Errol.

filed under Categories obituary 20 Comments

So Errol had been coming to the shop for years, popping in about once a month to pick up his holds, and calling me the next day with his Previews order. He had a health condition that slowly robbed him of his motor skills…early on he could still walk into the shop with the use of a cane, but in later years he was mostly wheelchair-bound: he was able to stand for brief periods of time, but certainly not walk.

However, he was always cheerful and friendly, and we’d chat for quite a while during his visits, and he wasn’t shy about what he thought was good or bad about the directions the industry was heading. He loved Golden Age comics and Marvel’s Masterworks reprint volumes, and DC’s Archives and classic newspaper strip collections. He didn’t care for DC’s New 52 reboots at first, but was slowly trying out some of them as the collections began to be released.

He would pull out his typed list of books he’d preordered, and we’d go through it together and figure out which items were delayed, and which items were so delayed maybe we should just give up on them. We’d just kind of shake our heads at the scheduling issues, with a “so whaddaya gonna do?” bemused resignation.

He remembered me once mentioning that my mother was a big Betty Boop fan, and during one of his visits to our shop, he brought me a Betty Boop Monopoly game to give to her.

He would also regularly call me between visits, just to get shipping updates and to make special item requests outside of his usual Previews orders. He’d usually end the call with “I’ll see you next week, God willing” or something similar.

A couple of weeks back I noticed that I hadn’t heard from Errol. Previews orders were due and he almost never missed turning one in. I called and left a message, suspecting that maybe he was back in the hospital again. I let him know that I hoped everything was okay, and that if he needed to turn in his order a bit late, that shouldn’t be a problem.

I called him again last week and left another message, simply to check up on him.

Earlier this week, suspecting the worst, I did a little Google searching, and found out Errol passed away about a month ago.

The Roy Thomas Presents the Phantom Lady hardcover came out this week. Errol was really looking forward to that. Mickey Spillane: From the Files of Mike Hammer is coming out next week…he’d been really waiting for that.

I suspect there will be several new releases in the foreseeable future that I’ll wish Errol could have been around to read and enjoy.

So long, Errol.

In case you were wondering how “issue numbers” worked.

filed under Categories collecting 12 Comments

So a while back I decided I was going to go through and put all my B.P.R.D. comics in numerical order, as opposed to the alphabetical order they had been in. For those of you who aren’t familiar, the B.P.R.D. comics (as well as its parent comic, Hellboy) are released in a series of mini-series, each with their own numbering, starting over with a new number one when the next mini-series starts. However, in addition to that numbering, there is a secondary overall numbering system noted in each issue for the B.P.R.D. comics as a whole: B.P.R.D. The Black Flame #1 is also #18 of the whole shebang, as an example.

At least, that’s how it worked ’til the recent release of Hell on Earth: The Return of the Master #3, when the internal numbering system was moved to the cover with a big, fat “#100” for all to see:

The cover numbering has continued forward from that point, though there are still companion B.P.R.D. mini-series that retain their own, separate numbering.

Anyway, that finally got me to go through and number all the issues on the removable labels (not tape…never tape, God help you) I have sealing the bags shut, using the list found here so I didn’t have to slow myself up by opening each and every issue to note the issue number. (Which is good, since they momentarily screw up the issue numbers in the comics around #57 anyhow.)

Now, I couldn’t just put all these in order and then throw the box back on the Vast Mikester Comic Archives shelves. Oh, no, of course not. After the Orderingening, I picked up B.P.R.D. Hollow Earth #1 (the very first B.P.R.D. comic):

…and read my way forward. I’m up to about issue 64 or so, and it’s quite the addicting page turner, where I find myself saying “well, maybe I’ll read just one more” after finishing each issue. And, like I did when I read all of The Boys over a relatively short period of time, I found myself catching storytelling nuances, or being reminded of certain plot points or character relationships, that I had missed or forgotten in reading these comics in serialized form over several years.

For example (and I don’t know if this is really a SPOILER or not, but here we go), I had somehow managed to forget Panya’s origins as a revived Egyptian mummy. That doesn’t seem like the kind of thing one would forget, but somehow, my impression of “weird psychic woman with perhaps dubious motives that the B.P.R.D. picked up at some point” overtook my memory of “…who also was a mummy” and she was just yet another oddball character hangin’ with the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. Not that she still isn’t, but it’s odd that I somehow lost track of where that character had originally come from.

