A live-action Swamp Thing TV show is coming to the DC Universe digital steaming app-thingie-whatever:
This article gives a pretty good overview on what’s going on, though the paragraph regarding the character’s comics history in the ’70s and ’80s appears to be garbled a bit. Also, the article notes that the show going to series depends on the how good the initial script is, so it’s not 100% a for-sure thing, I guess? Anyway, from the brief description given there, it sounds like they’re conflating Abby Arcane with Alec’s wife Linda Holland to, I don’t know, simplify the set-up of the series? Get to the romantic tension right away without contending with the whole “dead wife” thing? To save costs by reducing the number of actors in that pilot episode? I say “pilot,” assuming they don’t go all Netflix on us and take an entire season to approximate the original property. (“SEASON ONE ENDING CLIFFHANGER: Will Alec survive the lab’s explosion?”)
Well, not that I need another streaming TV service or anything, but DC played dirty pool and now actually have me considering dropping the dough on this. Not that they’ve said how much dough will be required…hopefully more towards about $6 or $7 a month, and not something stupid like $25 a month, $275 for a year – that’s one free month! We’ll see.
Okay, this is a little earlier in the week than I usually post my “hey, Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday” reminders…I try to drop ’em the Friday before, but I’m not 100% sure how much bloggin’ time I’ll have Thursday night, so there you go. Also, longtime customer Mike W. told me he’ll look to my blog here for his FCBD reminder, so…hey, Mike W., see you on Saturday!
Anyway, like the last couple of times I’ve posted here about FCBD, I’ll tell you I don’t know what else to add that I haven’t already said over the last near decade-and-a-half. Just remember:
1) No purchase is required to take FCBD comics…if the store is making you buy something to take free comics, they’re doing it wrong.
2) That said, if you can, maybe do buy something while you’re at the shop…retailers do have to pay for the free comics which, while individually aren’t that expensive, can add up if you’re like me and ordered a whole lotta them. Also like me, many stores will probably be having special deals that day, so take advantage of them! Please!
3) But if you can’t buy anything and just want some freebies…that is perfectly fine. I want people to take comics and enjoy them! I mean, take the Free Comic Book Day comics, not the early 1960s Detectives I have in the case.
Also, once again I’ll not have limits on the number of different comics you can take. That’s been a successful and non-problematic strategy in the past, and I expect it will continue to be so, despite the occasional naysayer that turns up in my comments to tell me I’m doing everything wrong. Given the option, not everybody takes a copy of every single comic…sure, some people do, and that’s okay, but in my experience, a lot of people will only take a half-dozen different titles, or maybe only one comic, and that’s okay too. (And just SO WE’RE CLEAR…I’m not down on stores that do limit things for financial reasons…I UNDERSTAND. I just hope most stores can offer each customer more than, like, two different freebies.)
I’m pretty much ready to go…at this point, all that’s really left to do is rearrange the store Friday night for the festivities the next day. All the freebies are in neatly-stacked boxes in the back room, I’ve got the roll of “I Got A Free Comic Today!” stickers ready to go, and I’ve got suckers family and friends ready to help out. So, now, all I can do is wait.
Speaking of said friends, pal Dorian will be on hand on FCBD to help me control the madding crowd, and, once again, he should have his overview of this year’s offerings posted on his site that Saturday morning. I don’t know how I manage to get him to do those reviews every year, but I’m glad he does ’em!
Okay, if I don’t talk to you again before the day, everyone have a fun and safe Free Comic Book Day, and I hope you all find some new comics to enjoy! Also, maybe buy a couple things! A suggestion, not a requirement!
