Mikester

Finally, the end, just about, to my answers to your questions: here are parts one through five (1 2 3 4 5), and BEHOLD, part six:

John gets to the root of things with

“Did you bother to keep tracking of the multiple Swamp Thing appearances in all the Convergence series books? There sure are a bunch of tiny ones. I counted 14 (not including the Convergence ST variant covers). I’d love to know if you kept a list.”

I discussed this at the time, where I noted that buying every. single. Convergence. tie-in. just for what was (kinda sorta) the same Swamp Thing panel was a bridge too far for me. I didn’t keep track, though I often think I should go back and at least note which ones had ’em in case I ever decide to plug those holes in the collection. But frankly, getting a pile of books just for that single image seemed wasteful to me, particularly since I had more use for them on my store shelves than sitting in a box back home.

Dan dresses me down with

“There’s a new DC t-shirt I just saw at Target. All the characters appear to be Superpowers toyline era. I thought I was a DC fan but there are two characters I can’t ID: the guy between Aquaman and GA (some sort of Mexican Superfriend?) and then top right, next to Zod?”

The shirt in question is right here, and the first fella was easy, because I’d discussed him on the site before. That is El Dorado, who has, if I may quote myself from about seven and half years ago, “the superpower of having whatever superpower happened to be convenient at that moment.” The other fella was harder to figure out, and I was looking at Super Friends wiki after Super Friends wiki until I had the bright idea to look at this showcase of Super Powers action figures. That is Orion of the New Gods, believe it or not. I’m sure the fact that he appears to be smiling on that shirt is what threw us off.

Matthew passionately notices

“lately, I’ve been noticing and encountering passionate/opinionated fans of comic characters that have appeared in TV and movies. They seem to get extremely worked up over continuity and staying true to their characters canon yet they typically don’t read the books.
What kinds of interactions have you had with fans of TV/movie comic characters?”

For the most part I haven’t had a whole lot of varied experiences with folks who are solely mass medium fans of characters versus fans of the actual characters as they are in the comics. It’s usually along the lines of “I liked so-and-so in this movie/TV show, watcha got comic book-wise with him/her/them?” and then I try to find something they’d like and hope for the best. Mostly, I seem to get the “Walking Dead has a comic book?” folks who then decide to try out an issue or two, or just jump right into the graphic novels.

Basically, if they’re coming into the shop, they’re aware of the existence of comics and are willing to try them out, or at least give ’em the ol’ hairy eyeball. I haven’t had much opportunity to slip the chains at my shop and walk amongst the common folk, to hear what those who have no interest in comics may have to say about those TV shows and movies. I’m still presuming there exists people who watched Smallville all ten years and have never realized it was inspired by a comic book.

Adam Farrar goes too far with

“I’ve gotten used to the unnecessary bags on issues of Miracleman but what was up with ‘Miracleman By Gaiman and Buckingham #3’ being bagged and boarded?”

You’re not going to like my answer, and my answer is “haven’t the foggiest.” I suspect there was some miscommunication along the way, and the boards were inserted by accident. Aren’t Marvel’s subscription comics mailed wrapped in a polybag with a backing board? Maybe there was some confusion there. I’m not sure. At any rate, since the backing covered up the comic’s UPC code, I suspect that error will not recur.

I can’t say “nay” to Anthony Naylor’s idea:

“What do you think about Bruce Timm’s team doing a DC animated Elseworld’s episode? Every episode would be a self contained Elseworld based story. On occasion they could do a 2 part story but it would all lead up to an Infinite Crisis story”

I think that’s just dandy. Don’t know what kind of budget that would entail, since that’s basically doing new character and environment designs for every episode, but I think it would be fun. I suspect if such a thing could happen, it would be The Big Three (Supes, Bats, Wondy) being thrown from Elseworld to Elseworld as the through line, since that’s probably, realistically, the only way it could get made. Anyway, yes, that would be neat. I’d like to see it someday.

John emerges from the muck once again to ask

“It has been a busy and exciting year for you. What do you do to unwind and when you aren’t busting your butt at your shop and working on your website?”

Mostly I hang out with the girlfriend and her family, or I try to catch up on my reading (mostly failing) or those few TV shows I like to watch (only slightly less failing) and of course, sleep. Wonderful, wonderful sleep.

PTOR finds the silver lining with

“Does Sterling Silver Comics only sell Silver-age comics, and whether or not that’s the case do you only accept payment in Silver coins or will sterling silver cutlery be accepted, and being if that is the case might it NOT be prudent to begun minting your own coin of the realm, in sterling silver, of course…?”

Oh, that’s very amusing, PTOR. Come closer, I have this silver hammer I borrowed from my friend Maxwell to show you….

