Monthly Archive for May, 2010

The Week of May 24th

Published on May 24, 2010 in Comics and Shop Crap. 0 Comments

First things first… Memorial Day is Monday and that means we will be open from 8 to noon and next week’s comics will be delayed a day, arriving on Thursday, June 3rd.

Crisis on Infinite Hold Boxes…

SO… big comic companies, every so many years need to re-boot their continuity to some extent.  DC has done this historically with Crisis and Zero Hour.  We are in need of that with a few comic hold boxes.

It seems about every five to six months the same conversations are had, especially on Tuesdays, about a hand full of hold boxes.  In plain and simple terms, we need you to come in on a regular basis and buy your comics.  We understand you can’t get in every week, that is why you have a hold box, but when more than one month’s books are in the box and we haven’t talked about this, you and me… that is problem time.

Next week in this e-mail we will have the details of a slightly more stringent system we will put into place starting July 1st.  If you don’t think this applies to you, it probably does not.  However, for those of you that do not understand basic economics (we buy the products at a slightly lower price, you buy them at a slightly inflated price, we make profit and stay in business) we can talk about all of this too.

Just know, that we are doing well, but would rather be doing better and providing an even better store, but we will talk about this next week.

Delivery of Comics?…

We have our first delivery comic customer.  Would you like to also have your comics delivered?  Here is how it is going to work.  We would charge you (as an introductory rate) $5.00 to have your comics delivered to you.  I can’t make guarantees that it will always be this price, but for now and the next couple months, we are doing it on the cheap.  We would need a credit card on file or solid communication as to how the books will be paid for.  Of course, we would only deliver on a Wednesday or at OUR convenience and we would only deliver to the Des Moines metro area.

We can also ship to you via the mail, too.  We just want you to have every opportunity to read good comics.

Reminder about The E-Bay…

If you haven’t checked out our E-Bay store and you like variant covers, you should do this.  This week Marvel gave us a deal to pick up a bunch of extra variant covers.  Nearly all of them are on line and can probably be picked up at cover or near cover price.  (Remember that if you win a bid on The E-Bay, you do not have to pay shipping and handling fees, but you do have to pay cover price.  However, at worst, this is a difference of $4 for shipping versus a $3 or $4 cover price and all bids start at 99 cents.)  Go win some bids.

Follow us on…

Also remember, if you haven’t yet, go, now and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  They are both great ways to follow what is going on with the shop and soon a great way to save money.

Ronnie’s Review of the Month!!

Ronnie (the short one with dreads) has been reading a lot more just Batman comics lately and asked if he could start writing some reviews on series he has been enjoying.  I’m all for this, as I don’t have to write as much on those weeks.  Here is his review of Daytripper:

Daytripper is a miniseries of one shots written and illustrated by GABRIEL BÁ and FÁBIO MOON, the Brazilian super twin brothers known for Umbrella Academy and Casanova, but are loved for all sorts of indie stuff you can find out about on your own.

Each issue takes place in Brazil, which is not New York City, which means this funny book already has something going for it.  It stars Bras, an obituary writer, and the frustrated novelist son of a famous novelist.  Each issue is a ‘day in the life of’, with a heavy emphasis on location and character (and the character of the location).  These brothers want you to know about Brazil, but they do it in a way that doesn’t feel like a Lonely Planet guide.  So far, each issue has told the tale of Bras and someone(s) close to him, and how they deal with some major event in their lives.  Then the recurring ending.  The same in each issue.  However, this repetitive ending does nothing more than shine a light on what would be mundane otherwise.  It tries it’s best to remind us each day is worth living hard.  Kind of like an obituary.  But not sappy.

The art is very loose, but each character is immediately recognizable and has a lot of, well, character.  Think Jeff Lemire’s Essex County in the southern hemisphere.  It has the ‘Vertigo color palate’, but is always worth flipping through to look at again.

The odd thing about this book is that I believe it is the first miniseries that reads better monthly than it would in trade.   I highly recommend it.

