Page 117 – Mike Sterling's Progressive Ruin

“Leaps and bounds” — I see what you did there.

February 13, 2019 filed under fantastic four, marvel, promo 8 Comments

From Marvel Comics Retailer Spotlight #16 (August 1990), here is the hype for the Walt Simonson/Art Adams “New FF” run on Fantastic Four #347 through #350:

In case you’ve forgotten, here’s what the first issue looked like:

Now, it’s been a long time, and I think in 1990 I was still in the “huh-yuk, I’m a’sellin’ comic books!” starry-eyed haze and not worried overly much with the behind-the-scenes ordering hoohar that the boss concerned himself with, so I probably didn’t know at the time that this first issue was in fact returnable. (Returnability is only occasionally afforded to retailers on certain books today, but it was a real rarity back then.)

As it turned it, it sold extremely well, eventually going to a second printing (also not a very common occurence in those long-ago Young Mike days). I know we didn’t have much backstock on it, and we’d buy back copies as they came in collections. This was quite the popular item for some time after its release, and even still today gets an inquiry from curious fans here and there.

It’s an interesting look at the cross-promotion and sales strategies used for a comic that one would think would almost sell itself anyway. This was during the big 1990s comics boom, so something like this seemed like it was almost guaranteed to outsell the Bible anyway, but even in those times when the gold poured out of the rivers and the oil flowed freely, no one was going to take any chances. Even dragging in ol’ Fin Fang Foom and referencing the rest of the Marvel Monsters to get that crowd (you know, “them”) shows the extent of hype for this book.

The listing of each guest star and why he’s of import is certainly a sign of the times, when any of these characters popping into any book usually meant at least something of a bump upward, if not necessarily in rack sales, but at least in retailer order numbers. It may still sorta be true today, but not nearly to the extent it once was, a combination of readers being a little choosier with their comics money and the fact that “Special Guest Appearances” of “hot” characters are no longer the huge sales pull due to overuse and overexposure. Wolverine’s “sales power,” once taken for granted as shown here, is no longer the sure thing.

I think most interesting to me is the characterization of this storyline as a “fill-in,” which I think maybe surprises me a little. It never felt like a fill-in, like some inventory story or reprint pulled out of storage thanks to the Dreaded Deadline Doom. I mean, it was the same regular writer and a special guest artist…it may have interrupted the main storyline, but it didn’t feel intrusive (like a fill-in in the Simonson run a couple of issues later, which was…okay, but it was a real case of “well, I guess this’ll do ’til Simonson’s back”).

Anyway, this is one of those few cases where the publisher was all “better order lots of these!” and being correct. It was quite the item, and stil is today, thanks to fans with long memories or a deep interest in comics past. Also a rare encouragement to stock up for later back issue sales, which you don’t see too much of anymore. (I think Crossgen was the last company to really push the “better have back issues for new fans!” thing.)

But as far as that advice to place copies of this comic “all over [our] comic racks” — yeah, I know one of Marvel’s publishing strategies was (and maybe still is) to make a retailer fill up his/her shelf space with all the Marvel product they could possibly carry, and crowd off everyone else. I mean, I get it, they wanted copies of this next to Ghost Rider, etc. However, I’m pretty sure we just had them up on the rack under “Fantastic Four,” and it seemed to do fine.

One last note…as to this being the Punisher’s “most unique” role…yeah, I think there’s a challenger.

I never did buy that Swamp Thang parody comic…wonder who worked on that?

February 11, 2019 filed under promo 2 Comments

Now I’ve probably shown you this before, I think:

…a promo piece from the early to mid-1980s featuring Dalgoda, a fine science fiction comic by Jan Strnad and Dennis Fujitake that deserves to be collected (along with the stories from the Flesh and Bones mini, and a back-up in that Doomsday +1 reprint series, and probably something else I’m forgetting…Anything Goes, maybe?) into a fancypants hardcover. Hey, if they could do it with Puma Blues and Border Worlds, right? Anyway, this sign dates from those long ago pre-Mike in Comics Retail days, but I seem to recall seeing it on display in the shop at the time.

Same with this next item, pulled out of the endless boxes of old promo material that my former boss passed along to me:

I have yet to find the matching “OPEN” sign (and yes, pal Tom, I checked the other side!)…as I recall, this part was taped into the window in such a way that the “OPEN” sign could slide in front of it when necessary. I suspect the “OPEN” half eventally disintegrated from constant handling, given the state of the “CLOSED” portion here.

Anyway, Dalgoda hardcover. Someone get on that. In the meantime, I’ll add my copies of those comics to my “Pile of Stuff Mike Was Reminded of While Blogging or Tweeting and Would Like to Reread Someday.”

Next up, a couple of promos for Wizard, that price guide and news magazine that somehow I didn’t think I’d miss once it was gone, but it did go a long way to getting even casual fans excited about comics. In a very facile, surface-level way, usaally, sure, but I don’t think any retailers nowadays would really turn down anything getting folks hyped about the weekly funnybooks.

But perhaps I digress. There were a few of these 9 by 12 inch mini-posters that I found in The Box, which were basically just reproduced images of forthcoming Wizard covers. Like, for example, this one by Sam Kieth:

Not really much to say except “that’s a neat image.” I always liked Kieth’s work, and I especially liked it those couple of times he drew the Hulk. Glad he’s still out there doing stuff for us to enjoy. (Kieth, that is, not the Hulk…well, Hulk too, I guess.)

