our order to 1) get the number of rings we wanted, and 2) sort of match the numbers of other BN tie-ins we were ordering...but thankfully, that blew out the door, too. But we're a larger store, and sell pretty good numbers on the popular titles. If we were a tiny store that sold, say, three <cite>Justice League</cite> any given month, having to order (I think it was) 25 to get the rings may have been a tough choice. <br /><br />In conclusion...well, I don't have a conclusion. It's easy for me to poke a little fun at Marvel's offer (which, I suppose, <i>is</i> a bit amusing in its thumbing-its-nose way) because we did very well with Blackest Night sales and don't need the exchange. But there are always those stores that overestimate demand and way overorder things...and if they're stuck with stock they don't think they'll ever move, then they should go for Marvel's deal. Which, as <a href="http://www.progressiveruin.com/2010_01_10_archive.html#695312293377190143">I said the other day</a>, is likely just a publicity gimmick trying to make it look as if DC fell on its face with their ring promotion. But hey, whatever their reasons, if you need to take advantage of it....then take advantage of it!<br /><br />When I saw <a href="http://www.postmodernbarney.com">pal Dorian</a> on Saturday, we were thinking that DC should do a counter-offer...free <cite>Blackest Night</cite> sketch cover for every fifty copies of Marvel's recent event tie-ins...you know, anything with a "Dark Reign" or "Utopia" (or whatever) banner on the cover. Or for anything where the promised media coverage didn't do diddly for sales. That'd be okay with me. <br /><br />On a related note, those "revived DC title" <cite>Blackest Night</cite> books, the one-shots that pick up the numbering from where those titles ended years ago...boy, we did <i>not</i> order enough of those. I even bumped the orders <i>up</i> a smidgen when it came time to do the weekly order adjustments through our distributor. We really weren't sure how these would do, and we guessed on the side of caution, assuming (well, hoping) that they'd be available for reorder. Which they are, thank goodness. All we have left at the moment is a couple of copies of <cite>Catwoman</cite> #83, and I'm sure those won't last long. <br /><br />Another title that's doing surprisingly well and has nothing to do with <cite>Blackest Night</cite> is the new <cite>Punishermax</cite> series. Jason Aaron's writing some very pared-down and brutal comics, and having Steve Dillon back on the art makes it feel like Garth Ennis never left the title. I don't like even giving the impression that I'm implying that one writer is aping another's style, and I'm really not trying to. But the pacing, the dialogue, and yes, Dillon's art makes it very much of a kind with Ennis' early work on the character. It has more to do with the similar storytelling strategies involved, I think, knocking away all the excess to get to the basics of the character, and thus Aaron and Ennis can't help but appear to have similar voices. <br /><br />Anyway, good comic. And with Rick Remender's "Frankencastle" storyline in the other series, that makes <i>two</i> good Punisher comics on the stands! Whaddaya know?<br /><br /><hr><br />In other news, pal Dorian has been running a series on his site called the <a href="http://www.postmodernbarney.com/category/pbbc/">Paperback Book Club</a>, where he posts a cover of a paperback book from his collection and talks a little bit about it. <br /><br />For his One Hundredth Installment, he asked for book contributions and brief descriptions from readers and friends, resulting in <a href="http://www.postmodernbarney.com/2010/01/paperback-book-club-100">this epic entry</a>. Yes, I submitted a book...a novel I've read and reread countless times since first discovering it in a library in 1981, and buying my own copy in 1982. It's kinda dopey, but I love it anyway. And this would make the <i>second</i> time I've done a book report on it...the first being in Mrs. Smithro's 8th grade English class.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-7449630433552047094?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-50872051635366665202010-01-16T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-16T00:01:00.631-08:00Sluggo Saturday #37.<center><span style="font-size: 200%;">NEVER SURPRISED<br /><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/sluggosquirrel.jpg" width="470" height="481" border="1"><br />ONLY PLEASED<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><h5>from <cite>The Best of Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy</cite> (1988) - thanks to <a href="http://www.zizzoff.com/">pal Andres</a></h5></center><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-5087205163536666520?