Part of it is, I think, not having reread the particular issues that involve Panya’s specific circumstance since they were originally released. Alas, I am at the point in my life when going back and rereading things is more the exception than the rule. Used to be, as a young Mikester, I’d go back and reread books I’d liked, comics I’ve collected, and so on. Now, who’s got the time? When I’m reading these comic series, I’m reading each installment with a month (or so) gap between issues, and I’m generally not going back and rereading previous issues to be fresh on every single plot point. For the most part, for most comics, that’s not a problem. But once in a while, particularly in series deep in plot and characterization subtleties like B.P.R.D. and The Boys, I can lose track of a detail between issues, and that loss is only compounded with each subsequent issue, separating me even further from that particular detail I may have forgotten. Even something like “she was a freakin’ mummy, you idiot.”

The plus side of this is, of course, the experience has sort of a fresh and new feel to it, going back and rereading this all from the beginning. Certain Big Moments are still stuck in memory, but it’s been long enough that finding out how even those Big Moments fit within the context of the overall story is still a fine pleasure. And to a certain extent, even knowing how particular events turn out, like a character death, it’s been long enough since I’ve read these stories for part of my brain to still think “surely they can get that character out of that trouble.” Basically my brain is working against me too, is what I’m saying.

I’m also sort of thinking what should be next in my Big Reread. In recent years, I’ve read through all the post ’80s reboot Superman, the Baron/Loebs Flash, Concrete, Grendel…I’ve come close to rereading all of Cerebus, but I feel like I’m not quite ready for that yet. I reread all of Nexus about a decade ago, and those recent Nexus installments in Dark Horse Presents kinda want me to do it again really soon. And I should do a Love & Rockets reread…the stuff after the original magazine series, since the mags I’ve probably read about a million times. Well, not literally. You probably realized that.

Maybe, once I’m done with B.P.R.D., I’ll go through my Flaming Carrots. We recently got a number of these in a collection at the shop, and that reminded me of how much I liked those comics, which is the sort of thing that usually gets me to dip into the long boxes at home and pull out my own copies to look at.

I wonder what subtle plot points I’ve forgotten about in those early issues of Flaming Carrot? Like maybe the revelation that the Carrot’s secret identity is actually a fit and fightin’ trim Dean Martin or something. I’ll let you know what I discover.

Oh, hey there, Jack Kirby from 1979.

filed under Categories jack kirby 9 Comments

So back in 1979, pal Cully (whom you’ve probably seen popping up in my comments sections now and again) met Jack Kirby, and got both a sketch from, and a photo with, the King. A number of years back Cully brought his framed photo ‘n’ drawing to the shop, where we had it on display. Cully took ’em back home long before I ever started this weblog, or even had access to a scanner, probably, so I never had those pics to show off on the site. I kept meaning to ask him about them in order to post ’em up here, but, you know, stuff happens and it eventually slipped my mind…

…until Cully told me on Friday “oh, hey, my photo with Jack and my sketch are on my Facebook,” which at long last has given me a reason to log back into Facebook, finally. …Boy, those sure are a lot of notifications. Er, anyway…now, with Cully’s kind permission, here’s that photo of Jack ‘n’ Cully, and the sketch that resulted from that momentous meeting:


That’s a great shot of Jack, and for those of us who have known Cully for a long time, it’s fun to see a picture of him in the full head of hair blossom of youth.

Thanks again, Cully, for letting me show those swell images on my site!
 
 
(updated 8/2017)

Progressive Ruin presents…the End of Civilization.

filed under Categories End of Civilization 16 Comments

It’s another month…well, almost…which means there’s another issue of Diamond Previews, chock-full of all kinds of wonderful and crazy items that I am legally required by Internet law to carry in our shop! Grab your own copy of Previews, the March 2013 edition, and follow along as I see what will be filling our shelves in a few months’ time!

p. 82-3 – The Green Team #1 and The Movement #1:


Remember, everyone…whichever one of these series gets canceled first, that means the other side is the winner, and that’ll put the end to this political/economic debate forever.

p. 100 – Batman and Robin #20:


In light of recent events, I am hoping the Batman and Robin series will become a superheroic version of Weekend at Bernie’s. (CATWOMAN: “He’s not saying much.” BATMAN: “Um, he’s tired. Long night crime-fighting. Uh, GOTTA GO.”)

p. 103 – Batman The Dark Knight #20:

“It’s the penultimate chapter of the definitive Mad Hatter story….”