Kieth also drew this image for Parody Press in 1992:

Parody Press was sort of dismissed at the time, but I’d like to go back and see what creators worked on some of these titles. Sam Kieth just did the cover for this particular comic, though he (and Mike Baron) wrote a couple of the stories. And it looks like Ty Templeton drew a “pin-up” page, too! Huh. (I do know I have a current pal who wrote a Parody Press title back then, but I’ll let him out himself if he wishes!)

And going back to Wizard…boy, doesn’t this promo flyer sum up the ’90s something fierce:

“Order with reckless abandon,” indeed. I’m pretty sure that was printed on the covers of the distributor order forms at the time.

Why isn’t “Smile…Doctor Doom Loves You” still in print?

February 6, 2019 filed under marvel, merchandise 5 Comments

So please let me know if you’d like me to put in orders to Pacific Coast Distributors for you on any of these items from their August 1984 catalog (click to expand):

“Any room,” you say? I say every room! Redecorate the interior of your house solely with mighty Marvel banners!

I remember seeing these banners around the old shop back when I was but a mere customr, and then eventually selling the last two or three still languishing about the backroom when I was doing the eBay thing for that same shop a couple of decades later. The one I remember specifically is that Alpha Flight pennant. I bet that Spider-Man one will still sell great today.

Now these things:

…Sure, it’s a little more common knowledge nowadays who the “X-Men” are* but I can only imagine how the mundanes reacted to the whole “Mutant Maniac” thing. …By the way, do people still refer to non-nerdy folk as “mundanes” or is everybody too infected with nerdiness now to be separated out? Gobble gobble one of us, and all that.

When discussing these on the Twitters pal Andrew noted that his younger brother still had a “Follow Me to the Secret Wars” bumper sticker on this car. As I said to Andrew, given its current non-awareness by the general public, I can imagine the uninitiated seeing that and thinking it’s some kind of political statement or somesuch. Or, like, some conspiracy-minded talk radio thing. It can serve multiple purposes!

And I was serious about the subject line. That Doctor Doom sticker needs to make its comeback, especially if this image of ol’ Vic were used on it:

* A story I’ve told before, but worth repeating: one of my earliest experiences in comics retail was, sometime in the late 1980s, someone calling the shop alarmed that these X-Men books she just heard about were “X-rated,” hence the name. “No, lady,” I replied, “the 1990s aren’t here yet.”

Yes yes, and “Platinum Age” and “Victorian Age” and “Pioneer Age.”

November 12, 2020February 4, 2019 filed under collecting 13 Comments

So, going back to Friday’s post, I’ve got a little bit of follow-up. First, very briefly, as was pointed out in the comments there and on the Twitters, the early ’80s Ka-Zar was something of a popular comic at the time, as borne out by my own perusal of former boss Ralph’s early ’80s order forms. Not only was Ralph ordering nearly as many Ka-Zar as he was of Avengers, he was actually ordering more Ka-Zar than Amazing Spider-Man. Now whether this says more about the popularity of Ka-Zar or about possible sales doldrums for these flagship Marvel titles, I’m not sure.

Secondly, commenter Matthew asked:

“So if you don’t like ‘Bronze Age’ as a term, are there terms you do like?

“And do you think we need more ‘ages’? The current ‘modern age’ has been (according to Wikipedia) going since 1985, and so is longer (34 years) than the silver (1956 – c. 1970) and bronze (c. 1970 – c. 1985) ages put together (30 years).

“If you were to create more ‘ages’ what would they be and what would be the signifiers?”

These are all perfectly reasonable questions. I’ve discussed the whole “comic ages” thing before, perhaps a tad derisively. Though I quoted it there, it bears repeating that the Overstreet Guide itself resisted the term “Bronze Age,” defining it thusly in their 28th edition:

“Non-specific term not in general acceptance by collectors which denotes comics published from approximately 1970 through 1980.”

Well, it’s pretty much a thing now, I guess. Like I said last time, creating a “Bronze Age of Comics” more like a deliberate marketing strategy to get those copies of Human Fly out the quarter bins and into glass cases with “KEY BRONZE AGE BOOK” written on the price stickers. But, you know, it’s here now, and I just gotta live with it. Mostly I was just complaining without providing any alternatives, a thing no one in any fandom ever does I’m sure you’ll agree.

Do I like any terms? Well…”Bronze Age” may have stuck in my craw a bit, and here in an old blog post filled with linkrot I transcribe a somewhat paraphrased discussion between pal Dorian and me about said ages and our incredulity at same. Now it’s been…egads, fourteen years, so I’ve got the current Overstreet here with me and let’s check the definitions of terms:

Golden Age: 1938 – 1945

Silver Age: 1956 – 1970

Bronze Age: 1970 – 1984

Copper Age: 1984 – 1992

Modern Age: “catch-all term applied to comics published since 1992”

As you see, there are some gaps there, which I’ve seen folks describe as “pre-Silver Age” or “post Golden Age” and so on, though others just simplify matters and call a 1948 book “Golden Age.” I don’t think the Price Guide Police will get ’em for doing so. And yes, there’s a little overlap…I don’t think Bronze ends May ’84 and Copper picks up in June or anything, but I suspect if anyone really wants to split that hair I guess it’s a case of “I know it when I see it” in trying to decide if J’emm, Son of Saturn is Bronze or Copper. To be fair, I don’t see “Copper Age” used too much in the wild…guess I’m not hanging out with the right people.

