Monthly Archive for December, 2011

December 26th – The Cuppies part 1

Published on December 26, 2011 in The Cuppies. 0 Comments

Holiday Shipping…

I wish I knew one way or the other when books would be in this week.  Diamond isn’t sure when and if UPS can deliver them on time, so, I will update on Tuesday evening (with e-mail and a facebook post), when I think books will be out.

 

New Years Hours…

We will close a little early (at 7:00) on December 31st.

We will be open all day on New Year’s Day (8:00am to 6:00pm.)

 

Reminder to go Caucus…

I send this out with the Republican Iowa Caucus just a week away.  Consider going and caucusing.  It is an odd event, but something uniquely Iowan.  We have a huge ability to effect the direction the country takes with this and it rests in your hands.  Caucus night is January 3rd.

 

The 2011 Cuppies…

Each year I do a sort of awards “ceremony” and hand out the Cuppies, our Best of the Year Awards.  They mean nothing and are simply my (and sometimes a few others, this year Ronnie is helping) opinion.

This year I am going to break it into two weeks.  This week we will look at Best Writer, Artist and Company of the Year.  Next I will go through my thoughts on the ten best books of the 2011 and have some hopes for 2012.

 

Publisher of the Year

We will do this in two parts; Publisher of the year and Best Publisher of the year.  Publisher of the year is easy, that is DC.  No one in the history of the industry has done what they did in the last year.  I’m not saying good or bad, if you have read or talked to me, you know my thoughts on this.  I’m talking about the massive game changing move they implemented.

It was brought on by Flashpoint, a rather lack luster crossover that was an entirely alternate reality and then re-booted their entire universe.  It was at this point they started running ads on cable networks and promoted like no comic company has ever done… and it paid off.  Never has DC seen the kind of interest and sales like they got off their event.  The first month was big, but when the second month’s sales numbers came out it showed that retailers had purchased amounts of comics (in dollars) that totaled HALF of everything bought that month.  An insane number.

It is THE biggest thing ever attempted or accomplished in comic’s history.  However… Will it be maintained?  Will the extremely strong sales created by this event be held onto?  We will see and we will see with in the first couple months of 2012.  DC could already be going from darling to goat and this time next year we all might be laughing at them, condemning them and outright mocking them.

 

I needed to split this “award” this year, because no one can convince me our Publisher of the Year did what was best for the industry.  They did what was best for them and that can never make them the best of anything.  Sure, they might have made the biggest splash, but they are not the best.

The Best needs to include a healthy amount of improvement and no one improved their overall product line like IDW has, and did so in just a year’s time.  They are my choice for Best Publisher for 2011.

I still have issues with IDW as they continue to over publish their licensed products, however, they have become THE publisher of the highest in quality collections and made a major turn in the overall quality of their writing and artists work.  Once thought of as Steve Niles’s publisher, IDW is now a major mover and shaker and became this squarely in 2011.

You will see both of these later in the Cuppies, but The Rocketeer is one of the finest books published last year and IDW’s Artist Editions and the over sized collections they are putting out are the finest books being published in the industry right now.  They are still small, in comparison to the big two, but easily in quality they are out publishing DC and Marvel combined.

 

 

Artist of the Year

I had a hard time with this one.  Nobody really struck me as being THE overly dominate artist of the last year.  Maybe I’m just missing it.  I started thinking harder and could only come up with three names that over the last year did new work that was so mind blowing I really took notice more than anyone else.

 

First, I want to point out someone who deserves this as much as anyone else, then I’ll get to the others.  Dave Stewart, colorist on practically everything at Dark Horse and few DC, Marvel… hell, if it needs good coloring, Dave Stewart is the one to call.  He is THE best colorist in the industry and, should probably be considered as Artist of the Year.  The guy can now be recognized straight off by Kyle and me when we pull a new book out of the box.  There has been light movement on getting colorists listed with inkers on a book’s cover.  Thing is, when Dave Stewart does a book, you don’t need to list his name, you know it by looking.  …so, he is my pick for Artist of the Year, but because some jack ass is going to say some sh!t about colorists and not being the same and whathaveyou… here you go with two others.

