Monthly Archive for January, 2011

Week of January 31st

Published on January 31, 2011 in Comics, Shop Crap, Tia's Reviews and Wrestling. 0 Comments

Big Snow Storm is Coming?…

Yes, the end of the world is being forecast, but it shouldn’t really effect comics this week.  As long as I can get a hold of them on time, and everything looks to be on schedule right now, they will be available and ready Wednesday morning.

If for some reason this is not the case, I will post on Facebook, send out an e-mail and make an announcement on our website, but I do not foresee a problem.  Now, being open Tuesday night…. That is a little more iffy.

Wizard, 1991 to 2011…

I’ll get to the rest of the stuff in a minute, but I would be remise if I didn’t mention the end of an era.  In a week we saw the death of a major character at Marvel (not that there was a body, so, buck up butter-cup HERBIE will be back.) we also saw the end of Wizard Magazine.  I was taken aback when a hockey buddy and customer e-mailed me last Monday with the news that Wizard, at least the magazine part, was closing its doors and ceasing publication.  They were the, erm, torch bearers of mainstream for twenty years.  Easily they can be attributed to the success of several people in this industry, for good (less so) and bad (mostly.)

Now, I don’t have much nice to say about this rag of a mag, so, in their end I won’t say much more about this at all, just I’m glad they are gone and that it hopefully marks the end of one era and the beginning of another.  One where quality and not mediocrity reign supreme.

Speaking of which…

I am a frequent follower of Jimmy Palmiotti’s blog.  He posted a great piece by Eric Powell that could not have been better timed in light of the end of the Wizard Rag.  They are a social network group calling themselves Creators Front for Diversity in Comics.  It deals with the terrible lack of creator owned books in the market and does it, as you would guess, with humor.  Thing is, it has some very serious numbers in it too.

It is an issue I struggle with every week I get books in.  The 70 plus percent of the industry that is controlled by TWO companies who are owned by TWO big multi-national corporations.  It is not a healthy industry and lacking in vibrant creativity.  I’m not going to get deep into this, for I certainly could.

Go watch the bit Powell did and then go find them on Facebook or the inter’s net.

You can find the Youtube bit imbedded here.

So, you want some creativity…

I give you the return of Dark Horse Presents…

Complain, complain… well, I have something positive to deliver.  In the Previews catalog set to come out on Wednesday is easily one of my most anticipated books I can remember, the return of Dark Horse Presents.  This was the companies first book twenty five years ago now returned for a new generation, or is it returning for all us old folks that long for the great comics of yore.  An anthology, meaning a book with a bunch of separate stories that continue month to month (I know!  What a crazy idea!!?!!) this was THE launching ground of great independent, non-superhero story telling.

Now, I’m getting a bit ahead of myself as the book isn’t coming out until late April, but here are just some of the creators who are working on it: Frank Miller (W/A/Variant Cover), Harlan Ellison (W), Howard Chaykin (W/A), Neal Adams (W/A), Richard Corben (W/A), Carla Speed McNeil (W/A), Michael T. Gilbert (W/A), Randy Stradley (W), Paul Chadwick (W/A), David Chelsea (W/), Patrick Alexander (W/A), and Others

In the book we will see a new Concrete story and the first bits of Frank Miller’s new book Xerxes.  It is $7.99, but will be 80 pages.  Not sure if the rest of the issues are planning to be this big or this pricey or even if it is planned to be monthly, but you can’t deny this is good stuff.

Flashpoint…

Oh, my brother.  I am concerned about the latest news on Flashpoint.  For three weeks I’ve talked about the conjecture and slow information leak on this big event for DC this summer and now we see a much clearer picture.  Still not complete, I can say at least this positively, it is big and negatively, it is big.

It looks like there will be not one, not seven, not ten, but FOURTEEN three issue one shots some fifteenth book as well as seven one shots included in this Geoff Johns helmed monster project being called Flashpoint.

Now, no word, yet, on if these books take the place of the regular titles or if, Cthulhu help us, is in addition to the regulars.

Now, this is just my opinion, but there is no way this can be in addition.  There is simply too many titles for that.  One good guess that it isn’t in addition, is that the crossed over Green Lantern book storyline starts this next month and will be done by the time this starts.  This has to be an Age of Apocalypse type storyline, but companywide.  At least it will be $2.99?  — sigh –

Here are a list of the titles, if you want the direct info, go to the Source, DC’s Blog.