Okay, that wraps it all up from my original post, at least. There are a couple follow-ups I’ll address later, but for now, it’s time for some of that wonderful, wonderful sleep I mentioned earlier. Thanks for participating and reading, everyone, and I’ll be back sooner than you’d probably like!

Almost done answering your questions: here are parts one through four (1 2 3 4) and just below is the, I think, penultimate installment. I’ll finish this week, I promise!

philfromgermany has a germane question:

“I’ll ask the same question as last year and even pester you next year if you don’t get on it:
Have you read John Ostrander’s Suicide Squad yet?”

Egads. Well, you better get on me next year about it, because no, I still haven’t read beyond what I’d already read in years past. And I have no excuse now that they’re beginning to put ’em into trade paperbacks.

I’ve read the first two issues, that one issue that crossed over with the Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League, those couple of Millennium tie-ins, and whichever one had the Grant Morrison-inspired “The Writer” character. So I haven’t not read any Ostrander Suicide Squad, but I have yet to read them in sequence. Someday, I promise! I might be in my seventies by then, but I’ll get to ’em!

“Also thanks for the blog, I have made a habit out of reading it at work after I come back from lunch. For about 7 or years now.”

DO NOT GET FIRED FOR READING MY SITE.

Thom H. smacks me with the following:

“How do you deal with adult-oriented comics at your new store? I’m thinking Sex Criminals, Saga, Avatar horror comics, etc. Do they get bagged? Racked separately? Or just include in the regular alphabetical order I assume you use to organize books? I ask because different stores I’ve been to have them displayed in different ways, and I was just wondering what your solution to keeping them out of the hands of kiddies is.”

I addressed how I handled this at my previous place of employment, and I’m sort of doing something similar at the new store.

The upper left hand section of the top shelf of my new comics rack is where I put the more mature-y type stuff: your Vertigos, your Avatars, like that. Sometimes the more extreme stuff will get bagged, and if the covers are too much, they get the blackened “privacy” bags I mention in that previous post. Seems to work okay so far!

ArghSims cries out

“I mustache you, what is the source of the new sidebar picture labelled me1depts.jpg?”

It’s last week’s sidebar pic now (but still visible on the increasingly-startling Wall O’Previous Icons), but it was pulled from this installment of a 1970s series of television adaptations. And it is amazing:

Brian brain-teases me with

“As a long-time comics retailer (and now store owner), how much have you seen the decade’s boom in quality comics film & television affecting readership – either in newcomers or (more likely) returning readers?”

There’s not really anything I can point to, beyond some generalities. I’ve got kids looking for Rocket Raccoon comics because they’ve seen him in the movies. I’ve seen sales on Iron Man dissipate since (at least per my interpretation) the comic can’t seem to duplicate the frisson from the films. I’ve had people declare “oh, there’s a Walking Dead comic based on the TV show?” and buy handfuls of the graphic novels, and I’ve had TV adaptations like Orphan Black start strong and then peter out.

At the very least there is an increased awareness of the comics that inspired the movies and shows, and occasionally that awareness turns into sales, but not always. Which is fine. I don’t know if we’ll ever again get anything like the crazy comic store Bat-rush when the first Tim Burton Batman film was released, but sometimes it’s enough to know that there’s a whole generation of kids out there who know who Groot is. That can’t hurt.

googum googums

“The news of Omega Men’s premature cancellation-then-extension, along with some good reviews, got me to try it, then go all-in on the series. Did anyone else hop on board, or had the train already left the station?”

It’s nice that DC allowed for extra issues to wrap up the story, but, no, I haven’t noticed any increase in readership. It’s a low but steady seller for me, so I’m glad the customers I do have for it will get a complete story. That also may help improve some consumer confidence in trying out new series, without having to wonder “gee, should I bother since it’ll get canned immediately anyway?”

Pal Casie cases the joint with

“Was there someone before Swamp Thing?”

Well, do you mean “were there other swampy-type characters in the funnybooks prior to our favorite muck-encrusted mockery of a man?” And, yeah, sure there were. Man-Thing just barely beat Swampy to the stands, and there was the Heap, who first popped up in the 1940s, and others as well, I’m sure.

Or do you mean “was there a comics character you, Michael Ricardo Anatoly Sterling, were obsessed with prior to Swamp Thing?” and unless you count “Star Wars” as a character…not that I can think of. I mean, I read the Disney comics as a kid, but I wasn’t all like “I must get every appearance of Gyro Gearloose’s helper, Helper!” That sort of peculiar behavior had to wait ’til I was a full grown “adult.”

That was a slightly shorter post, I realize…sorry, got a later start on it than I planned. But I should be able to wrap it all up in the next post…I hope so, I’m running out of names of Cheech & Chong movies to use as post titles. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I’ll be back in the next day or so with the stunning conclusion!

