Mikester

I can’t believe I missed these particular milestones (or millstones, perhaps)…both pal Tom and pal Corey of ACAPCWOVCCAOE fame have reached the one-year mark! Huzzah! Good tidings! Drinks all around!

And to respond to Tom’s comment about my ability to post something here every single day…well, it helps if you’re really, really, really obsessive. Though it can be hard to squeeze in weblog entries when you’re busy touching every doorknob in the house.

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I haven’t done an honest-to-goodness real review on this site in a while, so I’m a wee bit out of practice. However, the fine folks at Boom! Studios were good enough to wing a copy of Zombie Tales in my direction, so I should probably say a word or two about it. Of course, pal Dorian already beat me to the punch, giving a positive review that I pretty much agree with. The real highlight is John Rogers and Andy Kuhn’s “Daddy Smells Funny,” a zombie story from the perspective of a four-year-old. It’s creepily drawn, with a twist punchline that one might see coming, but still, the telling of the story is half the fun.

Another highlight was Andrew Cosby and Keith Giffen’s “I, Zombie,” where we follow a zombie trying to go through the normal routine from his living existence. Ted the Zombie’s Bizarro-esque interior dialogue adds a layer of sadness to his character, as we realize that he’s not quite able to understand just what it is that’s happened to him.

The other stories are amusing, with Mark Waid and Carlos Magno’s “If You’re So Smart” being the only clinker in the bunch, with too much set-up and a “twist” ending that I just didn’t buy.

However, it’s a solid anthology, and if you’re a zombie fan that’s tired of seeing the usual Romero-retreads, this comic will give you a wide variety of new perspectives on the genre. Look for it at your better funnybook stores this Wednesday.

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How not to start your workday at the comic shop: accidentally crashing the computer after filling out the monthly Diamond order form, so that you have to start over from scratch. AAAARGH!

(Okay, basically it’s just copying over numbers handwritten in the order workbooklet, but still, darn annoying.)

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Speaking of the shop, if there’s anything you’re looking for, feel free to contact me via my e-mail address (at the upper right of this page), and I’ll be happy to provide some quality mail order service to you. Hey, you saw my post earlier in the week…you know I’ll handle your purchases properly!

Short on time this morning, so I just thought I’d pop in and tell you where you can get your own Dr. Doom mask. “…Cast from steel and features an adjustable leather strap.”

For no good reason, I was reminded of that time, so long ago, when Diamond Comics used to send sales reps to visit their various accounts…just to check in, see how things are going, do some face-to-face promoting, what have you. One Wednesday, our sales rep (a nice guy, whose name eludes me…it’s been a while) pops in for a visit, and as he’s chatting with me, he points to the new arrivals wall and asks, “so, what’s good this week? What are you looking forward to reading the most?”

I look at the new arrivals for a moment, and I reply, “oh, probably the new issue of The Comics Journal.”

The rep pauses. “‘The Comics Journal.'” He looks at me like I have a hand growing out of the middle of my forehead. “Really?”

I realized then that the rep was probably used to hearing answers of “X-Men” or whatever the big Vertigo book happened to be at the time. For someone to answer that his favorite new arrival on New Comics Day was a magazine about comics was certainly unusual. (And that the magazine in question was The Comics Journal…well, forget about it!)

I don’t mean to be contrary. I really don’t.

I liked the idea of Jack Black as Green Lantern, even if it ended up being just a rumor. I liked Identity Crisis as the throwaway potboiler it was. I didn’t mind that Blue Beetle and Sue Dibny, two expendable (i.e. non-merchandised, and non-merchandisable) characters, were killed off to propel certain storylines. I wasn’t particularly excited about the Sin City movie, as the previews did very little for me. (It turned out okay, thankfully, though some of the narration should have been cut.) Sometimes controversies sweep the comicsweblogosphere that I don’t really care about, and sometimes I get all worked up about something stupid that’s important only to me.

I ain’t doin’ it on purpose, I swear!

Ah, well, funny how these things work out, I guess. At least we can all agree on the greatness of COMPOSITE SUPERMAN.

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If I’m able, I’m going to crash this San Diego Comic Con weblogging panel dressed as a pirate, and, waving my cutlass in the air and shouting “AVAST YE BLOGGER-LUBBERS!” I’m going to shove my way into the front of the room and get into a swordfight with Augie De Blieck.

Oh, like you wouldn’t.

You with me, Augie?

So, say I have a pile of Minx published by DC/Vertigo, that I wish to mail to someone who bought them from me on the eBay:

Here’s how I’d package them for shipping:

First, I’d wrap up the individually-bagged comics in a larger baggie of some sort, just to keep them from sliding around the envelope:

I then tape the wrapped-up bundle down to one piece of cardboard, precut to fit into a flat rate priority mail envelope:

I then place another piece of cardboard on the other side of the bundle, and slide everything into the envelope:

I address the front of the envelope clearly, and vee-ola:

I have one package ready to mail, for only $3.85 domestic shipping (or $4.00, if I round up…don’t begrudge me my fifteen cents). (EDIT: $4.90, as of August 2010.) Or less, if you’re shipping something by first class or (in the case of books) media mail.