There are other general terms, like “pre-Code” (anything put out prior to the Comics Code Authority being established in 1956) and “pre-superhero Marvel” (stuff I thought just meant “whatever came out before Fantastic Four #1, but apparently very specifically meaning Journey into Mystery before Thor showed up, Tales to Astonish before Ant-Man, etc.).

Okay, do I like these terms, Matthew asked? Well, it’s too late for me to do anything about them now, and my post here on this silly blog (remember blogs?) isn’t going to change anything. I’m fine with them, I suppose…I “get” the divisions, more or less. And “Modern Age” does sound better than “Holy Shit The Entire Comics Market Just Collapsed Age.”

Modern Age seems to be tied to the whole Image launch thing, which is about as definitive a division in eras as we’ve had in recent comics history. One can easily recognize a “before Image” and an “after Image” in the industry. While the Overstreet definition of “Modern Age” isn’t as long as the period is descried by Wikipedia that Matthew noted, it’s still over a quarter of a century. However, I can’t really think of a specific line to draw at any point here that seems like a definable “age” in the sense of the previous ages. I joked in the title of this post about “Downloadable Torrent Age,” but…maybe that’s close? Maybe we’re in the Digital Age, where that’s a significant source of distribution not just for the big comic companies, but for smaller creators too? That’s not perfect, but it’s a possibility. It’s more likely that any such further delineations will come about with more distance from the present and we can look back and get a better picture of how things played out over time.

We all know the facetious suggestions, like the “Polybag Age” or the “Chromium Die-Cut Foil Cover Age” or the “Jemas Age.” Okay, that last one I just made up right now, which I would describe as a period of increased antagonism between Marvel and DC. Or, maybe, the “Rebirth Age,” by which I don’t mean DC’s post-New 52 initiative, but that time when DC was actively trying to undo major events in the past to bring back Barry Allen as the Flash, Hal Jordan as Green Lantern, and so on. Maybe a period of attempts to return to form after upending all the characters for, like, a decade or two. Sort of company-specific, but then, so are the definitions of Gold and Silver.

So, to recap answers Matthew’s questions: I don’t care for the term “Bronze Age,” but now that it’s here I guess it’ll do.

No, I don’t particularly think we need new ages, but new divisions will likely become more apparent once we look back on this time with some distance.

And I do have a few semi-jokey ideas for new ages. “Rebirth Age” still sounds as likely as any to me. But I suppose “The Mike Sterling Age of Comics” is still in the running.

Your Progressive Ruin 1981-2 Comics Investment Guide.

February 1, 2019 filed under collecting 10 Comments

So I was looking through the “Marvel Comics Guide to Collecting Comics,” a pull-out insert distributed within Amazing Spider-Man #234 (1982):

…and within, I found this little chart of then currently investible comic books:

According to the footnote:

…and unfortunately I don’t have a 1981/1982 price guide in front of me to compare prices, but let’s see what Marvel was pushing as “collectible” and how things compare to the modern marketplace.

While the collector’s guide is at least somewhat evenhanded in its dealing with other comic companies (it at least mentions they exist, even if it sort of downplays their importance in comparison to Marvel’s), it’s probably not surprising that only one DC title makes it to the chart. In fairness, there probably wasn’t a lot to choose from at the time that was still relatively obtainable and at least partially in demand. I mean, Metamorpho #1 was probably not too pricey at the time, but probably wasn’t burning up the back issue bins in the early ’80s. House of Secrets #92, perhaps, as a Swamp Thing movie was on the way and surely the huge success of that film would jumpstart demand for this decade-old book. On the other hand, New Teen Titans #1 was likely only listed because they could hardly ignore it, being one of the real hot books of the period. They probably would have happily used that spot for, I don’t know, Dazzler or something.

Anyway, #1 – Daredevli #158: Frank Miller begins his run on the title, and currently guides at $160 in NM. Still an in-demand item…all the Miller Daredevils still move very well for me. A good investment pick, Marvel Comics Guide to Collecting Comics writer!

#2 – Peter Parker [The Spectacular Spider-Man #27: haven’t had one of these in a while, but I remember it being a good seller at the old shop, though the guide price did seem to outstrip demand. This is another result of the “Frank Miller on Daredevil” mania that was going on at the time, as this issue featured Miller’s first work on ol’ Hornhead. $85 in NM now, though I wonder if it has the same level of demand as Miller’s owrk in DD.

#3 – [Incredible] Hulk #181: nope, can’t say I’ve heard of it.

…

Okay, fine, the first full-length story (and over appearance) of our favorite Canucklehead, Wolverine, which tends to go for bonkers prices. $4200 in NM, $4199.95 if it’s missing the Marvel Value Stamp. I could be a bit off on that second price. Anyway, that’s just the guide price…it’s all over the map online, and by “all over the map” I mean “still more money than most of us reading this would be willing to spend.” I’ve sold trashed copies of this for hundreds of dollars. Demand is over the top for it still.

#4 – X-Men #129: took me a second to remember what’s special about this specific issue of X-Men, aside from being in the middle of the classic run by Chris Claremont and John Byrne…a run still in heavy demand today. A quick check rmeinds me it’s the first appearance of Kitty Pryde, which is absolutely a significant event in the history of the series, the introduction of one of the now-quintessential members of the team. Hope she survives the experience! $160 in the guides now.

#5 – [New] Teen Titans #1: assuming they mean the comic by Marv ‘n’ George, of course. Still sells great. Guides for $70, which seems lowish…but the Marvel Comics Guide to Collecting Comics should have pushed the second issue, with the first appearance of Deathstroke the Terminator, as that now guides for $175. Hokey smokes.

