Mikester

Well, I was certainly overcome yesterday…after what seemed like several hours of drilling and gagging and multiple shots of novocaine (and that was even before I got to the dentist’s office), I was in no real mood to poke around the internet and think about website content.

…So thank goodness for pal JP, and the weird stuff he sends me via the e-mail:

I have no idea where he found this, but I’m glad he did.

I have a cracked filling that’s driving me to distraction (and hopefully will get taken care of today), so I plan on taking out my irritation on all of you. Thanks for reading!

I’m so distracted, I almost forgot my SPOILERS AHOY warning!

Well, first off, a full third of our order on Seven Soldiers: Zatanna showed up damaged, with tears and holes in the spines. Given our sales on the Seven Soldiers of Victory books, I had upped the orders on this particular book to take advantage of the current interest…and, of course, they show up unsellable. Rats. Nice book, otherwise, with some slight nods in the direction of Alan Moore-era Swamp Thing continuity.

I’ve lost track: do we all hate Green Lantern: Rebirth or do we like it? I think I’ve said before that, if we’re going to have to have the return of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern, then this comic probably does it as well as can be managed. Geoff Johns has a thankless job here, trying to paste back together Green Lantern continuity, while pro-Hal fans and pro-Kyle fans watch, waiting to get pissed off about one thing or another. I’ve been enjoying it, even as super-fanboyish as it is. And hey, Ethan Van Sciver draws an evil looking Sinestro, doesn’t he? I think I’m happier about Sinestro being back than I am about Hal.

Superman/Batman #18 has a surprising callback to a classic mid-80s Superman tale. I don’t want to go into more detail than that, except to say it was appreciated.

Oh, and if you’re a Will Eisner fan, grab the new issue of The Comics Journal, if only for the complete reprint of “A Medal for Bowzer” – it pleased pal Dorian to no end to see this comic. Of course, the rest of the mag is quite full of fine Eisner material as well.

Identity Crisis #1 & #2, final printings: okay, remember the movie River’s Edge? Well, in the late ’80s my old pal Rob had a copy of this on videotape, and I swear, every time I went to his apartment he had it playing. He and I must have seen that movie…well, I’m not going to say “hundreds,” but by God it was a lot. We saw it to the point of memorization. We also saw it to the point that, though nominally a tragedy, it became a comedy. Of course, having both Dennis Hopper and Cripsin Glover in this film helped push it in that direction, but I swear, we would watch this movie and laugh and laugh at each new completely bizarre thing we noticed. That’s how I’m beginning to feel about Identity Crisis. Don’t get me wrong…I enjoyed IC, but seeing the continuing debate and interminable histrionic dismay over this series and related tie-ins…well, that’s why there are words like “schadenfreude.” Yeah, I know, I’m a bad human being. I don’t like puppies either.*

(Okay, I will concede the red covers on the IC reprints are a bit much. Hokey smokes. But they sure stand out on the rack.)

Whenever my faith in my fellow man is at its lowest ebb…out comes a new issue of Deep Fried and all is right with the world again.

And there’s a new Swamp Thing out this week…it’s completely wacked-out, and I’m not sure I buy the ending (oh, well, there go a bunch of people off to their doom…hope they enjoy it!) but it did evoke, for a moment, some of the weirder post-Wrightson issues of the ’70s series.

* I lied. I love puppies. I think they taste great.**

** I’m joking. Save the hate e-mail.

The Comic Reader #123 (November 1975) – art by Mark Evanier

The Comic Reader #133 (July/August 1976) – art by Sergio Aragones

The Comic Reader #161 (October 1978) – art by Fred Hembeck

What? Matt Drudge trying to create some kind of false connection between a violent action movie and the death of the Pope? Surely you jest! And, no, the text in this piece doesn’t link to any off-site story…that’s pure Drudge editorializing, friends.*

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My day at work with Kid Chris:

(Kid Chris is saying this sarcastically in response to a particular comic book…no, not that one): “I like things just one way, and if they aren’t that way, I don’t like it!”

