Mikester

Chris Karath posts another batch of photos of his action figures, comparing different sculpts of the same characters, group shots of related characters, the assembled Marvel “build-a-figures,” and so on.

This one amuses me the most, featuring Green Lantern arch-nemesis Sinestro with a squad of Qwardian pantsless warriors:

The photos are much larger on Karath’s site, but I need a much larger version of that pic for computer wallpaper purposes.

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It must be my week for being mentioned in podcasts, as Chris Sims mentioned me in his, and now my site’s been referenced in the podcast for the Star Trek fansite Look at His Butt. Yes, “Look at His Butt.” No, not my butt, God help you, but Kirk’s manly space-captain butt. Anyway, they briefly discuss the Starpool kinetic passengers they saw on my site (about six minutes or so into the show).

More about me: should I be worried that Gordon actually has a “mike sterling” tag for his posts?

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Acquired at the shop: a copy of Incredible Hulk #6 from 1962, brought in by someone who found it at the parents’ home, just tucked away in storage. The amazing thing about this comic was its condition: a pretty solid Good to Very Good. It looks better than that sounds, as it still has nice cover gloss and mostly sharp edges, but with a couple small (maybe 1/4 inch) tears on the front cover.

Even so, “Good to Very Good” doesn’t sound like an amazing grade, I know, so let me give it some context. Pretty much every copy of the original six-issue Hulk run that we’ve ever had in the store has been in appalling condition. I mean, if it wasn’t for the fact that this was one of the scarcer Marvel titles from the period, we probably wouldn’t even have bothered buying them. Brittle paper, nearly no spine, covers plastered completely with tape, heavy tanning, insect damage, used as coasters…for some reason, these Hulk comics took much more abuse than any other Marvel books from that time.

And thus, getting a copy of Hulk #6 like this one, which didn’t feel like it was going to crumble like a really crumbly thing, is something like a miracle.

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Okay, like a really, really minor and unimportant miracle, but still….

A fond farewell to Martin Nodell, Golden Age comics artist and creator of the original Green Lantern, who passed away Saturday morning. Mark Evanier tells you more about the man.

image from Green Lantern #19 (Dec. 1991) – art by Nodell and Romeo Tanghal

From Fury of Firestorm #4 (Sept. ’82), Red Tornado disguises himself as Burt Reynolds (under the hopefully non-actionable pseudonym of “Curt Holland”) as part of a ruse to defeat Killer Frost:

No, really, it is Red Tornado:

And after the super-shenanigans are done with, Reddy has time to make with his Steve Martin impression:

…in front of former New York mayor Ed Koch, no less.

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In other news:

Is there a more magical phrase in the English language than “a special tribute to Mike Sterling?” I submit to you, sir and/or ma’am, that there is not, and that very phrase appears in Chris Sims’ latest Invincible Super-Blog podcast. He discusses the infamous Swamp Thing supplement from the DC Heroes role playing game in honor of my recent anniversary (and comes to just about the same conclusion I did when I discussed the game way back when). Thanks, Chris, you velvet-piped troubadour, you.

Enough about me, here’s more about me: I now have a Comicspace account, because I need to be on another internet networking/blogging/whatever site, apparently. Well, honestly, I think I may find more use for this than I ever did for my Myspace account, which, um, I’m still not sure what to do with yet. And don’t get me started on my poor, neglected Vox site. Oy.

So I was poking through the latest edition of the Comics Buyer’s Guide Comic Book Checklist & Price Guide, and I noticed an amusing feature: every other page has a strip of photos of five comic covers, each with a very brief description beneath.

Some have trivia (for Street Poet Ray: “Marvel’s worst-selling comic book ever”), some have funny yet accurate descriptions (Sub-Mariner: “Angry Atlantean has control issues,” and Fatale: “Over-endowed heroine absorbs energy”), criticism (Ghost Rider 2099: “Depressing character in depressing future” and Hee Haw: “Doom, Despair, Agony, Oh Me…”), attempted gags (Wheel of Worlds: “Reversed title sounds like car show”), brief history lessons (Harbinger: “Valiant series got very hot, then very cold”), and possibly my favorite one of the bunch, for the Howard the Duck movie adaptation: “Movie ruined all that was good in the world.” Oh, now, it wasn’t as bad as all that, was it?

Okay, one more: Super-Villain Team-Up: “Doom, Red Skull kept trying to make friends.”

