“You didn’t mention Swamp Thing: Tales from the Bayou which collects all the new Swmapy material from those Walmart exclusives along with a few other things. Maybe you were waiting for a full entry just about it?”
If I didn’t mention it in my End of Civilization post, it’s probably just because I didn’t immediately have a joke (or, rather, a “joke”) come to mind as I was frenetically paging through Previews. But, oh yes, I’m definitely aware of it, and will certainly order a copy or four for myself.
As JohnJ said, Swamp Thing: Tales from the Bayou trade paperback (cover image above) does indeed collect together those new stories from the sevenSwamp Thing Giants that were theoretically found within Walmarts across the country with the apparent exception of the four stores in my immediate area, of course. But it also contains the short Swampy tales from the Winter Special, Swamp Thing Halloween Horror (another Walmart exclusive giant) and the Young Monsters in Love one-shot.
Interestingly, the recent Swamp Thing hardcover Roots of Terror, which is still in print and available, also collects the stories from the Winter Special, Halloween Giant and Young Monsters in Love. However, Bayou does not have the story from Cursed Comics Cavalcade which Roots does.
So, while I must have this trade to get those elusive Swamp Thing Giant stories, it is just a little annoying that they’re doubling up on reprints on that other material, instead of just doing, I don’t know, a thinner trade or a two-part comic book sized reprinting like Batman Universe etc. But I guess I’m tripling up on some of this material since I do own some of it in its original form, so I, the Guy Who Owns Like Two Dozen Reprints of House of Secrets #92, am not really in a position to grouse.
Today is the 5th anniversary of the day I opened my store, Sterling Silver Comics, to the madding crowds. A big thanks to all you folks who helped me get this far, whether you purchased anything from me or offered me moral (or immoral) support online. I greatly appreciate it.
I noticed a while back that post #5000 was quickly approaching…then completely forgot to mark the occasion. Though, as was told to me on Twitter, it certainly is somewhat fitting to have an End of Civilization entry for that particular milestone. Or millstone, as the case may be.
But hey, 5000 posts, that’s pretty good, right? Especially given that for the last few years I’ve only been doing about three posts a week. Anyway, see everyone back here in about 6 1/2 years for post #6000!
While we wait, let’s talk a little bit about Boris the Bear.
I’ve written about Boris the Bear before, in this post highlighting a few of the better titles from the 1980s black and white boom. I really, really enjoyed that series and it’s always on my “I should reread that” list, once I, um, catch up on all the new comics that have come out since April.
I acquired in a large-ish collection recent a full set of the Boris the Bear comics, including the Boris Adventure Magazine spinoff, and the Instant Color Classics reprints, and so on. In fact, this collection was so complete, it had both the first and the second printing of the first issue from 1986. If you’ll take a look at the crookedly-displayed comics in the photos below:
The fronts are identical, but the back covers are different (1st print is on the left):
Here’s a closer look at the back cover of the first printing:
I only bring this up because…I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a first printing of this comic before. The copy of #1 in my personal collection is a second print, and now that I’m thinking about it, the first issue of this series I bought off the rack was #2 (the Transformers/robot parody issue). I think I’d read a positive review of the first issue somehow (probably in Amazing Heroes…I mean, not many other options at the time) and ended up- buying the second issue when next I visited the shop since that was what was available.
Now clearly I bought that second printing of #1 eventually, since I have one (I mean, it only follows). According to a blurb inside the second printing, Boris #3 was supposedly released concurrently with the first issue’s reprinting.
I noted the Boris Adventure Magazine earlier in this post…featuring a more immersive parodic experience than you were getting in the main title. I’d only bought the first issue at the time…but this collection has ’em all, so I may end up keeping a few of those for myself. Plus…I don’t havethem here to double check, but I’m reasonably sure the collection had five issues of the series while a couple of the online comic book databases I looked at only have issues one through four. I’ll keep you all updated if there is, in fact, the rare #5 at the shop when I go back in Monday. EDIT: Turns out I was mistaken. There’s just four. No idea why I thought there was a fifth issue.
