…and only the thought of the true love between a koala bear and a penguin will sustain me:
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I was paging through our store copy of Wizard Magazine (hey, we do have the occasional downtime at the shop…it’s not all big money transactions and gunplay)…and surely I must have imagined seeing this on the classified ads page:
“BETTER SEX THROUGH YOGA
The super hero power no villian, vixen or hulk can live without.”
Before you say anything, yes, that’s how “villain” was spelled in the ad. There was a website address, too, which I don’t really want to post here but you can probably figure out on your own. Just don’t confuse it with Bettersexthroughyogurt.com, for God’s sake.
So pal Dorian and I were discussing some recent comics “controversy” or another yesterday:
Me: “…And, of course, everyone’s going to start bitching about it.”
Dor: “‘Start?'”
Me: “Oops, I meant that they’re going to alter the direction of their current nonstop bitching to this new target.”
So, the stoned person that Dorian mentioned…how did I know she was stoned? She kept hitting on me. I mean, honestly…surely even stoned people can do better than me.
From now on, this is how I’m going to brand images I personally scanned for use on this site:
I finished reading the Crisis on Infinite Earths novelization a few days ago, and, like I said before, it does not stand alone. You really need to have read the original Crisis comic book series to make heads or tails out of this. Part of the problem is that, when you get right down to it, Crisis isn’t so much about the plot as it is about mixing up and showing off all of DC Comics’ various characters from the company’s long history. The comic’s appeal is primarily visual…it’s for the fans who want to see Changeling meet Mr. Tawky Tawny, for example, rather than read “And then the Earth-1 Changeling was surprised to meet Mr. Tawky Tawny of Earth-S.” (Okay, not an actual line from the book, but you get the idea.) The huge group shots and massive fight scenes in the comic are a lot of fun to look at, given the lovely George Perez/Jerry Ordway art. But in prose form, those group shots suddenly become long lists of characters, often with notations as to which Earth they’re from. The few introspective moments that flesh out the occasional character are nice (the Silver Age Flash, the center of the story, benefits most), but they’re few and far between.
The book was a fun diversion, despite its problems (and occasional typos) but not exactly essential to the understanding of the orignal Crisis series. For fans only…but really, who else was going to read it?
I was one of the participants in Chris “Lefty” Brown‘s Mixed Bag CD exchange, and while some folks out there who were also in the exchange are doing detailed reviews of each disc, I’m not sure I’ll ever get around to doing so myself. I will say that I’ve enjoyed all the discs I received, and that it’s very illuminating to be exposed to these fine folks’ musical tastes. And I’m glad to hear that most of you enjoyed at least some of the material on my disc…the next one will be a bit more…challenging, so consider yourself warned!
Tell the truth…you clicked on that bettersexthroughyogurt.com link, didn’t you? Sicko.
Animal Weirdness #1 (1974) – art by Livingstone
Hi.
Okay, Big Larry totally called me on my comments yesterday regarding Surviving Grady, where I claimed I would have no interest in the book given its apparent baseball subject matter. Larry says “no way, Jose,” tellng me baseball is just a framework for the contents, and posts a brief excerpt here as proof. All right, Larry, you win…I’ll take a second look.
My comments about the high quality of the actual materials using in the making of the book still stand. This is one sturdy volume.
Okay, there seems to be an awful lot of support for the planet of Thanagar lately, which I don’t understand. Every time a Thanagarian that isn’t Hawkman pops up, he (or she) is part of an invading force, or he’s trying to kill one of our Earth superheroes, or otherwise trying to commit some form of evil. Don’t forget, the Thanagarians were part of the coalition of alien races who invaded our planet a while back, thus making them partially responsible for what happened to Australia (i.e. “Beachhead Earth”). I don’t trust those sneaky Thanagarians.
Anyway, I’m backing the planet Rann. They never tried to invade Earth, as far as I know (or if they did try, I’m sure Adam Strange talked some sense into them before things got too far). Plus, Swamp Thing once visited Rann and helped revive their dying plantlife, so Rann’s got a little bit of Swampy in it. Oh, and who tried to kill Swamp Thing while he was there? Thanagarians, that’s who. Gee, what a surprise. Those big jerks.
Another reminder: as I first announced here, I have an extra copy of Couscous Express to give away, and all you gotta do is send your name and address to contest (at) progressiveruin.com to enter the random drawing. Deadline is Friday, May 20th…please see this post for rules and restrictions.
And in case you’re worried…I’m only keeping the names and addresses for the duration of the contest. They’ll be discarded once a winner is chosen…you won’t be put on a mailing list, and no salesman will call.
Because pal Ian demanded it.
from Brave and the Bold #140 (April 1978) – by Bob Haney & Jim Aparo
Trust me…any explanation would only disappoint.
You’ll have to excuse me; I’m feeling a little punchy.
Okay, new comics day….
Well, the day started off with a representative from one of our local libraries buying an absolute boatload of graphic novels, which is nice. She also informed me that they’re going to have some kind of superhero-themed reading program this year, and she asked if I’d put together a display for them. Hey, no problem…back in my public library employment days (in fact, this lady’s boss used to be my boss, 15-something years ago) I used to help run the summer reading programs at our location, including the building of displays and whatnot, so I’m no stranger to this. Should be fun! Well, at least until somebody gets hurt.
Oh, and one would think that a parent’s reaction to her horde of children yelling and running around the store would be to put a stop to such shenanigans, wouldn’t one? Well, not the parent we had in yesterday, apparently. Sigh.