#6 – Iron Man #115: boy, I had to look this one up. And it’s not even separated out from the issues around it in the current guide…numbers 101 through 117 are all lumped together, priced at $12 in NM each. The issue in question features John Romita Jr.’s first art on the title. Oh, and an Avengers appearance. …The Marvel COmics Guide to Collecting Comics should have plugged Iron Man #55, the first appearance of Thanos, a comic I get asked for nearly every day. For reference, that one guides for a mindboggling $1500.

#7 – Micronauts #1: $18 in NM now, but I don’t know if there’s a lot of demand for this right now. I mean, at this point in the list we’re into the stuff that will of course sell in higher conditions, as certain collectors are now looking for copies of Bronze Age books and will buy stuff like this because it’s it excellent condition, not because of any particular interest in Micronauts or whatever. By the way, I still don’t like the term “Bronze Age” — I mean, yes, “Golden Age” and “Silver Age” were marketing terms, too (“A Golden Age Classic” sounds better than “Here’s a reprint of some old comic we don’t have to pay anybody for”), but “Bronze Age” feels even more blatantly so. But perhaps I digress.

#8 – Rom #1: I was all ready to poke a tiny bit of fun at this, but the current guide has it at $75, amazingly! Guess I haven’t looked it up in a while. But this was a comic that had a fan following at the time, and still has some interest nowadays. Though, as folks found out, that interest of “nostaglia for Rom in the Marvel Universe” doesn’t necessarily translate to “sales on a new Rom comic that is separate from the Marvel Universe,” but What Can You Do?

#9 – Moon Knight #1: two words, please note. Moon Knight was a semi-hot character for a while, especially the issues that featured early work by Bill Sienkiewicz. Not a whole lot of demand now that I’ve noticed, though there’s an occasional blip in character awareness (such as the recent short run by Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey). And that series that began in ’89 ran 60 issues was in quite a bit of demand both early on and, due to some artist-driven collectibilty, near the end of the run. But this series, from 1980…$40 in NM in the current guide. Like I noted with Rom, primarily in demand by folks looking for “key” Marvels of the period, rather than out of Moon Knight fandom. But I know Moon Knight fans are out there, don’t get me wrong! Don’t write in to complain!

#10 – Ka-Zar #1: hoo boy. So, not, like, Amazing Spider-Man #129, or Marvel Spotlight #5, but Ka-Zar. Look, not casting aspersions on the former pulp magazine character that’s legally nothing like Tarzan, but was Ka-Zar ever a “hot” character? I mean, he must have been at least of some interest, with multiple series over the years, but I don’t recall there being a lot of fan demand. Maybe I’m just not remembering. And I don’t know which series of Ka-Zar they’re even talking about here. I’m assuming it’s the 1981 series that had launched around the time of this Marvel Comics Guide to Collecting Comics (which now guides for $5), but there’s the 1970 series (#1 – $65) and the 1974 run (#1 – $28), both of which would have surely been more than $1.25 at the time.

So there you go…once you get your hands on that time machine that every comic book collector wishes s/he could have, you can go back properly informed as to which funnybooks you need to buy to make your fortune. Because surely that’s the wisest use of a time machine. Sorry JFK, too bad passengers on the Titanic, we need to get multiple copies of Rom #1 to seal in plastic slabs.

Guide prices I list above of course don’t necessarily reflect whatever shenanigans folks get up to on auction sites, or price bumps due to the aforementioned slabs, or whatnot. But that should give you an idea, anyway, of a specific era in time where even the big comic companies couldn’t ignore a burgeoning interest in comics collectibility.

Put these in the live action movies, you cowards.

January 30, 2019January 30, 2019 filed under batman, cartoons 6 Comments

So on the DC Universe streaming service, I decided to try once more to brave the 1970s New Adventures of Batman cartoon, featuring the voicework of Best Batman, Adam West, and also featuring the character Bat-Mite, that I wish I could’ve heard the producers explaining to West once he was on the job.

Anyway, it’s hard to top this nightmare fuel, but…well, okay, this episode (“Birds of a Feather Fool Around Together”) didn’t even come close, but it did have a couple of points of interest.

First, this character, Gigi:

…the Pneguin’s partner in crime, and is basically a female Penguin. She’s got the body shape, she has the nose…was she supposed to be, like, his sister or something? Or does Penguin have a type, and that type is, um, himself? I suppose that would fit his ego an’ all, but perhaps best on to dwell on it.

Most interestingly, she basically has the voice of Harley Quinn. No, really, check it out on the service or on a non-YouTubian video site (unless you want to drop $1.99 to watch this on YouTube)…it’s uncanny the similarity. Found that amusing, is all.

Second thing of note…the Penguin’s car:

Oh, did I mention the Penguin’s ego? Holy cow, Penguin’s makin’ sure everyone knows he’s headed their way to commit some bird crimes.

Seriously, you should’ve seen the numbers he ordered just on Robotech.

January 28, 2019 filed under retailing 2 Comments

Okay, I said I was going to dn epilogue to the 2018 prediction posts, where I go back and comment on any comments you folks may have left on them…but looking back, I don’t really have anything to add. So, you folks out there go back to the last post, and use the links there to go read the comments everyone left. And thanks to those of you who did leave comments…always appreciated! Remember, early 2020, we’ll do all this again! …Yes, I know you can’t wait.