So anyway, kicking off the next 5,000 posts with a little Boris the Bear talk. TIMELY AS EVER, SEZ I. Thanks for sticking with me and reading all my nonsense, and I’ll have more of it for you later in the wek. See you then, pals.
BOO! Here it is, returned at last, on the scariest night of the y–oh, wait, it’s November 1st. Gosh darn it. Well, here it is anyway, aften months on the backburner, the new End of Civilization! Get out your copy of the Diamond Previews catalog, the November 2019 edition, and follow along while I try to remember how to do this:
Previews cover:
“Celebrating the 21st anniversary of Shadowman’s death!”
…yeah, that’s right, that’s some Unity humor right there.
p. 44 – The Clock #1:
The prequel to Doomsday Clock, before, you know, everyone thought they were doomed an’ stuff.
p. 50 – The Complete Witchblade Vol. 1:
Look, if this is gonna be complete, it”ll have to reprint this:
Sorry, that’s just the law, it’s out of my hands.
p. 74 – Project X #2:
“…Mark Millar and Netflix teamed up to give you the perfect Christmas gift-the sequel to one of the most beloved Millarworld projects since the dawn of time.”
I had no idea Superman Adventures was a Millarworld thing.
p. 82 – Frankenstein Undone #1:
Just page after page of folks telling the monster his zipper’s down.
p. 100 – The Mask: I Pledge Allegiace to the Mask #4:
Finally, this shameful series is over! Surely there’s no way the public could tolerate someone making a mockery of the American Presidency like this!
p. 102 – Everything #5:
“I’d like to add Everything to my pull list, please.”
“Oh, so you’d like…Everything, you say?”
“Yes, please get me Everything. I want to see Everything in my pull box when I return to your shop.”
“…Why, certainly. Just so we’re clear, you’re asking me to give you…Everything.”
“Yes, Everything, that’s what I said. I want Everything.”
“Ooookay, you asked for it.
[CUT TO: ONE MONTH LATER]
“Hello, I’d like the contents of my pull box please.”
“Sure, here you go…just a couple comics in there, plus this one copy of Everything.”
“Ah, excellent. I look forward to reading this single issue of Everything. Thank you.”
[What? Were you expecting something else?]
p. 139 – Marvel Action Spider-Man #1:
A new year, a new first issue for no real good reason! Did IDW license that idea from Marvel too?
p. 147 – Afraid of Everything:
Well, great, now what am I supposed to name my autobiography?
p. 222 – House of Cerebus #1:
BEHOLD THE MIGHTY AND SPECIFIC MICROTARGETING MARKETING OF DAVE SIM…”so Mike liikes Cerebus and Swamp Thing? HOLD ON TO YOUR SHORTS”
p. 252 – Cat Shit One #1:
Just straight up putting the word “Shit” in Previews. Which is fine an’ all, whatever, but I when my book Man, Can You Belive Fuckin’ Comics, Am I Right? comes out, I expect equal treatment.
p. 278 – DC Super Heroes Can You Help Save the Day? Lift Flap Book:
“The Green Lantern John Stewart needs your help on the planet Xanshi…lift the flap and see what happens!”
p. 293 – Black Widow Little Golden Book:
Wow, comic “fans” have already tanked the review score on LittleGoldenBookReviews.my and it hasn’t even come out yet. I can’t figure out why that would be.
p. 294 – Garfield’s Guide to Digital Citizenship: Online Etiquette GN:
“I hate Mondays. Also, gay people, women, and most if not all minorities. You understand, Garfield?”
“Look, I was with you up to the ‘Mondays’ part. We…need to work on the rest of that.”
p. 337 – Betty Boop’s Guide to a Bold and Balanced Life HC:
First step…learning how to balance yourself when you’ve got this hideously oversized noggin you have to carry around.
p. M55 – Peanuts Snoopy Jumping Out of Cake Fiure:
“Bob, I don’t mind telling you…this is one weird as hell bachelor party.”
p. 60 – The Dark Crystal Essence Bottle Prop Replica:
Imagine the delight in your doctor’s face as you hand him or her your…sample in this charming item!
p. M62 – Pop! Ad Icons Chester Cheetah Vinyl Figure:
Look, just let me know when Funko gets around to their Pop Ad Icons figures of Fred and Barney enjoying a smoke:
p. M72 – Justice League Bust Series PX PVC Busts:
“Whatever you do, don’t mention the Justice League movie in the solicitation text.”
