this week’s comics

Oh, hey, comics…they still publish those?

filed under Categories blogging about blogging is a sin, peanuts, retailing, this week's comics 7 Comments

So apparently what the people want is creepy hobo Charlie Brown, judging by the linkage and traffic I’ve been receiving lately. Thanks for encouraging my behavior, Other Internet Sites, though sadly I don’t have much else in the vagrant Peanuts character vein. However, it does remind me that I haven’t mentioned pal Nat‘s new book The Peanuts Collection, a neat compilation of photos and replica tchotchkes (like trading cards, rare booklets, cels, and such. He brought a copy by for me to poke through, and it’s certainly a neat and beautifully-done package. No Hobo Charlie Brown that I noticed, but you should probably buy a copy anyway, courtesy this little box here:


In other non-Peanuts news, people have been sending me the link to Our Valued Customers, a collection of one-panel cartoons presenting things said by customers and Overheard at The Comic Shop. Reminded me a bit of that mini-comic I did back in ’96, and posted here on my site, though my examples are more general “everyone’s heard ’em” quotes, and Our Valued Customers’ examples are more of the frothing-at-the-mouth type. As has been noted by a pal of mine, I’m not sure I’d draw actual caricatures of my customers and post them online, but hell, I can enjoy ’em and not have to worry about taking the heat if any of them find out. (Though, as I admit in that old post, one person in my mini, aside from the self-portrait, was an intended caricature…she hasn’t come back and killed me in the 14 years since, so I think I’m safe. …So far.)

In other news, some new comics came out this week:

  • The new Smurfs volume The Smurf King is out…still the same complaint about the lettering I had last time, but that still remains really my only complaint. Some fine, funny, witty cartooning that holds up all these decades later. Don’t dismiss it just because of the ’80s cartoon show…this is genuinely classic stuff.

  • Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #6 – I think maybe if the only superhero comics I’d read from now on were ones written by Grant Morrison, I’d probably be okay with that. I get all the wonderfully strange and inventive and near-celebratory superheroic storytelling that I want from his comics, compared to some other titles where it just feels like pages are getting filled. In this particular case, it’s a shame about the series’ timing, but still remains a satisfyingly odd exploration of the history of Batman and a solid chapter in Morrison’s ongoing Bat-saga.

  • Glamourpuss #16 – I’m the only person still reading this at our shop. I’m still enjoying it. Not even quite sure how or why I’m enjoying it, but Sim’s goofy combo of fashion industry parody and in-depth examinations of classic comic artists still keeps my attention.

  • Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #4 – I’m a sucker for still getting this. I just really like the Green Lantern concept, so I’m an easy mark.

  • Comic Book Guy The Comic Book #5 – End of the series, kind of wish there was more actual Comic Book Guy action throughout the story, but still a funny parade of knocks on the comics industry and the folks who enable it. In-jokey, but not overly so.

  • Muppet Sherlock Holmes #3 – The parody Muppet minis aren’t as strong as the ongoing Muppet Show series, which means they’re only excellent instead of perfect. Plus, I’m a big fan of Sherlock Holmes pastiches and parodies, so this is right up my alley.

  • Hellblazer: City of Demons #3 – Really have no idea why this didn’t just run in the regular series. It’s not a bad comic by any means, but the market doesn’t really need two Hellblazer comics on the stands at the same time. Nor does it need three Wolverine titles, but I think I’ve mentioned that enough.

  • The Incredible Hulks #616 – I was kinda hard on this title last time, since the proliferation of Hulk characters (hence the title change) was wearing on me a bit, but I find myself enjoying Bruce Banner/the Hulk’s responses to the situations they’re finding themselves in. But I’m pretty much ready to be done with the whole Sons of the Hulk thing.

  • T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 – Okay, first, it’s a pain in the butt to type all those periods in that name. Second, I may have mocked this comic a little in the past, but the fact that Nick Spencer, the man currently writing the fantastic Jimmy Olsen back-up in Action Comics, is also writing this is very positive sign. It’s still an uphill battle, trying to get people invested in yet another new revival superhero series, but maybe it’ll actually have a chance if the writing is strong.

  • Dungeons & Dragons #1 – By all accounts, a good comic, I’m hearing. Yes, everyone is completely surprised by this fact. The retailer incentive variant had a cover that resembled the old D&D adventure modules from TSR, and even included an actual playable adventure that wasn’t in the regular version. IDW has this habit of making the incentive editions the cool thing that might actually sell well, instead of making the regularly-available issue awesome. Don’t put that photo cover of handsome bastard 1960s William Shatner on your variant, put him on your regular Star Trek cover…and don’t make just the variant D&D book look like a module, make ’em all look like that. That variant grabbed the eye of everyone who looked at it, far more than the generic fantasy covers of the regular editions that simply blend in on the rack.