So today, let me tell you about the latest thing from comics retailing past I’m just beginning to dig into. My former boss Ralph recently gave me a sizeable pile of his old distributor order forms/catalogs dating from the early to mid 1980s. That’s prior to my jumping to the other side of the counter in 1988, where I’ve pretty much been ever since. As such, this is a compelling and educational look at the industry from a very interesting time, when the indie market was really beginning to take hold, when “hot” books were changing the way retailers dealt with their orders, when companies were beginning to change things up a little with stuff like Crisis on Infinite Earths and Dark Knight.

I’ve had these for a few weeks, but I’m starting to take a closer look at them now. Of particular personal interest to me is that many of these booklets have Ralph’s original order numbers written in them. I can look at some of these numbers, compare them with my memories of what we used to have in the back room there, and think “wow, that many copies sold?” or “hoo boy, that number was a mistake.” And believe me, some of the numbers ordered were immensely high, borne of a time when the market may have been a bit more robust, and when of course Ralph’s shop was the only game in town. And by “town” I mean “the entire county.”

On an even more personal note, it’s a bit of an…odd feeling, I suppose, looking at Ralph’s order for Amazing Heroes #96 and thinking “hey, I bought one of those copies he ordered!” I mean, starting in the early ’80s I was pretty much there every week, so I can literally think that about a lot of things in these catalogs, but for some reason the Amazing Heroes and Comics Journal listings were the ones that got me. Go figure.

A brief perusal of the catalogs brought up at least one solicitation for a comic by a noted cartoonist that I don’t think was published, at least under that name…more on that in a future post once I find that solicitation again, and do a little more research. And plus there are distributor news items, telling you things like “Cmelot 3000 ship dates are pushed back” and “Frank Miller’s Ronan [sic] will be a six-issue mini-series.”

What I really am looking forward to reading, however, are the columns where ordering advice is given on several titles from a number of publishers. Here’s an excerpt from a bit about the DC books:

I’m just picturing Diamond trying something like this now, and how the publishers would almost certainly quail about it. But anyway, I love stuff like this…preses my “fanzine fanboy” buttons something fierce. And go easy on the person who wrote this…yeah, I know “order based on your previous sales” barely counts as advice, you’d think, but some folks needed to be told that. And who knew about Mask? Maybe it could have taken off, don’t act like you were all certain about it.

And there you have it…a lot of material for me to data-mine, as time and eyesight permit. I look forward to going over these, and I hope you enjoy whatever info I can pull out of them over the next few whatever-increment-of-time this project will require.

Your 2018 Predictions, Part Six: The Magnificent Warriors.

January 25, 2019January 25, 2019 filed under predictions 1 Comment

We’ve finally made it! It’s the last batch of your 2018 comic industry predictions we’re covering in this particular sequence of posts. If you’ve missed any previous posts in the series — first, how dare you, and second, you can find ’em right here: onesie, twosie, threesie, foursie, and fivesie. And I keep telling y’all to put your 2019 predictions right here, so don’t get mad at me next year when I do this again and you’re all “oh woe is me, why did I not contribute? Why? WHYYYY!?!?”

Onward and upward!

Bruce Baugh breaks down the following

“Marvel will not die and crash the direct market in 2018. However, it will do something mind-boggingly stupid that nobody predicted except as a joke, and at the end of 2018, ‘Marvel, WTF?’ will be a dominant theme in reviews of the year.”

Hmm…maybe their price points? Those terrible, terrible $5.99 to $7.99 price points for first issues, or just plain ol’ issues during the series, or especially for installments of a kid-friendly Ms.Marvel/Squirrel Girl team-up series that eventually got collected into a $9.99 paperback, which is what it probably should have been from the get-go anyway? I vote for that.

“There will be a Legion of Super-Heroes revival. It will be grimdark, campy, or (most likely) both. It will not do well, but it will be brandished by Gamergate types accusing SJWs of destroying comics, even though it will have nothing to do with diversity, social justice, or anything of the sort.”

As discussed in a previous post, no Legion book just yet (I think everyone’s waiting for Doomsday Clock to wrap, since a Legion member is tangentially involved). But wouldn’t you say diversity and social justice is ingrained into the Legion? Well, okay, that whole business with Tyroc was a bit…rough, but they were trying!

“One particular event will dominate everyone’s year-end efforts to say ‘oh, right, well, of course, I saw that coming, I just didn’t add it to my prediction list.’ I have no idea what this event will be.”

Is it my endless series of eyeball surgeries? I bet it’s that.

• • •
Chris Gumprich costs us dearly with

“(Am I too late? Gosh I hope I’m not too late!)”

Not as late as the folks who have yet to give me their 2019 predictions!

“MAGE III will ship more often than not, but will gradually become later and later so that by the end of the year we’ll only be up to #10.”

Actually came out on a pretty regular basis! I think the last issue, #15, is taking a little longer because, well, more pages, surely, and there’ll probably be a fancy cover or a folkout or some production hoohar that will require more time. Which is fine!

“After years of teasing and hinting, Ma Hunkel will join the LEGENDS OF TOMORROW.”

I’m absolutely behind on all the CW shows, but I don’t think this happened, but Legends of Tomorrow is the one show were this absolutely could happen!

“I will spend more money at the comic store in 2018 than in 2017. Shouldn’t be too hard, as I spent a whole $20 (Canadian!) in 2017. And that was $20 more than I did in 2016. Or 2015.”