Somewhere, the ghost of Lewis Carroll sheds a single spectral tear.

p. 129 – Adventures of Superman #1:


Reminder: the Jeff Parker and Chris Samnee story from this issue will soon be available on its own for digital download, so be sure to buy it! Tell ’em Orson sent ya!

p. 134-135: Before Watchmen Deluxe Hardcovers:


In twenty-five years’ time, DC will announce their Before “Before Watchmen” project, and fandom will rage across the Ultranet about this betrayal, this brutal undermining of these beloved classics.

p. 154 – The Flash vs. TBA Action Figure 2-Pack:


Not sure what sort of rights hoops DC had to jump through in order to get Flash to fight one of Marvel’s most popular creators in action figure form, but here you go!

p. 226 – The Walking Dead Michonne Resin Statue:


That rotating base is quite thoughtful, allowing each person sitting around the dinner table at the fancy dress party to get a good look at this centerpiece from every angle.

p. 405 – “No Sweat” Punisher T-Shirt:


“And the award for ‘Most Ironically Named T-Shirt in Previews’ goes to….”

p. 408 – Doctor Who “Smaller on the Outside” T-Shirt:


People who aren’t familiar with Doctor Who are going to go through all kinds of mental gymnastics trying to figure out what exactly this shirt is saying about your penis.

p. 426 – Breaking Bad Walter White 6-Inch Action Figure:


Someday I will see a young kid playing with his action figures, and he’ll have his Punisher figure in one hand and his Walter White figure in the other, and he’ll be saying “STOP, CREEP” and he’ll reply to himself with “I AM THE ONE WHO KNOCKS” and it’ll be the finest, most glorious moment in my life.

p. 426 – Breaking Bad 8-Inch Plushies:


Oh my, those are so cute and cuddly and meth-hidable and huggable and sweet! Kids’ll love ’em!

p. 427 – Breaking Bad 6-Inch Bobblehead:


BOBBLING BAD.

I don’t have a joke, I just wanted to type that to see what it looked like. Hmmm. HMMMMMM.

p. 430 – Lost in Space: 1/1-Scale Laser Pistol:


Man, that’s goofy-looking. Can you believe this ridiculous piece of…huh? What’s that? The Mass Effect 3: M-3 Predator Full-Scale Replica on page 435?


…I take it back, Lost in Space 1/1-Scale Laser Pistol. I like you just fine.

p. 434 – Seka 1:4-Scale Bookends:

“Seka’s natural beauty is captured by these two pre-painted, fully-licensed statues with removeable clothing.”

Comics, everyone!

p. 434 – Star Trek (2009) Starfleet Academy Class Ring Replica:


This will go great with my Starfleet Academy Yearbook! (CUT TO: old issue of Starlog with my senior portrait pasted into a photo gallery previewing Star Trek: The Motion Picture)

p. 446 – Batman The Dark Knight Rises 400% Be@rbrick:


Why isn’t this one of the available skins in Batman: Arkham City?

p. 461 – Space Invaders 60cm Hopper:


Remember back in the old days, when people would dress to the nines when going to the movies, or going out to dinner, or riding around on their inflatable hopping balls?


THIS DUDE IS SO HAPPY. AND SNAPPILY-DRESSED.

p. 471 – The Walking Dead TV Board Game 2: The Best Defense:


I picture any Walking Dead board game as the inverse of The Game of Life, where you start the game with your little car full of blue and pink pegs representing your family, and over the course of the game you just remove the pegs one or two at the time. And then eventually you have to abandon the car and hole up in the green hills surrounding the spinning number dial thingie, and other pegs, painted rotting brown and black colors, corner you, moaning and biting while the shattered remnants of your family cower in fear until your eventual brutal deaths.

Or maybe it’s like Chutes and Ladders. That’s a fun game.

p. 474 – Clue The Big Bang Theory Collector’s Edition:


“Howard…” (laughter) “…did it in Penny’s apartment…” (louder laughter) “…with Dungeons & Dragons!” (raucous laughter, applause, credits roll)

Marvel Previews p. 72 – Marvel Galactus Sculpted Metal Bottle Opener:


Man, that sure is nice, but after the Silver Surfer bottle opener and the Thor’s Hammer bottle opener and the Captain America’s Shield bottle opener, your average fan with apparently plenty of bottles to open would need one of these like he needs a…um, what’s that expression again? It’s right on the tip of my tongue.

Marvel Previews p. 91 – Wolverine First Cuts TPB:


Reprints, among other things, issues #1 and #2 of the Chris Claremont/Frank Miller Wolverine mini-series from 1982. Enjoy that half of a story, kids!

