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…Well, shit.

house ad from Werewolf by Night #2 (Nov. 1972)

from The Champions #7 (Aug. 1976) by Tony Isabella, George Tuska & Vince Colletta

EDIT: Mr. Isabella his own self has a few words to say about this panel.

I suppose I should write something about DC’s new graphic novel initiative, establishing fresh restarts for Superman and Batman presumably to attract new audiences. Or, more likely, to give the old audiences something to complain about since they’ll be the ones primarily buying these. Unless, of course, I’m surprised and these are packaged at an under-$10 price tag and are sold everywhere and thus actually have a chance at getting in the hands of new readers. And, as Chris Butcher says, they’d better look different from the dozens of Superman/Batman books already on the shelves or they’re just going to get lost in the shuffle. I mean, it is DC, which does act like a real publisher most of the time, so I imagine they already realize the problems they’re facing.

As a funnybook seller, I do have some demand for continuity-lite standalone stories featuring the Big Two Characters, particularly with origin stories, so it’s not like I don’t have a market for it at my shop. That’s usually restricted to times when a movie featuring those characters is on the horizon, however, so I guess I’ll be set if there’s another Superman or Batman movie anytime soon.

The other thing is that, at least for Superman, there seems to be a progressively-decreasing amount of time between reboots/fresh starts for characters which is likely indicative of a fundamental problem regarding marketing and consumer acceptance, or at least a sense of desperation at maintaining a decades-old trademark in its original medium in the face of much more lucrative successes in other media. It’s the ol’ “let’s throw it at the wall and see what sticks” strategy, but it’s beginning to seem a little like the flailing arms and thrashing-about of a drowning man just before he sinks beneath the water.

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Well, that was a bit of a downer. The graphic novels do seem like they’d be okay, and I do hope they succeed in “sticking” and attracting new readers. I’ve noted before that most people are good with a Batman or Superman or Spider-Man movie about once every few years or so, and don’t need to pop into a comic shop to keep up with the half-dozen monthly comics for each of these characters. A twice-annual graphic novel series seems to be a happy medium between Wednesday “New Comics Day” visits and the (at best) every three years film installments, that allows a new casual fan to follow a character they have interest in without creating a stack of periodicals in the house.

Or, as pal Dorian noted to me as I was discussing this with him, maybe this is all just a test run on publishers switching over to an Original Graphic Novel standard from the increasingly economically-unwieldy periodical standard. That’s a bit of an eye-opener, there.

At the very least, like I said at the beginning, maybe they’ll sell well to people already coming into the shop. That I can realistically hope for, and if additional interest from new audiences actually materializes, all the better. But I’m not holding my breath.

EDIT: Pal Nat and Tom note the importance of the licensing angle, as well.

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Also, given who the writer of the Batman Superman [EDIT: Oops!] graphic novel is going to be, I’m going to be very disappointed if those GNs don’t have a hamfisted moral lesson at the end of each story like that same writer’s Brave and the Bold comics, because those are awesome.

So thanks, internet pals, for the assorted messages of appreciation/congratulations/pity you’ve sent me on the sixth anniversary of this here weblogatron.

A few items of note that were sent my way for the occasion:

Sleestak of That’s My Skull pointed me in the direction of this Swamp Thing gag from a 1989 issue of Comics Scene. (Gosh, I miss that magazine.)

Longtime ProgRuin reader Michael-Sensei posted this foreign Return of the Swamp Thing poster that I think I may have posted here before, but even if I did, it’s always great to see it again! And he linked to this Japanese video cover for the same movie, which made me laugh. “Waugh!” indeed.

Another longtime reader, Old Bull Lee, comments that his favorite post of mine ever is this one, where I mash together Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns with the Greatest Batman of Them All, Adam West. And the only reason I’m relinking it here is so that I can link to Kevin Church’s more extensive remixing of these two versions of Batman, which is completely awesome.