 

So, here are two greats I thought of – other than Stewart – that I feel sell books simply by their work alone, Terry Moore and Richard Corben, and put out some of the best work of their careers last year.

 

Richard Corben has always been good and good for a long time, but if you look at his couple Hellboy pieces as well as his three issue story in Dark Horse Presents, he has gotten cleaner AND more detailed then I can ever remember.  His Hellboy, Being Human one shot and Hellboy, House of the Living Dead hard cover showed that a 61 year old can very much out draw any of these young hotshots any day.

 

Terry Moore is my other pick.  Have you been reading Rachel Rising?  If not, it is probably the best drawn book on the shelf, but you need to remember that Moore also writes it, pencils it, inks it, letters it, does the covers… oh, and freak’n SELF publishes it on a six week schedule!!!  So, when you see that cityscape in issue three and your eyes bug out of your head from all the detail, just remember the deadlines he is under and be amazed.  Side note, if you get to Chicago next year, you should stop and say hi.  He is a great guy who takes time for his fans.  One of the best artist (all round) working in the industry.

 

Writer of the Year

I thought and thought about this one too and then it became so clear I smacked myself for not thinking of it.

Comics are a strange medium.  They are very dependent on sales.  These sales obviously keep money flowing in.  If the money is flowing creators stay employed and when a creator stays on a book for an extended period, usually, fans are happier.

When sales fall, you have options as a publisher.  You can change creators, cancel the book or even re-boot continuity.  DC wanted a bump in sales and threw out 70 years of continuity.  This is a harsh and, in my opinion, short sited way to rejuvenate sales and interest.

Marvel wanted a sales bump on the X-Men and turned to Jason Aaron.  In years past there has been some kind of crossover to help the X-books and move the story off in a different direction.

Jason Aaron has shown us how to “re-start” without “re-booting.”  He was one of the masterminds and primary writer behind the X-Schism that split in the X-Men into two “schools” of thought this last summer.  Not a huge crossover, but at the same time it effected all and every x-book being published and played to the anniversary of the first blue and gold teams.

Aaron then started Wolverine and the X-Men, a new book that takes the X-Men to its roots, a school to teach young mutants.  As Good as this book is his recent run on Wolverine is better.  Going for several years now, it is maybe the best run of the character I have read.  His “Wolverine Goes to Hell” and subsequent “Wolverine’s Revenge” really do redefine a worn out, over used and tired character… that just happens to be one of the most important characters at one of the biggest comic companies.

Also, don’t forget he relaunched the Incredible Hulk.  A great read setting Banner as the bad guy/mad scientist.  When you think of the Hulk, it isn’t an easy character to write.  A lot of people have tried and a lot have failed.  This relaunch looks to be going in a good direction.

Those mainstream books aside, Aaron also writes – and will soon end – one of the best comics ever published, Scalped.  Consistently one of the best reads month in and month out; I will be saddened when this book ends in 2012.  If you have not read this book, it is collected and in stock.  Do yourself a favor and get on it.

 

Two Honorary Mentions

Rick Remender needs to be spotlighted for his fantastic Uncanny X-Force run.  No one since Chris Claremont has crafted an x-story as long and detailed as the Dark Angel story.  He has written a team book that has more character development from month to month than nearly any in the industry.  He has made sad, rather worthless or forgotten characters like Deathlock and Deadpool, Fantomex and Psylocke interesting.  …and he did it with X-Force?  Really.  If you are not reading it, you should be.

 

Also, I could not finish this without mentioning Mark Waid.  I looked at last year’s “awards” and saw that Ronnie had mentioned Shadowland as one of the worst reads of the year.  It really was pretty bad.  But I think, for the most part, it is indicative of super hero comics in general.  Big non-story, non-character developing multi-part multi-expensive crossover laden crap.  Where has all the simple storytelling of superheroes gone?  Where are the stories we read as children?  Why can’t writers just write the character?  AH, thank you Mark Waid, you are one of the greatest of all time and perhaps the greatest character writer of superheroes ever and you have now come on a truly beloved character of Daredevil and made it a bonafide hit.  Resurrecting a –for all means – dead character WITHOUT throwing out all the continuity that has come before.  You are once again proven to be the man, Mark Waid.  You are the man.