  • Avengers: Children’s Crusade #3, Avengers Prime #4, New Avengers #6, I Am An Avenger #4, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes #1 – sigh.

  • Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali hardcovers – one version is at the original “treasury edition” size, the other at the standard comic book size (but containing additional unpublished art), and I’m unclear, since they arrived shrinkwrapped…are they both recolored by Neal Adams’ studio? If so, that’s a shame, but the fact remains that this really is one of the greatest Superman stories of all time, and if you can’t get your mitts on the original, I’d recommend the treasury-sized hardcover over the smaller one, regardless of the extra material. This comic needs to be read BIG.

I don’t often wear my Tom Servo “I’M HUGE!” t-shirt for the same reason.

filed under Categories batman, sluggo, the eBay, this week's comics 5 Comments

Another recently arrived purchase from the eBay: a companion Sluggo magnet for the one I received a few days ago:


This Sluggo is kinda sorta posed the same way as the Sluggo in the last Sluggo Saturday, only sans moustache.

• • •

Arrived at the store this week is an assortment of buttons called “DC Superheroes Have Issues,” and some of the buttons feature pics of superheroes and villains with captions identifying their particular problem and, perhaps, intended to comment on the wearer of said button. Like, Batman’s says “Needs Anger Management,” Flash’s is “Speed Freak” (er…), Dr. Fate’s is “Painfully Shy” (because of the full facemask, you see), and Joker’s is “Just Crazy,” which is pretty funny, actually.

The best one is probably this one:


And while this may be a problem of the Penguin’s (though perhaps overstating it a bit):


…that’s…um, well, what can you say, really. Apparently, expected demand for this button was low, as this was the only one in the box. Or maybe it’s a Rare Chase Retailer Incentive Embossed Foil Die Cut Cover – Death and Return of Captain America and Superman Autographed by Alex Ross and Buck Rogers and Silver Spoons Star Erin Gray Button! Starting Bid $129.99! L@@K! H@T! We Take PayPal!

…Er, sorry about that.

For some reason, I Googled “morbidly obese Penguin” and up came this page, and apparently the phrase is some kind of internet thing. Maybe. I guess. Who can tell?

• • •

Finally got around to reading some of this week’s comics, and regarding Grant Morrison’s Batman and Robin #16…without getting into spoilers, let’s just say that they weren’t kidding about it being a “game-changer.” I mean, we knew where it was going, given the premise of Batman, Inc., but how it got from here to there is something else. Of course, my first reaction to reading it is “I wonder what they’re going to have to do when they eventually change everything back to the way it was” since, like any comic book character with this long an existence and with this much tie-in merchandise and other media translations, the inertia of its own history and reader/general public expectations always tends toward reverting these kinds of temporary fiddlings with the formulas. But, given the kind of change made, and the relative significance of the character, I suspect the transition back to the old status quo may be as traumatic as the change over to the new one…and I also suspect Morrison has said transition already built into place for when the time comes.

Oh, the comic was good, too.

I’m all complainy and stuff.

filed under Categories this week's comics 13 Comments

And now…the Best Comic Cover of the Week:


And the contents ain’t half-bad either. All of Boom! Studios Muppet comics are entertaining, but The Muppet Show really is the platonic ideal of a Fun Comic Book. Cartoonist Roger Langridge knocks it out of the park, every time.

Some other comics this week:

  • I was planning on picking up Vertigo Resurrected, the latest in DC’s 100-page mini-trade paperbacks, since this is the first printed appearance of the long-shelved Warren Ellis and Phil Jimenez Hellblazer story “Shoot.” However, the reprints that fill up the rest of the book are short stories from Vertigo’s many anthology books from over the years, none of which I’d bought (for whatever reason…I have no real excuse), which means the entire volume is new to me. That worked out nicely.

  • Legion of Super-Heroes #6 – I’d pretty much made the decision last week, when I skipped the new issue of Adventure Comics, which is essentially a second Legion title. But, yeah, after nearly 30 years of Legion-reading, I think I finally reached my saturation point. Nothing specific I can really pin down as being the last straw…it’s just a case of being “enough’s enough,” I think. The last couple of issues have been bit of a slog, I can’t get involved in the characters and plotlines…I took the hint and dropped the books.

  • DC Universe Legacies #6 – …But that said, the Legion back-up in this book was actually pretty amusing. The lead story, which, like the rest of the series, is For Advanced Fans Only, retelling events from the era of Crisis on Infinite Earths through Legends, is about as good as this kind of thing is able to get. Nice art from Jerry Ordway, George Perez and and Scotts Kolins and Koblish.