“But…but they’re clearly based on th–”
“Do. Not. Mention. It.”
“That’s obviously Gal G–”
“DO NOT.”
“But they’re literally called ‘Justice Leauge Busts.'”
“Let’s hope they think we’re talking about the comic.”
p. M92 – Ryo Male Swimsuit Body Figma Type 2:
At last, a little equal time here, to counter all the female PVC figurines offered through Previews with ladies in bikinis, skirts, or less. Now we just need dozens of these guy figures in each catalog, all posed for their prostate exams, to continue to redress the imbalance.
p. M94 – The Nun Valak Defo Real Soft Vinyl Statues:
So when the Warrior Nun Areala comics and associated action figures started coming out, word got around that some actual nuns found those amusing and purchased some for themselves to dispaly in their…secret nun headquarters or whatever. Now, people being people, I suspect there is a non-zero chance that at least one nun out there is going to want one of these busts for themselves. I mean, there’s gotta be one nun, right? …If there is, direct her to my store and I’ll order it for her.
p. M111 – Twin Peaks Music from Limited Event Series Double LP:
“Mike, look, just because you bought a new record player recently doesn’t mean you need every new vinyl LP that gets released. You have plenty of old records to listen to, so–”
“TOO LATE, ALREADY ORDERED”
“…Sigh.”
p. M113 – Star Wars Ceramic Mugs:
So they’re going to do mugs like this and not offer one based on Krelman? There is no justice.
p. M116 – Monopoly Avengers Edition Game:
Do not pass GO, do not collect two billion do–wait, you did what?
p. M116 – Monopoly Disney’s The Lion King Edition Game:
Do not pass GO, do not actually play this game, just stack it with the other specialty Monopoly games people have given you over the years just because they managed to put one out some customized edition that marginally aligns with one of your interests.
Marvel Previews p. 4 – Thor #1:
Remember the running gag in the intro pages to the Groo the Wanderer comics where Sergio kept trying to convince Mark that each issue of Groo should be a new “#1” to improve sales? …Oh, the prescience.
Marvel Previews p. 13 – Iron Man 2020 #1:
DC better get on the ball and revive this feature to counterprogram:
Marvel Previews p. 138 – Tales Through the Marvel Universe TP:
Coming soon: Tales Above the Marvel Universe, Tales Under the Marvel Universe, Tales on the Adult Shelf Kept Not Really Separate Enough from the Marvel Universe, Tales Just Down the Street from the Marvel Universe, You Gotta Hang a Left at the Trader Joes Then Go Another 100 Yards, Tales in the Exact Same Place as the Marvel Universe, Just Vibrating at a Different Frequency, Tales Put Away in Some Old Boxes Out in the Garage, Maybe Behind the Containers with the Old Encyclopedias We Need to Donate or Throw Out of the Marvel Universe, Tales That Are The Complete Opposite of the Marvel Universe (reprints of Freak Bros. comics), and of course Tales in Direct Competition with the Marvel Universe (reprints of DC Comics…shhhh, don’t tell Warner Brothers!).
So that’s customer Mark, dressed as the second-scariest Michael Myers in Hollywood, visting my store and picking up a copy of what would of course be the Halloween star’s favorite comic book. “GOTTA CATCH ‘EM ALL [creepy Halloween suspense music plays].” Now, Mark’s come by the shop on previous Halloweens in this outfit, and since he’s “in character,” he doesn’t say a word. At all. An I know it’s Mark, a friendly, affable guy, and he’s just foolin’ around, but it still very much has the affect of being…very unnerving. Doesn’t help that Mark’s a pretty tall guy.
Anyway, go check out his Instagram for more cosplay goodness, as well as a pic of the two of us where you can get a good look at my bloody right eye…not makeup, but very Halloween-y just the same.