 

Collection of the Year

After praising IDW, why not move right into this “award.”  I have a tie and both were published by IDW; Walter Simonson’s Mighty Thor Artist Edition and The Parker Martini Edition.

IDW started these Artist’s Editions two years ago with a Dave Stevens Rocketeer collection.  They are the finest reproductions possible of the pages that were used to do the original art.  You see the blue lines, you see everything before color and corrections were done to it and you get to see it as the editor saw it when it was handed in.  They are expensive, but they are a must for the hard core collector.  They are also becoming a sought after collection, going for much more in secondary markets only months after release.

Walter Simonson has THE greatest run on Thor in the character’s illustrious history and this is the best way to read two of those stories.  I can say this about the collection.  If there was a fire and I could only save four collections… This would be one.

Another would be IDW’s Parker Martini Edition.  It collects both The Hunter and The Outfit in one Absolute size book.  In the collection is also a new Parker story, a huge interview with creator Darwyn Cooke and a bunch of extra art and writing by the creator.

As you know, I loved the Parker novels and can easily say they are some of the best comics published in the last ten years, but if there was one thing that bothered me about them was that they were published small.  Well, no longer a problem.  The larger format is perfect for the beauty that sits on every page of these stories.

 

Next week we will look at some of the best books of the last year.

 

The Week of December 19th

Published on December 18, 2011 in Comics, Reviews-comics and Shop Crap. 0 Comments

It is a nearly all Holiday edition of the weekly this, er, week.  Never a big fan of X-Man day, for a slew of reasons, but can’t wait for January 2nd, the day of our yearly hockey get together.  So much better than… what?  Oh, just have a Happy Holidays and leave me to my grinchiness.

 

Holiday Hours…

We have special hours the next two weeks and some might surprise you.

December 24th – 7:00am to 5:00pm (or until people stop coming in.)

(Will be playing Die Hard and Die Hard 2 in the afternoon.)

December 25th – 8:30am to 9:30am (1 hour only, for those who REALLY need the caffeine.)

December 31st – 7:00am to 7:00pm (closed a little early so Chad can get his party hat on.)

January 1st – 8:00am to 6:00pm (Yep, all regular hours.  Come get a cup o’ joe and fight the hang over.)

 

Holiday Shipping…

At this point (especially after Thanksgiving) I don’t expect any delays the weeks after X-Mas and New Years.  However, I can’t be 100% certain of this.  I’ll post an update on the wedsite and facebook pages on Tuesdays of both weeks.

The words Should don’t always work well when dealing with the tag team combo of Diamond and UPS.  They fit well as a team, but are sort-of like the Road Warriors back in NWA days of pro-wrestling.  They would team up with you in a massive six man tag match and do great promos with you, only to inevitably turn on you in a crowd disgusted beat down.  Damn you Diamond and UPS, you got me again.

 

Holiday Shopping, Last Minute style…

If you are in need of that last minute gift and just can’t think of something, we are getting in a bunch of super hero travel mugs and just got a bunch of pint glasses.  Also, there are plenty of kids comics in stock and more coming in on Wednesday.  Children NEED to read comics and they make great gifts for kids of all ages.

 

Holiday Comics…

I always hated Christmas comics.  They were, to me, a one and done story that, to me, was a to specific time of ye

However… over at Comics Alliance they had one that never happened – and I feel should have.  It is the story of The Secret Santa and his attempt to destroy the Avenger’s Christmas.  You have to click on the link to see why it would have been so great.  They made up a mock cover for it as well.  Pretty awesome, especially for you old schoolers.

 

JMS vs. Everyone Else…

I am not a fan of J. M. Straczynski.  No Secret.

So, when you come across something that rips him a new arse hole in public… Oh, I have to share.

There was a twitter fight (I’m sure there is a better name for this, but I probably shouldn’t post it) last week between JMS, Steve Wacker – editor on the Spider-man books – and eventually Mark Waid.  I am a BIG fan of Mark Waid especially after his verbal place putting on the hack of a writer Straczynski.  Read the whole thing, and yes, to be fair Straczynski’s initial post has some merit, but what a mean way to post that point.

The exchange can be found here on Bleeding Cool and is excellent reading.

Mark Waid is just damn cool.