  • Okay, Green Lantern Corps #53 introduces a new villain…well, actually an old villain of sorts, as it’s a Weaponer from the Anti-Matter Universe of Qward, which should be familiar to GL fans, and he’s got a good gimmick, and Sinestro’s in this too and we all like Sinestro. So, it’s some good ol’ fashioned superhero stuff and it’s all fine.

    But seriously, it just reminds me that there are three ongoing Green Lantern series, and…was there actually talk of a fourth ongoing? So for the first time in years, the Green Lantern franchise manages to gain some sales success, and, as always, the response to a comic selling well is the publisher doing its damnedest to dig the golden eggs out of that goose’s body by pumping out more of the same thing. Marvel did it with Marvel Zombies, they’re well on their way to doing it with Deadpool, and now DC is following suit with too many GL series. And I suspect DC is going to discover something similar with the Batman franchise, which will soon be “the one by Grant Morrison that actually sells” and “a bunch of other titles that don’t sell nearly as well,” which…well, that’s kind of where we’re at right now, anyway.

    And the thing that gets me is that there’s nothing particularly wrong with any of these books…all the GL books are fun, there’s nothing particularly wrong quality-wise with the Deadpool titles…I mean, they’re not for me, but the people who do read them seem to enjoy them, and all the Batman books are okay…but do we really need a Batman and a Batman and Robin? Do we really need a Green Lantern Corps and a Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors?

    …

    Sigh. Sorry, felt like shouting into the wind there, a bit. Don’t mind me.

    And yeah, I know, “do we really need any comics?” Yes, yes we do.

  • Still enjoying the adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, which is current at #4 of the five-issue mini “Hardcases,” which is, what, the fourth or fifth mini-series out of the approximately 1000 mini-series it’s going to take to compete this project? But it’s a good adaptation, and I find it odd that this comic, which is basically a word-for-word retelling of the novel, still maintains my interest, while the multiple series based on King’s Dark Tower, featuring untold tales and new storylines, lost me and, judging at least by our sales, most of its readership several months ago.

  • Charles Burns has a new handsome volume of cartooning out this week…Xed Out. Gorgeous production values on this book. You can see a picture of the cover here, which really doesn’t do it justice.

  • Okay, here’s another potential cover of the week, from Loki #1:


    Boy, Loki’s never been happier. Just look at that joy on his face.

And then there were some new comics this week.

filed under Categories this week's comics 12 Comments

The weird thing about coming across previously unreprinted strips in The Complete Bloom County (volume 3 of which was released this week) is that you feel like a bunch of your friends finally got around to telling you about this great time they all had a while back, and, oh, wait, we never told you? Man, you should have been there, it was awesome. And you’re all: “I can’t believe I hadn’t heard about any of this. I’ve been missing out all this time” and you feel just slightly put out about it.

Or maybe that’s just me. I did read all the original Bloom County collections to the point of memorization, almost, so seeing “new” strips comes as a strange shock, even more so than seeing long-lost Peanuts strips in the Fantagraphics collections. Not sure why that is, really…perhaps that there are so many Peanuts strips and strip collections and so on that it doesn’t feel odd when you spot a strip you hadn’t seen before. Whereas the number of Bloom County books are, what, less than a dozen? And it feels more like a “continuity” strip than Peanuts…when a sequence is suddenly placed back into its original context in the middle of other much more familiar storylines, the effect is jarring.

And there I go overthinking it. I’m just glad there is a Complete Bloom County series at all. I kinda wish creator Berke Breathed supplied more strip commentaries, as those have been entertaining, but…well, I’m not gonna complain.

By the way, in volume 3, there exists the single most terrifying image ever presented in the comics format: the reveal of Opus the Penguin’s post-plastic surgery nose. To this day that disturbs me with its unnaturalness. (No, I’m not posting the picture here. You’ll have to go find it yourself.)

Some other brief thoughts about this week’s new comics:

Issue #4 of The Simpsons spin-off Comic Book Guy actually has some Comic Book Guy in it, which is nice…series has been a fun read overall • • • Incredible Hulks #614 is almost like daring me to read it…I couldn’t care less about Hulk’s son, Skaar, or whatever, and the only reason I picked it up is because I’ve been reading this comic since I was 12, which is the worst reason in the world to read anything and I’ll have more thoughts on this (and another long-read title that I really am dropping) in a future post • • • I do like Green Lantern comics an’ all, but we don’t need three ongoing titles (two of which came out this week)…so, no reason at all why the story in the Emerald Warriors comic couldn’t have been folded into Green Lantern Corps? • • • Irredeemable #18 drops about as nasty a bit of business performed by a “hero” as I’ve ever seen in a superhero book, and I don’t mean by the series’ main antagonist, the Plutonian…a genuinely upsetting reveal • • • So, is Batman saying “‘the average guy’ isn’t our problem” in Superman #702 quite possibly the worst characterization of Batman ever? And like people asked me when I brought this up on the Twitter…which Batman is this, anyway? The still time-lost Bruce Wayne or current cape caretaker Dick Grayson? disregard that…it’s Dick • • • Muppet Sherlock Holmes #2 continues to cater to my strange fascination with Sherlock Holmes pastiches. And it’s Muppets, and Muppets are always wonderful. If you do not love the Muppets, then we have nothing more to say to each other. …I SAID GOOD DAY • • • Untold Tales of Blackest Night is entirely unnecessary, but if you needed more Blackest Night stuff, here it is, and it’s about as good as you’d need it to be. The Animal Man segment feels like a set-up for a new series • • • I like Hellblazer, so I’ll be reading this City of Demon mini-series, but honestly, it’s not like Hellblazer is selling so crazy-hot that we need what amounts to two of ’em on the shelves at the same time. Should have been folded into the regular series • • • the first issue of Strange Tales II (indie artists take on Marvel Comics) didn’t start off with a bang like the first issue of the previous series did…still, entertaining reading, with the standout being the Galactus/Magneto team-up by Perry Bible Fellowship‘s Nicholas Gurewitch • • • Turok Son of Stone #1 is out, and…I don’t know, I love the old Dell / Gold Key Turoks, and every time there’s a new revival, I realize you Can’t Go Home Again. Kinda like Turok himself, in a way…okay, I’ll stop • • • nice of DC to announce their intention to keep the $2.99 price point, saving customers money, just the week before releasing four Bruce Wayne The Road Home one-shot tie-ins at the same time, or five if you count Return of Bruce Wayne • • • Tiny Titans / Little Archie may actually contain too much cute. It’s a beauty to behold.

I WILL OCCUR AGAIN.

filed under Categories smurfs, this week's comics 6 Comments

Today’s post title comes from the wide selection of only the finest comment spam my site receives on a daily basis, where, in broken English, the “commenter” extols the virtues of my webpage, describing how my writing “brings great informative on this topic that I find interest,” and ends the response with a promise to “return in short to find more of this content” or, as above, “I WILL OCCUR AGAIN.” It’s like an excerpt from the first draft of General MacArthur’s speech: “‘I will occur again!’ No, no, that’s not it…wait! ‘I SHALL RETURN!’ That’s PERFECT!” Except, you know, with links to v1ag4a sites.

Anyway, enough about that, let’s look at some comics:

  • Jeff Parker takes over writing chores on Hulk with #25, bringing the book from its big, loud and stupid beginnings and moving it forward into a big, loud and not-quite-as-stupid future. Not that I’m slamming the Loeb issues…ain’t nothin’ wrong with a comic book that’s just action action action and not a brain cell in sight, so long as it’s fun (and I have been enjoying the book, despite the “event” tie-ins that frankly I’m having less and less patience with). And really, Hulk should be big and loud with lots of action. It’s a Hulk comic, for God’s sake. Anyway, Jeff Parker: good start. Nice art by Gabriel Hardman, too.

  • Fantastic Four #583 kicks off the whole “Death of One of the FF” storyline, though nearly everyone who’s reading the book knows that whatever character they kill off, that character will be back sooner rather than later, so it’s kind of quaint that they’re putting this much effort into hyping this storyline. Of course, Hickman is a good writer, and has been doing a strong job on the book, so I expect we’ll be getting more than the typical “oh noes [REDACTED] is dead and gone forever, how can the team go on” kind of thing. …This first chapter is nicely done, and sets up an unexpected alliance between a couple of characters whose interaction certainly grabbed my interest.

  • Boom! Studios has a new Muppet Show (#10) written and drawn by Roger Landridge this week, and as usual, it’s perfect funnybooking, and pal Ian has another issue of his Darkwing Duck comic on the stands, and, oh, I guess it’s okay, if you like that sort of thing.

  • I haven’t had a chance to read the new Zippy the Pinhead collection, Ding Dong Daddy from Dingburg, but Zippy hasn’t disappointed me yet, and I don’t expect this to be the exception.

  • Pal Dorian already reviewed the new editions of the two Smurfs volumes released this week, and I concur with the statements made by the gentleman from Santa Barbara. I would also like to reiterate the apparently near-universal complaint that they used a lousy font on these books, and that it’s too slight and tiny to comfortably read, especially at the sizes these books are printed at. Otherwise, this is classic cartooning and well worth seeking out. Have your jeweler’s glass handy, though.

  • The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror #16 isn’t as relentlessly weird as last year’s installment, but filled with some good ol’ fashioned Simpsons-style, kid-pleasin’ gore and violence anyway. Particularly in the lead story by Evan Dorkin, which is almost Milk ‘n’ Cheese-esque in the amount of Grand Guignol-ish mayhem dished out on each page.