Alas, some titles I wanted to see described in this fashion were skipped over by the guide’s writers, forcing me to make up my own for All-Star Batman (“Genius comic, unappreciated in its own time”), Skateman (“AHHH! MY EYES!”), Purgatori (“Masturbation tool for lesbian devil fetishists”), Hawk & The Dove 2nd series (“Believe it or not, Liefeld’s art was okay, once”), J’emm Son of Saturn (“Definitely not the Martian Manhunter”), Double Impact (“This comic starred two pairs of breasts”)…you know, like that.

And I know you jokers have some of your own, so go ahead, throw ’em in the comments section.

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In other news:

Via Portal of Evil, the Great Batman Equipment Archive:

“This is an attempt to catalog everything Batman has ever pulled from his suit or belt. His utility belt is a wide, goldish yellow belt with a dozen pockets separated by hollow cylindrical studs, which also contain equipment. Most of his equipment is hidden here. His codpiece contains equipment, as well as his boots, cape, cowl, and gauntlets. It is held firmly that only the dark blue on his costume contains things, never the gray. Sources are Games (Role-Playing and Computer), Movies, Books, Websites (Official only), Television (the 60’s series and modern cartoons), Comics, Scripts, and Newspapers. I only follow the Bruce Wayne Batman, or those that sat in for him. Near the end are gadgets that should have been Batman’s, and last a comprehensive description of his ensemble, what it does, and where he keeps it.”

“…Only the dark blue on his costume contains things, never the gray.” Uh, okay.

YES! Weekly has a 10 Best Comic Book Movies list, where they misspell Spider-Man and accidentally include The Crow. Including Alien Vs. Predator on the list was a nice touch, though, acknowledging the comic book origins of that particular teaming. Calling it one of the “best” is kinda pushing it…it was fun, but really, really stupid, which is okay for what it was.

“Reprints not so shocking as in the ’50s” – review of the EC Comics archive editions, praising the art while knocking the writing:

“For every genuinely nail-biting tale there’s one that seems like a third-rate ‘Twilight Zone’ episode. A bear hunter IS TURNED INTO A RUG! A furrier from the future visits a planet WHERE THE ANIMALS WEAR PELTS MADE OUT OF PEOPLE! An effeminate man marries solely for business reasons because HE’S A ROBOT! (Actually, that last one’s kinda good.)”

I don’t know…the hokiness of some the stories is part of the charm, I always thought. Plus, the comics poke fun at themselves, usually via one of the “horror hosts.” It was like, “yeah, we know this story was kinda goofy, but wasn’t it sorta fun anyway?” It let readers in on the, well, “gag” I guess, inviting them to take the stories about as seriously as they deserved…an aspect of EC Comics that their many imitators of the time didn’t understand.

And, once seen, it cannot be unseen, from Landofthelost.com:

Ssssssssssssss-sexy!

What I don’t need to hear two minutes after we open our doors for New Comics Day:

“Huh, these shelves sure are bare. They must be going out of business!”

This said, loudly, to other customers. This said while we were breaking down the new comic order, with piles of new comics all over the place (since the shipment arrived late), and while I’m getting comics counted and thrown onto the racks. This said at least twice.

In fairness, once I explained to the customer what was going on, all was suddenly clear, but still, c’mon, I didn’t need to hear that.

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Chris “Lefty” Brown had some questions for the webloggers a couple days back, which I hadn’t gotten around to yet because of my “yay me” post and my lazy Wednesday morning post. But, hey, better late than never:

“Sure we’ve all heard the horror stories of comic book retailing, but what would be your ‘aww shucks’ story to warm our hearts and weep manly tears?”

Since I first read this question, I put my thinker to the test and tried to dig up some event that could qualify as “heartwarming,” and I think perhaps the one that qualifies the most involves pal Sean, from his days of employment at the shop. It was during one of our infamous Midnight Madness sales, see, when Sean met a particular customer of ours, a young woman named Yvonne (another friend of mine), and thus began a relationship that resulted in their eventual marriage.

So, in an odd sort of way, by hiring Sean, by being friends with Yvonne, I’m responsible for their marital union. There’s your heartwarming story, buster.

“Has there been a big event book or series that didn’t disappoint and did change the status quo of the characters?”

I’ve touched upon this before, primarily on the lasting impact of crossover events, and I still think the only one with anything close to permanent impact is DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths. Twenty years on, we’re still dealing with events from that series.