Whatever Happened to Gotham City?

FLASHPOINT: BATMAN KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: DEADMAN AND THE FLYING GRAYSONS #1-#3

Whatever Happened to the World’s Greatest Super Villains?

FLASHPOINT: CITIZEN COLD #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: DEATHSTROKE & THE CURSE OF THE RAVAGER #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: THE OUTSIDER #1-#3

Whatever Happened to the Aliens?

FLASHPOINT: ABIN SUR THE GREEN LANTERN #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: PROJECT: SUPERMAN #1-#3

Whatever Happened to Science & Magic?

FLASHPOINT: FRANKENSTEIN & THE CREATURES OF THE UNKNOWN #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: SECRET SEVEN #1-#3

Whatever Happened to Europe?

FLASHPOINT: EMPEROR AQUAMAN #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: WONDER WOMAN AND THE FURIES #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: LOIS LANE AND THE RESISTANCE #1-#3

The Flash, Everything You Know Will Change in a Flash

FLASHPOINT: KID FLASH LOST #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: THE WORLD OF FLASHPOINT #1-#3

So, alternate earth… Age of Apocalypse… Hey, Age of X…

X-Reviews by Tia…

Age of X Alpha #1 by Mike Carey and Art by Various

The X-editors and writers took a pretty big gamble with Age of X. Baiting fans and readers with promise of some type of post-apocalyptic mystery. Naturally, everyone assumed this was going to simply be a re-telling of Age of Apocalypse….and why shouldn’t they? The premise was nearly identical, the players were the same, and really, there’s only so much you can do with the rag-tag group of mutants, fighting for survival…. Right?  But, mercifully, Age of X has found a way to put a new twist on it, and carve out an intriguing niche for itself.

The first issue, Age of X Alpha is a series of 4 mini-stories that provide readers with the most base knowledge about what’s going on in this universe, allowing the secrets to unfold in further issues.  (staring with New Mutants #22 and X-Men Legacy #245.)

The issue opens on some familiar faces – Gambit, Cannonball, Frenzy, Rockslide – keeping a perimeter around the last mutant stronghold, while even more familiar faces – Storm, Namor – sit around a campfire, discussing this war they’ve been forced into.  Attention turns to the mysterious and brooding Basilisk, this alternate earth’s Cyclops, and we find out his horrifying past on Alcatraz, which in this universe, has become a prison for mutants.

Arcade, the prison’s warden, gleefully wheels out his weapon of choice for executing mutants – the mutant Basilisk.  The actual execution scene here is completely stomach churning, as we watch helpless Scott Summers murder his fellow mutants as Arcade simply flips a switch. We find out a bit later that Scott’s eyelids were actually removed in order to make him a weapon at the complete mercy of his hosts.  Naturally, our hero manages an escape, albeit a very hollow victory in this time.

While the story is brutal, and wonderful, the real star in this first vignette is Gabriel Hernandez Walta’s artwork. Stylized, yet completely clear and dynamic, he also utilizes Basilisk’s theme color of red brilliantly.  It’s good to know Scott Summers can be brooding and a little emo in any universe, but he’s a lot more volatile and unpredictable in Age of X. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Mike Carey does with this character.

The second vignette features our favorite southern siblings Paige and Sam Guthrie.

On a quest to save their family from prison transports, the Guthrie’s launch a 2 person attack on a prison caravan….only to find that their family has already been killed and thrown into a dump truck.  Despite this devastating discovery, these mutants show amazing mercy towards their enemies, and refuse to kill.  However, Paige, in stone form, vows that she ‘won’t be flesh and blood again’ until she sees Sam break down and weep for saving these humans who killed their family.  The art by Carlo Barberi was….a little creepy. Husk’s boobs look a lot like cantaloupes implanted onto her chest, and it’s especially noticeable in some of the side shots. Additionally, bald, stone Husk really grosses me out.

Wolverine is featured in the third vignette as he and Dr. Rao team-up to destroy all remaining samples of an X-Gene suppressor. Apparently, this ‘cure’ was invented to sterilize the population and rid the world of mutants – with plans to put it in the world’s water supply.  Wolverine pops in, does what he does best, and takes all the doses of the suppressor to metabolize it and destroy it for good.