    Lemmy from Motörhead is the celebrity contributor for this ish, contributing the story (with a script by Tom Peyer) for the last segment of the book. Needless to say, this would be the Most Metal Comic Book Story on the stands this week.

    BONUS FEATURE: inset sheet of Marge Attacks trading cards. It’s exactly what you’re thinking, and it’s fantastic.

  • Justice League: Generation Lost #10 – You know what? I like this series. A lot. It’s very well done, fast-paced, with strong, witty dialogue, and most importantly, doesn’t feel too padded like DC’s last couple of year-long series…which I’m sure cutting the number of issues in half helped with quite a bit.

    Also…I liked Kingdom Come. Liked it well enough to get that Graphitti Designs slipcased edition with the Mark Waid and Alex Ross autographs and the extra sketchbook and all that other hoohar.

    …But seeing Kingdom Come pop up in Justice League: Generation Lost made me groan just a little. I think I’ve reached my KC saturation point during that eighteen-year-long storyline in Justice Society. I mean, Generation Lost hasn’t disappointed so far, and I’m sure they’ll handle the KC stuff just fine, but…man, I can probably do without seeing any more references to KC for a while. Unless it’s KC and the Sunshine Band, because that’s the way (uh huh uh huh) I like it (uh huh uh huh).

  • And I also got Fables #98, which I’m still enjoying, and Legion of Super-Heroes #5, which, I’m sorry to say, the recent relaunch of which hasn’t helped sales any, at least for us.

  • Also, I’m still not buying The Flash. Am I missing anything there?

Yes, I told our customers that all of his scripts had allegedly been turned in ahead of time.

filed under Categories sir-links-a-lot, swamp thing, this week's comics 1 Comment

 

  • Rich from Roots of the Swamp Thing e-mailed me about this interview with Guillermo del Toro, in which the interviewer asks del Toro if he could consider making a Swamp Thing movie. And in response?

    “I would love to make a Swamp Thing movie….”

    Of course, that doesn’t mean he is going to make a Swamp Thing movie…he’s got a few years’ worth of projects to tackle first, but at least he’s got the idea in his head.

    After seeing the giant plant monster in his Hellboy II flick, I imagine his Swamp Thing would work quite nicely.

  • Blah blah new Watchmen trailer blah blah gravely Rorschach narration blah blah finally gives uninitiated an idea of the plot blah blah Dr. Manhattan talking blah blah bullet time ahoy blah blah parts look straight out of the comic blah blah blurred blue penis blah blah cgi human bean juice blah blah Civilian Dan looks good blah blah Manhattan freaking out = cool blah blah sorry folks that one part is actually from a dream sequence blah blah.

  • A new comic or two: Batman: Cacophony #1 is Kevin Smith’s first new comics work since the aborted Daredevil mini and the horrendously-delayed Spider-Man/Black Cat. Funny, our customers don’t seem to be going out of their way to pick up this new thing. Can’t imagine why not.

    The comic itself is a mixed bag…while there’s some cleverness involving Deadshot, there’s also a lot of leaden dialogue that’s apparently meant to be witty and/or outrageous and just comes off as “trying too hard.” Or maybe I just don’t have the patience for it any more. Your mileage may vary, as they say.

    Justice Society of America: Kingdom Come Special: Superman, or something like that – I think we could have safely lost the extra sketch pages, and just published the 23-page story in the standard format for $2.99 and saved everyone a buck. Art’s nice, though…not quite as mannered as Ross’ usual painted work.

    The Black Terror #1 – latest installment in the ongoing Project Superpowers Golden Age superhero revival thing, and…not quite sure what the point of it all is, really. Feels like one of those comics that I like more in concept than in execution. While I enjoy seeing some of the off-brand Golden Age superheroes in action, and it all looks nice, the actual stories themselves have yet to grab me.

    Fall of Cthulhu: Godwar #3 – I don’t have much to say about it, really, other than I’ve been enjoying this ongoing serial involving Lovecraft’s space monster mythos. The shorts Boom! Studios have been doing in their Cthulhu Tales books are fine and all, but I appreciate the longer-form stories of Fall of Cthulhu a bit more, if only because there’s more space to get to know the characters, and of course to build the creepiness and the horror. Perhaps part 3 of a 4 part series, following up on a previous dozen or so issues, may not be the best time to recommend a series, but at least look for the trades if you’re big on the Lovecraft thing.

    Stephen King’s The Stand: Captain Trips #3 – Issue #3, and we’re only how far into the story? This adaptation is going to be ONE MILLION ISSUES LONG.

  • Hey, once former and now part-time employee Kid Chris is on the Twitter. Add him to your Twitter list, and maybe he’ll post something on there again.

