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1. Did a little remodeling around the place. Hit “refresh” on your browser-thingie if you can’t see the changes.

2. My Fallen Son cover mock-up from yesterday almost featured, instead, that Mary Jane statue. Just on the off-chance that, you know, you haven’t seen it yet.

3. Speaking of Fallen Son…we didn’t get in a whole lot of that third variant cover of the Captain America installment, the one with the blank image and the stiff cover, because, really, c’mon now. But damned if it didn’t fly out the door. I can only assume folks are drawing their own “sad superhero” covers, because when you get right down to it, they probably can’t be any worse than Tur…okay, that’s enough flogging of that horse.

4. So I was worrying a while back that sales for Dark Tower had suddenly dropped off…well, we had a minor flurry of folks grabbing the fourth issue and asking for back numbers. Phew, good…this could have gone one of two ways: 1) the Stephen King fans burn out on the monthly drive to the funnybook emporium to get each succeeding issue, decide just #1 is enough, pass on the rest; or 2) just pop by every few months and catch up on Dark Tower issues as necessary. Mostly it appears to be the latter…though there is still some significant drop-off fron the first issue. Unless, of course, there are yet more fans waiting even longer to get their King comics.

5. For those of you still hold out that hope that there may be another watchable Marvel animated movie someday, please enjoy the Doctor Strange site complete with trailer and a countdown ’til destruction release. That first Ultimate Avengers movie was passable, the second a snoozefest, and that Iron Man cartoon…oy. So following that progression, I think I’ll be giving the Doctor Strange flick a pass.

6. For no good reason…Batman versus Lion-O, video-game style:

It’s five minutes or so long. I don’t expect you to watch it all. But I do so enjoy the game’s background soundbites of “THUNDERCATS…HO!!!”

(BEHOLD)

…I’ve finally got around to using the internet browsing function of my cell phone to search for online images to use as the phone’s wallpaper.

Specifically, I’ve browsed my own images, my sidebar “icons,” and I now have these three pics on my phone to use as wallpaper whenever I please:

At last, the phone justifies itself.

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In other news:

• Welcome back to Polite Scott! Glad you’re feeling better!
• Enjoy your (presumed) Batman Begins promo website: “I Believe in Harvey Dent.”
• Pal Nat and his little friend, Licensable Bear™, are auctioning off the chance to have your message on the cover of the very next issue of Licensable Bear™. It’s for charity, so bid big, bid often. (And if the winning bidder were to, say, use his message to plug my site…I wouldn’t object.)
• Alan David Doane speaks frankly about Comic Book Galaxy.
• Alan linked to this, but it’s a great story of ’80s comics retailing and I wanted to share it here: Roger talks about the Counterfeit Cerebus #1. (A few years back, we actually had copies of both the real and the fake #1s in the shop at the same time…we ended up selling them both to the same fellow, who happened to be a hardcore Cerebus fan who was actively seeking one of the counterfeits for his collection.)
• I’m the last person on the planet to mention this, but Diamond Comics Distribution has decided against carrying the print incarnation of the Comic Foundry website. It always amazes me what Diamond will and will not carry. They won’t carry a comics magazine that, from the sounds of things, is on par with the half-dozen or so TwoMorrows publications, and yet they’ll carry, say, talking Snakes on a Plane pens long after that film’s expiration date. Okay, admittedly it’s an uphill battle for any new magazine to build a readership, and maybe Diamond didn’t feel like waiting for Comic Foundry‘s sales to justify their distributing the book. But I hear about stuff like this and I think “What? Not enough room on the warehouse shelves among all the Avatar variant covers for one more measly comics mag?”

  I mean, I’m not entirely unsympathetic toward Diamond’s position, but it’s a shame Comic Foundry didn’t even get a chance.

• Updates for a couple ACAPCWOVCCAOE* members:

  Pal Sean is still keeping up the mad weblog updating, this time with his “Comics on a Budget” reviews.

  Pal Tom surveys the carnage of cancelled TV shows.

* Associated Comics And Pop Culture Webloggers of Ventura County, CA And Outlying Environs. …Boy, it’s been a long time since I’ve had to explain that.

from Nancy and Sluggo #174 (Jan-Feb 1950)

Something I don’t get: I was processing a collection of recently acquired (read: dumped on us) comics, and there was an issue of Amazing Spider-Man that was taped…taped…to the backing board it shared its polybag with. A big piece of double-sided tape was stuck in the middle of the back cover, and then the comic was affixed to the backing board before being bagged.