Here it is, the May 2018 Diamond Previews, now in the convenient four-booklet format (not counting the separate Customer Order Form), now that DC Previews is its own book now! Look forward to the near future, when Dark Horse and IDW and Dynamite and every one each gets their own individually-bound catalog, all wrapped up inside an otherwise empty Previews wraparound folder! The future is coming, and it’s unnecessarily convoluted, just how you like it! Follow along in your own copy, best as you can, as I try to keep the page numbers straight on the following items:
p. 91 – The Walking Dead 15th Anniversary Pin:
Celebrating the 15th anniversary of the comic book based on the TV show!
p. 103 – Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander #4:
This prequel to the Lawnmower Man movie is getting pretty freaky.
p. 124 – Mystery Science Theater 3000 Coasters:
No joke here…just hoping for as much Mystery Science Theater 3000 merchandise as Dark Horse can produce. Maybe someday I’ll get that throwpillow I always wanted based on the alien that eats Crow in this clip:
p. 180 – Elvira Mistress of the Dark #1:
“I can think of two great reasons to buy this co–”
“Mike.”
“What?”
“You can’t keep going to the ‘Elvira’s breasts’ joke well every single time. It’s hacky.”
“SIR. I will have you know the two things I was talking about were ‘art’ and ‘story,’ THANK YOU VERY MUCH.”
“Mm hmm.”
“…Okay, and breasts, fine.”
p. 260 – Trump Trading Cards Uncut Sheet:
There better not be any jokes on these…that would be inappropriate and cruel!
p. 309 – Marvel Studios 101 All Your Questions Answered HC:
GUY BEING FUNNY: “Oh, all my questions, huh? Okay, what is the meaning of life? Where do babies come from? Magnets, how do they work? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? HAR HAR.”
MARVEL STUDIOS, BEING FUNNIER: “I am Groot! I am Groot. I am Groot. I am Groot!”
p. 320 – The Adventure Zone Volume 1 Here There Be Gerblins GN:
And now…CUTTING EDGE MEME HUMOR:
My apologies to everybody.
p. 398 – Tank Girl Coloring Book:
Hey man, I was coloring in Tank Girl in old Deadline magazines before it was cool.
p. 450 – Urotsukidoji Legend of the Overfiend:
Hey, kids…tentacles!
p. M22 – Marvel Movie Gallery Black Panther Version 2 PVC Diorama:
Glad to see Black Panther finally achieving his full potential by becoming the new Ghost Rider.
p. M53 – Pop! Directors Guillermo Del Toro Vinyl Figure:
Better bust out your Elder Things Pops and act out your own At The Mountains of Madness with your del Toro figure because that’s probably the only way it’s happening.
p. M53 – Coming to America Vinyl Figures:
Looking forward to the Art Buchwald Pop!
p. M60 – Pop! Smallville Vinyl Figures:
…but not holding my breath for the Chloe Sullivan Pop.
DC Previews p. 45 – Scooby-Doo Team-Up #40:
“I think you’ll find that ARCANE is the real culprit!” [Fred pulls giant yellow insect out of Matt Cable’s mouth]
Marvel Previews p. 6 – Amazing Spider-Man #1:
Get in on the ground floor of history with the first new Amazing Spider-Man #1 since…well, a couple of years back! Guaranteed to be a collectors item until the next Amazing Spider-Man #1 comes out!”
Marvel Previews p. 15 – Cosmic Ghost Rider #1:
Oh please please please let this be the next Nicholas Cage superhero movie.
Marvel Previews p. 20 – Death of the Inhumans #1:
In case the TV show wasn’t clue enough.
Marvel Previews p 125 .- Brute Force TPB:
Including the Power Pachyderms one-shot, in case Brute Force by itself hadn’t upped the ante enough in the “most unlikely comic to get into a trade paperback in the Year of Our Lord 2018” contest.
Said Gelatinous Cube reference fuzzily resized for your viewing convenience:
Now, what exactly a “+3” cube would be, I’m not sure, because the last time I played D&D, back in Ye Olden Tymes, a “+(x)” designation was more for weapons and items, not for living creatures. Perhaps Deadpool is being, as shocking as it may seem, less then accurate about D&D terms for humorous effect. HOW DARE HE JOKE ABOUT MY BELOVED GELATINO–er, anyway.
Thanks to Bully for keeping the Cube faith alive…and allowing me to resurrection this much-neglected category on my site!