A brief look at new comics, and the End of Civilization. (Warning: Mike is a tad cranky.)

filed under Categories End of Civilization, this week's comics

New comics day:

Battlestar Galactica #1 – Well, nobody wanted the #0 for a quarter, so I’m not holding out hope for this new issue, priced at $2.99, to do any better.

Mythos: Hulk – Yet another retelling of the Hulk origin, only with murkier artwork? Oh, good.

Snakes on A Plane #1 – Had a couple folks tell me “I can’t believe I’m buying a comic by Chuck Dixon,” but such is the power of Snakes on A Plane! Well, theoretical power, anyway, given its underperformance. Hey, it’s gonna kill on DVD, you just watch.

Little Lulu Color Special trade paperback – Reprints material yet to appear in the regular black and white reprint books…and it looks like some care was taken in the choice of material, as at least a few gags and/or plot points depend on being able to see the colors of things in the stories. As always, recommended.

Action Comics #842 – Cute Simpsons gag on the cover.

X-Isle #2 – Sorta review-proof: either you want to read a comic about a group of folks stuck on an island filled with monstrous creatures and man-eating plants, or you don’t. Fast-paced, yet creepy, with moody art (though it still has that slight “stretched to fit the page” look I’ve mentioned before).

CSI: Dying In The Gutters #1 – The CSI comics license gasps out its last breath as it abandons the CSI TV show fans who weren’t buying the comic any longer anyway, and focuses its attention entirely on insular comics fandom references. To be fair, it’s not completely terrible (and the strategy worked, since it got me to look at it and I’ve never seen an episode of CSI), but the comic might as well have been called CSI: One Last Grab at Direct Market Sales. Still, kinda worth it if you want to see a bunch of comics pros being presented as if they’re performing in a Murder Mystery Train Dinner Theatre.

Oh, and re: the Tokyopop situation: yeah, I really want to be used as a feeder store for Tokyopop’s online shop. Here, let me try to build an audience for your titles so that you can take them away from us and sell them yourself. That really makes me want to support your future releases. (This reminds me, in a way, of the Games Workshop strategy, where we sold GW product successfully for many years, building up a large local market for their material, and then, gee, GW opens up one of their retail stores about a mile away from us. Coincidence, I’m sure.) I know it’s their right to sell their books however they’d like, but it sure seemed to me over the years that Tokyopop saw having to offer books to comics shops as an inconvenience, or at least as an afterthought. I’m surprised they’re still bothering.

And now, Progressive Ruin presents…the End of Civilization. Crack open your copy of Diamond Previews dated Sept. 2006, and follow along. (Previous installments: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18)

p. 192-3 – Ghost Rider Johnny Blaze Bust:

Commemorate the forthcoming repeatedly-delayed box office car wreck with a statue that vaguely approximates the appearance of the starring actor. Only $79.99.

p. 431 – Moses Plush:

This has to be some kind of sin. I mean, doesn’t a plushie version of Moses violate at least a commandment or two?

p. 438 – Archie Modern Reggie Bust:

Have any of these Archie statues even slightly resembled the comic book characters they’re based on?

p. 448 – Hot Golfer Statue:

Yet another addition to my proposed “thisisafetishforsomebody.com” website.

p. 448 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Book of Darkest Magick Prop Replica:

“Carefully matched to the pivotal prop’s every detail, each book features a genuine leather binding complete with closing clasp. In addition, with over 500 blank pages at your disposal you can create your own spell book or start a demon database (or a diary or sketchbook)!”

Here’s a hardcover sketchbook…true, it’s only 192 pages, and it doesn’t look like something you once saw on a TV show, but it’s only $5.99 ($5.39 for Barnes & Noble members) versus the nearly ninety bones you’d be dishing out for the prop replica.

p. 450-1 – Rocky “The Italian Stallion” Robe Replica:

Sylvester Stallone’s porn film seems like an odd thing to commemorate in a prop replica, but, hey, more power to you.

p. 495 – Peanuts “Psychiatric Booth” Salt & Pepper Shakers:

Okay, I’m not posting this to make fun of it; I’m posting it because it rules.

Okay, sorry for the crankiness above; here, have some cute.

And now…

filed under Categories retailing, this week's comics 1 Comment

…sixty-nine copies of Marvel’s Time Bandits adaptation:


We recently found ourselves in possession of a collection that consisted of lots of multiple copies of various titles from the early ’80s, primarily extra-sized comics, anniversary issues, and annuals. We paid well for the stuff we could use, and everything else (sloppily packed into old and decaying cardboard boxes) ended up getting dumped on us.

But that’s okay…as a result, you may be getting more pictures like the above in the near future. In fact, on Wednesday, on new comics day, instead of doing actual work, there I was, carefully spreading out Time Bandits comics on the floor, then balancing on top of the aluminum ladder that I dragged out of the back of the store in order to get the right angle for my shot.