This was a bit of a throw-away story for me. It didn’t add a lot to the overall mystery, or provide any earth-shattering revelations.

The final story is centered around Magneto, whom, in this universe, is almost a prophet of sorts.  From what I gather, he’s basically a myth – generally thought dead by militant humans and revered by mutants.

A little fancy shape-shifting by Mystique allows Magneto a path through a Military frontline in downtown New York and into one of the final hold-out caches of mutants left.  As per usual, the stupid idiots with guns try and shoot him….and as per usual it backfires.  With the small army out of the way, Magneto reveals his plan…to actually lift and fly entire buildings – including the Chrysler building- out of the city to create the final stronghold and command center for mutants to operate in and around.  A beacon is created for mutants to flock to and make their last stand. The issue ends with news that ‘they broke the barricades’, and our heroes fly into action.

Mike Carey has done a nice job weaving a lot of characters and backstories into a generally cohesive storyline.  He’s got a very clear vision as to what the Age of X is going to be, and he’s certainly delivering so far. There are plenty of story and secrets yet to be revealed, and I’m obviously on board for the ride.  This series can only get better and better!

(Editor’s note – I hate to agree with Tia, but… it actually was pretty good.)

3XWrestling This Wednesday at Cup and Friday at The Des Moines Social Club…

This Friday is the first Friday of the month and that means Wrestling!!  Reign of Terror is the name of this month’s event and it couldn’t be any more accurate.  After the Gentleman’s Club became Genesis a couple months back they have added members and become an even more dominate force.  Nearly all of the matches this month revolve around this super group.

Among the best is the main event pitting Mark Sterling and Champion Brian Ash.  We may also see the long running feud over the Pure Wrestling Championship be decided as Jimmy Rockwell takes on Ricky Kwong.

As always, it is sure to be a great night of entertainment at a low price.  Early bird tickets can be purchased at the Cup for only $12.00 for adults and $6.00 for kids.

And if that isn’t enough, Wednesday is our pre-bout event at 6:00 at the Cup.  Last month was so nice and relaxing as we just sat around and talked pro-wrestling for an hour.  Good times.

Week of January 24th

Published on January 24, 2011 in Comics and Ronnie's Reviews. 0 Comments

What did you do Ray!?!…

Superman 7-0h-bloody-7… We continue to sell this silly thing out.  I have lost track of the re-orders.  Every time I think, “now that will surely be enough, right?” and Kyle says, “Yeah, can’t possibly sell more of this…”  We need to get more copies.

Well, we approach the end.  We have a final shipment coming in on Tuesday.  It will mark the last of the copies at Diamond.  It is not just sold out at Cup, but sold out at our distributor too and I can only say that this is because of Iowa.  I heard it sold out in Davenport and Cedar Falls the day it shipped and I’m sure they got reorders in too.

When I called to put in the last re-order on it I asked, “will there be copies available on Sunday?”  The answer was an emphatic “no.”

On to the second print?…  We’ll have to see.

On E-bay this week…

We have a bunch of good sales going on E-Bay this week.  There are several great lots, some complete runs of some books and the first two Walking Dead hard cover omnibuses (yep, very, very rare that first one and it is signed by Tony Moore, too!)

So, you might go take a look.  If you win anything, remember you don’t have to pay shipping, we’ll drop it in your box and you can purchase it the next time you are in the shop.  Here is a link to the E-bay site: my.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MyEbay&gbh=1

Flashpoint conjecture continues…

So, I might have been mildly off when I talked about the big DC event last week, but only in scale.  (I still think this is re-writing of his – John’s – Wonderland storyline from his first run on Flash.)  More is starting to leak out on this project and yes, it will be a Flash centered event with Geoff Johns writing and Andy Kubert drawing (hope they are working ahead.)

It also looks to be a slightly broader version of Age of Apocalypse.  Here is why people are speculating on this, George Perez is going to be drawing a book called Secret Seven.  The speculation is that it is either a retitled Secret Six or more likely a Flashpoint version of the Justice League staring the “Big Seven” of DC (those would be Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, Flash, GL, Marty Man Hunter and Aquaman or some horrible twisted versions of them or maybe them operating like The Secret Six operate now) or something like that now in this Age of Apoco-flash-verse or what ever you want to call it.

Now the real wondering starts?  Does this mean just some new One Shots or mild mini-series, like Blackest Night gave us or are we looking at re-named titles like Age of Apocalypse did to the X-books back over (oh man, this makes me feel old) fifteen years ago?