Finally, Hail to the Cup o’ Champs, Baby!…

As many of you know, I captain a team in a local recreational Hockey league here in Des Moines.  Some of the members of the team and many in the league are pretty damn good players (read, not me, that is why I captain.)  It is considered C+ level (A/B being the best the city has to offer) and is fairly competitive.  It is also a lot of fun.  We’ve been playing for over 30 weeks and last Wednesday night The Cup team took home the Inaugural Gabe Flemming Championship Cup, beating a really good team captained by my friend and customer Tony Hanson.

I don’t know if we deserved the Cup anymore than any of the other teams in the league, but we played hard and for the most part kept our heads up (we also had really, really good goaltending.)

I want to thank Joe Bafia for running a good and fair league.  I want to thank the players in the league for a great season and most importantly, I want to thank my team for giving me a great group of guys to hang out with and play Hockey, the best sport on the planet.

Sorry, that had nothing to do with comics and sometimes that is a good thing.

The Week of May 17th

Published on May 17, 2010 in Reviews-comics and Shop Crap. 0 Comments

I type this very, very saddened after hearing that one of my heroes has passed away after losing his battle with stomach cancer.  Ronnie James Dio was 67 at his passing Sunday.

Why do I mention this in an e-mail or blog post about comics books?  There are so many reasons, but I’m going to point out three.  It is important to remember our real life heroes.  These do not have to be parents or guardians, though they are more important, they do not teach us everything in our lives.  Heroes can be any number of cultural icons or influential people or leaders.  Heroes are spice that make the world and our lives better.  You might snicker or laugh at Ronnie James Dio being one of my heroes, but he has made my life better through his fantastic music.  He is a rock god!

He was so very influential in pop culture.  All heavy metal music owes a debt of gratitude for its very existence to Dio and a career that spanned five decades.  Dio and hard rockers of his ilk were part of a great number of childhoods, teenage years and present days whose imaginations were inhanced greatly thanks to the vocal kaleidoscope of images they present.  I love reading horror comics and seriously Dio rock sound works so well in creating those creepy images in my mind.

And, for no other reason, from now on and till the end of your days, every time you see the Rock Horns or put them in the air yourself, you MUST think of Ronnie James Dio.  He was the first to uses them and make them popular/part of rock culture.  Here is a quick story, which was told so much better by the rock god himself.  They are not a sign of the devil.  They are not an “I love you” sign.  They are an Eastern European hand gesture to ward off the evil eye that Dio’s mother or grandmother used often while a young Dio was in her presence.  THIS is SO much better of a useage.  Horns up for Ronnie James Dio.

I mention one creative trend setter’s passing and move straight over to another.  Very Sad.

Last week, I was greatly saddened to find out Frank Frazetta passed away.  No one who has even a passing interest in comics does not know the name Frank Frazetta.  He of some of the most well known sci-fi and fantasy art of the last hundred years.  How we see such characters as Buck Rogers and Conan is only because of Frazetta.

No kid of the mid 80’s,  a nerd or geek and playing the occasional D&D, was not moved by the Molly Hatchet covers or his work on Heavy Metal or his Conan paintings (Sorry, those ARE Conan and everyone who has drawn the barbarian since copies Frazetta, everyone.)  As a kid I wished I could draw as well as that guy, not even really knowing who he was.  I could not, but it never stopped my imagination from forming a story about how the characters got to the place in that picture and what the story would continue after.

That is probably why Frazetta was so amazing to me and why he will live on long, long after his passing.  He, could create a story with a single canvas.  Not an easy thing to do.  Hell, how many comics do you read that can barely do that in 22 pages and this guy told an entire story with ONE PICTURE!!  A true master of his medium, Frank Frazetta was 87 years old at the time of his death last Monday.

Geez… depressing much?

How about a podcast to lighten your day?

It is called A Comic Illuminati, it is about the shop, events and comics.  Right now it is just online and not available to down load.  That should change in the next month or so.  I hope to use this to help promote the shop and reach people that wouldn’t normally pay attention to us through normal, more traditional means.  (Kids these days.)

Here is where you can find it: www.youtube.com/user/SouthSiderStudios

I’m not promising much from the idiot in front of the camera, but the guy behind it is a genius.  While you are at the SouthSiderStudios site go check out the other movies these guys have put together.  Really good stuff.

