This is the second week in a row where our weekly funnybook shipment from Diamond is smaller than normal, which means we’re probably due for a week sometime soon where Marvel releases three-quarters of their books. However, even with the smaller shipment, we’re still getting four different Avengers titles, which is, you know, something.

Also something is the release this week of Image United #3, only eight months after #2, and six months after the #0 special. This surprises no one, I’m sure, particularly given the number of different Image founder cats that are needed to be herded into providing art for the project. I have no idea if that actually is the reason for the delay, but I’d imagine that’s a pretty good guess.

Ending this week is Ex Machina with issue #50, which has been an interesting and enjoyable series, and, I don’t know, it sort of seems like after making a big splash when it first appeared (in part because it was one of the earliest examples of comics using the events of 9/11 in a compelling/alternate history/non-exploitative way), it remained flying under the radar ever since. Not a big seller, but a consistent one, and the trade collections go through spurts of movement at the shop. Even so, it’s still one of the few non-Authority Wildstorm properties to have any customer interest at our shop, and I’m sorry to see it go.

Another title ending this week, also at issue #50, is Star Wars: Legacy, the “future history” series taking place a century or so after all that Expanded Universe SW stuff with Old Luke, Old Han, Old Leia, etc. Now, I tried to give this series a chance, but my interest only piqued when references to and/or characters from Episodes IV-VI popped up, like the alleged Force ghost of Luke, or a certain droid of our acquaintance. I just couldn’t get interested in Cade Skywalker and his other space pals. Now, that shouldn’t be taken as a slam on the comic…it’s me, baby, not you, as my continuing interest in Star Wars seems mainly restricted to the ongoing adventures of, well, Old Luke et al. The comic remained a strong seller for us throughout its lifespan, as did the trades when, um, they were in print, and frankly I’m a little surprised it’s going away. Well, not entirely going away, since a new mini-series, with its new order-grabbing “#1,” is coming soon…but I’d have preferred the series continuing instead of giving current readers a convenient stopping point.

Also of note:

• Hellblazer #270 – Nearly 300 issues of this. Hard to believe. At last for us, this is one of DC’s low-range sellers…not quite to the point of the Red Circle material or Magog, but more along the lines of, say, R.E.B.E.L.S. Subsidized by trade paperback sales, I suppose, and the fact that this, and the Fables franchise, are now the flagship periodicals for the Vertigo line.
• Honey West #1 – Gonna be hard to top this cover, but seriously…this seems like an odd license to acquire, even though the team actually producing the book (Trina Robbins and Cynthia Martin) is a good one. Are there enough Honey West fans out there willing to buy the comic to justify the cost of the license, versus just putting Robbins and Martin on their own brand new female private detective series? Then again, “Honey West” is one of the greatest fictional character names of all time, so I can see the appeal.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. Director’s Cut #1 – In case you didn’t get your hands on the first four printings of the first issue.
• Tiny Titans #31 – So this kids’ book gets some grief in that some of the gags require specific continuity knowledge of the regular teen-and-adult-oriented DC Universe. My feeling on the topic, which I’m sure you’re dying to know, is this: 1) the sheer cuteness of the book helps sell the gags, even if the target audience doesn’t “get” the context, and 2) I remember, as a young Mikester, watching WWII-era Warner Brothers cartoons with gags specific to that period (“TURN OUT THAT LIGHT!”) and still thinking it was funny even if I didn’t fully understand why it was so important for that light to be out. Okay, maybe not the best analogy, but it’s fine if there are jokes that go over kids’ heads once in a while. Keeps them wondering. It’s good for ’em.
• Darkwing Duck #3 – Fully approved by fans of Darkwing Duck! Especially those two very excitable gals who come in every time a new issue is released and, prior to purchase, flip through the comic next to the register and loudly read to each other their favorite bits, giggling and laughing and generally carrying on and making a ruckus. THANKS IAN.

  But honestly, congrats to pal Ian for the success he’s had writing Darkwing Duck. I’m teasing a bit above, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen people get quite that excited over a comic. I’m very proud of you, buddy.

• …But the best thing coming out this week:
  
  
  YES.

Once again I was was one of the…objectives, I suppose, for the annual scavenger hunt held by local art studio Eighty Six.

In the packet each team of scavenging hunters received, along with, of course, the list of items they needed to seek out, or shenanigans they needed to record themselves doing, they received a copy of this grade school activity sheet:

Where I come in is how the hunters were supposed to obtain the pack. They were to come to our store, approach me, say “the secret password is ‘King Neil Diamond Dave Mustaine,'” and then wink at me. At that point I’d hand them the packet of pics.

Now, this sounds like it’d be a day full of interruptions and distractions, but it all went fairly smoothly, and frankly it was such a laugh that I didn’t mind losing a wee bit o’worktime over it. And one reason it was funny was that about half of the hunters who came into the store forgot the winking part, and I wasn’t going to give up the picture pack until they made with the winking. They’d say the password, and I’d just kinda stand there, looking at them expectantly, as the realization would dawn upon them that they did something wrong. They’d eventually figure it out, usually by immediately sticking their nose into their list and rereading the instructions to see what they missed, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t gain some amusement from their brief confusion and discomfort.

I’m a horrible human being, I realize.