Bleeding Cool was the first to publish some of this conjecture, but it is pretty apparent one of these two is what is going to happen.

Might also be why Marvel is doing Age of X right now.

Numbers from April Solicits, The $2.99 Standard…

You know I read only one Comic “news” site if I can and that site is Bleeding Cool.  This last week interesting Number Crunching was done on April’s solicited titles.

Here is the info on Marvel’s Titles and the link to Rich’s full analysis:

April: 71 comics – 34 at $2.99 (22 pages of story), 23 at $3.99 (22 pages of story) 8 at $3.99 (30 pages of story), 2 at $3.99 (38 pages of story), 1 at $3.99 (46 pages of story), 2 at $4.99 (38 pages of story) and 1 at $4.99 (46 pages of story).

Complete cost: $258.27 for 1782 pages of story (14.5 cents a page)

And then DC and the link to Rich’s full analysis:

April: 58 books – 47 titles at $2.99 (20 pages of story), 4 titles at $3.99 (30 pages of story), 2 titles at $4.99 (36 pages of story), 2 titles at $4.99 (44 pages of story), 1 title at $5.99 (84 pages of story), 1 title at $5.99 (68 pages of story)

Complete cost: $190.43 for 1372 pages of story content ($13.9 cents a page)

It is interesting to note, Marvel is slowly lowering prices on their lesser selling and side books.  They just aren’t doing it quickly, but they are doing it.  They just still publish too much and all their top books are $3.99 and staying at $3.99.  That is my take, go read Johnston’s analysis for more and a look back at previous months.

The Code is Dead!!!… Long Live The Code!…

Over the last decade, I have become quite interested in the history of comic books.  I’m not sure why this is, maybe it is maturity, maybe it is because I’m not SO immersed in the industry, day in day out, that I want to know why and where it started and came from… maybe I’m just getting old and old people like history (my wife is nodding her head, I am sure.)

Last week History happened, and you may not have even known it.

DC and Archie have announced that they are doing away with the use of the Comics Code Authority.  This is merely a foot note, as several companies have dropped it over the last few years and Marvel set the standard by getting rid of it nearly a decade ago.  Bongo got rid of it last year and no one noticed.

I am not sad to see the Code go.  It stymied creativity for decades and was a creation of fools and idiots, politicians.  Why do you think some of the most creative work from the fifties through the nineties came outside of the mainstream?

Helpful labels can be good, sure, but it comes down to the seller to put forth the effort to know the content they are selling or publishing.  Marvel has done a pretty good job with their own in house age labels and I don’t see why DC can’t do the same.  No one needs nor have ever needed a comic version of the Motion Picture Association of America (a corrupt and evil institution used/forced onto film makers.)

So, let us raise our glasses to the end of an old and archaic institution, The Comic’s Code Authority!!

Some Quick Reviews from Ronnie…

Young Justice #0 Greg Weisman/Kevin Hopps & Mike Norton

This first issue of the companion comic to the new tv series takes a novel approach.  Instead of being a retelling of the show or stories taking place in the same world, it fills in the blanks of off-camera events to further flesh out the story.  Although, I am pretty sure either could be watched/read on its own.  The main gist is that this is an alternate DC earth where all the JLA sidekicks want to start a team of their own, to the dismay of the big boys in the JLA.

I read this to my 4 year old, and we both loved it.  I wouldn’t dismiss it just because it’s a kids comic. It has solid writing, a story-per-issue feel, and the art is a great mix of animated and traditional men in tights styles.  This has the potential to be the new Teen Titans Go!, which is a much loved and missed series around my house.  Good fun!

4.5 Stars.

Scarlet #4 Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev

Not quite as strong as the previous issues, but sets up the story for something really big to happen soon.  The Maleev art is still awesome, and the premise still makes me cheer.

3 Stars.

(Editor’s Note:  I too really like this book.  I’ve heard some criticism of it and I look and see Bendis’s work on Avengers… no comparison, this is far superior.    Luckily it is doing better sales nationwide then in my shop.)

Northlanders #36 Brian Wood & Becky Cloonan

This finishes the 2 part The Girl in the Ice arc by the creative team of Demo.  The ending was a bit unsatisfying, although any other conclusion would have been dishonest to the story and this titles attempt at accuracy.  The art is really good, bloody battles of Norse hordes is not something I ever expected to see out of Cloonan.  In the end, this series is excellent, as is most of Brian Wood’s work.