This is not going to be a weekly thing right now, just a regular thing.  We are both pretty busy and the behind the scenes stuff takes a hell of a lot longer to get polished then you would think.  (So, imagine how bad that guy looked before Mike used his video magic?)

So, welcome to the catacombs and prepare to get enlightened with A Comic Illumitatti.

Big Avengers Party time…

This week we see the release of Avengers, the new and latest restart/reboot/relaunch of the top Marvel super-group.  With it Marvel is having parties across the country to promote it.  We are sort-of participating in the sense we are having a big sale and some give-aways and some prizes, kind-of a party.

Here is what we are doing:

  • 30% off all Siege and Avengers books that did not come out last week.  (Those titles are: Dark Avengers #16, New Avengers Finale One Shot, Avengers Initiative #35, Sige #4, Siege Embeded #4 and Sentry: Fallen Sun)  This sale will run for a week.
  • Buy Avengers #1 in the first week it is on sale and enter to win an exclusive Avengers print or Heroic Age Avengers variant cover.  We will be drawing on the afternoon of Tuesday the 25th.  Your chances of winning are better than fifty, fifty.
  • Wednesday afternoon, I will offer up fifty cents off all espresso drink sales accompanying a comic purchase, doesn’t even have to be Avengers you purchase.  Also, half off drip coffee for the comic purchasing deal.

Avengers Review Time…

I have had a chance to read Avengers #1 before it comes out this week.  I’m not sure if it was Marvel that sent it to us, or Brian Bendis himself.  The book has a personalized note on the inside cover and I’ve heard Bendis has been going around to shops at random and dropping off books a week early.

Either way, I like this.  This is a great way to get me to talk about it.  When a shop owner can read it early, it isn’t old news when they discuss it in a blog the next week or have to answer “Uh, no I haven’t read it yet, I just took it out of the box an hour ago.”  So, whoever did this, I thank them.

So, is it any good?  Yes, it is, but I’ll get to that.  The book is not the same drawn out plotline running through the Avengers books over the last couple years.  In New Avengers Finale, there is a bunch of double page slashes highlighting all the major moments in the New Avengers run.  It helped to remind me that some of it really wasn’t bad.  There were a lot of good artists on that series at one time, some good plots and some good writing being done too.

Then you hit the last couple years worth and if you were like me, you start to wonder why I still cared.  Was it because we were told by the big over reaching group mind of comics, “This is a big book, it is an important family of books and you need to read it, read it all.”  Because I haven’t enjoyed a bit of any Avengers book (except Mighty) in nearly two years.  Secret Invasion was worse than bad and Siege would have been a single three issue arc in the good old days, not a huge multi-part crossover of all and every book in reach.

I thought they had something going when Dark Reign worked like a company-wide plot line, but Siege was so haphazardly moved into, it really killed any desire to care about any of this.

So, why care now?  I have a good answer for you on that.  Most of you have read Avengers as a kid and if you enjoyed it, you enjoyed it because it was big, giant stories about some of the most amazing heroes ever created in comics.  They went on big crazy adventures and got into big giant fights to save the universe.

They didn’t hide in a warehouse and sulk about how the world was tough, how they better stay on the run.  They didn’t sip coffee and talk about it, they went out and saved the universe from being destroyed… again… today.  This is what the Avengers are, they are BIG and the adventures they get into need to be that way too.

The first issue is very much this.  Kang the conqueror shows up uninvited and unexpected as the Avengers are working out the details of forming their new team, who will lead and all those details.  A fight ensues, and the reasons are laid down for why he is back.  Pretty good way to make me think we are moving back to big, use a time traveling super evil doer and threaten the existence of all and everything in the future universe.  Yeah, that works.

The art is John Romita, Jr. and though I’m not a huge fan the interior art is not as bad as the cover. (Thor has a smashed flat face, come on!)  This is Marvel’s big launch and the Romita family is pretty important to Marvel history.

I speak as a shop owner, of course I want you to keep collecting Avengers (and all the side books,) but I also speak as someone who has a nearly complete run of every story published in the illustrious Avengers lineage.  I want this book to not suck because personally, I’ve loved the Avengers for a very long time and as a fan, not a shop owner, I can say I really enjoyed the first issue.  What will any of the other dozen Heroic Age and Avengers books be like, I don’t know, but this one I am willing to stick with and I think they are going in the right direction… finally.