Looks like I’ll be wrapping up the latest Question Time next week, so if you want to throw an extra question or three onto the pile, feel free.

Thanks for reading and participating, everyone, and I’ll see you on Monday!

I asked for questions, you gave ’em to me, and here are your answers (And here are the previous answers: 1 2 3.)

Bully, the Little Commenting Bull, horns in with

“Whither comics?”

Oh, young bull, “whither comics?” do you ask? Why, one might as well ask “whither the sun that shines” or “whither the waves that pound the beaches night and day” to question such a fundamental part of human existence. They, like comics, are inextricably intertwined with our lives, our hopes and our dreams. Comics express our innermost hearts and can release us from our daily pressures…we must always have comics, now and forevermore, pushing us ever forward into our unknowable future, providing the emotional and intellectual support they always have as we strive ever upward, embracing our desires and our foibles as we improve ourselves, improve the human experience, and reach out above us to touch the face of God.

tl;dr version: eh, comics are okay, I guess.

Hooper slam-dunks me with

“What current comic series provides that same thrill/enthusiasm you had when you first discovered comics? I’ve lost that loving feeling…”

It’s true, one can get a bit jaded after reading so many comics for so long. Becoming too aware of the industry of the whole may strip a little bit of the magic away as well, as comics go from those great things you can’t wait to get unbundled and shelved at the local Stop ‘N’ Go, to “man, the guy who wrote this issue was a dick to me on Twitter, I don’t want to read this.”

But if I had to pick current comics that stir up that old fanboy excitement, the ones that make me forget I have to sell these for a living and just enjoy them for the pure sake of enjoying them: Groo, and Astro City, and Love and Rockets, and Hellboy, and IDW’s Popeye reprints, and Concrete if we ever get another one, and I’m sure I’m forgetting something. But those are ones that still feel “special” to me, that make me remember why I got into comics in the first place.

Robert in New Orleans hits me with this big easy question:

“I don’t see you comment on the newer Image comics titles much (last 4-5 years). Do you have any favorites or are they not really your cup of tea?”

I really haven’t had much to say about them, honestly. I’m glad they exist, some of them certainly sell well, some of them certainly sit on the shelf and look at you forlornly, but I don’t have anything specific to comment upon. I’m enjoying Nameless, and I need to get cracking on Plutona and Descender, both of which look fantastic, and my mom likes Bitch Planet, so, you know, there’s that.

Bret Sector could only go this way with

“Were Convergence and Secret Wars jumping on or jumping off points for your customers?”

Well, of the two, Convergence was more of the jumping off point, kinda sorta, in that they ended a bunch of series that were doing okay for me prior to Convergence, and then launched a bunch of series after Convergence that by and large didn’t sell worth beans. So, it wasn’t that people jumped off so much as they were pushed. Most of the pre-Convergence series that continued afterward have remained more or less at the same level they were at.

Secret Wars…it’s harder to say. We’re just now, as of this week, getting relaunches of some of the pre-SW titles, and it remains to be seen how those will go. If Iron Man sells at all, I’ll consider that people jumping on. …In fact, the very post I was working on before I set aside and deciding to have you guys send in questions was examining if replacing all the regular Marvel books with Secret Wars tie-ins was a net gain for the summer or a net loss. Turned out to be more complicated than I thought…the Hulk related tie-ins sure as heck sold better than any regular Hulk comic of late, while Korvac Saga‘s sales didn’t really make up for not having three or four Avengers titles on the stand for months.

So, I don’t know yet. We’ll see how these post (well, sorta post) SW relaunches go.

MrJM tweets

“Are Twitter pals REAL pals?”

In this brave new Internet age…sure, close enough. Only real pals could stand my constant tweeting about Frank Miller’s The Spirit all the time.

Eric L LOLs at me with

“Have the new Star Wars comics brought in any new readers or are they just selling to the regular comics buying crowd?”

I’ve noted in the past that the opening of my store at about the same time a bunch of new readers were looking for a comic shop so they could get the new Star Wars comics was very, very good timing. Yes, I believe the Star Wars comics actually did bring in new readers, and I do in fact have several people on the comic saver lists who only get Star Wars. So, thank you Disney, Lucasfilm, and Bad Robot, for giving my store a boost when it needed it!

FrenchGuy dit

“Is there any top-selling comic at your store that you just can’t get into ?”

There’s plenty of stuff that sells that doesn’t do anything for me, which is fine. I can’t like and read every comic that passes through my door. Secret Wars is probably Marvel’s top book right now at my shop, and I’ll flip through it and it’s very much the “reading someone else’s mail” effect. I’m glad it’s doing well and that my customers like it, but it’s Not for Me and that’s okay!

