Mikester

A very minor spoiler for All New Batman: The Brave and the Bold #12 is in this post.

filed under Categories swamp thing, this week's comics 8 Comments


So anyway, at the shop on Wednesday, pal Dorian was flipping through some of the comics in his stack, and, while perusing All New Batman: The Brave and the Bold #12, he says to me “hey, Swamp Thing is in this issue.”

Me: “C’mon. Really?”

Dor: “Yes.” (shows me page with Swamp Thing)

Me: “Well, shit.” (takes copy of comic off rack)

Dor: “Well, I guess we know what you’ll be blogging about tomorrow!”

…Sigh. He knows me so well. And just to be clear, my expletive-enhanced reaction wasn’t to the fact that Swamp Thing was in a comic…that’s always okay by me, of course. It had more to do with the fact that I’m such an easy mark. I must buy the comics with Swamp Thing in them. It’s a sickness.

It’s a fun Halloween-ish comic, by the way, with Batman and Zatanna trying to solve a crime at the House of Mystery, with cameo appearances by lots of DC’s horror characters, such as the aforementioned Swamp Thing, who gets in a panel or three.

Other notable items this week: the new Smurfs collection The Smurfs Apprentice, which I haven’t read yet but I’m sure it’ll be as fun as the rest in the series; Superman #2, which is slightly more readable than #1, but only just; Breed III #6, guest-starring Dreadstar…man, I do love the Dreadstar; Fury of Firestorm #2, which again I haven’t got around to reading yet, if only because I didn’t care for the first one so much, but I like the Firestorm character enough to give it another shot; The Incredible Hulk #1, which gives us Bearded Hulk, and Bearded Hulk is nearly always a mark of quality…as is the fact it’s written by Jason Aaron; and Jason Aaron as writer on Wolverine and the X-Men #1 got me to at least flip through the comic and check it out…well, X-Men books are still not for me, I guess, but folks I know who are more mutantly-inclined seem to really like it, so there you go.

GRATUITOUS PARAGRAPH BREAK: Aquaman #2 was probably one of the fastest selling second issues of DC’s New 52 relaunch, so that’s a good sign…the comic wasn’t bad either; I’ve been hearing here and there people are having trouble finding the free Legion flight ring that’s out to promote the Legion Secret Origin #1…I know we didn’t get our full allotment, so maybe there was a shipping issue with this? I don’t know; Daredevil #5 continues to be remarkably good, and hopefully no editorially-mandated crossover events will come along to spoil things; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 continues the series that really, really surprised me with the demand I’m seeing…this is a series that has had moribund sales for years, and it’s really taking off. Good, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for TMNT; and a couple more strip collections: volume two of Fantagraphics’ Mickey Mouse strips, gorgeous as ever, and Reheated Lio: Still Another Lio Collection, peculiar as ever.

Oh, and drop a buck on Spaceman #1 by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso…an intriguing, and beautiful-looking, first issue.

And in conclusion: Comics! I have…won’t you?

“Press left trigger + B to enter The Green.”

filed under Categories retailing, video games 7 Comments

So I was thinking about the Wisdom of Lobo blank funnybook we were talking about a couple of days ago. Mostly, I was wondering about its relative scarcity and its market value, and…checking in the price guide, it’s not even listed, as least as far as I can find. (I forgot to check the “promotional” section of the current guide at the shop, but it’s not in the promo section in this 5-year-old price guide I have immediately available to me here at home.)

I remember selling The Wisdom of Lobo on its own way back when, having busted open two or three of the slipcased sets to sell the books and slipcases separately. I don’t think we sold it for more than two or three bucks (and making sure any purchasers knew the pages inside were blank). I still do think it’s pretty weird that I haven’t seen any copies come our way in collections for so many years. …A quick check on Amazon shows that copies of the slipcased sets sell from about $12 to about $120, if that tells us anything, other than some sellers have high apple pie in the sky hopes.