The Week of May 10th

Published on May 10, 2010 in Comics, Reviews-comics and Shop Crap. 0 Comments

I wanted to thank everyone who came out last week for our Cinco de Mayo/Hellboy in Mexico party.  It was a great time had by all.  A few people need to be thanked.

First off, Dark Horse, they were so instrumental in making this possible.  All the giveaway stuff was from them, free of charge.  They also made it possible to give such big discounts on their merchandise, because they helped us with an extra order discount.  They are a hell of a company.  If you don’t read their books, you need too.  Talk to me and I’ll point out what I think you would like from them.

Second, Scott Allie, he is one of the best editors in the industry and was the one who actually came up with the seed for this event.  I had a meeting with him at C2E2 to figure out a way to help sell and promote Dark Horse and we put down the basics together and then I grew it from there.

Third, 3XWrestling, just two days before their big event they took time to come and interact with my customers.  They didn’t need to do that, but they did and it paid off for them too as they gained what should be a few new regular customers from the event.  I was able to sneak a few moments to chat with them and I hope this is the beginning of a new working relationship between Cup and 3XWrestling.  How awesome would it be to have the ring up next to the shop in the field?  Probably won’t happen, but that would be great.  Speaking of last Friday, Over The Top was one of the best events I think they have had.  So, if you missed it, plan on some Downtown Destruction on June 4th.

And, fourth, you all need some thanks.  This was one of the biggest days the shop has ever had.  Not just because of sales, but because we can now start doing this kind of crazy shi…stuff on a regular basis.  As long as you guys come, we will try and have something every month.  I’m working on a signing in June and June is Superman’s Birthday, so, who knows…

Hellboy in Mexico…

I don’t usually review comics up top of the e-mail, but when you read something that is this good, well, it needs a little bit more juice.

The one shot from Mike Mignola and Richard Corben is one of the ten best books I’ve ever read.  The story is simple (not a bad thing when dealing with a one shot) about Hellboy telling the story of when he teamed with a group of Luchadores in Mexico and fought evil monsters and turkeys.  OH, and there is wrestling in the book too.  How is it not the best thing ever?  The art is some of Corben’s best.  Several panels I want as tattoos.  We sold out last week, but have more coming on Wednesday and will get more if need be.  This is a great intro to the Hellboy universe if you’ve never been there.  From this title, I assure you there is a bunch of great stuff to be found.

RUN, Matt is a Pod Person…

Yep, I went to sleep and awoke, changed, different… without emotion, love, desire, ambition, faith.  Eh, it isn’t so bad.

And much like Dr. Miles, I didn’t really have much choice in the matter either.  My buddy Mike Keiler of South Sider Studios pretty much put it like that.  Might be another week before it is done, but by next week the first of what should be a never ending steam of stupid online ramblings will commence in A Comic Illuminati!!

Lots of Good Coming this Week…

This is a hellatiously good week coming and it isn’t just because on Monday May 17th Baroness is going to be playing at the Vaudeville Mews either!  No, it is because all the good books seem to be shipping.  Here is just a taste, check out “What’s Shipping” tab for even more:

If you have been waiting for the trade on Sweet Tooth, your wait is over!  One of the best new books on the racks is finally available in its first volume.  Part road story and part post apocalyptic horror story, it has been described as Mad Max with antlers telling the story of Sweet Tooth, a young innocent deer boy and the man who has saved him on the road to the preserve.

Also out this week is the soft cover trade of The Nobody.  Jeff Lemire, writer of Sweet Tooth, did this one off Invisible Man story over a year ago and it is finally finding its way to softcover.  Not as good as his storytelling in Sweet Tooth or Essex County, but a fine story if you are looking for something a little off the beaten path.

Unwritten issue 13 is coming.  This book continues to get better and grow in sales.  I think the thing I like the most is I have absolutely NO idea where it is going either.  Every issue is new and fresh and different.  Easily one of my top ten reads a month.  If you need something without underwear being worn on the outside, due yourself a favor and get on this book NOW!  The first trade collects the first five issues and I can currently keep in stock issues 6-12.  (Got to love DC’s support they put behind a book by keeping it in stock and available.  Now who could learn a lesson from this…?)