3.5 Stars.

Ronnie’s Rant…

This month, both DC and Vertigo announced a return of letters pages to the back of select titles.  This is great news to me!  Letters To The Editors columns have been a great thing in years gone by.  They are one of the reasons why monthly issues are better than trades.  I missed them in recent years (and loathe that dang DC Nation crap), and trying to fill in that gap by going to various online comic forums left a bad taste in my mouth.  I’m not sure what it is the internet does to people, or if it’s just the personality type who gravitate to posting on forums, but the posts are usually filled with worthless words yelled at the top of the lungs.  So, bravo DC!  Let’s hope these new columns live up to my fond memories of them.

For a good time, read the ones in the back of the Invisibles.  They may make you think twice about Grant Morison’s suitability to being in public unsupervised or the depraved state Garth Ennis resides in while answering ones in Preacher.

Maybe we should have a letter to the editor column on this site?  You ask comic questions, we answer, or more realistically, Kyle and Matt make fun of your questions?  (Editor’s note:  Fine, bring it on.)

Week of January 17th

Published on January 17, 2011 in Comics, Ronnie's Reviews and Shop Crap. 1 Comment

Superman in Des Moines…

So… Some book came out last week, what was that?  Oh, right… Superman #707.  Man, that is/was/will be a lot of comics sold.  Funny thing though, comic customers, by and large, didn’t care all that much.  It was non comic collectors, enthusiasts that wanted it.  I don’t know if they think it is going to be some super collectable?  I hope not, this is a sentimental piece that I hope they get some joy out of.  Too bad the story wasn’t better or we had had a local artist do the interiors.

Update on more issues…

We sold out of our reorder of Superman #707 before it arrived.  However, I have more coming in on Wednesday afternoon.  This should… SHOULD… be enough to cover demand, but if you want one, please let me know and I will get it into your hold box.

Holy same story line Batman!!  What is Flashpoint?…

So, DC has been putting out some images on their side website/blog about Flashpoint over the last week or so.  This is the next major storyline in the Flash book.  Bleeding Cool was so nice to put them all together on one page:

www.bleedingcool.com/2011/01/14/what-if-flashpoint-was-an-elseworld/

But as I looked at these, I was reminded about the first Flash story Geoff Johns wrote called Wonderland.  In this story, then Flash (and better Flash) Wally West got his butt sent to an alternate totalitarian dead hero earth/dimension/whatever.  In it the Flash has to team up with first just Captain Cold and then more Rogues to get home.  It was… fine… but nothing like Johns’ issues he would put in later in his run, which is one of, in my opinion, the best superhero tenures in recent memory.

This promo stuff looks to be just a slight change to that story.  I hope not and Flash needs a good shot in the arm (I think it is just Barry Allen sucking the life out of the book, but I could be wrong.)  Hopefully this Flasherpoint is great.  The first parts start in a couple weeks.

“Marvel Tsunami” coming next week…

Next week is going to be insane from our “friends” at Marvel.  Bleeding Cool’s Rich Johnston referred to it as a Tsunami and it begs credence to Kyle’s thoughts of last week and Ronnie’s during the year end discussion that simply DC cares more.  Here are just some of the books coming next week from Marvel:

Age of X Alpha #1, FF #587 (Death issue), X-Men Legacy, X-Men, X-Force, New Mutants, All three main Avengers titles, Ultimate X, Ultimate Avengers, Ultimate Doom, Ultimate Spiderman, two Deadpool books, Captain America and Incredible Hulks, just to name a few.

…and that isn’t all of them!!  This is bad for retailers, but it is bad for you the customer too.  Nobody wins when this is done, well, I guess not nobody.  They’ve been ordered and sent through final order cut down over a month ago, so, I guess Marvel wins.  Though, if this causes a customer to drop or not pick up a book, in the end, maybe DC wins.