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-6953122933771901432010-01-15T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-15T22:10:06.261-08:00So anyway, I got a book deal.We interrupt my tour through my funnybook collection to bring you this important announcement: the Bureau Chiefs (including yours truly) behind <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fakeapstylebook">Fake AP Stylebook</a>, the Twitter grammar and journalism humor feed, now have an official, honest-to-goodness book deal. The book (title to be determined) is due Spring 2011 from <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/three-rivers-press/">Three Rivers Press</a>. <br /><br />Nearly all of <a href="http://twitter.com/FakeAPStylebook/contributors">the contributors</a> to the project are very closely tied to comics and online comics fandom, which has me a bit surprised that online comics news sources have ignored the fact that folks from within the hobby and/or business were responsible for something that's otherwise received so much <a href="http://www.good.is/post/The-Genius-of-the-Fake-AP-Stylebook">attention</a> <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/why-the-fake-ap-stylebook-is-blowing-up-it-involves-lulz/">and</a> <a href="http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/10/fake-ap-style-book/">acclaim</a>. The guys who created it, <a href="http://www.ken-lowery.com">Ken Lowery</a> and <a href="http://chaosmonkey.blogspot.com">Mark Hale</a>, don't do a whole lot of comics blogging anymore, though they had their beginnings in that same 2003/2004 wave of comics blogging that dragged me into all this nonsense. (Some of you more comics-oriented folks may be more familiar with Ken's previous site <a href="http://ringwood.blogspot.com">Ringwood</a>.) <br /><br />Other people involved include <a href="http://www.postmodernbarney.com">pal Dorian</a> who surely needs no introduction by now, Dave Campbell of <a href="http://daveslongbox.blogspot.com">Dave's Long Box</a> and <a href="http://www.societyofdave.com">Society of Dave</a> fame, "King Oblivion, PhD" from the <a href="http://www.the-iss.com/">International Society of Supervillains</a>, master of all things Lego <a href="http://www.daveexmachina.com/">Dave Lartigue</a>, the Mistress of Manga <a href="http://www.tangognat.com/">Anna</a>, the King of All Internet Media <a href="http://www.the-isb.com/">Chris Sims</a>, Sims' partner in crime from <a href="http://warrocketajax.com">War Rocket Ajax</a> - the rapping lawyer <a href="http://eugeneahnmedia.com/">Eugene Ahn</a>, real life college professor and unapologetic Blackhawk fan <a href="http://doctor-k100.blogspot.com/">Dr. K</a>, that comic-writin' son-of-a-bitch <a href="http://www.beaucoupkevin.com">Kevin Church</a>, that tall drink of water <a href="http://twitter.com/jdkrach">Josh Krach</a>, Green Lantern fan and former Newsarama contributor <a href="http://ragnell.blogspot.com/">Ragnell</a>, another former Newsarama-er and current design whiz <a href="http://www.integratedwebworks.com/">Shane Bailey</a>, the much too smart to be hanging out with us <a href="http://www.armagideon-time.com/">Andrew Weiss</a>, co-creator of <a href="http://www.agreeablecomics.com/therack"><cite>The Rack</cite></a> and all-around swell artist <a href="http://www.benjaminbirdie.com">Benjamin Birdie</a>, the devious genius behind <a href="http://www.randompanels.blogspot.com/">Random Panels</a> Brandon Bragg, <a href="http://thecitydesk.net"><cite>The City Desk</cite></a> editor and <a href="http://www.wastedwords.net">Wasted Words</a> host RJ White...and last but not least, a certain <a href="http://bullyscomics.blogspot.com/">cute little stuffed bull</a>. Oh, and like I said before, I'm involved, too. I brew the coffee. <br /><br />That looks like a pretty solid collection of talent to me, despite my involvement, and as noted, nearly all involved are tied to the comics industry, either as fans, commentators, or gen-you-ine professionals. That would probably explain the number of references we make to Batman over in the <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fakeapstylebook">Twitter feed</a>. <br /><br />Anyway, we gots us a book to write, so please wish us luck!