 

…and now for something completely different…

You old school superman fans (not that old, just the ones that read during the nineties and especially around the Death of) will want to check out this link to Bleeding Cool.

It tells a story of a different death of Superman and a possible brewing “conspiracy” that never was.  It works in an angle from Marvel and why it may have been shelved.  I remember all the stories mentioned in it and will now be digging out my old issues to re-read and “fact” check.  This is, for fans, a MUST read.

 

 

Reviews…

The Strain #1 adaptation of Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s novel series by David Lapham and Mike Huddleston.

“Oh, another Vampire book,” you say rolling your eyes.  Yep, with horrible vicious vampires the likes of the Del Toro directed Blade two; Nasty horrible creatures closer to something of a plague then Dracula and certainly ones that don’t sparkle.  This is not ‘just another’ Vampire book.

It is an adaptation of Del Toro’s book series – and I’m sure eventual movie trilogy or TV series.  The first issue is only $1.oo and tends to be primer stuff, setting up the big blow out next issue, but it is a nice string that is drawing me along into what promises to be a great big web.

Our initial story sets up is with a children’s story.  They always make great set-ups for monsters.  “Be good or the monsters will get you.”  Well, this time the monsters arrive in an airliner and the Centers for Disease Control are called in when the plane won’t respond.

That is the plot of issue one.  Like I said, lots of set up, but I am hooked – line and sinker.

However, the story is not the only reason this is a highest recommendation.  The Mike Huddleston art is phenomenal.  If you are not familiar, he is a cross between a Fabio Moon/Gabriel Ba and Guy Davis and has some major contributions to comics already in the books, like Phil Hester’s The Coffin and the current Image publication Butcher Baker, Rightous Maker.  He also just recently was the sole artist on one of last year’s better reads, Homeland Directive graphic novel.  He is one of the industry’s best.

 

…And next week, we will have the first part of the 2011 Cuppies, our list – awards if you will – of what was the best over the last year in comics.

 

The Week of December 12th

Published on December 12, 2011 in Comics and Matt's stupid ramblings. 0 Comments

What an awesome week for comic book news. I have waited so long for some of this news, gosh, I feel like a ship wreak victim, but instead of jabbering on, let’s get to it… after these “I told you so” messages, brought to you by the New DC.

Is your Industry Share been corrected much?…
I guess there is such a thing as industry gravity. The DC bubble is deflating back down to near pre-reboot levels and has done so with amazingly issue three (November.) This is confirmed by the Diamond sales numbers released late last week.
The numbers show DC in October having a 42.5% share in dollars spent by retailers compared to Marvel’s 21%. This was substantial, but the new November numbers show DC falling back to just over 34.5% to Marvel’s slightly over 33%. This may not be all. As Rich Johnston of Bleeding Cool, who I will quote, says, “Of course reports of a number of issue 3 books from DC sitting on shelves with large returns expected may put these results into further perspective. DC continues to promote a number of titles with returnability, which may overestimate their impact on the market.” So, these numbers are probably skewed and we will see continued adjustment. You can see the full numbers at Bleeding Cool.com
It showed DC heading back to the pack, much closer to where they were BEFORE they rebooted their entire universe and threw out 70 years of history in August.
It isn’t joy that I give these numbers out. I have no great attachment to Marvel over DC or DC over Marvel – as a retailer. I just can’t stand the degree of arrogance DC displayed with their first two months of New DC numbers. I disliked the air of superiority they pushed on the retailers, the lies or at the very least half truths that were given to us about this “NOT a” reboot.
I hold my tongue when I say the reboot didn’t help. It did. It brought in a lot of new customers. For them this is a great starting point. For more Marvel oriented comic fans, seeing the DC Universe change to a much darker place helped move many to, at the very least, give some DC books a shot and some stuck around for a regular read or two.
But for the old school DC collector, those having read these titles religiously for the last decade or more, it has not succeeded. Those buying and enjoying the pre-flashpoint, pre-reboot universe… this is a confusing, less talented, rushed, shorter product. Many of the books fall squarely in the “why is this even being produced” circle.
As a retailer, I can see failure or at least sliding disappointment when books get cut down, on a weekly basis. This is of great concern to continued DC sales, which is, financially, needed for our business.
Also, it is not good for any business to have one company dominate an industry to the extent the rest of the industry suffers. There are only so many dollars to be spent on comics. Quality deserves these dollars first and I’ll try to make this right in my store on my blog and if you talk to me in person.