Wayne Allen Sallee sallies forth with

“What non-event title surprised you the most in your store as selling consistently good, and which title does the opposite? Not as a comic store owner who may make or lose money by having extra copies left on the shelves. You. Mike Sterling. Which books surprised you as one of us humans you take money from on a daily basis.”

Low kind of surprises me with how well it sells. It’s not a title that gets a lot of buzz like, say, Saga, but boy do I have a lot of customers for it at the shop.

As far as a low-selling book…I kind of expected We Are Robin to be doing better than it did. I have a couple of pull-list customers for it, and I just recently started selling a copy off the shelf…in fact, a lot of recent Batman family books I expected to do better, but since Batman wasn’t actually in them, oh well.

Old Internet pal Eddie Mitchell geeks out with

“I am resisting the urge to ask you who would win in a fight between the Oompah Loompahs and Herbie the Fat Fury….”

Herbie.

“…because I do have a serious question. What word/words of wisdom/advice do you have for people who are either non-comics people or people who have been out of comics for decades who have a huge batch of comics they are looking to sell?”

Well, you can haul ’em all over to the local funnybook vendor and, if they buy comics, ask ’em if they want yours. Otherwise, you may have to eBay or Amazon or Craiglist them. If they’re ’90s comics or later, you may need to sell them in bulk. Earlier than that, you may have some goodies that’ll be worth separating out, but that will take some time for research and such. Worse comes to worse, you can always donate them, to a library or a hospital or something like that. But if you do try to sell them at a store, remember my comic selling etiquette from a post or two back.

Let’s wrap this all up tomorrow, hopefully!

I asked for questions, you gave ’em to me, and here are your answers (And here are the previous answers: 1 2.)

Allan Hoffman wrenches me with

“Are you able to get an employee to abuse, I mean help you out?”

followed by ScienceGiant, who concocted an extra-sized question with

“Ever going to hire a Mikester protege, who will one day follow his mentor’s footsteps and leave to start his own store? Or are you steering kids clear of an ailing business?”

The plan is to hire someone else eventually, though I’m not quite in the position nor the mood to do so just yet. The business is doing well, with the occasional bump in the road here and there, but that isn’t unusual for a small business still in its first year…particularly a comic business. But, someday, I will hire some poor soul I will underpay and overwork and eventually lead into some modern day version of A Christmas Carol where I am visited by the ghosts of Comics Past, Present, and Future (all portrayed by Steve Ditko, oddly enough).

As to teaching a young padawan to follow in my footsteps, to move on to open up his own shop…well, that would serve me right, I guess. I don’t think this is an ailing business as such, but it is a business that will likely undergo some serious changes in order to survive. I wouldn’t necessarily discourage anyone away from the retail end of the business, but I’d definitely make sure they knew what they were up against.

ScienceGiant had a second question…HOW DARE YOU SIR though I suppose it’s a follow-up to a previous post of mine so I’ll allow it:

“No, seriously, why Batman Day? All your points were valid. But We could apply to same mercy moving logic and ask why doesn’t DC appeal to our better angels and sponsor Superman’s Miracle Monday? Or Wonder Woman Wednesday for that matter?”

It’s like “why does Coca Cola advertise?” In this case the Batman Day coincided with the launch of the second season of Gotham which was the likely reason for it this year. But why Batman, specifically? Possibly because Batman has traditionally been one of the most popular superheroes with the general public, and the most likely character around whom it would be easiest to generate excitement for a specific Day. Also, there’s no shortage of Batman products to sell in connection with the event…Superman has a lot, too, but not as many books with the sales power of Dark Knight Returns or The Killing Joke.

Alex asks

“Does it warm your heart or give you a pleasantly startling jolt to, say, pick up your comic pile and read the latest Astro City and/or Hellboy comic and realize it’s been right around 20 years and neither has fundamentally changed?”

Consistency is nice. I do like picking up a comic and knowing that 1) it’s the same group of people working on the book, and 2) they’re continuing to build their fictional world, and 3) they can build toward certain future goals that won’t be disrupted by a sudden shift in the creative/editorial staff. So, yes, I do indeed think it’s swell.

Roel Torres rolls up with

“We’ve seen some changes in the status quo. Jane Foster is Thor. Sam Wilson is Captain America. Amadeus Cho is the Hulk. James Gordon is Batman. Which current superhero could benefit the most from a new creative direction?”

I would have said “Iron Man,” because that character’s four-color life has totally be supplanted by his cinematic adaptation and boy, nothing’s been working out for that character’s comics. But, a brand new direction and series is in stores today, so let’s see how that goes.

…Boy, it’s hard to come up with something. Seems like nearly every character is goin’ through something right now, and it would seem odd to suggest a character like the Flash, which 1) just got back from a decades-long status quo upheaval, and 2) is doin’ just dandy right now, thanks. I don’t know…I’d say, Fantastic Four, maybe, since the last few series have struggled a bit, and whenever they bring the title back from the limbo Marvel’s put it in, something drastic needs to be done to keep it viable and attractive to readers. What exactly, I don’t know. Maybe more H.E.R.B.I.E.