Two big starts, um, start in Thanos Imperative and The Return of Bruce Wayne this week.  Everyone knows about Batman being sort-of dead and everyone will be buying it and loving The Return of B-man (I know I will be), but less known is Thanos Imperative.

Dan Abbnet and Andy Lanning have been doing a great job with the Marvel Space books over the last two plus years.  Much like the X-Men, these books sort of stay to themselves and when they do have a big crossover, you are not pulled into a $100 cost to read everything.  The books have been primarily contained to Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy, but both will be going on hiatus while Thanos Imperative runs its course.  The back story is pretty detailed, but the long and short of it is Thanos is back from the dead and ready to destroy the universe.  Always a good time and a great chance to jump on some of the best Marvel has to offer.

Speaking of the best Marvel has to offer, they are also releasing Siege and a New Avengers finale issue one shot thing this week.  You should really buy these.  Please?  Listen, just buy them, Marvel knows you are a sucker and must complete the story, come-on, you want to know what happens in the end, don’t you?  I’m sure there won’t be a bunch of people standing around and talking… well, at least not at a coffee table.  That’s something, right?  Just remember, I’ll be reading it too and cursing along with you.  Which brings me to…

Next week is an Avengers party!

Yeah!!  Woah!  Awesome? Yes, maybe.

I mean it can’t be as bad as the last few issues of New Avengers have been, right?  Right! and then the week after is Secret Avengers, written by Ed Brubaker, which is immediately better because it is not Bendis writing an Avengers book.  (Listen, I like BMB.  He is good guy, but I think he needs to take a break.  Go write some historical crime stories.)

Well, Nonetheless, we’ll have some discounts for our “Party” and a drawing or two for you lucky John Romita Junior fans.  No free beer or anything like that, but maybe a coffee special.  Sorry, Hellboy gets free beer, this week-ass attempt to restart flagging Avengers’ sales does not.  I’ll have more on this next week.

The Week of May 3rd

Published on May 3, 2010 in Shop Crap. 0 Comments

Well, let’s just dive into all the stuff, ‘cause we got a buffets worth this week.  Now get your oversized slotted plate, line up behind the creepy lady on her fourth pass through the line and pile it on.

HELLBOY in MEXICO, Cinco de Mayo Party…

Wednesday!!  May 5th!!  5 to 8!!

This is a celebration of the new Dark Horse Mignola/Corben Hellboy book, Hellboy in Mexico.  The same writer/artist team that won the Eisner for Hellboy and The Crooked Man.  (If you haven’t read that, you are doing yourself a disservice and need to get it.)  The new book should have a bunch of crazy fun including terrible bat gods, evil turkeys and luchadors.

Wednesday also happens to be Cinco de Mayo, and if Hellboy is in Mexico, maybe we should all join him and have a party.

We are going to have FREE Beer and virgin Margaritas for everyone.  Also, we’ll have a bunch of discounts (on comics, trades and everything Dark Horse.)  We’ll have prizes and we’ll have freebies!  I’m going to try and get people to sign up for the BPRD and push people to sign up for our twitter/facebook sites, and did I mention we’ll have giveaways too?

Dark Horse has been very generous in sending us some great merchandise, signed pieces and promo stuff.  They really are a great company to work with.  (Hell, the idea for this party came during a meeting with editor extraordinaire Scott Allie in Chicago while we were trying to come up with ways to help promote Dark Horse in the shop.)  They are a big reason we will have such great stuff to make this a big deal.

If you have noticed Dark Horse’s promo in the back of their books lately, the We Love Comics Too campaign, you know something else we plan on doing.  I want to submit a WE LOVE COMICS, TOO picture to them.  I’m on a personal crusade to MAKE them make T-Shirts for this ad campaign.  A pic with a bunch of us all holding a Mexican beer and a Dark Horse comic would be pretty cool and might go a long way to backing up my arguments I could sell twenty t-shirts in my little shop alone.

What is a Cinco de Mayo party without wrestling, hell, what is any party without a little grappling?  We will also have some wrestling action up on the TV and projected on the big screen.