I can’t say for sure if you did or not, but you can always spend $20 (Canadian) at my store if you’d like!

• • •
Anthony hops in with

“Vampirella, unfortunately, will get another ‘ongoing’ that turns into a mini series.”

I think it was just mini-series an’ such this year. It would be nice to just have one ongoing Vampirella series with no relaunching/rebooting/etc. And I would also like a pony. A flying pony, made of gold.

“Avengers Infinity War will be the highest grossing Marvel movie to date.”

According to my go-to site for this sort of thing, Box Office Mojo has Black Panther as the highest grossing domestically, with Avengers: Infinity War right behind. Working in the foreign markets, it looks like Infinity War is indeed tops. Anyway, look at that page for all the data you can stand about this, including totals adjusted for inflation, etc. Speaking of which, turns out, after adjusting for inflation, Howard the Duck is the top-grossing Marvel movie! Who knew?

“CW’s Black Lightning will be received well and join the Arrowverse taking place on Supergirl’s earth 38.”

Like I said above, I’m behind on the CW, but I don’t think Black Lightning is part of the rest of the whole Arrowverse thing yet. (And how weird is it that it’s called “the Arrowverse?” Imagine being told years ago one of the most successfuly TV adaptations of superheroes would be Green Arrow-centric.) As I’ve also noted previously, I feel like the announced “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event next year is going to result in Supergirl being on the same Earth as the other shows…and maybe that’s when Lightning will be merged in, too. We’ll see!

• • •
I am Groot groots

“I am groot.”

No, turned out DC went for it showing Dr. Manhattan in the altogether in Doomsday Clock. And please, in the future, maybe use more delicate language in describing his, well, you know.

“I am groot.”

While it does feel like there was some constriction of the direct market in terms of sales and simple variety of product, one can easily fall into the trap of centering the entire health of the marketplace solely on “the Big Two,” or perhaps “The Big Five,” if you include IDW, Dark Horse, and Image. While there is the usual attrition with new publictions (for example, the number of Images launches that peter out quickly in sales, or simply are D.O.A.) there is at least some measure of commitment, particularly by the smaller publishers, to expand the market with a variety of new books and concepts creators. But, as the old retailer saying goes, “as goes Marvel, so goes the industry,” and a lackluster performance by Marvel can lead to lean times overall, as, like it or not, comic retail stores depend on Marvel and DC to drive regular business and cash flow. A reduction of customer interest in the standard offerings results in a reduction of foot traffic into stores which in turn results in a reduction of eyeballs on new material from alternative publishers. And then from that, creators begin to look for other forms of distributing their products, digitally or otherwise. But all that said, yes, the new Love and Rockets continues to sell just fine, despite your prediction.

“I am groot.”

Nope, still no new Miracleman comics. I’m disappointed too.

• • •
Adam had ’em with

“Long time reader. First time predicting events.”

I hope you’re still around!

“Towards the back half of Metal, Planetary will some how be introduced into the main DC universe in a more prominent fashion…aside from that one time Elijah, Jakita and the Drummer met all these different Batmen.”

Huh…I would have liked that, I mean, so long as your second prediction had come to pass:

“Warren Ellis was notified by DC that they would be using the characters and he gave them his blessing.”

I wonder what he would have said if DC tried this? I mean, yes, he’d likely get paid some kind of royalties for i…I’m really not sure. But on the other hand, he might not want Other Hands futzing about with this characters, which is also understandable. But I’m pretty sure DC owns the property outright, and I can picture them just doing whatever without asking anyone’s permission.

“Prices of Planetary back issues will go up in value. At which point I make a nice chunk of change.”

Ah hah! Blatant market manipulation via your predicting powers, eh, Adam? …Well, okay, I’m not sure how that would work, but still.

• • •
Jay V flies in with

“That Wilkin Boy becomes a breakout character on Riverdale.”

I don’t think so (since I don’t watch the show) but apparently there was a brief reference to him there in 2017!

“Someone finds another Kirby character drawn on a napkin or something and puts out an homage/cash grab.”

C’mon Heidi Hogan, Lady Lumberjack!

“An indie film company gets the rights to put out a movie based on one of the thousands of TMNT ripoffs from ye olden 80’s B&W days. Adolescent Black Belt Hamsters? Geriatric Gangrene Jujitsu Gerbils? There were so many…”

Not yet, but surely it’s only a matter of time before the the Marching Marvel Media Machine finds its way to Power Pachyderms.

• • •
Philippe Leblanc whites out the following

“The Avengers Infinity War movie brings in lots of customers to all comic shops looking for the ‘Infinity War’ comics. No retailers is able to convince excited fans to read the classic series ‘Infinity Gauntlet’ and people buy the sequel ‘Infinity War’ en masse and are utterly confused.”

In my case, I did get a lot of people looking for Infinity War comics, so I spent a lot of time telling them Ifinity Gauntlet was more the inspiration for the film. How they took Mephisto in that comic I have yet to hear. Sales of the Infinity War book were much less…but if they think that was confusing, wait ’til they tackle Infinity Crusade.

“The excitement over the appearance of Swamp Thing in the 2017 video game ‘Injustice 2’ and the critical failure of the Justice League movie makes Warner Bros. scramble to reboot their existing movie properties. They reboot Swamp Thing is a big live-action movie. A new DC Comic series is launched, but is quickly cancelled due to overwhelming demand for a series about Swamp Thing’s sidekick that was introduced in the movie, Baby-Swampy.”