CP Bahnanahs appeals to me with

“As a kid back in the 80s I’d often buy promotional posters off of my local comics shop when they were done with them. (The one announcing Camelot 3000 #12 finally coming out is a personal favorite.)
1. Was I a sucker?
2. Does that still go on? When I worked at a B&N people would frequently ask for our standees and other displays. Wondering if you get that too.”

Nope, no suckerishness here…lots of people like promo posters and items. I think I’ve even unloaded one of those Camelot 3000 posters on the eBays a while back. I even had a fella ask me for the Batman Day poster I had up a week or two ago, so yes, people still ask for promo items. An aside: I’ve only ever asked for two promo items from other stores in the past…one was at a music store, where I asked for a poster they had on display for the Portland ska/rock band the Crazy 8s (got it when they were done with it) and for a Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie poster from a video store (no dice).

Some old promo posters go for a lot of scratch, in fact. At my previous place of employment, Ralph had stacks of certain old promo posters: two by John Byrne (a Man of Steel promo, and one for Legends) that regularly went for good money; and two Watchmen posters (Rorschach and the Comedian), that did likewise. But there was the occasional promo poster I’d come across that I’d just keep for myself.

And like that Camelot 3000 poster you mention, there was a little Dark Knight Returns poster…actually, more a cardstock sign…announcing that yes, #4 was finally here. I think there may have been one for Ronin #6, too. And Marvel should have done one for the back half of Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk, come to think of it.

Tom W suggests

“What length, creatively rather than commercially, constitutes a graphic novel rather than something that in prose would be a short story? 320 pages, ie Watchmen length? 1,800 pages, ie Preacher/Sandman length? 6,000 pages, ie Cerebus length?

Sorry, not as lighthearted as the other questions. But I’ve been wondering.”

Hey, that’s fine. I’ll accept questions of all types! I’m not sure there’s an exact line you can draw that isn’t splitting hairs, which is a weird way to phrase that, but you get what I mean. Preacher, Sandman and Cerebus are series of graphic novels, so clearly they’re out of the “short story” category. Watchmen is a single volume (comprised of an originally-serialized story, of course) that contains a lengthy, complex story with multiple threads, so that is certainly a novel in comics form. The Killing Joke, by contrast, is a 48 page “prestige format” comic since upgraded into an oversized hardcover, which contains an essentially…well, not “simple” story, but a much less complex text than, say, Watchmen. The Killing Joke would probably be the definition of “graphic short story.”

However, “graphic short story” seems to be used a lot for actual really short stories, like for anthologies or such. I think at the moment, if it’s a standalone comic and it’s packaged in a format that’s a little more upscale than a standard comic book, “graphic novel” is what it’s going to be called, regardless of page count. I realize what you mean, but it’s awfully hard to define, like I said. It’s probably more a case of “I know it when I see it,” or “it depends.”

Though that sort of vagueness opens things up a bit. Is this a graphic novel? Or this, if only they had stiff covers and no ads?

DavidG gives me

“Do you think doing this blog helps get people to come to your store? Especially the new one?”

It has! I have had people come to the shop (both shops!) specifically because of reading my dumb blog here, for which I am very grateful. I hope, if anything, doing this site demonstrates for anyone who reads it that I’ve put at least a little thought into this hobby and industry and that maybe I might be someone who can help them with their funnybook interests. Also, they may learn that I’m a person who still uses the word “funnybook.”

Jeff R. relates

“As someone who has literally only come into a comic book store six times in the past couple years, to buy Sandman Overture, how many people like me have your stores seen?”

Quite a few, actually. Some people just pop in once in a blue moon to see if their particular favorite have popped up. Love and Rockets fans tend to be like that, and I’ve had more than a few people who show up just to buy anything Sergio Aragones has put out in the last few months. So, yes, there are people who aren’t part of the Be There Every Wednesday party, and that’s okay!

Pal Dorian finds beautiful meanings in beautiful things with

“Mike, where is love?”

It is pictured below:

You’re welcome.

Enough answers for now…more tomorrow!

We’re back with a second installment of answering your questions (first installment yesterday) so let’s see how far we get. And, as a reminder, I participated in this week’s Trouble with Comics Question Time, asking us what the most recent graphic novel or comic we purchased was, and why. And yes, I did get in a plug for my store, thanks for asking.

Anyway, off to the races! And also, I apologize in advance.

Mike Loughlin laughingly asks

“If Swamp Thing and Sluggo formed a band, what would they call it and kind of music would they play?”

They would play zydecoi, a cross between zydeco music and Oi! punk bands.

