Bill's FAN Fascination #5

What? You thought I was done with my "electric fan cover" obsession? No way... I have lots more where these came from! Bask in the glory that is HOT STUFF: THE LITTLE DEVIL #23 (Harvey Comics, July 1960)! Wotta hoot! That poor fan is SWEATING! Great colors, great composition, great gag... just a plain great cover!

For more on my other collecting obsession, go HERE for the Antique Fan Collector's Association website. If nothing else, you will learn that there are many different kinds of geeks out there.

Update on WALT DISNEY'S COMICS #666

Last week I wrote a post about the release of WALT DISNEY'S COMICS #666, and as an afterthought, I griped about the fact that Gemstone Comics, who is the publisher of Disney Comics and also happens to be owned by our main comic distributor Diamond Comics, had placed ads promoting their subscription service. I commented "Holy mackeral, I'm apparently in direct competition with my distributor! What a world."

Well, on Friday, I received the following email:

I'd like to try and see where you're coming from with the whole subscription thing, because we don't want to screw retailers. I guess the main reason that I don't understand why you're upset is that Gemstone's subscriptions are offered at cover price, while...
• Marvel's subscriptions start at $1.99/issue,
• DC's subscriptions are $2.00/issue ($1.66/issue for their Johnny DC titles), and
• Archie's subscriptions are offered at $1.35/issue.

I mean, I could totally understand your frustration if Gemstone undercut the SRP, but that's not the case -- and we refuse to do it precisely because we don't want to compete with y'all! The only reason we're offering subs is because we have fans who either don't have local shops or the shops that are near them won't carry the books.

I just don't see how our subscriptions are competing with you... but if I'm missing something here, please let me know!

Thanks,
Travis Seitler
Art Director, Disney Comic Books
Gemstone Publishing

Well, after some thought (and a little research), I replied with this:

Hey Travis!
Thanks for writing, and I must say I feel pretty stupid. You're absolutely right. Diamond isn't undercutting me at all... I ASSUMED that Gemstone was offering the subscription comics at a reduced rate, but now I see that that's not the case. I stand corrected. I was just sort of caught off guard by a big full-page ad that initially sounded like Gemstone was fishing for subscribers, thus cutting the stores out of the loop.
I guess I would have only been happy with something like "If worse comes to worst and you absolutely, positively can't get to a comic book shop, we will send you copies through the mail with an additional healthy shipping fee, and with the chance that they will be lost or damaged. In extreme circumstances, Gemstone will provide this service." Or something.

Sincerely,
Bill Wahl
Comix Connection

P.S.: I hope you do charge subscribers lots and lots for shipping! Heh heh heh.

After which, I got this back:

Thanks!
Travis Seitler

PS: I really don't know about the shipping (that's handled at Gemstone's West Plains, MO branch), but I would assume we're including it in the subscription price. So... maybe the case could be made that we're undercutting you if the price of gas is included...but...um...hey, look over there at that silverbulletcomics.com! They're charging 30 cents off the cover price!

I just thought you all might be interested to know that my anger was mostly unfounded, and I really appreciated the contact from Travis. See, they DO care.

A brief note about the Comix Connection Weekly-ish Update

Hey everybody! I sent out one of our "Comix Connection Weekly-ish Update" emailings yesterday and it included another cool coupon. If you did NOT get one in your IN-BOX, send me an email with YOUR email address... sometimes I get the CCW-ish Update returned to me because your box is full, and sometimes I get them back because I got your email address wrong due to the fact that I had trouble reading your handwriting! In any case, drop me a line and I will add you to the address book. Send to "bill(at)comixconnection.com" (replacing the (at) with an @) or go to the bottom right side of this page and click on the "EMAIL US TO RECEIVE OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER" linky...

Spider-man 3 costume first look!

Alert reader Craig M. sent me this photo of Spidey in a very cool all-black costume from the upcoming Spider-man 3 movie... HERE'S the link to the original site.

Veddy veddy cool. Thanks Craig!

Friday Comics Chat Open Thread - The REAL Optimus Prime Edition

Well, here you go, guys and gals... the Friday Comics Chat Open Thread! What cool comic books did you read this week? Likes? Dislikes? What did you spot in PREVIEWS? Besides Superman stuff? How 'bout that "52", huh? Talk to me.