And another bull, Bully the Little Stuffed Bull, presents a rare image from my childhood as I team-up with one of my heroes.

Oh, almost forgot: here’s a bit of spam that I got at work on the same day as my sixth anniversary:

“Attention:Beneficiary,

“I am Barrister Micheal Sterling. I have a client Mr.Jeffrey, who bears the same last name with you and a national of your Country who used to work with The Arcadia Group London, on the 22nd of May 2005, my client, his wife and their three children were involved in a car accident along Manchester Express Road. All occupants of the vehicle unfortunately lost their lives.”

And then it goes on about how I’m the only relation to the family they could find and boy howdy, do I have a lot of money that’s waiting for me to just jump through the necessary hoops. But frankly, I couldn’t get past the misspelling of “Michael.”

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Here’s an odd thing a customer said to me the other day:

“Huh, so they’re making up new characters, are they?”

Said in reaction to the cover of the Marvel Previews catalog. Specifically in reaction to the Ultimate Comics X image on said cover. So 1) I didn’t quite know how to respond to someone expressing mild surprise that comic publishers are making up new characters, and 2) he was looking at an image that essentially had a Wolverine-type character, with hand-claws. I almost responded with “sure, they make up new characters all the time…they’re all variations on Wolverine” but withheld my excess of sardonicism.

To give the benefit of a doubt, perhaps this customer was simply resisting the need for Marvel and DC to push new characters into the marketplace, and not just being amazed that maybe, for whatever reason, a new character just might get created and pop up in a book somewhere.

I am using “new” loosely here, since the character does indeed appear to be another Wolvie knock-off, but it’s drawn by Art Adams and therefore will be right purty.

It had completely slipped my mind that the volume 3 hardcover of Beanworld, out this week from Dark Horse, was going to be brand-new stories. I spotted it on the invoice earlier in the week, went “oh, more reprints, hope they start doing new stuff soon,” and continued on my merry way. But, nope, it’s 200+ new pages advancing the Beanworld storyline even further along, and I couldn’t be happier.

It’s also a strange experience to be reading an extended Beanworld storyline after about a decade and a half of the title’s publishing dormancy (aside from some short bits here and there). Once again my need’s been awakened to see how the whole Beanworld story eventually works out, while at the same time never really wanting it to end.

In conclusion: huzzah, more Beanworld!

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Some other stuff came out this week, too, but all I’ve read was Beanworld and…

• Blackest Night: The Flash #1 – I’m glad these Blackest Night tie-in mini-series are 1) only three issues long, and 2) only $2.99, so it’s not that much a dent in a pocketbook. And this series is Barry versus the Rogues, and that’s very welcome. It repeats that bit of business about the Rogues having a “secret cemetery” for their comrades in the Flash’s stomping ground of Central City…seems to me that given the number of times the Flash “searched the entire city” at super-speed for a bomb or a missing person or what/whomever, he would have noticed the secret cemetery. Unless there’s a brief explanation for this I missed and/or forgot that you’re all about to tell me in the comments.
• Adventure Comics #4 – Yeah, I know, this came out a few weeks ago, but I put in a reorder and apparently got the last copies the distributor had…which all turned out to be the 1 in 15 variant cover. Huh.
• The Boys #37 – Did glance through this…may singlehandedly set back relations with the French a few years. But, it looks funny, and The Boys is a good comic, so sorry, France!
• Fall of the Hulks Alpha – I haven’t yet talked myself into picking this up, yet. A flip-through didn’t impress, but I may need to get it just to know what’s going on in the regular Hulk titles. Feh.
• Glamourpuss #10 – I continue to be the only reader of this comic at this store. I guess after everything, I still like watching Dave Sim draw stuff. Plus, this comic is just so damned peculiar. Fashion model parodies mixed with classic comic strip art appreciation…a strange mix, but fun nonetheless. Also, this issue has a swell Gene Colan cover.
• JSA All Stars #1 – People sure liked showing me pages from this comic on Thursday…in particular, all the ones with Power Girl in various positions and states of dress. I haven’t gone looking for the online outrage, but I’m sure it’s there.
• Little Lulu Vol. 21 – Another great book from Dark Horse this week. Classic John Stanley comics in color? Okay, sure, I’d like that.
• Popeye Vol. 4 HC – Plunder Island – Another collection of the classic strip, and it continues to be great. I’ve been going through it and I swear, I’ve probably found a dozen contenders for the sidebar icon pic on my site.
• Siege: The Cabal – Was trying to explain to a friend on Twitter that crossovers of today are a different animal from the ones in the ’90s, in that they all tend to lead more or less smoothly from one into another…there’s no year-long break while the next Event gets slapped together. Everything feeds either one crossover or another. Anyway, that’s what I have to say about this comic, which I’m sure is fine at what it does.
• Thor #604 – Well, let’s see if the non-JMS Thors continue to sell well.