“What one thing were you most unprepared for when you opened your store?”

I think I was most unprepared for who tired it would make me. I mean, I’m fine at the shop, and I’m always doing something there, but once I get home it all catches up to me. Especially right now, since I’m working seven days a week. …But I’m not complaining! It’s worth it to have a store of my own!

“What happens after Korea?”

Of course pell is referring to the most famous of all comic panels, the dreaded “THEN KOREA” image y’all saw here first:

…and the only answer I can come up with is

I’m very sorry.

“You are given a green light and unlimited budget to create a new SWAMP THING film.

1) Who is your cast?

2) Do you adapt a storyline from the books–if so, which one?–or do you create an original script untethered to past plotlines?”

I’d been dreading answering this question since Paul first plopped it into the comments, because, aside from my dead-on absolutely incontrovertibly correct casting of Curtis Armstrong as Wolverine, I am terrible at these kind of armchair casting direction shenanigans. Unless I’m seeing them in a movie right at this very moment, I have virtually no recollection of which currently active actor is which and would be appropriate for what role. If someone else would suggest a name, I’d go “oh yeah!” or “who’s that again,” but I’m really bad coming up with them on my own. So please, forgive my vagueness on one or two of them.

Alec Holland would just have be someone with a big mop of ’70s blonde hair, which is how I’ll always picture him. Almost doesn’t matter who it is, so long as he looks sufficiently science-y. …Wait, who was the robot in Prometheus? (google fugit) Ah, Michael Fassbender. Sure, I bet he wouldn’t mind playing a bit part in a monster movie.

Swamp Thing would probably be a big ol’ digital effect, so we’d need a voice actor…one of my Twitter pals suggested Ron Perlman, which would be nice if he didn’t mind doing yet another comic book monster hero. Or maybe my Holland suggestion of Fassbender, doing his deep, gravelly monster voice of which I have no idea if he has or not.

Abby Arcane…I don’t know. I’ve been Googling up images of actors and actresses to answer this question, and I saw Emma Watson, and I thought “well, put her in the white w/black stripes wig, and Abby is from another country, and as we all know anyone from another country has a British accent, so maybe she’d work.” And…you know, I like Emma Watson, so why not.

Now, Arcane…in the comics, Arcane is an old man, wielding an unholy mix of science and wizardry, and is later a deformed monstrosity after his creations, the Un-Men, try to reassemble his body after falling to his supposed death. So…you know, Christopher Walken just popped into my head, and now I can’t dislodge it.

Matt Cable, I had no idea…doing a little Googling brought up a picture of Luke Evans, who has that tough guy don’t-mess-with-me look that Cable should have. This is me picking someone almost at random, so take this with a grain of salt.

As for the plot…well, I’d stick with “man turns to monster, Arcane wants to control him” without getting into the crazy “plant elemental” stuff right away. I’d probably have Arcane use more of the weird mystical stuff he used into the comics, just to differentiate the new film from the ’80s movie. Kinda loosely adapt the original ten issues, with Swampy encountering other monsters over the course of the film, which Arcane behind the scenes manipulating these meetings for some nefarious ultimate purpose (after seemingly getting killed earlier in the film, and then popping up at the end as the deformed monstrous Arcane).

And of course Cranius would be in the film as himself.

“Have you checked out any of the new Alan Moore Avatar books (Crossed +100, Providence, and even Neonomicon from a couple years back)? If yes, whaddidya think, if no, wtf?”

I read Neonomicon and am currently reading Providence, both Moore riffs on Lovecraftian horror, which I enjoy. Neonomicon‘s set up I liked more than the payoff, which started off as “here are some creepy happenings” and ending with “scary monster sexual assault” which…I don’t know. Didn’t care for it. Providence seems to be a little more subtle in its effect, and am enjoying it thus far. The Crossed franchise I’ve avoided, as it seems to be an exercise in “what can we do that’s more disgusting and horrifying than in the last issue,” and while I get the appeal of that, it’s Not for Me so I’ve passed. I understand Moore’s Crossed work isn’t quite like that, but I didn’t follow it. Sorry!

“If you could write the etiquette book for selling/trading comics to a store, what would you describe as your ideal interaction between you and a potential seller? Barring of course a scenario that starts with, ‘I have all these Swamp Thing comics I want to give you.'”

Well, call first, make sure I have time to look at your books, or even if I have room in the budget for pay for them at the moment.

Make sure they’re at least reasonably clean…if they’re caked with dust or ash or cobwebs, hit ’em with a broom a couple of times. If they’re covered with any kind of animal leavings, um, just keep ’em. I’m not going to need them, thanks.

But aside from that…I guess don’t lean over me while I’m trying to price ’em up, don’t wait ’til I’m done tallying everything to tell me “well, I don’t want to sell these” and yank a stack of comics back, and don’t get mad because I don’t give you full retail mint price on your coverless, waterlogged Superboy annual.