Ronnie’s Reviews…

Batgirl #17 by Bryan Q. Miller & Pere Perez

This one-and-done is the first Batgirl issue taking place in the New Bat-World Order. The plot has Damien/Robin and Stephanie Brown/Batgirl assigned to the same mission, although neither of them are aware of this. Presumably one of the Batmen is watching from afar. This thin plot sets up a great character study of both youngsters. We get a quick glance of Damien as less “Hit-Girl,” more the actual 10 year old he is, and Stephanie becoming a character long past her Robin fangirl/plot pawn of Chuck Dixon’s storylines of many years gone by and fleshes her out into an interesting and strong character.

Brian Q. Miller has really worked the sibling rivalry between the two characters. He plays up the obvious humor of the situation, while taking his chance to really develop Batgirl’s world into something more than just Bruce’s analysis of her. It reminds me of the best parts of the last Robin ongoing series. I would say that he really gets the voice of Stephanie, but I believe he may be the first writer to actually give her a voice. His interesting take on Damien is something that hasn’t really been tackled either.

Plot-wise in this issue, Robin must go undercover as a 4th grader on a field trip, with Batgirl watching and directing from afar. This already guaranteed funny idea is written in a unique way that puts you inside Damien’s head and learn a lot about his motivations and insecurities. Just the name he chooses for the mission speaks volumes. But never once does it betray his ability to kill you six times in four seconds.

The guest art, penciled by Pere Perez, is very reminiscent of regular artist Dustin Nguyen, but much more lighthearted in both composition and coloring. There is no jarring style change here, nor a change in quality. That can be a good thing for series flow, but can also mean Perez will be forgotten quickly, as he left no real mark on the title.

Batgirl is a sadly overlooked title and the only ‘fun’ title in the current bat-roster. This book would make an excellent read for a 13 year old girl, as well as grumpy old man like me ( a note, Matt still has about 44 more years more grump on me, though, just stating.)  It can be read as a stand alone hero book, or as part of your monthly Gotham City diet. Stephanie Brown’s growing ability towards leadership, maternal concern for Damien, and general coming into her own as a vigilante have made this book a memorable, lighthearted break each month. Plus, if you ever wanted to see The World’s Greatest Pre-Pubecsent Assasin in a moon-bounce, your wait is over.

A 5 Star issue for a 4 Star series.

Quickie -

Black Panther – The Man Without Fear # 514 David Liss & Francesco Francavilla

Solid follow up to the first issue. T’Challa gets further settled into Hell’s Kitchen, gets an arch-nemesis, and a weird Luke Cage cameo. The art is still really, really awesome. Even more impressive is that Francavilla does all the pencils, inks and colors himself. I am pretty Marvel illiterate, but I think this is gonna be a good series. But please, can we give Francavilla the covers too?

4 Stars.

(Editor’s note – See, I wasn’t lying a few weeks ago about this series.  It really is quite good, old school comics with one of the best artist working in the industry giving you some fantastic tight art.  I’m not going to write a full review, but I will point out that Daredevil Reborn was quite enjoyable too, much more so then I thought it would be.  Harkens back to the old Ann Nocenti years in the late 80’s with DD feeling bad and wondering around, getting into adventures, trying to find himself.)

Superman in Des Moines

Published on January 12, 2011 in Comics. 0 Comments

Superman is in Des Moines today and Iowa Public Radio was in the shop to catch him… Well, actually just some of us who took time to read the issue he was in and have a discussion on it.

Check it out on Iowa Public Raido.

Dan Finney has a nice write up in the Des Moines Register too.  Find it here.

Week of January 10th

Published on January 10, 2011 in Comics. 0 Comments

I have some industry news to get to, but first there is some minor changes to talk about.

Big change for us, not so big for you…

This week marks the single biggest change in comics to my shop while I’ve had it open.  Last April, Diamond announced they would, at some point, be offering shops delivery of comics on Tuesdays for sale on Wednesday.  This is the first week of this new era.

We will be able to get the books – on Tuesday – sort them and have them ready for you on Wednesday morning.  Not get AND sort the shipment ON Wednesday morning.  This will make my life SO much better.  No longer will Wednesday be my MOSTEST hated day of the week and the distributor and publishers finally start treating us, the retailer, like adults, not children, but I’m not bitter about that… well, a little.

What this means for you, the all important customer?  Not much.  Except one thing, you will not be able to get your pull boxes on Tuesday evenings.  This is the one negative.  Don’t ask, don’t whine, don’t complain.  No you can’t see them.  NOT going to happen.  If you have books from previous weeks, we are sorry, but unless Tia can differentiate (and that will be up to her) or if you can catch me before I go home for the day… you’ll have to come back on Wednesday.