So I was just looking on the Grand Comics Database for sumthin’ or other when I came across this title that I’d never encountered before…The Cryin’ Lion from the mid-1940s:
Images all totally stolen from said GCD, and what you see there appears to comprise the entire run of the comic. Like I said, I’ve never seen a copy of this, but even unread this may now be a contender for Favorite Offbrand Golden Age Funny Animal Comics (neck-and-neck with Spunky the Monkey).
I looked to the eBay for a physical copy of an issue, and only found one that was overgraded and way overpriced, but I had a couple of folks point out various sites only where public domain (or at least “no one’s left to defend the copyright”) comics have been scanned and posted for perusal, which I may not be able to resist looking at. (Also, said sites might be of use researching other Spunky the Monkey appearances, if any, as I’ve had no luck in the eleven years since I posted that one story.)
Anyway…The Cryin’ Lion, Exciting New Character Find of 1944 and 2018!
So reader John, the fella what related the horrifying yet strangely satisfying tale of the shredding and recycling of 14 long boxes of Turok Dinosaur Hunter #1, emailed recently to inform me of more bulk stashes of the ’90s funnybooks that came into his hands.
Specifically, he had several long boxes of ’90s comics, abandoned at a local storage facility, fall into his possession, multiple copies of each, all in Mylar sleeves, and all of the Usual Suspects when it comes to collections like this. Singled out by John was this photo he took of all his copies of Man of War #6 from Malibu Comics:
…specifically because he felt, as I am a man of poggery, I would appreciate the included pogs in each sealed factory-polybagged issue:
This was during the time of, of course, the Big Pog Invasion, but also during the time of Everyone Gets A Superhero Universe, including Malibu Comics which was doing this universe, with Man of War and the Ferret, while also doing the Ultraverse, with Prime and Firearm and so on. Did those two Malibu Universes ever cross over with each other? I imagine it would have been relative easy, being published by the same company an’ all, unless there’s some behind-the-scenes ownership stuff I don’t know about. Regardless, if they’d made it into the 2000s maybe that would have happened.
Anyway, there’s come collector excess for you, but at least they seem to have been kept in better shape than the comics in this tragedy. John said that the majority of the comics in this accumulation met a fate similar to the aforementioned Turok…well, not shredded in a spectacular fashion, but certainly disposed of, save for some Deadpools and a few other goodies that may actually be sellable. But here’s hoping that Man of War movie never comes to fruition, or I would weep openly on John’s behalf for such a lost lucrative opportunity.
§ April 20th, 2018§ Filed under nancy, pal plugging, retailing, supermanComments Off on Your regular reminder that I have to sell these things for a living.
To follow up on my last post, I appear to have ordered just about the right number of Action #1000s, at least to cover the initial rush of sales. The main cover, the one by Jim Lee, was the first…well, second, after the “blank” variant…to sell out, and I had several more requests for it after it was gone. Luckily, that cover (and the blank one) were still available for reorder, so I have more coming in. The other variants, I did have a request or two for them after they were gone, but by and large people just bought one (or, um, two or three) of whatever variants were left. And, right now, I have one copy left of the 2000s variant as I head into Friday. Ah well, I’ll have more early next week, and I expect this will be a consistent seller for at least a little while. But if I hear “do you have any Action #1000s left?” all weekend, I may have to reassess my “ordered about right” assumption.
Now the question I have is “will any of this translate to sales for when Brian Michael Bendis takes over the Super-books,” assuming people like the little taste o’Bendis they got in #1000. I have to place orders for his weekly Man of Steel mini-series right quick, and I’m not entirely sure what they’re going to be just yet. Not like this slew of new Marvel #1s in the same order form, where I’m about 90% certain that we’ll see a small bump in sales on those first issues, then we’ll be right back where we were before. Except maybe Thor, which has a $5.99 price point on that first issue, so Dedicated Fans Only Please, Sorry New Readers Who Might Have Picked It Up. Sheesh.
Anyway, can you tell I spent a chunk of my Thursday working on the monthly orders? Yessiree, I certainly was.