Speaking of funnybook sales, while doing cycle sheets this week, it was pointed out that Kick Ass 2 #4 seemingly had a sales burst after having been on the shelf for a while. Generally, most comic books see the majority of their sales in the first week, with a strong drop-off in the second week, and some dribs and drabs in the last week or two. But our last few copies of Kick Ass 2 #4, which probably would have been pulled off the rack and put in the back issue bins (where, oddly enough, Kick Ass back issues sell out almost immediately, to people I know have been in the store while they were still sitting new on the shelf) were gone, baby, gone. And it took me a second to figure out why, until I recalled there was a bit of online outrage over the contents of that particular issue two or three weeks after its release. And, thus, we get our late in the sales cycle bump. “It’s an ill wind” and all that.

In completely unrelated news, the commenter formerly known as Professor Booty, Señor Editor, has this question for me:

“…I seem to recall you mentioning the game LA Noire here sometime ago (great game!), but did you play ‘Arkham City’ yet?”

I did enjoy L.A. Noire, though it could have used a multiplayer shoot-’em-up free roam thing so my friends and I could shoot each other in the face while speeding vintage cars around 1940s Los Angeles.

Arkham City I haven’t tried yet…in fact, I’ve only played the demo level for Arkham Asylum, though I keep meaning to get around to picking up a used copy or something, at some point. Arkham City does look fascinating as an immersive environment, and to be able to play Batman in it…well, that’s hard to resist. I’ll get around to it sometime, I’m sure. (Making it harder to resist are Señor Editor’s own thoughts on the game, as well as Chris “Señor Batman” Sims’ comprehensive overview.)

But if there was a Swamp Thing video game in this style, I’d be all over it immediately.

Registered for what, I’m afraid to ask.

filed under Categories advertising 8 Comments


Yeah, yeah, I know, “as deadly weapons,” but other possibilities seem more likely. And if you don’t register, then what? Your hands get kicked out of the country? Your hands get locked inside a box? The government sends out Hand-Sentinels to hunt your digits down?

“I see you have hands…may I see your Hand Registration papers, please?” “Yes, officer….”

ad from Legion of Super-Heroes #291 (September 1982)

In which Lanny Lummox uses his kung fu in service of greed.

filed under Categories scans 3 Comments


Ooh, Lanny Lummox, no good can come of using your kung fu skills in the service of evil. Karma will catch up to you…

…except the Raccoon Kids, Rollo and Rudy, get involved, and somehow trick you into using the bags of flour that were actually inside the box to bake pies, which the kids take and eat, except for the few they convince you into putting under the “money tree” outside and having you wait for cash to flutter down upon them:


Thus is your avarice and misuse of martial arts rewarded. Though I suppose you will finally get what’s coming to you when the authorities figure out who took the money lost from the armored truck. …Enjoy spending your eventual nickel up the river at the graybar hotel, Lanny Lummox.

images from Raccoon Kids #62 (October-November 1956)

I could have called this post “The Wisdom of Mike” and left it blank.

filed under Categories retailing 9 Comments

So in the comments to yesterday’s post, Jim mentions

“My favorite Lobo item was the ‘wit and wisdom of Lobo’ book (or whatever the name was) that came only in a slipcase with previously released books, and then was blank.”

The Wisdom of Lobo was exactly as Jim describes, and in the linked Grand Comics Database entry there, it notes that “DC received flack for this stunt as many retailers didn’t find the joke funny and called it a rip-off.” It’s been a while, and I don’t remember exactly, but I don’t think we here at our shop were terribly offended by its existence…we may have rolled our eyes at it, but that’s about it. I have a vague memory of breaking down the per-item cost of the entire package and figuring out that, after taking into consideration the cost of the two other books included in the set, and the estimated value of the slipcase itself, The Wisdom of Lobo was more or less a freebie, give or take a buck or two.

Anyway, it’s been years since I’ve seen The Wisdom of Lobo comic around. It’s probably one of the scarcer Lobo publications now. I know I sold a lot of the slipcased sets when they were new, so I know they’re out there. Somewhere. Waiting for their moment to strike.

It’s also my recollection that the fans who bought the sets were quite amused by the Wisdom of Lobo book. …I wonder if anyone used it to draw their own Lobo story, or just used it as a sketchpad? That would be kind of a neat use for it. Well, then, not now, since it’s obviously a highly valued and sought-after collectible, worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

P from Sanctum Sanctorum mentions

“I really used to LIKE the Omega Men.
Ahhh… so long ago.