The ideal interaction is 1) you bring in the comics, 2) I look through them, 3) I make you an offer, 4) you say “yay” or “nay.” I don’t mind explaining what I’m doing while I’m pricing up the books, but I do mind someone explaining my job to me while I’m doing it, that I should be offering top dollar for these mint 1950s comics (which are actually GVG 1980s Silverhawks or whatever).

Most of the time, things work fine. Once in a while, I get someone pushy or with unrealistic expectations and I try to work with them, but sometimes there’s just nothing you can do.

“How do you keep your whites so white?”

“Any chance we get to see a Yummy Fur movie in 2016?”

That we haven’t seen some kind of mainstream Yummy Fur film (or cartoon!) adaptation so far is kind of surprising. You’d figure someone out there would be dying to commit “I’m not a penis, I’m the President of the United States!” to celluloid, but alas, where are the brave filmmakers of today?

“All time favorite comic artist?”

Most people would expect me to say “Bernie Wrightson, cocreator of Swamp Thing” but I actually answered this question just recently for another site, so go take a look at my surprise answer!

I asked for questions, you gave ’em to me, so let’s get going!

bkmunn is sequentially first with

“Do you have any Halloween costume recommendations?”

Now, I love Halloween. I love the decorations, the costumes, the weird candy, all that stuff. That said, I almost never dress up for Halloween because…well, I don’t know. Usually I’m working on Halloween and I don’t want a costume interfering with what I’m doing, I guess? Or I just never plan ahead for a costume, or suddenly it’s Halloween and oops, too late to dress up, or I never have a good idea for one. I’ve seen plenty of costumes I’ve been jealous of, like former employee Rob dressing as one of the Ramones, which was perfect. Or customer Marlon, who years ago as a high schooler dressed as Icon, and had he was tall and muscular and the costume was perfect and he just nailed it.

If I were to recommend a superhero costume, I’d say the Badger. It’s relatively simple, he’s usually wearing proper pants so it’s not too embarrassing, and you get to explain to people the entire night who you’re supposed to be. I even briefly considered a Badger Halloween costume for myself at one point before coming to my senses and realizing that whatever the exact opposite of spandex is, that’s what my body is more suited for.

Or, you know, just go as a ghost. One year as a kid I went as a ghost wearing a baseball cap and said I was the ghost of Babe Ruth. …Hey, I thought it was funny.

“What are the qualities of a great kids comic(for simplicity’s sake, let’s say ages 7-12)? What are some past and present examples you would use as really solid books appropriate for the younger ones?”

I’d say clear storytelling and ideally done-in-one stories. Continued stories aren’t necessarily a problem, but I’d rather give a kid something with an ending rather than a “come back next month for part 27!”

There are plenty of good kids comics on the shelves now, like the Adventure Time series, or the recently relaunched Disney titles, or the Smurfs volumes, or Lumberjanes, or even The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl which I know is beloved by children at my shop. Raina Telgemeier’s books, like Smile, are also popular with the young’uns…maybe more towards the “12” end of the spectrum than the “7.” Also popular: the Minions comic, which is good for pre-literate kids given the emphasis on physical humor over dialogue.

From the past: DC has lots of options, from all their Cartoon Network comics to the multiple Batman: The Animated Series tie-ins to Supergirl in the Eighth Grade. Old Disney comics are good, too, but I’d avoid older Archies as they tend to be a harder sell to kids. In selling to libraries, I was often told “no Archies” as their patrons had no interest in them.

That’s only barely scratching the surface, and I think I should tackle this with a full-length post rather than just tossing off a brief answer here. Let me expand on this in a future entry.

Sanctum Sanctorum Comix summons up

“What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding?”

“Peace, Love and Understanding walk into a bar….”

“Oh, and how much would you love a serious horror book of Marvel’s magic side (Man-thing, Doctor Strange, Son of Satan, Ghost Rider, et al)?”

I’d think that would probably be okay. An actual full-on horror comic seems unlikely, as the focus seems to be on fitting everything into the superhero milieu, but what I wouldn’t give for a ’70s-style black and white anthology magazine featuring all my old Marvel monster-y favorites. I’d also like it written by Steve Gerber and drawn by Mike Ploog, but, well, you know, getting at least one of those folks is extremely unlikely.

I think something in the style of DC’s current Constantine series would work. Not so extreme that you’d have to put “DANGER! DANGER!” labels all over it, or publish it under another imprint, but definitely on the creepy side of things.

“What calculations go into your decisions on how to order DC’s open-to-order variant covers for your store, and will there be any change in how your order December’s polybagged variants?”