Speaking of Halloweenies, I certainly was one, spreading the spooky cheer at my store with this year’s assortment of the Halloween ComicFest comic book giveaways. Again, it’s not quite Free Comic Book Day levels yet, with wall to wall people all day, but it’s a comfortable level of travel ebbing and flowing throughout opening hours. I had several people waiting outside my door when I did open, including many children, which is always good to see. In fact, there was a family with a lot of children waiting outside not for my shop but for the Chinese restaurant next door…so I did what any good neighbor would do, and told them “HEY COME INTO MY SHOP, I’M GIVING AWAY COMIC BOOKS” and lo, they did that very thing and I fulfilled that very promise.
So, I gave away lots, and more still on Sunday, because I didn’t feel like breaking down the table where I had them all laid out and I always order more than I immediately need to have them around for future giveaways and donations and such. And, this year, I had more people preordering the ComicFest freebies in bulk for their own Trick-or-Treat giveaways on the actual night of Halloween, so that was nice.
And on that topic…yes, like my Free Comic Book Days, I easily made my costs back for the event, so, you know, success all around.
One of the tricky issues I had was that there was a lot of work to be done the Friday before, only part of which was prep for the event. Now, over the last week or two, I acquired and/or completed the processing on multiple boxes of old comics…more, in fact, than I could file into the current configuration of back issue boxes. So instead of waiting ’til after the event (probably ’til close to the following weekend, which would be the only time I’d have clear to attempt the project) I decided to get as much of it done as I could this Friday so I’d have everything out and ready for sale.
Needless to say, I did my best to get everything rearranged and comics sorted and resorted and fit into new places…I often refer to this as “playing Tetris with the store,” trying to get everything properly squared away in the areas I have available. And I managed to mostly get everything back together into mostly working order…still in the process of relabeling the boxes so the customers (and me!) know what’s in them, and I did have to leave a few empty spaces for boxes on some shelves as I’m awaiting a new shipment of short boxes to come in. I didn’t want to use up the few I had in stock for sale because, well, I want to sell them. And I used up all my spare used short boxes that I already had on hand.
Or I could have just said “I rearranged lots of comics and boxes and got everything mostly squared away before ComicFest,” which is probably easier on your eyes to read.
And about eyes…right when I got to the shop, I noticed another little swirl of blood in my right eye, which meant I had to make a quick emergency trip to the doctor for treatment (read: INJECTION IN THE EYE) to keep that little swirl from turning into a red tornado. So, on top of rearranging the store for back issues and prepping for the Halloween giveaway the next day, I had to take an hour-something out of the middle of the afternoon to go get that taken care of. As such, your pal Mike had himself a very long Friday. It all worked out in the end, though.
Except for all these back issues. I’d be happy to sell you some! You need a mostly-complete run of the Marvel/Epic Hellraiser, surely.
So updating my “Swamp Thing comics this week” post…turns out that Swamp Thing #1 reprint is the fastest selling DC Dollar Book yet…and that Swamp Thing Giant is the fastest selling of the direct-market availble Giants I’ve had so far. Everything’s coming up Swamp Thing! You know, like a plant. Because Swamp Thing is a plant. And plants “come up” by…growing….look, I’m tired, this is the best I’ve got. Anyway, hooray for good-sellin’ swamp monster books.
So I hwas doing the entire monthly funnybook order for the store yesterday, as I forgot the deadline was this week…and as usual, I double-check the solicitation for Back Issue magazine to see if there’s anything in there of specific interest to me. Because then, you know, I’d order an extra copy for myself on top of the copies i order for the shelf and the pull lists.
This time ’round they’re doing a thing on comic book vaporware, looking at comics that were announced but never came to be. Specifically cited was the X-Men/Cerebus crossover, which I remember seeing a small piece of art for it at the time, accompanying a news blurb in The Comic Reader back in the early ’80s.
So I’m slowly catching up on my comic book reading. I thought I’d only been off for three or four months, due to my various eye issues, but judging by where I stopped reading on several titles, it appears I actually sopped sometime in April. Boy, that’s a long time to just be pulling a handful of new comics for myself every week, only to have it build into an imposing stack of material that hopefully someday I’ll be able to make it through.