Although, I don’t think I made it past issue 17 before I gave it up.”

Ah, you gave up on it right before it got really good! I didn’t pick it up ’til #26, admittedly only for the Alan Moore scripted back-up, but the lead story was a jumping-on point for a new direction for the series (written by Todd Klein and drawn by Shawn McManus) and it sucked me right in. To this day it remains one of my favorite sci-fi superhero comic book series. …I eventually bought the issues prior to #26, but, while entertaining, they couldn’t compete with the high weirdness and menace of the Klein/McManus run.

(Another series that lured me in with an enticing back-up story but got me hooked on the lead story and kept me coming back…Dreadstar, which had a Bernie Wrightson back-up in issue #6 that caught my eye…and I ended up following Dreadstar all the way to its apparent end.)

MRPRSN reveals

“I like finding copies of Youngblood #1 in the quarter bins with $8 price tags on them from back in the day.”

I’m finding a few more things like this in the collection that Omega Men came from yesterday. Like a Rai #4 with the Valiant-heyday pricetag of forty bucks, or an X-Men marked with “1st Dazzler!” (understandable) or an Amazing Spider-Man marked with “1st Appearance of the Rose!” (was that really that much of a selling point?), or the solid commitment to the 25-cent back-issue mark-up with the Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special (cover price $2.39, back issue price $2.64).

I believe I have found the perfect tattoo idea for Chris Sims…

filed under Categories advertising, batman 3 Comments

…and it’s the image from this 1995 DC ad template:


Just picture that emblazoned across the manly chest of the nerdinet’s premiere Batmanologist…Forever.

I would also like to take issue with the premise of this ad, from the same Batman Forever campaign:


As I recall, the Bat-frenzy that hit during the initial Tim Burton Bat-films release didn’t repeat itself for the following films in the franchise. I think we may have seen a slight bump in interest when Batman Returns came out, but the Batfilm-bump was pretty much no longer a sales influence by the time Forever was released. (And is it just me, or does that picture of Batman anticipate the post-Flashpoint redesign nearly 16 years ahead of time?)

And, from 1997…yeah:


“There might be Batman and Robin memorabilia in this store? We better not go in!”

Hope y’all like thumbprints.

filed under Categories advertising 11 Comments


1995 Malibu Comics promotional flyer


Thought briefly about using “All teen, all girl, no experience since 1969” as one of my weekly site taglines, but…um, maybe not.

Also, I’d completely forgotten there was an Ultraforce cartoon:


That theme music is certainly…something. (It’s not a patch on this amazing theme song, of course.)

Hey, where’s DC’s hat?

filed under Categories advertising 18 Comments

1995 promotional flyers for Marvel Vs. DC/DC Vs. Marvel tie-in clothing


1. Both shirts “available in XL only!!” — so enjoy, kids!

2. Hey, at least Wonder Woman’s breast and arm made it into the ad…thank goodness they’re not blocking our view of Remarkably-1990s Superboy. (In fairness, she does appear to be more properly represented on the shirt.)

3. I wonder if DC did have a cap to match off against Marvel’s Wolverine hat…if so, it probably featured Lobo, keeping the shirts’ theme of matched-up characters being in the same sequence on each. (NOTE: cap is “fresh.”)

4. You know, looking at the shirt designs now (and admiring Marvel’s “this is what the winners will be showing off!” blurb)…I can’t recall the outcomes of all the battles between these characters. I remember who won between Superman and Hulk, and the Wolverine/Lobo battle (which should have been just crazy violent, but ended up being pretty lame, as I recall), but no idea on the Wonder Woman/Storm or Superboy/Spider-Man battles. Time has taken those precious memories away from me…but not from Google, I guess, if I ever feel like looking it up.

I do seem to remember the Batman/Captain America fight was bit of a cheat, too…like it was called in favor of one of them without really doing a proper fight. I need to get a look at that again and see if it makes any more sense to me now. …Because as a fully-grown adult, I demand satisfying resolutions to my superhero battles.

5. Of course, the real disappointment was no Swamp Thing/Man-Thing fight. I guess Marvel and DC just plain didn’t want to sell any comics.