Oh, right, back to Action #1000. Pal Matt pointed out a strange anomaly in the Bendis story from that issue, where the villain of the piece refers to Supergirl as Superman’s “cousinsister.” I noticed that when I was reading, and my initial two thoughts were “maybe that’s supposed to represent some quirk in whatever translation device the alien is using to speak to Superman” (except I don’t see any other examples of that in the dialogue) and “maybe there’s something going on in the Supergirl comic I’m not reading that justifies this strange combined relationship term.” Or, as Matt suggests, just an editing error, but it seems weird that something this blatant would be missed. I mean, it wouldn’t even get past the spellchecker, you’d think. Or it could very well be foreshadowing for some kind of revelation down the road. Whatever, it’s strange and it stood out and maybe there’s an explanation coming, I don’t know. Maybe somewhere Bendis is laughing at us…”how cute, they think that was a mistake!” he chortles.
While we wait for our answer to that, in the meantime why not read the beginning of a new series of articles by one of the best writers I know, pal Andrew, as he starts his look, in his own inimitable fashion, at the Charlton Super-Heroes. This is gonna be good, pals, so get in on the ground floor, Mike said cliché-ishly.
And in other news, a couple of folks dropped a link in my comments section to this article on people arguing over the new Nancy strips I mentioned. Basically, it’s about people who realize current Nancy is very good, versus people who are wrong. That has been the way of the world for decades, I’m afraid.
Yes, it’s Action Comics #1000 week, marking the 1,006th issue of that series, including issues #0 and #1,000,000 from the pre-New 52 series, the second New 52 #0, those four lenticular issues #23.1-23.4, and am I forgetting something else? Yeah, probably, but here we are, a Superman comic with #1,000 on the cover, which ain’t nothin’ to sneeze at. I’ve taken a copy home (as promised, the version with Mike Allred’s 1960s tribute cover) and I’ve read it…it’s a nice anthology book, with little space wasted. And yes, the red trunks are back, in every tale in this issue, though their return is never really explained. It is commented upon in the Bendis story, using a variation of a joke I made here and I’m sure was made by everyone else on the planet as well. I hope they never explain it, any more than “eh, I just felt like puttin’ ’em back on. LEMME HAVE MY SPACE PANTS.”
Now, beyond the content, I’m just worried about how it’s going to sell. I won’t go into it all again (that first link above has more detail, if you’re interested) but I ordered what I think should be plenty. I filled the large number of preorders I had, and now, assuming the normal level of extra interest this would attract amongst my regular customer base, I should have enough, unless everyone decides that they have to have the same specific variant cover and shun the other nine covers…then I might have a problem. Or if there’s a news story extolling readers/viewers “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GO OUT AND BUY THIS COMIC,” in which case I’m totally not prepared. Well, we’ll see. Hopefully reorders will be available if necessary, because a $7.99 price point is a bit too high a price point to be taking a lot of ordering risks.
• • •
Oh, hey, I guess Steven Spielberg is finally going to be making a Blackhawk movie. Pretty sure he first made some noise about this in…the early 1980s, I think? And while I said on the Twitters that I’m hoping for some War Wheel action, I think you’ll all agree with me that what we really want from a Blackhawk film is WEIRD MUMMY INSECTS:
I mean, do you want Just Another World War II movie, or do you want that? Or this? You’re reading this site, I think I can guess your answer. Or your other answer.
• • •
So a while back I was told a new creator took over the Nancy comic strip, and when I looked then it didn’t do anything for me…but it’s starting to grow on me. I think it’s improving, actually, and this nicely Bushmiller-esque strip from the other day has been making the rounds. Granted, there’s something unnatural about Nancy and Sluggo referencing the internet, but then most of Nancy and Sluggo’s world is nightmarishly unnatural, so, you know, what else is new?
• • •
Oh, almost forgot to mention…Swamp Thing will be appeared in Scooby-Doo Team-Up #40 this July:
My Swamp Thing love is so strong, the actual editor of the comic made sure I heard the news back in January. I am genuinely excited about this.