About that time, them Duke boys were on their way to have afternoon tea and crumpets with the Queen….

filed under Categories television 5 Comments

So on Sunday, a lady brought by a pile of stuff to sell to the shop, and I went through the cards, the toys, the magazines, and came up basically empty…except for this:


The British hardcover Dukes of Hazzard annual…I had no idea them Duke boys had enough of a following in dear old Blighty to warrant a series of annuals, but there were apparently at least six of them. I hoped and prayed it was a comics annual, but alas, it was just short stories and puzzles and at least one article explaining CB radio jargon, all copiously illustrated with color photos of the cast:


There’s also an article at the beginning of the volume with sort of a FAQ, explaining what kind of car the General Lee is (“The General Lee is what is known in the USA as a ‘muscle car'”) and whether or not Hazzard County is a real place (well, there’s a town in Kentucky named Hazard that has some ties to the show).

Oh, and did I mention there’s a page of jokes? There’s a page of jokes:


There’s also a two page board game, with the unfortunate name of “The YeeHaa! Game,” page one of which may be seen below:


…in which players, when landing upon the “Yee-Haw!” square, must balance out the advantage of being able to interfere with another player’s progress in the game by bearing the indignity of having to shout out “YEE-HAW!” while doing so.* No, really, it’s in the rules:


Now we’ve had this book in our possession for all of about a day and I’ve already sold the thing via the Internet, so I’ll have to ship this sucker out when I’m back in the shop on Tuesday. I’ve gone from not knowing this even existed to already missing it within in a matter of hours.


Oh, I’d hold onto you like a limpet if I could, Dukes of Hazzard Annual.
 
 

* Maybe you can mix things up a bit by shouting out “Manara!” instead. …Or maybe not.

Today’s post is dumb.

filed under Categories found art, wolverine 3 Comments

“Oh, you have such good taste in comics! You certainly picked a top notch book to read! May I say again how much I admire your discerning eye for such excellent reading material?”

Um…I don’t think that’s what the “complimentary copy” stamp on your cover is supposed to mean.

“Okay, fine. Enjoy your lousy free funnybook, cheapskate.”

Today, Lois would have just Photoshopped it and thrown it up on her Tumblr.

filed under Categories superman 6 Comments

So, that Superman picture on the wall there:


So did some enterprising entrepreneur, realizing that Ideal-Man was now the New Flavor of the Week, immediately go to press printing up those “SUPERMAN EARTH’S FORMER HERO” posters? I mean, I realize by even Silver Age standards, when people would turn on superheroes, or, hell, even each other, at the drop of a dime, this seems like a pretty harsh thing to do.

Or did Lois pull out one of her many, many Superman photos that she has stored away in albums on her bookcase, the one clearly marked with a rectangular white sign reading “BOOKCASE OF SUPERMAN PHOTO ALBUMS,” find a photo of Superman with sufficient blank space above his head, have it blown up at the local photo shop, and then neatly ink in the letters herself? And then, of course, tack it to the wall in full view of any friends she may have over, who, if they had any sense, would likely wonder what the hell was wrong with Lois, anyway. Luckily for Lois, from everything we’ve all seen in those comics, nobody she knows has a lick of sense, so her reputation is likely safe. (Of course, in this case, this is all part of some ulterior Get-Superman scheme, which frankly doesn’t make Lois seem any less sane.)

 
 

image from the Grand Comics Database, because I didn’t really think about this cover until I sold it to someone at the shop, and then no longer had a cover to scan. OH THE TRAGEDY

“RARE H@T WYOMING VARIANT L@@K”

filed under Categories retailing, this week's comics 12 Comments


So after one day, it’s probably too soon to tell how Justice League of America #1 is selling, though unsurprisingly it’s the California and the American flag covers that are the most in demand at our shop. Mostly I seem to be getting the incredulous “wait, they really did 53 covers on this thing?” response from customers, and who can blame them, really?

I did sell one of those complete factory packs of all 53 variants to a customer, and the retail price on those packs is like a $60 savings over buying each cover individually. In fact, when I was figuring out our wholesale costs on these things, it turns out the per-unit cost difference between buying Justice League of America #1s individually and getting them as part of that complete pack is…52 cents. DC’s really carrying that “New 52” thing to the extreme.