The positives are that on Wednesday, Matt in the morning and Kyle in the afternoon, will, more than likely, have read through a good deal of books and can help with recommendations.  (I’ll be happy to no longer hear, “have you read this yet?”  — how could I have read it when I took it out of a box three hours ago? – and not )  We will also have the books out at a consistent and reliable time every Wednesday, not the hit or miss, sometimes at ten, sometimes at noon we’ve had for over eight years.

This is a good change.

But what happened last week…

Yeah… what did happen last week?  If you know, I would love to as well.  Still no word or explanation from our distributor Diamond.  We got an apology, but frankly that is only half the battle and as GI Joe taught us, KNOWING is the other half.

I have some suspicions.  I’m sure it was to some large part caused by the fact that UPS took Friday, New Year’s Eve, off, like they do every year.  Someone, somewhere, I’m guessing, missed this.

The problem arises, for me, as to why then the shipment didn’t go out on Monday?

Thing is… as much as an a-one heck fire of a sh!tty week as this made for us and you last week, I will still give props to Diamond for doing a much better job overall at packing and shipping our books last year.  Far less damages (this is also a big part UPS’s doing too) and a lot fewer missing comics as well.  As our shipments have steadily grown, the problems have not.

So, was last week a “just remember, we can totally screw everything up at the drop of a hat” moment?  Maybe.  Maybe, they are just keeping us on our toes.  We may never know.  OR, a snake god was punishing me for what I am about to write…

In this corner…

(imagine if you will Howard Finkel reading this…  What, you don’t know who that is?  Didn’t you watch… nevermind.)

From a mystic realm of strange bitterness, weighing in at an undisclosed, but overweight size and wearing living snake trunks, Alan Moore… and in the other, from Kansas City, Missouri and sporting the sweet native American print shorts, Jason Aaron!!!

This bout is for the much disputed King of Comics title of the world!!

Well, that is what it sounds like to me.

To Ronnie, “It is like some old nineties rap war sh!t.  East coast, West Coast, YO!!” – or something like that, I might have been drunk when he spoke the actual words.  He might not have said YO either, but isn’t is better to think that?

This is all stemming from a flap over what Jason Aaron wrote on line about what Alan Moore said about no top flight talent existing in comics today.  Aaron took offense to this and wrote, “With the end of 2010 comes the end of my interest in anything you [Moore] might ever again say or do.”  And continued,  “As a fan, I’d just rather not support someone who so blatantly insults me and my friends.”

Here is a link to BleedingCool.com’s take and summation as to what transpired.  Rich Johnston, as always, has a great and even headed approach to it.  Now for mine, so very NOT level headed…

I agree with Aaron.  Alan Moore can go [expletive deleted] himself.  I too am sick of his crap.  Every couple months this cranky old crack head crawls out of his cave and rips and attacks the comic medium as a whole.  You would think he was Mosses arriving from Mount Sinai and finding his followers worshipping a golden comic book rather than his.  Well, I can tell you, Moore has NOTHING left to say.  He stopped being relevant years ago and is now writing stuff, frankly, that makes me ill.  (See my post last week as Neonomicon was an Horrible Mention for worst read of the year.)  Last year Jason Aaron wrote one of the best single issues of a  comic I’ve ever read, Scalped #35.  Moore wishes to his snake god he could write this well… ever.  He can not and gives us sea monster porn instead. (Hell, if you want, I’ll talk about how Watchmen is NOT the greatest thing in the medium of comic books… but that is probably a long discussion for another time.)

Just because someone ONCE was great does NOT give them the right to sh!t on everyone else when they feel like it.  Good for you Jason.  Good for you, Sir!!

Aaron went on to say, after comic creators both attacked and praised him, “If I ever die in a bizarre snake related accident, you all know who to go after.”

In coffee news…

Anyone notice something missing on [the corporate coffee shop that shall not be named]’s cups?  Oh, you didn’t because you would never befoul your innards with such filth and that you only drink pure Kryptonite coffee?  AH, how nice of you to say.  Well, I’ll tell you what you are missing… besides sh!tty coffee, a sh!tty logo!  [The corporate coffee shop that shall not be named] dropped their name and the word coffee from their logo this last week.  No, really, they now are saying they are a nameless faceless evil force that has nothing to do with serving decent coffee.