<br /><br /><hr><br />In other news, I guess Marvel has some cockamamie scheme for retailers to send in their overstock of DC's <cite>Blackest Night</cite> comics (in particular, the ones retailers had to order certain numbers on in order to get the various rings), and for every fifty copies, retailers would get some variant or something. <br /><br />Well, let's see here. <br /><br />I realize this won't be true across the board for <i>every</i> retailer, but we not only sold through nearly every comic we ordered as a result of DC's ring promotion, but we sold through almost all the reprints, too. (I think we have a couple of the <cite>Outsiders</cite> 2nd printings left.) Of the initial printings, we have some overstock of <cite>Blackest Night</cite> #5...intentionally, since we want them available as back issues for the duration of the series' run. But even then, we don't have nearly as many of those as we'd like for backstock. <br /><br />I suspect this is more of a plan to put the seed in readers' minds that "<cite>Blackest Night</cite> didn't do well" than anything else. Sort of like how some of those second printings Marvel's doing for books that don't really need them give the impression that the books <i>must</i> be red-hot if they need reprintin'! Better buy the next issue when I see it!<br /><br />Okay, I have no idea if that's the strategy or not, but can't shake the feeling, really. But this <a href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/01/14/retailers-weigh-in-on-marvels-comics-for-comics-promotion/">small survey of retailers</a> doesn't seem to reveal much enthusiasm for the program. And frankly, giving up nearly $200 retail in product from an event series that seems to have been doing quite well in exchange for a single variant cover...well, I don't know. Maybe I could get $200 for it on eBay, certainly not in the shop. And if I were just <i>swamped</i> with tons of these Blackest Nights and I thought they were unsellable, I might consider it. But that still seems like a shortsighted way to make some fast cash, selling <i>one</i> variant cover to <i>one</i> collector, rather than building a readership with a variety of books. Depends on the situation, I suppose. <br /><br /><hr><br />Over the past week, as I'm sure you've noticed, I've been going through my collection and picking out some oddball items to talk about. I've been enjoying it, and hopefully you've been enjoying it as well, and I'm thinking about continuing it for a second week. I don't want to test anyone's patience (says the guy who did <a href="http://www.progressiveruin.com/2008_12_07_archive.html#4529449490429375541">this</a> for a week), but if you folks out there don't object too strenuously, I may pick up again on Sunday or Monday. <br /><br />I have had a complaint or two about "shilling for Amazon" with these posts, which, I assure you, wasn't the point. As part of my discussion for these items, I was curious about what prices other folks were trying to get for them currently, and Amazon just happened to be the first thing that came to mind. And yes, by slapping Amazon ads on these posts I have the potential of collecting upwards of multiple cents per sale, and surely you don't begrudge your old pal Mike pulling in some coin of the realm for the many seconds of entertainment I've provided over the years. At the same time, if any of you are interested enough in what I'm talking about, those Amazon links give you an easy opportunity to get a copy for yourself. At least a couple of people have snapped up those <cite>Superman Spectacular</cite>s, so hopefully they'll enjoy them. <br /><br />Basically, I'm just posting those banner links because I can. I'm really <i>not</i> trying to do a hardsell on you...if you don't want to buy them, then don't click. Or if you want them but are offended by my blatant capitalism, buy 'em through <a href="http://www.postmodernbarney.com">pal Dorian</a>'s Amazon search box. <br /><br /><hr><br />You know, if Jay Leno had just plain <i>got off the air</i> after "retiring" from the <cite>Tonight Show</cite>, instead of undercutting Conan O'Brien's run by starting what essentially was the same show earlier in the evening, maybe Conan wouldn't be getting screwed right now. Plus, this means that Andy Richter is losing yet <i>another</i> show, the poor bastard.<br /><br />Yeah, that has nothing to do with comic books, but man, if I were Conan, I'd be absolutely <i>livid</i>. And I'm sure he is.<br /><br />"Boo hoo, rich people having problems." Still, c'mon, as dick moves go, this is pretty epic. <br /><br /><hr><br />In much more serious news, please visit the <a href="http://american.redcross.org/supporthaiti">American Red Cross site</a> to make a donation to Haiti earthquake victims. Even easier: donate $10, charged to your cell phone bill, to the fund by texting "HAITI" to "90999."<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-695312293377190143?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-81392832270715556832010-01-14T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-14T00:51:49.192-08:00The Complete Frank Miller Batman (Longmeadow Press, 1989).