Joining the festivities will be several stars of 3XWrestling on hand to help promote their next event, Over the Top, which will take place on Friday night, May 7th.  If you have never been to an event and even have a passing interest in pro-wrestling, you should go.  It is an absolute blast.  These guys are extremely talented and put their bodies on the line.  Check out their website, ask them about it on Wednesday or just head down to the Des Moines Social Club on Friday night.  The opening match is a little after 7:00.

Man, all that and the day the French were defeated in Mexico!!  I don’t think you can ask for anything else. Or can you…

Brightest Day #1, White Lantern Power Rings!

There is a good news/bad news situation we have on White Power Rings.  I talked to my DC rep today and he told me there is a problem for a lot of shops.  We look to be okay and not allocated and not shorted and… we’ll see on Wednesday.

We will not have equal parts comics to rings, we can’t order more and DC has no plans to make more.  SO… we will have a new policy as opposed to previous ring releases.  You get the ring if you buy the comic.

[long pause]

If you want a second ring, it’ll cost you $2.50, but only if you have bought the comic first and you need to buy it right then and there.

SO… if you buy a second copy of the book, sure you get another ring.  Then for fifty cents, you can feel good giving the comic to a kid and you get to play with your extra costume jewelry.  (Hey, I’m not making fun, I carry my rage ring with me where ever I go, but you probably already guessed that I am a Red Lantern.)

Because of all of this, White Rings will be on a first come first served basis and obviously, quantities are limited.

Starting next week…

I am continuing to be drug kicking and screaming into the 20th century.  I expect to emerge in the 21st century sometime later this year.  Nonethless, we are going to do a video/audio podcast!  No really.  It’ll start small and to the point (HA HA, Yes, I’ll be working on it and it will be to the point.  Smart asses.)  My buddy Mike Keiler of SouthsiderStudios is going to produce it.  This will be a way to try and promote both of us; show what they can do, show what we… what we… I can’t say know, ‘cause I don’t know anything.  So, I guess it’ll just sort-of show stuff we are thinking about (Like a McBain movie – in front of a brick wall, for an hour and a half.)  We plan to call this thing The Comic Illuminati.  But more on this next week…

A few things on FCBD…

First off, Holy Cats!  We had a hell of a good day.  Saw lots of people come through the door and made money, should be happy about that right?

Wellll…. I am, but man, the freeloaders on Saturday were insane.  Like a plague of locusts (I don’t remember a dude with a staff and screaming about letting his people go free?  RONNIE!!!  Stop sending plagues of locusts!)  I got busy early in the day with a refrigerator issue and then got busy helping Nate and then looked and nearly all the free comics were gone.

Now, will we ever see any of those free-comic-loaders again?  Eh, probably not. All the free books are probably all in the recycle bin by now.  I hear Mayhem was swamped with the same pack o’ locusts too.  They must have devoured the entire town.

The second thing with Free Comic Book Day, this is much better, is that we were able to get some to the libraries and they were happy to get them.  It makes me feel really good working with libraries.  I was a nerdy kid and loved my library as a wee one.  My brother in law is a librarian.  Libraries are good (AND SHOULD BE FUNDED BETTER!!)  As a side, made some great contacts at both southside and central and hope to work very heavily with them this fall.

Third thing about FCBD, is all the weird news that was released.  Did anyone notice the freak’n flood of movie related comic news?  Um, Free COMIC BOOK day, not free movies based on comic properties day, hello?  Why was a terrible picture of Thor released, a terrible trailer to Jonah Hex released, news on the next Batman movie released, the trailer for the Batman Porn Parody (okay, that’s cool) released… but to me this should be COMICS weekend, not in any way properties that will inspire a bad film weekend.  Can’t we just love our comics we got?  For free… that the shop owners went and…. I’m done, I’m done!

Fourth (and final) thing, big changes next year.  I’ve got some better ideas… for next year.  I’m not telling you what they are, but they should make for a lot more fun.

Okay, that is it.  There is a lot more we could discuss, but it’ll have to wait until next week.  Man o man, I’ve got a hell of a lot more to do tonight.

Remember, Cinco de Mayo, Wednesday… FREE BEER!!