As a Reuters reporter put it, “The new green logo amplifies the company’s female siren symbol — representing half-human mythical temptresses who led sailors to their deaths — as [the corporate coffee shop that shall not be named] tries to build new billion-dollar brands sold outside its network of cafes.”  Right, nameless, faceless evil leading mindless fools to sh!tty coffee… I think I just said that, nonetheless… moving on.

Did DC Comics just beat Marvel?… oh, my!

Yep, it is true… er, true believer.  Not an imaginary story, not an alternate dimensional thing-a-ma-jig, DC claimed the top spot in total dollars during the month of December.

You might not pay attention to these somewhat superfluous numbers, but the companies and to a lesser extent shops do and this, DC finally claiming a top spot, is a fairly big deal.

For commentary on this and DC’s year to come is long haired Porter brother, Kyle:

The prodigal company returns, or at least they’re getting close to it.  With the December comic sales released last week it is more than obvious that DC is headed in the right direction.  As a comic book fan and comic book store owner I am excited on both of those fronts.  As a fan, I’ve always been far more partial to DC characters and stories, all opinion here, yes I know, but this is my opinion and my chance to sound off, so…

With the new year beginning we DC enthusiasts have things to be excited about, namely the continuation of Grant Morrison’s Batman, which should be all the reason in the world you need to be a Batman fan.  Also, I still continue to enjoy and look forward to the family of Green Lantern books each week, especially with the announcement of a Red Lantern book coming out this year.

There are a lot superhero books you should be reading from DC, Action Comics starring Lex Luthor, Legion of Super-Heroes, Adventure Comics, Superboy and Rebels.  All books slightly under the radar and don’t get the notoriety of the main-stream comic “press.”

We also have the Vertigo line that produces top quality books like Sweet Tooth, Unwritten, American Vampire, Scalped and I Zombie.  More people should be buying these titles lest you let them receive the same fate as last year’s Unknown Soldier.  Try reading any of these titles and you will understand the need for the Vertigo imprint.

Also, slight side note they have finally announced the collection of one of the greatest stories ever told, Flex Mentallo, written by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely sometime later this year.  If you have never had the opportunity to read this, it is rather rare, I strongly suggest paying attention to when it comes out or you are simply missing out.  Maybe this is enough praising for now, maybe.

On to the retailer points, DC continues to show that they might actually care about this industry, the retailers and yes you the comic fan.  Starting this month, DC will be “Holding the line at $2.99.”  Not the most eloquent of catch phrases – kind of sounds like someone’s mom trying to be hip with the kids.  But nonetheless the point is made; they want to make comics affordable for their readers.  This is either to entice you to stick with them and still be able to pay your bills or to encourage you to maybe try something that you might have been reluctant to because of price.  I’d say it’s a win, win situation for everybody involved.

As a retailer DC communicates with us, tries to correct problems that arise as best as they can and offers returns on products that have not adhered to their terms of sale.  Sadly they are about the only company who does do any of these simple things.

But what got me to write about my favorite comic company?  Ah, yes, the December sales report!  In the last month of the year 2010, DC grabbed 8 out of the top 10 comics (#1-#7, #10).  In the graphic novel department they were also on top with the #1 and #2 spots and a total of 6 in the top ten, Marvel had none in the top 10.  They were the top company in December for dollar share at 33.07%, Marvel was at 32.28%.  That’s only a difference of 0.79%, not a big lead, but still a lead for the first time since Superman died way back in 1993, if you even remember that happening.

Marvel still beat them in Units Moved with 38.90% to DC’s 36.99%, a difference of 1.91%.  Once again not a big difference and is simply due to the enormous volume Marvel publishes each month.

Personally, and again, this is just my opinion, this information shows me people are slowly migrating away from a company that might not have their best interests as a comic book fan, collector or retailer in mind.  Either way you look at the numbers, it looks like DC is going to be putting up quite a fight in the year to come.  We should all benefit from this for the reason that it should produce a healthier comic book market.   Fair competition is good for everybody.  In comics, it means you can’t be lazy while still expecting people to just follow you down whatever dark road or “Dark Reign” you’re leading them on.

At the end of the day you’re always going to read what you enjoy or buy what you deem worthy enough to spend your hard earned pay on.  I understand this as a shop owner and feel DC is at least attempting to understand this notion too.