And it wasn’t plain ol’ Scotch tape either…it was some kind of unholy, gnarly sticky tape that wasn’t going to let go of the paper, which meant tearing the back cover of the comic in order to deboard it. Luckily, it was a recent issue that we already had plenty of…and, also luckily, it was dumped on us, as I said, so it’s not like we had any money into it.

But still, taping your comic to your backing board…that’s not recommended comic book care, friend. Nor is hot-gluing the comic to the board, or stapling it. NO CGC 9.8 FOR YOU.

In other news:

• At last! New Groo for me and you! Groo the Wanderer is returning late this summer in a 25th anniversary special, to be followed by a new mini-series (Groo: Hell on Earth). One of my Frequently Asked Questions at the shop is “When’s the new Groo coming out?” — and now I have an answer. Thank goodness.
• New Mary Jane Watson cheesecake statue announced, shit hits fan(s). I know everyone’s already seen this statue (and the outrage it’s created) by now, but my pal Cully (who only follows one comics weblog – this one) probably hasn’t, and he’ll get a laugh out of it, I’m sure. Please note it’s already sold out, even prior to shipping, so look for more statues along these lines to follow. (“Aunt May…as you’ve never seen her before!”)

  My favorite response to the statue is this post that pal Dorian dug up. Damned funny.

• You know what you people need to cheer up? You need a Licensable Bear™ animated short:
  
  It’s yogurty!

  I’m also going to shamelessly plug some Licensable Bear™ comics, because 1) that’s what Licensable Bear™ would want me to do, and 2) pal Nat, who’s responsible for unleashing Mr. Bear™, is a nice guy and I want to help him out.

  Retailers are placing orders this month for two comics starring Licensable Bear™ that are coming out in July. One is Licensable Bear™ #4 (p. 215 of the May Previews, order #MAY073114) and the other is Liberty Stories #1, with a short full color Licensable Bear™ story (p. 310, MAY073516). Tell your retailers quick, since orders are due soon.

  …

  Now that’s a plug!

• More plugging: no link…but last night’s episode of Heroes featured a pile of comics Micah was looking through, the most prominent being Silver Surfer #1 (1968), mentioned by name in dialogue. There’s your stealth plug for the new Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie, one of the show’s sponsors. In fact, an extended preview of the film was advertised during last night’s show as airing during the Heroes series finale.

  Nice in-joke: the comic initially at the top of the pile was an issue of the Hulk: Gray mini-series, which was drawn by Heroes staff artist Tim Sale.

• For those of you who like your political commentary unsubtle: “Superheroes sing for peace”
  

  “Singer-songwriter August Bullock loved comic books as a child. Superman, Batman, and other heroes he admired never tortured their victims, never struck the first blow, and always adhered to the highest ethical standards.

  “He composed a protest song, ‘Heroes of America — an anti-war anthem,’ around this idea, lamenting the loss of America’s moral compass.”

  […]

  “‘Heroes of America’ was instantly popular, but the music video he made from it really made it fly. ‘The whole process was serendipitous,’ explains Bullock. ‘At first I was just going to wear a Superman costume while I sang the song. Then I had the idea of filming other ‘superheroes’ in public places on Halloween. Then I added protesters at a huge peace rally in San Francisco. When I spliced everything together I discovered I had a made commercial for the peace movement.'”

  You can read the whole press release at the link…note that there’s an embedded YouTube video that will automatically play.

  This YouTube clip, in fact:

“…This latest series of Justice League Unlimited figures shows the men of the League in their natural habitat: the locker room! Whether you’ve saved reality in a dirty battle with Mordru the Magician, or just want wash off a bit of that Javelin 7 cockpit smell, the Watchtower Locker Room is where the gods go to feel like men.”

Read and, er, see more at Toymania.

(via reader Rob)

So in Saturday’s mail delivery, I received the ballot for the upcoming Eisner Awards, for various outstanding achievements in funnybooking. What caught my eye, however, was the “Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism” category:

Along with some fine and deserving print publications are two equally fine and deserving comic weblogs: Tom Spurgeon’s Comics Reporter and Dirk Deppey’s Journalista. I think we can all agree that both of those websites are essential reading for anyone interested in comics as an artform and/or an industry, and I of course would applaud the awarding of an Eisner to either.

However, I can’t help but notice that there’s room for a write-in ballot. And since they’re considering weblogs:

VOTE RUIN!
Hey, why not? Surely I’m deserving of an Eisner for my in-depth investigative reporting. Okay, it’s mostly about things that happened a decade ago, or me complaining about whatever stupid thing Marvel’s done this time, but I’ve been in the industry for (ahem) many years now, toiling in the funnybook fields, and feeding my hard-won knowledge into this weblog. That must count for something. Plus, I once touched Jack Kirby. (Appropriately touched, thank you.)