As for the actual comics:
Okay, fine…Green Lantern: Rebirth is finally over, Hal Jordan is back as GL, all the other subsidiary characters are back to where they were all those years ago…so quit your griping.
Speaking of people complaining, I haven’t read the newest Infinite Crisis spin-off Rann/Thanagar War yet…too busy, too busy (hey, that Land of the Lost Season 3 DVD box set isn’t going to watch itself!)…but it’s Dave Gibbons writing, and it’s freakin’ Rann versus Thanagar. The sad old DC fanboys like me live for this nonsense. And check in on the Absorbascon…starting with this post (and onward), he details his belief in the superiority of Thanagar over Rann. I lean more towards Rann, and for good reason. Two words: Tornando Tyrant.
Desolation Jones…I already told you that the story was another fine example of Warren Ellis‘ darkly humorous storytelling. Well, now that I have the finished product in my mitts, I can also tell you that the artwork of J.H. Williams III is very nicely done, expressing the bleakness, the violence, and the humor of the script quite well.
Surviving Grady from AiT/Planetlar is a prose paperback, not a graphic novel, and it’s on a topic that I unfortunately have absolutely no interest in (baseball), but I did want to point out that it’s a very nicely put together paperback…nice paper quality, and a good sturdy cover. I wish more paperbacks were assembled thusly. Look to the mighty H at The Comic Treadmill for a discussion of the actual contents, at some point, I’m presuming.
Majestic #5 – when that Majestic mini-series was published under the DC imprint, it sold fairly well. This new series, under the Wildstorm imprint, isn’t doing nearly as well. I hope it’s just because of the art and/or story, and not because of the company logo on the cover. That would just be depressing.
The AG Super Erotic Anthology 2005 Summer Teaser – that much porn for only a dollar? You can’t beat that!
City of Heroes #1 – this is the new Top Cow version of the title based on the computer game, which I’m only mentioning because I liked the George Perez cover.
Star Wars Tales #23 – people were buying this, at our store at least, for the funny stuff. They don’t like the serious stories. Every other Star Wars comic takes itself too seriously…one funny SW comic wouldn’t bring down the Lucasfilm Empire (heh), surely.
Almost sold an issue of Arana…whew! That was a close one.
Also at the store yesterday: Pal Dorian wore his Dalek shirt, and everybody liked it. The end.
The Buyer’s Guide #439 (April 16, 1982) – art by Nestor Redondo
Yeah, that’s right, Swamp Thing versus Man-Thing. Drink it in.
(Your mission, Contest of Champions, should you choose to accept it….)
Commenter Cole brings up a DC logo mystery…why does his copy of Superboy #212 from 1975 have the modern DC logo, even though it wasn’t in regular use until several months later?
Upon seeing his comment, I checked our copy of this comic at the store, and told Cole that it had the “Line of DC Super-stars” DC emblem, as seen on this copy from the Grand Comic Book Database:
Cole then directed me to the Mile High Comics site, which had a copy of the same comic but with the newer logo, as Cole described:
My immediate impression is that the second version may be a reprint produced a few months later, probably for foreign markets. You can see that the month and pricing information is missing, and that some other pricing information has been stamped onto the cover by hand.
Anyway, that’s my guess…unless Cole bought his copy off the stands here in the U.S. of A., in which case I’m stumped. It could be that it was a test-marketed cover? Or a reprint for use in those variety-store 3-packs? (But most of those had Whitman logos, I think.) Or maybe it was a foreign edition that made it onto domestic shelves? I’m not sure…maybe someone out there can set us straight.
So in response to my brief mention of DC’s new logo yesterday, commenter Jim expressed his personal fondness for this rather Spartan variation of the DC logo:
It’s plain, but it’s bold, and it certainly stands out.
Commenter Cole’s favorite is the “DC Line of Super-Stars” logo, which I also like…
…though DC didn’t do it any favors when, for a time, it was squeezed into the center of a really busy banner at the top of the cover:
Most of Marvel Comics’ company logos never really did anything for me, though I will admit a certain nostalgic feeling for the “Marvel Comics Group” banner:
But, honestly, Marvel has yet to top this:
I wish they’d start using that again.
So, yeah, Free Comic Book Day was yesterday, and our shop’s event went swimmingly, I felt. It seemed a little busier than previous years, with a mix of familiar faces and plenty of potential new customers, and we gave them all boatloads of comics.
We had some left over (we always do), but that’s planned…we order extras for use during the year, to hand out to any kids that come in, to supply some of the local libraries that we do business with, and even to pass out to the kids at the Sunday church groups my girlfriend runs. Yes, a church group…I’ve done it every year FCBD has been running, and it’s always gone over really well. (No, I’m not giving them Fantagraphics’ Funny Book!)
Another benefit of FCBD is, of course, exposing the regular customers to new and different titles they might not have been inclined to try otherwise. In previous years, books like Courtney Crumrin, Queen and Country and Adventures of Barry Ween greatly benefited from FCBD exposure, as our regulars snapped up the trade paperbacks, added titles to their comic saver lists (when applicable), what have you. I’m not sure which title will be the breakout one this year (I’d like to think Owly, or maybe Flight), but it’ll be interesting to see.
An interesting side effect of FCBD…we tend to sell a lot of trade paperbacks on that day, especially to our regular customers who pop in for the freebies. That certainly helps to subsidize the promotional cost of the event!
Now all I gotta do is get a hold of our window-painter guy to take the “Free Comic Book Day – May 7th” picture off our window and replace it with something else. Maybe it’s time for the “25th Anniversary” image to go up, at last.