The things I do for this site.

Hey, look, I have an article over on Cracked.com….”Awesome Super-Powers (And Why You Don’t Want Them).” (EDIT 9/9/12: Link dead. Just as well…it wasn’t that good.) Go read, you.

I can’t take credit for the swell job done on the graphic element of that article, but those Cracked guys sure dressed up my textual drivel right purty.

Speaking of new comics day (as I was, up there, somewhere), we received our case of Spawn Series 29, the one supposedly containing the Man of Miracles figure (based on Marvelman/Miracleman, ownership of which is…contested, to say the least). I say “supposedly” because our case didn’t have one. Comments I’ve seen here and there have stated that this figure is the short-pack of the case…if so, ours was so short-packed we didn’t even get one.

We also received the figures based on Michael Turner’s artwork from the nigh-unreadable Superman/Batman “Return of Supergirl” storyline. Oh, Sweet Mother McCrea, these figures are even more appalling in person. Supergirl is frightful, and Corrupted Supergirl, even more so.

While Googling up some info on the Man of Miracles figure, I came across a reference to the character on this Wikipedia disambiguation page:

“A thinly-veiled rip-off of Miracleman, ‘created’ by Todd McFarlane for the comic book Spawn.”

That instance of opining has been removed from the current version of the page. As noted in the page history file:

“(Removal of POV (even if I agree with it!) from disambig.)”

Well, I thought it was amusing, anyway.

I’m not going to talk about this today, but how long do I have to wait before I discuss the “surprise” twist from the end of this week’s release of Civil War #2, without having to surround it with SPOILER WARNINGS? Is it safe to assume that anyone online with any interest in the story already knows it? (Here’s the reveal if you hadn’t heard.)

You know what? Forget it. I am going to discuss it. so current SPOILERS in effect, kids.

So the big reveal at the end (the same reveal that ended up in this week’s Thunderbolts, so everybody found out about it last week when they read that comic in the Marvel preview pack) is almost certainly going to get reversed in short order. A friend of mine, whose first initial is Dorian, has noted that Marvel’s current talking point is that this character’s current relationship status quo is a bad idea, and shouldn’t have been done…probably to get folks ready for something to happen to that status quo during the course of Civil War. Probably not death or divorce, as the Marvel folks seem to be against that.

Well, my guess is that whenever they reverse the reveal from Civil War #2 (maybe Dr. Strange casting a spell, or time travel, or however they do it), the hero in question will ask that his relationship be undone, retconned, “made never was,” to protect his loved ones from any harm being caused by their proximity to him. Particularly if said loved ones undergo some kind of traumatic experience as a result of the reveal. And vee-ola, we’re back to square one.

That’s just my guess, anyway. Could be completely off.

I did like the reaction of the hero’s boss to his reveal, though. Very funny.

Super F*ckers “#277” by James Kochalka is out this week…more charming, wistful, violent, silly, and remarkably potty-mouthed superhero funnies. It’s probably my favorite superhero book of the week. It may be five bucks for 24 pages, but it’s so densely-packed that you certainly get more than your money’s worth. (Unlike, say, my experience with last week’s Wonder Woman #1, which felt like I got from one cover to the other in no time at all). Kochalka says a few words about Super F*ckers (and other topics) in Alan David Doane’s Five Questions interview.

I don’t have much new to say about it, but I always like to note when the new volumes of Little Lulu arrive. This one is Volume 10, All Dressed Up, and John Stanley and Irving Tripp’s work is about as close to “perfect” as comics can get. Classic, funny, and ageless material.

For reading all this, you get a picture of twenty-eight copies of The Life of Pope John Paul II:

I ain’t scared of no weekly comical book.

filed under Categories this week's comics

Your out-of-context quote from new comics day:

“Devo sweat? You’re soaking in it!”

Okay, so it was I who dared to say such a thing, while I was reminiscing with pal Tom about how I saw Devo during their first reunion tour in the late ’80s. I was pressed up against the dead center of the stage, with Mark Mothersbaugh flinging his Devo sweat right upon me. AND I NEVER SHOWERED AGAIN.

Anyway, back to comics:

Kid Chris speaks briefly about that comic book-themed UCLA radio show he was on yesterday morning. I only got to listen to it for about half an hour, just long enough to hear pal Ian‘s call and his vain attempts to get a word in edgewise what with all the excitable college students and uncooperative equipment. Plus, I heard Kid Chris totally slam Swamp Thing. Hey, Chris, remember that “former employee discount” you used to have….?

Oh, relax, Kid Chris fans, I’m just joshin’ him. Maybe.