<center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/completefrankmillerbatmanhc.jpg" width="359" height="548" border="1"></center><br />This hardcover book (with a leatherish-style cover) was assembled by Longmeadow Press, a publishing imprint for a U.S. bookstore chain that, among other projects, created "bargain books" for sale in those stores. To quote a former Longmeadow employee from <a href="http://www.holtuncensored.com/members/column86.html">this interesting discussion I found</a>, the goal was to make "high-end bargain books (i.e., they looked classy, not schlocky)." And this <cite>Complete Frank Miller Batman</cite> book ain't bad-looking. It has a leatherish-bound hardcover with silver lettering on the spine (along with a dark blue Batsymbol), the metallic blue and silver image on the front cover (as seen above), a bound-in blue fabric bookmark, and clean white pages with a shiny silver trim at the edges. It <i>should</i> look garish, but it all seems to work together nicely, somehow. Or maybe I'm just used to it. <br /><br />This book includes the entirety of <cite>The Dark Knight Returns</cite> and <cite>Batman: Year One</cite>, as well as the 1980 story "Wanted: Santa Claus - Dead or Alive" written by Denny O'Neil. Reproduction is strong, the coloring is good and faithful to the original (aside from the Santa Claus story, where the coloring is a bit slapdash, and too dark). Text pieces/forewords by Alan Moore, Richard Bruning and Miller himself are included. Of course, it's no longer the "Complete" Frank Miller Batman, as we've had <cite>The Dark Knight Strikes Again</cite> and <cite>All Star Batman</cite> since then, but if anyone says this makes it the "Complete <i>Good</i> Frank Miller Batman," I a'gonna punch you in the nose. <br /><br />I remember the bookstore I bought this from had <i>piles</i> of these stacked by the entrance, and I always figured these were common as dirt. However, I hardly ever see these turn up in collections at the shop. My own copy has been a faithful companion, becoming my own definitive edition of these particular stories, which allowed me to sell off the originals. I even used it in college, during that one class where the Modern Narrative professor was cool enough to assign <cite>Dark Knight</cite> along with Don DeLillo's <cite>White Noise</cite>. And given I was dragging it to class, the Batman book looks like it's still brand new. That's either a testament to the book's durability or to my comic-fan obsessive-compulsive need to maintain that Near Mint condition. <br /><br />Anyway, here's another Amazon thing. There are plenty to be had of <cite>Complete Frank Miller Batman</cite>, apparently, starting at about eighteen bucks, and going all the way up to a dizzying $192:<br /><br /><center><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=068140969X&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0143105981&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><br />Yeah, I threw in a banner for <cite>White Noise</cite>, too. That was a pretty good book, as I recall. <br /><br /><hr><br />ADDENDUM to the <a href="http://www.progressiveruin.com/2010_01_10_archive.html#5006441982295604296"><cite>Superman Spectacular 1982</cite></a> book I discussed a couple of days ago: the cowriter of the funnybook in question, Paul Kupperberg, <a href="http://js-kit.com/api/static/pop_comments?ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.progressiveruin.com%2F2010_01_10_archive.html&path=%2F5006441982295604296">popped up in the comments for that post</a> to briefly discuss his involvement in producing Superman stories for the overseas market. Bonus: Vinnie Colletta inking story! Thanks for stopping by, Mr. Kupperberg!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-8139283227071555683?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-70962538028759762072010-01-13T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-13T00:04:27.663-08:00Das Kampf (Bagginer Productions/Vaughn Bodé Productions, 1977).<center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/daskampf1.jpg" width="325" height="501" border="1"></center><br /><cite>Das Kampf</cite> is a digest-sized collection of cartoonist Vaughn Bodé's musings and commentary upon war, in the format of a caption beginning "WAR is..." accompanying a single panel illustration. Here are a couple of samples:<br /> <br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/daskampf2.jpg" width="505" height="338" border="1"><br /><br /><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/daskampf3.jpg" width="500" height="337" border="1"></center><br />According to the printing information on the back cover, the original edition from 1963 had a print run of about 100 copies, run off a mimeograph machine. <a href="http://www.jhalpe.com/items/view/00066">This site</a> has an image or two of the original version. (Also, the original 1963 publication would seem to contradict the assertion I've seen here and there that <cite>Das Kampf</cite>'s "War Is" gag format was a parody of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Is..."