The open to order variants aren’t too hard. A quick description: these variants from DC Comics are generally the “themed” variants you see every month, like the “Green Lantern Anniversary” variants or the “Monster” variants. Retailers can order as many of these as they’d like, and are not tied to order plateaus (like being able to buy 1 for every 25 regular cover you order). In general, I don’t tend to order a lot, as most of my customers prefer the “real” non-variant cover. And I say “real” because often that’s how it’s asked for. “Do you have this issue?” “Sure, here’s the Beach Party Batman variant.” “Um, don’t you have the real cover?” Like that.

There are exceptions. I have a few customers who collect both the regular and the variant of each issue, and I have at least one customer who wants all the Looney Tunes variants coming in a month or two. And sometimes the covers look really neat and I’ll order and extra or three. And then there’s stuff that will sell regardless, like the Harley Quinn variants.

Now, these polybagged variants…apparently how this works is there are multiple variant covers distributed in different ratios for a particular title, but the variants are sealed in an opaque polybag and you don’t know which variant you’re getting ’til you open the seal and seriously what the **** is this ****. I have no idea how I’m going to order on these yet, though I’m going to have to decide pretty soon. I suspect I won’t be ordering a whole lot more than I do of the other variants.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you that DC didn’t bring back those stupid 3D covers this past September?”

Well, sort of happy. The actual ordering process of those are a pain in the butt, as you have to order extra months ahead of time to allow for the production of the covers. But on the other hand, they are neat-looking and certainly attract attention, but on the other other hand I’m still working on figuring out the local market and may not have been quite ready to commit to ordering these things. So, hey, maybe next year.

“What is the most interesting thing you’ve learned about the funny book business since you took on the additional mantle of store owner?”

That’s a good question. I really don’t know. It’s not like there was some hidden store-owner-only secret revealed to me once I got my own Diamond customer number. I think maybe the one thing I learned is that having the buck stop with you increases the stress and pressure quite a bit more (not that this particular job is that stressful and pressuring, but it’s still running a small business), and that I’m finding myself a lot more wiped out when I get home than I used to be.

“what does the word ‘trolling’ mean exactly and why is it a bad thing? personally I’ve always loved trolls and wish Tolkien had written a book about their culture. or is it a fishing term?”

It is sort of a fishing term, actually, in that by “trolling” on the Internet, you’re trying to bait someone into reacting to you in a way that you’ll find amusing, much in the same way a fishing boat “trolls” a line or net behind it trying to catch fish. That, um, amuse them, I guess. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing…you can troll folks to make a point or just push a gag, but sometimes folks can troll you just to waste your time and / or eat up your energy, and that’s no fun for anyone. Well, except the troll.

“Now that you’re a comic book store owner instead of a manager, what one new task occupies your time the most now that you didn’t have to do when you were a manager?”

Easy. Dealing with the finances, taxes, and so on. Occasionally at the old job I’d but together a bank deposit, but mostly the owner(s) took care of that. Like I said above, the buck starts with me, but literally this time.

“Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would change?”

Major in business instead of majoring in English.

Thelonious_Nick chips me with

“Weird industry type of question. It seems like there a ton of new comic companies lately, each with their own lines of comics. Are we approaching (or have we passed) oversaturation? Is this another bubble? And if a shakeout comes, will we be back to just Marvel and DC and a few minnows, or will the industry look different, like maybe Image or IDW will become a third big player?”

That’s hard to say. I don’t know if it’s oversaturation or just everyone throwing what they’ve got at the wall and seeing what sticks. Even Marvel and DC are doing that right now. I can’t say it’s a bubble, because with rare exceptions most things aren’t selling huge numbers, so it’s not like a rapid expansion of a healthy marketplace filled with large amounts of high-selling books. It’s a bunch of low-to-middlin’ selling books all trying to fill some niche or ‘nother and jockeying for position. I think if anything, we’re in the shakeout period now, as everyone’s looking to see what will survive.

In the end it will still be Marvel and DC and then everyone else. Because if either Marvel or DC go, well…there goes the neighborhood.

Rob S. steals the end of today’s show with

“If there were a new Swamp Thing movie in the works, who would you like to see direct it?”

Me. Or if they wanted someone with, oh, I don’t know, filmmaking talent and skill, Guillermo del Toro. I know, I know, he’s the go-to guy, since he was attached to that alleged “Dark DC Universe” movie that would have had Swampy in it, supposedly. But in Hellboy 2, Hellboy and his hell-pals fight that giant plant monster, and it was weird and beautiful at the same time, and I thought as I was watching it “what could this guy [del Toro] do with America’s favorite muck-encrusted mockery of a man?” Then I realized del Toro will probably never make a movie about pal Ian, so I also thought “okay, what about America’s second-favorite muck-encrusted mockery,” and I’ve associated del Toro with “an interesting Swamp Thing movie I might like” ever since.