52 #1 – Well, here we go, the first installment of the next year of your comics-readin’ life. I do like the idea of a weekly comic, and this issue is a strong start, with a nice interweaving of several characters and plotlines (and a cameo appearance by Mr. Mind, a fave of mine). Nice art, strong creative team, interesting concept…I think there’s a danger of some weekly-comic fatigue from the fans after a few months, though, particularly from the people who don’t want to still be thinking about the impact of Infinite Crisis nine months after the fact.

But I’m not some ordinary, weak-kneed, lily-livered comics fan. You think a weekly comic can break me? Bring it, suckas.

Quick shots:

Mad Magazine #466 – Since Stephen Colbert has been in the public eye of late, I thought I should note that the new ish of Mad contains screenshots and a transcripts of The Colbert Report‘s birthday tribute to Fold-In master Al Jaffee.

Angel Spotlight: Illyria – A sorta sad and quiet issue, um, aside from the action scenes, nicely written by Peter David.

Spike: Lost and Found – An improvement on the last one-shot, which was pretty crappy, with a story more of interest to longtime fans, regarding a second Gem of Amarrah. Don’t worry if you don’t know what that means…I do, but then I’m a professional nerd.

Last Planet Standing #1 – Employee Nathan pointed out Galactus’ use of the term “Final Solution” in this comic, which we all agree seems like kind of a bad idea.

Will Eisner’s John Law: Angel’s Ashes Devil’s Dust #1 – No comment about the contents…just wanted to say I got a real Kitchen Sink Press vibe off the way this comic looks.

Crisis on Multiple Earths Vol. 4 – More crazy JLA/JSA team-ups, including one that throws in the Legion of Super-Heroes too. They better have given artist Dick Dillin hazard pay for that story.

You know, doing these really brief comments about various comics make me want to do another discussion of every comic that comes out in a single week (here’s the last time I did it). But then I wait a while, and the feeling eventually goes away.

In other news:

E.C. Segar’s Thimble Theatre is being rereleased in hardcover. GOOD. I missed Fantagraphics’ reprinting the first time around (though I’ve been able to borrow and read ’em). Six affordable volumes, which I think are going to reprint the whole run…this is good news. Tom Spurgeon promises more info, so watch this space. Or, rather, Tom’s space.

Via pal Dorian:

BUY ME THIS:*


It’s a freakin’ Grumpy prop from Land of the Lost. If you buy me this, I’ll be your special internet friend. (But not with “benefits” — sorry, Kevin.)

* You don’t really have to buy me this. Honest. I’m not legally responsible if you spend several thousand dollars on this item to send to some guy you’ve never met, just because he told you to do so on his stupid weblog.

It’s…(sniff)…it’s okay.

I’m writing the title of this post in 2021, and I have no idea which version of Doom Patrol I’m referring to here.

filed under Categories this week's comics

A few New Comics Day comments:

I finally got my signed and numbered copy of Freak Show (#139/700), several months after the regular unsigned edition was released…nice big, fat autographs of Bruce Jones and Bernie Wrightson on the endpapers. You can see a five-page preview of graphic novel here (even though the title of the page says “Flaming Carrot #1 preview” – this ain’t Flaming Carrot, I assure you). The reproduction is fine, the detailed linework is nice and clear, though the initial title splash page is printed much darker than the rest of the book. I’m assuming it was intentional, but it’s hard to tell.

The Image Comics 13th or 14th anniversary hardcover is out. Really. Honest. I held it in my very hands. I saw it with my own eyes. It exists! I will admit I am curious about the Savage Dragon story, which features the first ever telling of the character’s origin. Even though I haven’t been a regular reader of Savage Dragon, I have admired Larsen’s ability to stick with his project as long as he has (despite the current hiatus caused by his new Image head-honcho status). And I do flip through the new issues when they come in…sorta makes me wish I’d stuck with it (I did read the mini and the first five issues of the regular series). Well, maybe someday they’ll do a Marvel Essentials/Showcase Presents-style reprinting of the comic so I can catch up for cheap.

Adventures of Superman #646 has a understated and downright attractive cover…featuring Mr. Mxyzptlk, of all people. I think the post-mid ’80s reboot Mxyzptlk has undergone an interesting evolution, having started off as a downright nasty piece of business, openly hostile toward Supes, then turning into essentially a wacky cartoon character in the hands of Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove in the early ’90s, and, in recent comics, becoming a far more sympathetic being…gentler in a way than even the Silver Age Mxy.

The current incarnation of the Doom Patrol has limped to its conclusion, leaving me to wonder when the next version of the team is due to appear. Who wants to bet that we’ll be back to the old continuity with the next series, ignoring (or perhaps incorporating, as some kind of “alternate timeline” storyline) the “reboot” status of this series?

And, oh, Good Lord, about a zillion manga paperbacks came in. Somehow pal Dorian is to blame for this, I just know it.