Me: “Wow, you are a comic book fan!”**

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In reference to my note about Star Wars Dark Empire being originally announced from Marvel, commenter Bob points out that this information appeared in the last Amazing Heroes Preview Special (#11, from 1990). What’s funny is that I happened to have my copies of the AH Preview Specials out, and I poked through most of them looking for the Star Wars listing…except for some reason I didn’t bother with #11. Ah, well…my ‘zine-fu is not so strong after all.

In case you’re interested, the Marvel/Epic version of Star Wars: Dark Empire was announced as a 4-issue prestige format series, with each issue running 64 pages.

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From the mighty Grow-a-brain: a directory of magazine and comic book covers that have been modified (some may say, improved) with cross-dressing shenanigans. I highly recommend #15.

* Yes, I cut the image off there on purpose.

** I’m only kidding…mostly.

No, I haven’t seen the Sin City movie yet.

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So I was processing some old issues of The Comics Journal at the shop yesterday, and I just happened to flip open an issue (#110, from August 1986) right to an article on the cancellation of Marvel’s Star Wars comic…which I just happened to have been discussing on this site that morning. A couple choice quotes from the article:

“…An unnamed Lucasfilm official [said] that the book was not terminated: rather, ‘We’re just putting it on hold until the next film is released.’ […] …A Marvel spokesperson [said]: ‘If there’s another movie, we’ll be publishing tomorrow morning.'”

Of course, as it turned out, it was a few years before there was another Star Wars series, Dark Empire from Dark Horse Comics. (And it seems to me that this particular project was in fact originally announced as being from Marvel…can anyone confirm?)

Another quote, detailing the release date snafu I mentioned yesterday:

“The 1983 adaptation of The Return of the Jedi was marred by the early shipment and placement on sale of the issues, revealing the plot twists and surprises of the film before it had opened. Despite Marvel’s attempts at retrieving the shipping books, tens of thousands of the issues were bought and circulated, with the advance story of the film even being read on the radio in one instance, scooping the film’s opening.”

Clearly, things are a lot different now…probably with the realization that the prime time to sell the comics is before the film is released, since demand will almost certainly dip as soon as the movie is actually in theatres.

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Hey, you! Yeah, you, readin’ the website. Go enter The House of the Ded’s mighty Bluesman contest giveaway…there are two copies being given away, and they’re both autographed by author Rob Vollmar. It’s free, free, I tell you, so you have no excuse to not enter.

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Something I did on Friday that no other comic shop in the country did that day: I sold a full run of Impact Comics. All 112 issues. Yeah, that’s right, you heard me. No, that didn’t include the looseleaf Who’s Who booklets, but I could have provided them had the customer wanted them.

I liked the Impact line, myself….The Fly was the best of the bunch, and I think we’re all in agreement that The Web was…rough going, to say the least. I always had a soft spot for The Comet as well.

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Green Lantern-Elfquest fan fiction.

Today is the day we can put Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith #1, the Revenge of the Sith trade paperback, and the Star Wars Visionaries books out for sale on our shelves, as part of Lucafilms’ planned April 2nd merchandising blitz. If you got any of the above comics prior to today…well, you have sinned against God and nature, and George Lucas himself is going to shake his stern and mighty finger at you, as soon as he’s done putting away his huge sacks of money.

For some reason I’m reminded of Marvel releasing Marvel Comics Super Special #27, containing the adaptation of Return of the Jedi, too early, which ticked off Lucasfilm something fierce. I tried to track down more details on this online, and alas found none…I did find a comment someone left on another weblog stating that Lucas cancelled the licensing deal with Marvel because of this snafu. However, the series ran about three more years, and I’m fairly certain it was canned because of low sales.

By the way, a couple days ago I mentioned that Mark Wheatley did the art on the Sith adaptation…in fact, it’s Doug Wheatley. Oops.