At the very least, I deserve a trophy for managing to sell a full run of Marvel Vision. I realize that’s not “journalism,” but it’s like Hercules cleaning the Augean stables, baby, and I demand recognition!

Oh, sure, you could vote for other, lesser weblogs run by…well, I don’t want to throw the word “Communist” around, or bring up anyone’s time in prison. But you folks know what to do. VOTE RUIN! Vote early, vote often, as they say.

If I win, I promise to totally abuse my newfound power and cruelly crush my enemies…so you know your vote is going toward a worthy cause.

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This image from the end of yesterday’s post:

…comes from an early ’50s installment of Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts, featuring a funny contrast between the “for the kiddies” blurb across the top of the display and the actual comics therein. It’s amusing, at least to me, to look at the titles and pick out the ones that eventually were used (or, in the case of Smash, had been used) for real comics.

I particularly like the drawings Schulz provided for the covers:

Finally got that EC Comics collection we acquired recently processed and out for sale. Before the comics started flying out the door, I cleared out the main glass counter and filled ‘er up with the books so that I could take some photos and chronicle the majesty. And even as I was taking the photos, one of our longtime customers was patiently waiting for me to finish so she could acquire some of the books for herself.

Anyway, I’m no photographer (see if you can spot my shoe in a reflection!), but here are a few choice shots of the comics. Some are a little worse for wear (like that Weird Science #1) and some are downright gorgeous (some of those Weird Fantasy issues almost look like they just came from a 1950s newsstand)…but to have so many at once, even full runs of some of the series, is a thrill.

Here’s part of a spam mail sent our way by someone allegedly casting for a new MTV program:

“MTV is casting a fun, new documentary style reality series about relationships & dating from a male perspective. We’re looking for virgin guys (21 & up) on their quest to break out of their shell & improve their love life.

“Do you get nervous around women? Are you stuck in the ‘friend’ zone? Do you find you’re too busy to date? Whatever the reason, if you or someone you know is a virgin guy in the Greater Los Angeles area, we want to meet them!

Hmmm…an e-mail looking for virgin guys, sent to a comic shop. Thanks for the kind thoughts!

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SOME CLARIFICATION FOR STEVEN GRANT: Here are some additional details about the exchange quoted from my site in Mr. Grant’s most recent column:

1. The first line was the son, the second the dad. (And yes, if they were reversed that would have been a tad tragic.)

2. The son was about twelve, the father was in his thirties.

Anyway, if you all haven’t already, read his column for his perspective on a comic shop’s challenges in today’s marketplace…and about how some stores helped bring the 1990s market crash upon themselves (something I touched upon myself in a couple posts of mine about said crash).

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Bought for myself on Wednesday:

• Parasyte Vol. 1 by Hitoshi Iwaaki – This is one of those manga series that I discovered just a little too late…by the time I got around to flipping through an installment or two, it had already gone out of print and I didn’t have all the books in stock. But, here’s a new edition by Del Rey, in fewer, thicker volumes than the previous run, so at last I can get the full series for myself.

  Anyway, it’s about some alien critters that come to Earth and infect human hosts, taking over their bodies, changing shapes and stirrin’ up trouble. However, when one infection goes awry, a fellow named Shin finds his parasite’s influence is restricted solely to his right hand. So, now his hand literally has a mind of its own, and Shin and the parasite now have to learn to live with each other, which is kind of difficult when the hand occasionally looks like this:

  
  Anyway, it’s a nice combination of “absolutely horrific” and “grotesque” and “darkly humorous,” which is right up my alley. Looking forward to finally being able to read this series in its entirety.

• Mister I by Lewis Trondheim – This follow-up to Mister O has been out for a while, and I know I ordered the darned thing when it originally appeared in our order forms. Thankfully, unlike Mister O, Mister I has remained available for reorder, so I was finally able to get a copy. Like that first book, this new volume features lots and lots and lots of tiny little drawings, following the wiener-shaped Mister I as his various plans and schemes generally go very poorly for him. Here’s a review and brief sample so you can see what I’m talking about.
• Cover Girl #1 by Andrew Cosby, R.M. Yankovicz, and Kevin Church – Yes, that’s right, the comicsweblogosphere’s own Mr. Church has a new funnybook out, and…okay, I haven’t had a chance to really read it yet, but what bits of the dialogue I’ve read so far have been pretty funny, and I like Kevin, I’ve liked his writing, so I imagine I’ll enjoy the book. And if I don’t, I’ll just send him a nasty e-mail. Heck, maybe I’ll send him one anyway, just to keep in practice.