As for not disappointing…well, I’ve enjoyed many a crossover with “big changes” that were undone right away, so the permanence of said changes isn’t really a factor. (Someday I’ll get around to writing my defense of the original Secret Wars series.) But, again, I’ll say Crisis on Infinite Earths…not perfect, by any means, but beautifully drawn by George Perez, with pretty much every DC character you can think of, in what should probably have been the final word in way overblown event comics of its type.

“Incredible Hulk versus Swamp Thing, besides the readers, who’d win?

If it’s in the Incredible Hulk’s book, the Hulk would win.

If it’s in Swamp Thing’s book, Swamp Thing would win.

If it’s in a one-shot crossover book co-published by Marvel and DC, they’ll fight to a draw, then team-up to fight a greater evil (say, the dreaded Leader and Arcane team, combining science and sorcery to…take over the world!).

“What’s your single issue favorite back issue in your collection?”

I’ve probably answered this before, and I’m sure every time I answer this question, I give a different answer. My usual answer is, not a Swamp Thing comic, believe it or not, but Justice League of America #200, featuring a boatload of classic DC artists and new JLAers fighting the original JLA team. It’s a lot of fun, and a must for fans of superhero art. (Detective Comics #500 is a close second.)

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An oddity from that Secret Crisis post…in the comments section, posted on April 24th, was this comment predicting events in then-future issues of Civil War a week or so before the first issue of the series was even released. The heck? I vaguely recall ignoring the comment as crazy talk at the time, but, dang if he (or she) doesn’t pin the Spider-Man thing, and the Clone Thor thing…and I don’t know if the rest of it has happened yet or not, but still, what’s up with that?

I was only reminded of it because someone left a recent comment in that thread that reads:

“Either ‘The Painted Doll’ [the commenter’s handle] works at Marvel and chose this fairly unknown blog to reaveal Big Secrets or he is a prophet!”

“Fairly unknown blog.” Hmph. Anyway, it is pretty weird.

The Tom and Jerry cartoons directed by Gene Deitch were always among my favorites…just a little off-model from the other Tom ‘n’ Jerry cartoons, scored a little differently, and slightly creepy. Even as a child, before I was generally aware of such things, I could tell that these cartoons were different from those cartoons. And this one, “The Tom & Jerry Cartoon Kit,” is just plain weird:

Another good sample of Deitch’s work is “Sorry Safari,” which features some beautifully-designed backgrounds, not to mention a great design for an elephant.

But my all-time favorite Tom and Jerry is this non-Deitch one:

I know it’s bit of a cliché to say this, but I have a hard time imagining “Heavenly Puss” being made today. The morbidity of the cartoon is surprising; the sackful of drowned kittens we meet in the afterlife is still quite affecting.

If you want to read more about Tom and Jerry, and of course you do, may I suggest this unofficial fan site? And remember, “the white mouse will not explode.”

…from Spidey Super Stories #45 (March 1980):

Special bonus panel:

One of the other stories in this comic revolves around a charity footrace disrupted by the Green Goblin, and I find myself strangely fascinated by this runner:

The “Queen of the Runners,” complete with crown…what’s her backstory? Is she just a champion runner that’s a tad full of herself, or is she an actual monarch of a country solely populated by marathon runners?

Alas, we’ll never know, as her only purpose in the story is to allow the Goblin to make a bad pun:

I suppose it’s possible that this was a character from the Electric Company TV show (which the Spidey Super Stories ties into, in case you didn’t know), but Google-fu reveals nothing.

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“Dear Marvel: I believe that there is a character in your library that has been long neglected, and in desperate need of a revival….”

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DC Comics has announced their forthcoming imprint “Minx,” aimed at female readers that, as the linked article says, “may not be attracted to superheroes or manga.” And, as a person what sells the funnybooks, I think that’s a good thing, but whether this will actually attract a new audience or simply cannibalize sales from other comics remains to be seen.

Just in case you’re curious, here are the comics that, from my observations, have the larger female readerships at our shop:

Johnny the Homicidal Maniac

Lenore

X-Men and related

Fables

Love & Rockets and related

assorted manga titles (no particular title stands out)

And then there are titles that used to have a large female reader base…or a large reader base period…like Sandman (sales on the trades have dipped as of late) and Strangers in Paradise (started shedding readers about two years ago…and no, it wasn’t because of anything I did). Interestingly, those are the titles that are the usual clichéd responses to “what comics are good for women?”