Lots of predictions for Live-Action Swamp Thing, but I don’t know if most of us expected it to be as a streaming show on DC’s proprietary service. I don’t think we’re getting Baby Swampy, but have I yet mentioned that Blue Devil will be on the show?

“Image Comics accidentally publish comics without art. Instead, their comics are replaced for one month with simple white sheet with an elevator pitch for a high-concept movie.”

But enough subtweeting about Mark Millar!

That’s it! We’re done for the year! Well, there’s still an epilogue with additions and addendums and of course the cast of the show finally making it to Earth, so come back Monday, everyone, and we’ll get this all wrapped up! Thanks for reading, and of course thanks to everyone who participated! And don’t forget, Blue Devil is appearing in Swamp Thing!

Your 2018 Predictions, Part Five: Gun on Ice Planet Zero.

January 23, 2019 filed under customer gary, predictions 6 Comments

So, we meet again! Time to look at more your 2018 comic industry predictions and see how all you amateur fortune tellers did this time ’round! If you’ve missed any installments so far, here are some handly links to parts the first, the second, the third, and the fourth. Also, there’s still time to send in your 2019 predictions right here!

Let’s get this prediction party started:

Longtime customer* Gary Guthrie fishes sinisterly** with

“When Disney finally buys DC, we all get the Jimmy Olsen / Wolverine / BB-8 miniseries everyone has been clamoring for. Goofy is the surprise guest star.”

It really is only a matter of time before everything collapses into the comics singularity. Not yet, but it’s coming, oh yes.

“We can’t say Batman marries Catwoman, because when Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle wed, they retire from costumed adventuring and the Bat-family of books become domestic comedies. Peter Parker and Mary Jane are the surprise guest stars.”

As we know, no knot was tied between the two in either of their identities, so alas, no The Golden Batgirls or The Big Bat Theory or Gimme A Backbreak or I Love Lucius or anything like that was gifted upon us.

“Dr. Manhattan turns out to have been the source of The Spectre’s power all along. Mephisto and Son of Satan are the surprise guest stars.”

I figured at the very least Dr. Manhattan would get on the Spectre for stealin’ his naked gimmick in Kingdom Come. Ah well…there’s still a couple of issues to go in Doomsday Clock for that to happen…or for anything to happen.

• • •
Bret Sector divides us with

“DC’s success with its Hanna-Barbera crossovers will ‘inspire’ Marvel to go all in with Disney character crossovers…Spidey/Mickey; Deadpool/Goofy; and of couse Moon Knight/Dark-wing Duck.”

Like with Marvel/Star Wars crossovers, I’m surprised Marvel hasn’t attempted this, aside from what I’m sure is some Disney-imposed restriction on such things. This of course means no Howard the Duck/Donald Duck: PANTS-OFF in our immediate future, I’m sad to say.

“This year’s return of Marvel Value Stamps and FOOM will lead to the return of the MMMS and a re-issue of the 45rpm marching anthem.”

At the very least, make it a digital download! But I’m afraid the Merry Society still no longer marches.

“DC’s comedian comics from days gone by (e.g., Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope,…) will ‘inspire’ Marvel to start a comedian team comic made up of modern day comedians who also happen to be comic book authors as well – Brian Poehn, Patton Oswalt, Rashida Jones, Zeb Wells, and Del Close are the Comedy Avengers!”

“So what’s going on in this Louis C.K. comic book…ew, gross.”

We did have a comic book by comedians that debuted on Free Comic Book Day, but not quite like what you were hoping for. Which is too bad. In fact, I wouldn’t mind just the Bob Hope comic book coming back. It would probably sell like five copie nationwide, but I’d like it!

• • •
A.J. bops you with this here lollipop

“A Herbie: The Fat Fury movie will be announced.”

Would have loved for this to be true, but we must face the unfortunate fact that the entertainment industry lacks the sheer genius and talent to properly pull off what would be The Greatest Movie of All Time, Perhaps Even Greater Than Frank Miller’s The Spirit.

• • •
David Alexander McDonald calls this “keeping it down” with

“…okay, okay, I’ll try to keep it down this year. You’re an old man now, Mike, can’t lift the way you used to.”

“we’ll see more movement amongst the bigger publishers towards European style albums, with Snyder’s ALL-STAR BATMAN gradually going that way. Marvel will revive their 1980s/1990s graphic novel line, but pooch it badly, while DC will gave trouble being consistent. The *big* winners for a while will be Boom, Dynamite and IDW (who will have Byrne adjust his design for New Visions to start the trend.)”

…I’d say Batman: Damned kinda fits the bill here…it’s been a success so far, goosed along by a little bit of that ol’ fashioned sales booster of “controversy” — and there have been one or two other oversized album-esque publications here and there, but I haven’t seen anyone pushing for the big switchover yet. But at least it appears to be a viable option!

“Movies/TV…DC will work up and promote a riff on Multiversity to tie films and TV shows together. New plans will be laid out to rescue the DC IP. Marvel Studios will promote the idea of a multiverse post-Infinity War as a way of pushing off continuity questions and the hassles of the TV and film arms working coherently together. It’ll still all be MCU. Sony will be embarrassed, Fox’s last X-slate will play out, and there’ll be no more X-Men until 2025.”