Brian Bendis is leaving the Avengers…
I have known no more glorious words than those when Pat sent this to me last week, I thought he was joking, but no, it is appears to be true. Sometime next year Bendis appears to be leaving the Avenger books.
Few creators have had a run of his length (10 years?) in recent history and that is a commendable thing. Bendis is a great person and if you get a chance ever at a convention you really should take it to talk to him. He is the creator of one of my favorite comics, Torso – the story of Elliot Ness, Untouchable’s Elliot Ness, after leaving Chicago and going to Cleveland where he would hunt one of America’s first serial killers. He has written some great comic over his career, a few of which are some of his earlier Avenger stories, but over the last couple years, The Avengers (volume whatever and New) have not been among them. Maybe he has been trying to push boundaries and change styles or conventions the industry of super heroes has been locked in, forever, but the latest incarnation/volume has been one table conversation or interview sequence or Luke Cage power drama after another. …and it has sucked.
I wonder if this move is mildly affected by slipping sales. Our shop is no barometer for the actual industry by any means, but our Avenger sales are now on par with Tiny Titans – which does sell REALLY well for us – but still, probably not where the nation is, though I’m sure they aren’t all that much better. If taking Bendis off the book is how to do that, great.

Twit-tar…
I don’t have a special high-zoot phone from hell, so, to me Twitter and texting is pretty foreign. (Personally, you are all just marching your asses into 1984. Matty Don’t Text!)
However, the shop does use the Twit-tar as Henry Rollins calls it. If I post something on Facebook it posts it on the Twitter.
Lately, we have had some interesting people start following us. Why, have no idea. These include Star Wars Insider, Clint Magazine, Titan Publishing and writer of the Sixth Gun, Cullen Bunn.
That is cool.

The Strain and X-Sanction…
Dark Horse has a slew of great books coming out this week.
Sure, you already read Baltimore, House of Night and Orchid… so, you are going to give The Strain a try too, right? “What is The Strain” you ask. I have a link with all the info you need and a “trailer” for you. In a nut shell, it is Guillermo del Toro’s vampire novel – read vampires as a plague – brought to comics with ass kicking super artist Mike Huddleston and adapted by David Lapham. Oh, and the first issue is only $1.00. Thank you, Dark Horse.
Also, this week is the start of Marvel’s next big crossover, Avengers X-Sanction gets under way. “Didn’t we just get done with the last one,” you ask. (Long Exasperated Sigh) yes… but… I don’t know, it has the return of Cable, the Avengers and fighting? Isn’t that enough?
I really don’t know why, but I’m interested. Maybe because it looks, at least, to have Cable kicking the crap out of the Bendis Avengers – as he should. Remember back to Identity Crisis and issue three (?) where Deathstroke beats the entire Justice League, (well, except for Green Arrow)? He is an unstoppable fighting machine that uses like 90% of his brain (or something stupid like that.) Deathstroke should be an unstoppable super-fighting machine. The ultimate bad ass you never want to meet. That is how I look at Cable. He should be the super bad ass, super cool character everyone wants to use – that has NEVER lived up to this. I am a product of the late eighties, I remember when he burst on the scene and slowly became irrelevant OR, he has always been written badly. Either way, I would love to see this X-character kick the crap out of Bendis’s Avengers… or I’m just a sucker for another stupid Marvel crossover. Damn it, they always get me.

The Week of December 5th

Published on December 5, 2011 in Comics, Events, Reviews-comics and Shop Crap. 0 Comments

Geeky X-Mas

I want to thank everyone who came out and helped make Geeky Christmas a success.  I thought numbers were down from last year, but in the end only just slightly and that probably had to do with the really crappy weather we had on Saturday.

Seriously, thank you all.

And if you still have or want to drop off Toys for Tots, we will have the box for another week.

 

Gift Wrapping

We will have gift wrapping at the shop this Saturday from noon to 4:00.  This is a free will donation that will go to Animal Life Line.  I know this a great deal of help to me during this stup – I mean awesome time of year.  And the money goes to help the Animals.  That is, in my eyes, a Win/Win.