And I realize nobody is going to want to hear this, but the original Chaos Comics version of Lady Death had a strong female fan base at our shop as well…and then she moved to Crossgen and started wearing clothes, which must have ticked off the character’s fans something fierce since, now that she’s at Avatar and in her usual bikini outfit, nobody reads her comics.

Just to throw it out there again…my girlfriend’s favorite comics are Spider-Man and the original Marvel G.I. Joe. That’ll throw off the marketing departments.

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Dear Dark Horse,

Your window of opportunity to sell your Who Wants to Be A Superhero tie-in comic is rapidly closing. I was getting a lot of requests for it two months ago…not so much now.

But don’t feel too bad…I am loading up on your 300 hardcovers, since there’s no way on God’s green earth you’re going to have them available to comic book stores when the movie finally comes out (see also Hellboy, Sin City).

Love,

Mike

“IF YOU RAN DC…”

“If I ran DC…

“1) The Multiverse would be back. I still say that the complexity of the Multiverse was not a problem. The problem was that the writers at the time had fallen behind their marvel counterparts in their sophistication. With today’s writers and the great possibilities of the Multiverse it would be unbelievable. Well, somewhat.

“2) DC and Vertigo characters would interact. So much of the DC universe was lost when they seperated these two properties. I know that they would have to tame down the Vertigo guys when they were in the mainstream, but it would be worth it to see Swamp Thing and John Constantine in the real world again.

“3) The real LSH would be back. The original can never be replaced.

“4) Hal Jordan would still be dead. For obvious reasons.

“So if you ran DC what would you do?”

The “real world?” Anyway, here are a smattering of responses from the thread:

“Retcon away some of the bad stuff from Identity Crisis. Either that or fire Meltzer.”

“Make a decent JLA title.”

“Lower prices of comics.”

“Minimize the graphic violence and the over explicite sex scenes.”

“Have polls with fans every once in a while to know if fans are happy in general or not.”

“Wouldn’t allow Frank Miller to do any art (cover or interior)”

“Put Ed Benes on all books with Leading Female characters (BoP, Catwoman, SuperGirl, etc.)”

“I’d have Frank Miller write Superman and Jim Lee to draw it.I’d also have Brian Azzarello to write Batman and have Lee Berjemo draw it.I’d kill off Dick Grayson and keep Jason Todd dead.I’d split Superman and Lois Lane up…infact i might kill off Lois.I’d create a Batman book that was aimed at ‘Mature Readers’,i’d have it more violent,that kind of stuff,just a bit more adult.I’ll have a think about some other stuff…”

“…in my DC ,Hal Jordan would be very much alive and kicking butt like he is now.”

“…I would make all the titles come out on time!! I would have artists of similar styles assigned to a title until it got on schedule. For example, say Green Lantern, have Ivan Reis do an issue, while Alan Davis works on the next issue, and Neal Adams is working on a third issue, maybe Mike Grell working on a fourth while Ivan gets another issue or two under his belt and gets back on schedule.”

“Id take Morrison off Batman and put in Kurt Busiek.”

This person really didn’t like DC’s recent direction:

“Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka and Judd Winick would be fired off of all titles they’re currently writing.

“Then I would launch an event called ‘Hour Zero.’

“In issue one, Ralph Dibny wakes up to hear his wife singing in the shower. They go to a birthday party attended by Michael Jon ‘Booster’ Carter, (not evil) Skeets, Max Lord and the recently retired Ted Kord.

“The Teen Titans are also there, except for Impulse who is off doing something with Wally West. Troia and Lilith are helping in the kitchen.

“We find out that Superboy Prime tried to free himself and reset reality again, but all he managed to do was retcon himself and everything since Identity Crisis out of continuity with no hope of any of that stuff ever coming back.

“The next six issues would spell out the new status quo without anybody gratuitously dying or being replaced by somebody else the readers don’t care about.”

Hey, pal Dorian, he also has an idea for improving your favorite character:

“Wildcat would start using gadgets and body armor.”

That certainly shows an in-depth understanding of what makes Wildcat work.

More:

“Conner Kent would find out that he never did have Luthor DNA and change his name to something that would keep DC from getting sued. He could be the new Gangbuster or something.”

“Newer modern villains would be used even after the writer who created the villain is no longer writing him”

“Comics would be cheaper”

“Feedback will be listened to”

“There would no more events with the word ‘crisis’ in the title. Ever again. Or a least as long as I was in charge.”