But catching up, I have been. Current on Immortal HulkJustice League, where I read, like, the 14 most recent issues in relatively short order and boy howdy does that take you a ride. And, of course, as mentioned before, I’m up to date on Doomsday Clock, which is vitally important.
And I’m still keeping up on my Swamp Thingery, though my need to get every single minor one-panel appearance or dialogue mention or whathaveyou may have finally been broken by the whole Convergence thing with its similar-ish Swamp Thing cameo panel in every title. But I’m still getting those major appearances, and even the occasional reprint, like…
…this buck reprint from DC’s new dollar book line. Coloring’s nice, printing on bright white paper (which makes it look a little weird, as Swamp Thing in my mind is always on lightly-decayed newsprint), and the the cover remains particularly striking. It’s of course a come-on for DC’s new “Bronze Age” reprint books of ol’ Swampy, but still, it’s a nice buy for only a single Washington.
And here’s the first of the Swamp Thing Giants available directly through comic shops, versus the two or three or whatever (I’m not even quite sure) that were only distributed at Wal-Marts. Two new Swamp Thing stories, plus a few reprints, and the new stuff is probably standalone so I’ll probably be able to read this without missing out on much.
Now this series I’m not caught up on, but I’m making sure to snag each installment because Swamp Thing is generally in it. I mean, look, there’s his hand right there on the cover, waiting for a…manicure, I guess? I don’t know what’s going on in the book.
Anyway, there’s your Swamp Thing update for the week. I don’t know if he’s, say, hiding behind a tree in this week’s Action or anything (or actually being a tree, I guess), but hey, at least it’s a start.
“What do you as retailer think about weekly books? I just picked up really nice run of just about every issue of ACTION COMICS WEEKLY back from the 80s and wonder if you had any thoughts about that book, the weekly concept (seems Busiek/Bagley book is largely forgotten) in general, as both a fan and a retailer.”
I’m…pretty okay with them, on the whole, so long as they’re not a financial burden on the reader (or, you know, the poor bastard who has to order them for the shelves). I think 52 at $2.50 was within reason. Doing one now at $3.99 or $4.99 per installment would be a tad on the oppressive side.
The content matters, too…I mean, duh, right? I think I’m more in favor of a weekly anthology title with multiple ongoing stories with varying durations (like the Action Comics Weekly you mentioned, and the biweekly Marvel Comics Presents) over one looooooong story. 52 worked out okay in keeping readers interested, I think, but a couple of the following attempts at a weekly or biweekly from DC felt like…well, one I called something like “10 pounds of story in a 20 pound bag.”
As a fan…I loved Action Comics Weekly. Couldn’t wait to read each issue…very few clunkers in there. That was also the only place to read new, ongoing Green Lantern comics for a while, which is weird to think about.
Marvel Comics Presents I didn’t read continuously, but picked up a string of issues here and there to follow certain characters and/or storylines. But I think the biweekly schedule is, perhaps, preferable, speaking as a fan and a retailer, in that it doesn’t feel like a constant conveyor belt of content being fed at you without a break.
I mentioned that I thought 52 was pretty good, but DC’s later weeklies/biweeklies weren’t quite up to that level. Again, not bad, just not…well, memorable. I read every issue of Countdown but I had to look up the title so I could type it here in this post. These other titles just didn’t feel quite as compelling, not the must-reads that would make you want to grab each new issue as it was cranked out each week/fortnight.
Would I want a new weekly series? I mean, a longterm series like the ones we’ve been discussing, not short-term weekly minis like Contagion where retailers could only cut orders on the fifth and last issue after seeing how that first one sold. I mean, sure, I wouldn’t mind seeing a weekly or biweekly anthology series along the lines of Action or MCP, but I feel like the way comic prices are now, a $3.99/$4.99 cover price would turn people off. If they could do it cheap…like, $1.50 for a 16 page comic with two or three stories per, that’d probably be acceptable, and probably the barest minimum of a format that customers would be willing to pay for.