Hmm…I don’t think we’ve seen action in either direction so far. The next DC crossover on TV is titled Crisis on Infinite Earths, but it almost certainly won’t involve the movies. (If anything, I’m betting there’s going to use it to get Supergirl on the same Earth as everyone else…there’s my 2019 prediction). And I think Marvel has too much invested in keeping everything at least loosely tied togther…they likely feel the appeal of the TV shows is boosted by their sometimes distant connection to one film contintuity, without dealing with parallel universes and such. I think Sony’s probably fine, as Spider-Man licensing ahd their deal with Marvel Studios has been lucrative (and the Venom movie wasn’t the bomb people were expecting…well, that I was expecting). And…is there still another X-movie coming? I’ve lost track. Whether Marvel picks it up again for the 2025 slate…check back here in 2025!

“Mike will form a jug band and perform in store concerts if nothing but songs about swamp creatures. The band will be called Mike Sterling’s Louisiana Swamp Stompers and their first (and likely last) album will be titled REBORN ON THE BAYOU.”

“MUCK-ENCRUSTED MOCKERY OF A MIKE,” thank you very much.

• • •
Richard Martines sez

“With the addition of Bendis to the already strong line up of King and Snyder, DC will have a boost in quality product that should result with increased sales. Add that to the Art Direction with Jim Lee as the lead guru, and I see a great 2018 for DC.”

Like was mentiond in a previous installment, comic book sales were down a bit overall over 2018. That doesn’t say too much specifically about quality, which is a very subjective measure…but I’ll say all the folks named are doing mostly good work with good readerships over at DC. I mean, it’s hard to find a series more critically acclaimed from the Big Two than Mister Miracle. Bendis hasn’t been the Big Deal that folks were expecting, I think…Superman sales started out strong, but are dwindling back to where they were pre-Bendis. But his Young Justice debut issue did well, and we’ll see how the Bendis-headed “Wonder Comics” imprint does overall.

“I look for Marvel to cut back on titles and focus on increasing quality and sales with less product. This is what Brian Hibbs is asking and it makes sense to me. Not only for Marvel but for all comic publishers.”

Marvel’s hasn’t reversed its decades-long publishing strategy yet!

“Even with Geoff Johns as a voice of comic book fan reason at WB, I see WB continuing with disappointing movies. The Zack Snyder effect of 60 seconds of gorgeous scenes throughout the film, but having too much darkness in the plot, continues to haunt DC movies. Hopefully the Patty Jenkins effect will rise to the top. That said, my son says comic book movies seem to all be getting a bit stale.”

Aquaman certainly turned things around there! I think with its billion dollar take, we may see movies more along those lines than Batman V. Superman (which I liked just fine, but I get why people would be turned off by it). I still think Justice League, while not perfect, was still a fun movie that seemed closer in line to what people wanted, but still so heavily under the shadow of the previous films that folks went in (or didn’t go in, as the case may be) inclined against it. I have no idea what that Joker film will be like, but the next Wonder Woman film will likely continue that particuilar success, and that Harley Quinn film should give us what people liked about the Suicide Squad movie (Harley Quinn) and not give us what we didn’t like about the movie (pretty much everything else in the movie).

And I know everyone’s predicting superhero movie fatique…but it hasn’t hit yet! I mean, Star Wars movie fatigue set in first, who could’a predicted that?

• • •
Rob London bridges the gap with

“A Fantastic Four reference sneaks its way into one of this year’s three Marvel movies – maybe something as simple as RICHARDS WINS NOBEL in a news-crawl.”

This article claims such ann Easter egg in one of the Netflix shows, which everyone missed because nobody was watching that particular esries. So, um…maybe that was an egg, or it was a coincidence?

“Someone tries to bring back the Atlas/Seaboard characters. Nobody is particularly interested.”

Sorry, Morlock 2018 wasn’t a thing, and the world is the lesser for it.

“That Y: The Last Man TV show that has seemed like it was on the brink of happening for like a decade finally starts filming.”

Looks like you were right! GIVE THAT MAN A CRYSTAL BALL! …Oh, wait, you already have one.

• • •
Gregg Butterfield dreams up

“Marvel-Disney will pull the plug on floppies and go all digital on its periodical comics, limiting hard copies to trades and ‘event’ comics. DC and Image will hold out a little longer but inevitably follow suit. What’s left of the traditional comics shop market will collapse; the survivors will be the big ‘pop culture’ shops that focus on toys, games and trade paperbacks.”

Direct Market-geddon did not hit this year…and let’s hope this doesn’t happen until after I retire. Or “retire.” By which I mean “kick the bucket.”

• • •
Dave Carter lusts in his heart after

“The Aquaman movie will perform above expectations and be generally liked by movie-goers.”

That’s certainly an understatement! If you told people 20…hell, ten years ago, that an Aquaman movie would be one of DC’s biggest hits, they’d chase you with torches and pitchforks.

“The Black Lightning television show will not be renewed for a second season.”

Thankfully that didn’t happen and we did get season 2!

“DC’s ‘New Age of Heroes’ comics line will be plagued by delays.”

More like “plqgued with cancellations.” Just keep Terrifics going, DC! I need that comics!

That’s it for now…I should wrap up the predictions on Friday, so I’ll see y’all again real soon now, y’hear?

* “Longtime” as in “knew him from when I was working at the library before I started in comics retail!”

** Maybe a half-dozen people reading this, tops, will get this reference.

* “Longtime” as in “knew him from when I was working at the library before I started in comics retail!” ** Maybe a half-dozen people reading this, tops, will get this reference.

* “Longtime” as in “knew him from when I was working at the library before I started in comics retail!”

** Maybe a half-dozen people reading this, tops, will get this reference.