 

Holiday Hours and Delays?

It appears as though there will be no delay on comics this holiday season.  I say “appears” because of two circumstances.  During the week after Thanksgiving we thought there would be a slight delay (very late morning for books on Wednesday) and had none.  (This all centers around when the books are delivered and it appears UPS can get them to us on our customary Tuesday.)  So, good news for once, I expect no delay over the X-Man Day holiday season.

Our Holiday Hours changes:

December 24th – Open till 5:00

December 25th – 8:30 till 9:30

December 31st – Open till 7:00

January 1st – regular, 8:00 till 6:00

 

Previews Orders…

If you haven’t looked through Previews yet, please do and get me your orders.  With the always hectic X-Man day around the corner, I would like to get this done and finished early this month.

 

Action Comics #1 sells for over 2 million!!…

Holy Cats, that is a lot of money for a comic book, but consider the story behind it.  This is one of only a hundred or so near-ish mint copies and may be the highest graded edition ever found (at 9.0.)  The story gets more juicy as this is also the copy formerly owned by “actor” Nick Cage, stolen from him ten years ago and found earlier this year.

…and now it will go into a collection never to be seen again?  Sad.

If you want the full story you can click here.

If you would like to see pics of the comic, you can check out the auction site here.

 

Scooby Doo, Reason Rules!!

Comic Alliance runs some great pieces and write ups each week and I found one that, without a doubt is a favorite.  I was a huge fan of Scooby Doo as a child.  Easily my favorite cartoon.  Far more so than even the Super Fiends (hated the wonder twins and those annoying Wendy and Marvin characters.)

This piece is a critical analysis of the early show and a recommendation to watch the new Cartoon Network show (didn’t know they had one.)  It comes from the premise that Reason triumphs over superstition in the early show and helped in showing kids that adults are liars… even if the censors (the same people who wouldn’t allow Superman to punch Solomon Grundy) didn’t catch on.

I have to say I never thought of the show the way Chris writes it up, but it is dead one perfect analysis.

Check it out here.

 

Reviews…

Spaceman #2 By Brian Azzarello and Edwardo Risso

I have to say I enjoyed issue two MUCH more than the first.  I’ve heard a huge mixed bag on this book.  Some have loved it, some hated it, some are luke warm.  After the second issue, I have moved into the love it category.

It is an odd one though.  Set in the future, NASA has genetically engineered children so when grown to maturity they will be able to withstand the gravity of Mars.  (real science has shown that any astronauts on Mars will probably have a break down in their bones due to the high gravity and pressures of an atmosphere poor environment.)  The project looses funding and now the children are just regular citizens.

Because it is set in the future there is a type of 1984, news speak or more accurately text speak in the book that is at different times great, hard and sometimes irritating to understand.

The style, lay outs and style is exactly like 100 Bullets, as would be expected and the over arching plot is a crime story, sort-of, with heavy elements of Sci-fi thrown in.

I admit I was skeptical of issue one, but can now say this is a highest recommendation.

 

Dark Horse Presents previews…

Everyone knows my love for this series.  Easily, this is the best new book to come out this year and has had more consistent quality – at a better price point – than nearly everything being published right now.

Well, to add to this we see where Dark Horse is going with this book.  It is being used as a launch tool for upcoming projects both big and small.

Recently, they ran a couple issue short story by Richard Corben and a one shot issue is coming in February called Murky World that moves on from what has been seen.

We know, and have known since San Diego, that Brian Wood would be moving to work heavily at Dark Horse and his side projects (side from Conan) will be first highlighted in DHP first.  This is of course The Massive.

Well, now a great new piece called The Adventures of Dog Mendoza and Pizza Boy, that had been running for the last couple months, will be collected for the first time in the US by Dark Horse.  I didn’t know that this is Portuguese and that it had ever existed.  Add in that Dark Horse is slowly going to be putting out the Milo Manara collections and looking back at Blacksad, shows that they are making a concerted effort to bring the quality that exists around the world to us dumb Americans.

As for the Dog Mendoza stuff, there is a video out (not all of it is in English) that shows some of the art and story.  This should be pretty good.  You can check it out here.