Okay, it’s just a coincidence, based on our particular discount levels, but that was a good way to encourage retailers to carry all the covers by offering them at such a significant discount in that complete package. In fact, it was such a discount that I triple-checked the numbers to make sure I wasn’t making some kind of terrible mistake. (Yeah, yeah, “aside from ordering Justice League of America #1,” I know, wiseguys.)

Well, we’ll see if I have any specific requests or any odd trends of demand in the sale of this comic over the next week or so. Will everyone want that New Jersey variant? Will no one please buy the lonely, lonely Rhode Island variant? …I guess I’ll find out soon enough.


One of the things I’ve been sort of half-following over the years is what kind of language is becoming more acceptable in your more-or-less general audiences comic book. Having a character exclaim “Jesus Christ!” in your Green Lantern comic, as Kyle Rayner does in Green Lantern: New Guardians #17 (explicitly as an expression of shock, and not as someone using that as a proper name specifically to refer to Jesus as He pops up during a battle with, I don’t know, Goldface, though that would be pretty shocking in its own right) is probably not the sort of thing that would have flown under the purview of even the mostly-toothless Comics Code Authority as of a few years back. This isn’t the first example of this sort of religiously-themed exclamation I’ve noticed of late, and I don’t mention it out of some sense of prudery, but rather out of interest in what language is permissible and what companies believe their perceived audiences to be.

I think the first place I noticed language a little stronger beyond the usual “hells” and “damns” in your typical superhero book was during the Giffen/DeMatteis era Justice League, in which Guy Gardner says that he’s “pissed off.” (Clark Kent also dropped a “pissed off” in Action #838 back in 2006, which I’ve noted briefly on the site in the past, and I still don’t buy it as something he’d say.)

And of course, there’s this.

(Before you bring it up…I don’t consider the thing in All-Star Batman — you know what I’m talking about — to be part of the trend, as All-Star Batman was more of a special project than an example of a typical monthly superhero comic. God knows it wasn’t monthly.)

Speaking of hells and damns:


Well, this comic straight up gives you “fucking” on page one, a word you likely won’t be seeing in the ongoing DC Universe “New 52” Constantine series that will be attempting to fill that Hellblazer-shaped hole on the stands.

It’s been a good run, Hellblazer, and I’m sorry to see you go. I bought your first issue off the rack back in the late ’80s, and I stayed with you all the way to the end. I’m still not sure how I feel about the wrap-up to your Vertigo run…I may need to go back and reread your last year or so and see how it all holds together…but I think it holds true to the character we’ve all known and followed for all these years.

Okay, enough talking directly to the comic book. It’s somewhat satisfying to have a complete set of Hellblazer, terrifying as it is to realize I read each issue, month by month, for its entire run. And I really don’t mind the existence of the DC Universe Constantine series…I’ve been enjoying the character’s involvement in the surprisingly entertaining Justice League Dark, and the announcement of Jeff Lemire joining Constantine as writer has only increased my interest. And after 300 issues of the Vertigo run and all that entails, I don’t mind a different direction for a while. It seems unlikely we’ll get 300 issues of Constantine, but I suspect I’ll enjoy it while it exists.

Also this week, we had Classic Popeye #7:


I’m sorry for all the swearing in this post, Popeye. I know you swore in your comics, too, but at least you had the class to use &@$*%! unlike poor ol’ classless me.

Try to focus on the cool rapper guy, and not on the hideously misshapen old guy standing next to him.

filed under Categories pal plugging 9 Comments

So here’s a pic of me ‘n’ Euge AKA Adam Warrock from just before his performance at the store last night:


And here he is in the midst of performing:


A fun time was had by all, Euge put on a great show, the neighbors didn’t complain, the police didn’t show up, and we’re looking forward to having him back again next time he’s in the area. And a special thanks to customer Rich for the loaner of his PA system for the show.

Actually, speaking of the police showing up…I actually had to go to the store yesterday morning at about 5:30 AM because of yet another alarm notification. That meant zipping off to the shop and wondering during the entire drive there if Euge was going to have to perform in front of a giant piece of wood that would be in place of the plate glass window that was busted open by burglars. Thankfully, if annoyingly, something just happened to fall over in the back room and trip a motion detector, so there wasn’t a break-in.

It was a crummy way to start off the day, if admittedly not as crummy as it could have been, but the day certainly ended in fine form, with a great Adam Warrock show. If he happens to be performing in your area, try to make time and check him out. Even if you think you don’t care for the rapping…I think Euge will win you over with his charm and good humor.

Again, a big thanks to Euge for dropping by, and be sure to visit his site for free music and videos.