(Also, it’s vitally important to use only your left hand during the packing process, in case your right hand needs to operate a digital camera or something.)

The few times I’ve bought comics and magazines off the eBay, more often than not I’ve had the item either just tossed into an envelope with no protection (no cardboard, no plastic bag…good thing it wasn’t raining when the postman delivered that day), or way overpacked (a comic or two placed in a huge cardboard box, with the attendant increase in shipping costs).

I know my experience isn’t unusual, since I’ve had several mail order customers who, upon buying something from us for the first time, feel the need to specifically request that we pack the book with cardboard, wrap it in plastic…all the things we normally do anyway.

The packing method I show here is, I think, a happy medium…reasonable shipping costs combined with enough protective packing material to guard a small order of comics.

Well, at this moment, I’m just kinda fed up with comic books, comic retailing, comic fandom, message boards, what have you. Don’t worry, it’s just a passing phase, and I’ll be back to posting about the funnybooks again — well, probably tonight, even — but for now…

…you get links about my all-time favorite fish, the coelacanth:

Dinofish.com, your complete coelacanth resource.

This page relates the rediscovery (and the re-rediscovery) of this believed-extinct fish, complete with a computer-generated image of the initial sighting.

“UC Berkeley Researchers Announce Discovery of Sulawesi Coelacanths!”

If you don’t have much time, this page sums it up.

An article from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

The African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme.

A printable line-drawing of the coelacanth’s anatomy.

Here’s a more detailed look at the fish’s anatomy.

The history of the coelacanth – in stamps.

COELACANTH ROBOT!

Educational slideshow about coelacanth and some of their fishy friends.

As I write this, no one has yet rated the Coelacanth Old Four Legs Premium Lager from Coelacanth Brewery.

Now that you’re read all those sites, you should be ready for…the Coelacanth trivia quiz!

Lake County Comix (1982) – art by Bill Leach

A chronology of Deathstroke appearances, with issue synopses, up until the beginning of Identity Crisis.

The Terminator Vs. Predator! (i.e. “The Cover Blurb They Wished They Could Get Away with Using!”)

Who would win – Captain America versus Deathstroke? Or Darth Maul versus Deathstroke? Or Spider-Man versus Batman versus Deathstroke? Or X-cutioner versus Taskmaster versus Deadpool versus Deathstroke?

Custom Deathstroke figure.

The Deathstroke Heroclix figure.

A review of the DC Direct figure.

Deathstroke’s stats for…fantasy baseball?

An article about Deathstroke from Comics Scene #24 (1991) – includes comments from creator Marv Wolfman.

Here is the Titan Tower site’s full Deathstroke dossier.

Chaosmonkey reviews Deathstroke the Terminator #14.

“Okay, Deathstroke has got to be a blatant ripoff of Deadpool.” Um….

Speaking of which: Deathstroke/Dead-Pool fan-poetry.

Layout drawing of Robin and Slade from the Teen Titans cartoon.

Custom DC Mini-Mates, with Deathstroke putting in an appearance near the end of the page.

The Sexy Slade Club!

Deathstroke Micro-heroes.

Hey, Sonic Blog has some swanky comic book desktop pictures for your downloading pleasure.

Just a quick note to congratulate fellow ACAPCWOVCCAOE* member pal Ian on the one year anniversary of his weblog. Ever since he was left as a foundling on our store’s doorstep, pal Dorian and I tried to raise him right, schooling him in the mysterious ways of comic book collecting, weblogging, fine wines, and high fashion. And now, here he is, a grown man…ready to leave the nest and pursue higher education in the wilds of Northern California. (Sniff) They…(sniff)…they grow up so fast….

On a completely unrelated note, I am going to go out on a limb here and do something I never, ever do in regards to a comic that’s not even out yet. I’m going to predict that this variant cover for the forthcoming Angel comic from IDW…

…is almost certainly going to be one of those “crazy money” items on the eBay. Every time a customer asks me for the Angel comic, they say “I want the puppet cover!” Every time. Heck, I want the puppet cover. Given that the puppet cover is only one of four variants for the first issue, and that the covers are shipped in equal amounts, and that the puppet episode that inspired the image is arguably the most popular one of the Angel TV series, I really don’t see how the available amount of this particular variant is going to be able to meet demand. Hence, the probable forthcoming eBay feeding frenzy. I’m also really, really hoping the other three covers don’t turn into shelf-warmers.

* Associated Comics And Pop Culture Webloggers of Ventura County, CA And Outlying Environs.