“Do you find that comic sales in your store eternally track with sales of the industry overall? Or are there some comics that are popular at Sterling Silver that barely make the Diamond charts (or vice versa)?”
That’s a good question, he said, stalling for time. …Well, actually, I took a look at a couple of Diamond “Top 100” sales charts, and yes, it looks like in gerneral, relatively speaking, orders/sales on my comics are about directly proportionate to the industry trends.
I mean, that makes sense…most stores are going to order heavier on Big Cosmic Hoohar That Changes Everything ’til the Next Hoohar #1 published by one of the major companies, while Unicycle Tragedy #47 from Sterling’s Poverty Publishing House gets a pity copy ordered by every fifth retail outlet.
But there are outliers, of course…I notice I don’t move, or at least order, as many copies of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at my shop as would be indicated by its position on that Top 100 list. Even now, while sales have bumped up a bit at my shop as it approaches its hundredth issue, my numbers aren’t even really close to put it up where it is on Diamond’s charts.
I don’t think I have anything selling way above and beyond its position on that Top 100. I do recall that time at the previous place of employment where we had a huge follwing for Evan Dorkin’s Pirate Corp$, spurred on my coworker Rob and myself…to the point where after we put in our monthly orders, someone at Diamond would call us up and ask, “uh, are you sure you meant to order this many?” Kinda my goal now to get someone at Diamond to do that to me on an order I placed. I mean, on purpose, not because I fumbled on the keyboard.
• • •
Come Clean turns on the heat with
“Be honest now: what’s the biggest lie you ever told a customer with a straight face? Was it worth it to hold on to his/her business?”
YOU GOT ME…I did it…I told a kid to invest in Warriors of Plasm because it was sure to be worth Big Money someday!
…Okay, not really. But, and I’m being as honest as I can about this, I don’t believe I’ve ever deliberately lied to anyone just to get their custom. I mean, I’m sure I’ve accidentally lied, because I was misinformed or mistaken about something, like when someone was going to take a title off his pull list, and I told him it was getting cancelled soon anyway if he just wanted to keep it on to the end…and the series went on for another, like, three years or something. I wasn’t trying to trick him, I honestly thought I read somewhere it was getting canned soon-ish, and I told him what I thought was the truth.
The one memory I have of deliberately lying to a customer was not to sell her something, but to keep her from buying something. At the old shop, a lady called and asked us to hold aside some…magazines, I think, that she’d purchase when she came through town in a week or so. However, a friend of hers called and said he was going to buy them for her and surprise her, and asked me not to say that the friend bought them, but that they weren’t held and they were sold out, so sorry for the inconvenience.
Now, this was a long time ago, I don’t recall exactly how this played out, and I do know now I wouldn’t put myself in this stupid position. I don’t think she was pissed (or at least too pissed) when I told her “UM SORRY I KNOW WE SAID WE’D HOLD THEM BUT OOPS THEY SOLD TO SOMEONE WHO TOTALLY WAS NOT YOUR FRIEND WHO ALREADY BOUGHT THEM FOR YOU” but presumably everything worked out in the end. Assuming that “friend” wasn’t some competing collector who tricked me into selling him the comics I’d held for her.
I know, Come Clean, this probably wasn’t the tell-all answer you were looking for, but I always tried to be honest with customers. Being dishonest would just create unnecessary complications and frankly, making a living in retail is hard enough.
As you may remember, I was a proud supporter of the Kickstarter for Steve Lafler’s Complete Dog Boy hardcover (which you can see here, along with the sketch inside). Well, that Lafler fella is looking to relaunch his Cat-Head Comics publishing concern with some new paperback collection. Check in at that link for multiple contribution levels, each with its own publication that you’d receive (including a softcover of the Complete Dog Boy), or, if you’re flush with extra coin of the realm, you can spring for the “Gimme Everything” level.
Okay, planned to answer more questions, but your pal Mike has had a long day and I’m hitting the sack. And also going to bed. I’ll be back with more stuff next week. Thanks for reading, pals.
“I remember that hilarious mini-comic you wrote called, ‘Things NOT to say to a comic book shop employee’. Anything new to add to that list with time and now being an owner of a fab shop?”