And if there’s anything the people want from this site, aside from nekkid pics of TV stars as per my Google referrals, it’s buttons buttons buttons!

Hey, a button of the original Battlestar Galactica, in all its washed-out, possibly bootleg glory.

This movie will be 20 years old next year. That’s something I probably didn’t want to know. I haven’t seen in in over a decade, and I primarily remember that they really ramped up the goofiness for this sequel. Also, there’s the genius of the speech Phoebe Cates’ character gives about a tragedy in her past, parodying the similar speech from the first flick.

I have two primary memories of this TV series. First, that the series’ star, Roy Scheider, reportedly wasn’t pleased about the existence of the comic book spin-off, and it only had one issue released. (No idea how true this story is…maybe one of you can confirm or deny.) Second, there was a stereotypical sci-fi nerd type in a Saturday Night Live sketch, and he was wearing a way-too-tight Seaquest shirt.

Never saw the actual show itself, aside from maybe five or ten minutes at one point.

Now, I keep seeing copies of the DVD of this in the $5 bin at my grocery store, and I’m tempted sometimes, until I remember just how dark and depressing this film was. I actually haven’t seen it since I sat in that theatre back in ’87, just shaking my head at it all, and I think I may just be better off sticking to the comic adaptation. At least that has Curt Swan art.

Boy, if it’s one thing a guy who manages a comic shop knows, it’s fitting into society.

So as I’ve mentioned several times before on the site, I’m slowly working my way through Batman: The Animated Series DVD season sets thanks to the Netflix. In this episode from season three, “Trial,” the Joker is presiding over a, well, trial in Arkham Asylum with a captive Batman as the defendant. And instead of paying attention to the equally-captive D.A. as she attempts her defense, the Joker is enjoying some reading material:

That of course is based on the classic DC Comics humor series The Adventures of Jerry Lewis, complete with the ’60s go-go check design!

Okay, sure, the front cover is on the wrong side of the book, unless it’s an advertisement for the next issue or something. Or hell, maybe the Joker just tore the cover off and glued it to the back. He is the Joker, he doesn’t care about mint condition!

Here are a couple of closer looks at the cover, including a nice shot of the logo, a brief glimpse of a Jerry Lewis caricature, and a word balloon with the word “LADY” inside the comic:

And here’s another time Jerry Lewis appeared on a Batman TV show:

THE COOLEST GUY ON THE BEACH

HAS HIS EYES ON THE LADIES

AND HAS DECIDED THE BEST WAY

TO GET THE LADIES

IS TO WEAR THIS

Archie’s Girls Betty and Veronica #164 (August 1969)

That outfit almost makes the calendar redundant, doesn’t it? “Well, there’s no Laff-A-Lympics around, so, going by that young lady’s mode of dress, it must be the Sixties!”*

Anyway, sorry for the illness-caused outage, and thank you for your kind wishes yesteday. Hopefully things will be back to normal here shortly. Or whatever passes for normal.

* Or the 2000s in the hipster part of town.