><cite>Love Is...</cite> comic strip</a>, which began in 1970.) The version I own, "the 1st comic publication" as it is described on the back cover, had a print run of 3,000. It was published in 1977, two years after Bodé's death. <br /><br />I acquired my copy as part of a largish underground comix collection bought by the store a number of years ago. Being something of a Bodé fan, and always on the lookout for odd-sized mini-comics/digests for reasons I can't entirely explain, I decided to keep this particular item for myself. I've not seen another copy of this come through the shop, though a quick Googling seems to turn one up one or two for sale. Amazon has none available, but I'll put on those product link thingies here anyway, just in case someone there decides to part with a copy of it someday:<br /><br /><center><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000VRF2M8&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-7096253802875976207?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127584.post-50064419822956042962010-01-12T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-15T22:09:32.701-08:00Superman Spectacular 1982 (DC Comics, copyrighted 1981).<center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/supermanspec1982a.jpg" width="419" height="561" border="1"></center><br />This is kind of an oddball item that I bought off the rack from one of the eighteen 7-11s that existed in my immediate area in the early '80s. It's larger than standard comic book size, measuring about 8 by 11 1/2 inches, with no ads...basically a "graphic novel" at the very beginning of the 1980s wave of graphic novels from the Big Two. <br /><br />Written by Bob Rozakis and Paul Kupperberg, illustrated by Adrian Gonzales and Vince Colletta, the story features a battle between Superman and his two arch-nemeses Lex Luthor and...er, Terra-Man. Terra-Man, for the uninitiated, is a space cowboy who rides a winged horse. Through space. Who fights Superman.<br /><br /><center><img src="http://www.progressiveruin.com/images/supermanspec1982b.jpg" width="473" height="459" border="1"></center><br />Yes, this was as goofy, and as incredibly awesome, as it sounds. Anyway, during the course of the story, exposure to Red Kryptonite splits Superman into Superman-Red and Superman-Blue (in a reprise of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_Red/Superman_Blue#.22The_Amazing_Story_of_Superman-Red_and_Superman-Blue.21.22">famous Silver Age imaginary story</a>), and Terra-Man and Lex Luthor end up fighting Superman with magic energy channeled from another dimension, and...yeah, like that. The <a href="http://www.comics.org/issue/96273/">Grand Comic Book Database entry</a> has a more complete synopsis. Despite of, or more likely <i>because</i> of, all the inherent goofiness in this here funnybook, it still remains a fondly nostalgic favorite of mine. Even just poking though it now for this post reminded me of just how much I enjoyed this book. I'm very pleased that 13-year-old Mike decided to pick this up. <br /><br />This story was in fact originally prepared for the overseas market, and published there first before being reissued in a domestic version. Other Superman stories published about this time had their origins in DC's foreign publishing program, including <a href="http://www.comics.org/issue/247884/">these</a> <a href="http://www.comics.org/issue/39465/">two</a> Gil Kane tours de force. Why this particular story was reprinted as an album rather than as a standard (albeit extra-long) comic I'm not sure, aside from testing the format in the marketplace. <br /><br />Since dishing out my $1.95 for this item way back when, I've never seen another one, even in all the years and all the collections I've poked through at the shop. Even at the time, when it was brand new, I only saw it at the one convenience store I found it in, and not at any of the others I would check in my semi-regular comic-purchasing bicycle tour of Ventura County. Maybe there's a store in, I don't know, Idaho that has a two-foot stack of these and desperately wishing to unload 'em, but they're sure scarce around here. <br /><br />Amazon has a few for sale in the $15 to $20 range, which doesn't seem too unreasonable to me, given its apparent scarcity:<br /> <br /><center><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mikestersprog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000FXVV14&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><br />Should also note: beautiful cover on this book, by the way. Certainly very eye-grabbing.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6127584-5006441982295604296?l=www.progressiveruin.com%2Foldindex.html' alt='' /></div>Mikesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11019380086519958139noreply@blogger.com