One of my favorite comic book covers of all time

This still makes me giggle... I made up this word balloon and stuck it to the bag of this comic back when we opened in 1988. I have had this comic hanging in every Comix Connection-York location ever since. Yes, it's juvenile, but I still think it's hilarious.

I crack me up.

What is the PREVIEWS catalog you ask?

I'm glad you did. Set a spell and I'll fill you in.

The PREVIEWS catalog/magazine/magalog is the MONTHLY product catalog put out by our main distributor of comics, Diamond Comics Distributors. It has an incredible selection of magazines, books and graphic novels, toys, games, posters, t-shirts, trading cards and tons of other merchandise. You can find a link to their main website HERE. (Items shipping this week are HERE.) Basically, Diamond's Previews lists EVER SINGLE ITEM that is currently able to be ordered that will ship in (roughly) TWO months time. We usually have a 3 week "window" for you to look through Previews and let us know if there is anything that you would like us to get for you. We can't and don't carry everything. There are something like 3500 or so items listed EVERY MONTH. If you want something, let us know and we will add it to our orders and make sure it ends up in your box... PREVIEWS (cover price $4.95) is sold to people who reserve it at OUR COST ($2.70 right now). At the very least, you are welcome to peruse the Store Copy of PREVIEWS when you have some free time to look through it in the store. It's a veriable cornucopia of comic book goodness.

The MARCH 2006 issue of PREVIEWS has just shipped... c'mon in and check it out!

The Top 300 comics sold for the month of January 2006

For the fourth straight month, INFINITE CRISIS (DC Comics) dominates the top spot for comics actually sold in the month of January 2006, selling nearly 50% MORE than the second place contender ALL STAR SUPERMAN #2... Here's the top 10:

1 - INFINITE CRISIS #4 (Of 7)
2 - ALL STAR SUPERMAN #2
3 - NEW AVENGERS #15
4 - AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #528
5 - GREEN LANTERN #7
6 - ULTIMATE EXTINCTION #1 (Of 5)
7 - UNCANNY MEN #468
8 - FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #4
9 - MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #22
10 - X-MEN #181

The Spidey titles all had boosted sales courtesy of the "Spider-man: The Other" storyline that ran through all the titles last month.

Go HERE to ICV2's website for the full list.

OK, I can't stand it anymore.

I give up. This is one of the greatest music videos I've ever seen. It reminds me a lot of one of the coolest cartoons around... Samurai Jack. I keep going back to THIS VIDEO of Jason Forrest's song "War Photographer". It's just too funny. I've been watching this like once every 5 days or something and sending it to folks in my address book for the past two months... and the only way to purge it from my system is to put it out here where you all will see it. Go watch it.

Comix Connection Customer Profile #11 - 10 Questions with Lindsay B.

1) NAME: Lindsay B.
2) AGE: 24
3) HOW LONG A COLLECTOR: 5 years
4) FAVORITE COMIC: LOVE & ROCKETS
5) FAVORITE BOOK OR GRAPHIC NOVEL: SUMMER BLONDE (Optic Nerve)
6) FAVORITE ACTIVITY: Sleeping
7) FAVORITE FOOD: Lemons
8) BEST COMIC BOOK RELATED EXPERIENCE: Going to the 2005 Baltimore ComiCon
9) IF I COULD MEET ANY COMIC CHARACTER, I WOULD CHOOSE: Seth (from PALOOKAVILLE)
10) IF I COULD MEET ANY COMIC CREATOR, I WOULD CHOOSE: Joe Matt (But I won't shake his hand)

Thanks, Lindsay!

Here's something you don't see every day

Alert reader Mike B. tipped me to this interesting comic book... WALT DISNEY'S COMICS #666! That's right... this comic has reached the spooky number favored by crypto-religious people as The Mark of the Beast. (If 666 is the Mark of the Beast, is 667 the Neighbor of the Beast?) But the best part? For this issue, the editors have chosen to print a never-before-published-in-America story that was produced in Italy in the 1940s. That story? "Mickey's Inferno", a retelling of "The Inferno" from Dante Alighieri's epic poem The Divine Comedy, in which the author (Mickey) is led on a tour of the Underworld by the Roman poet Virgil (Goofy).

So, literally, in WALT DISNEY'S COMICS #666, Mickey Mouse goes to Hell.

This comic book will be in the stores next Wednesday and is $6.95... reserve your copy now!


And then there's this...

Diamond Comic Distributors, what were you thinking by publishing this advertisement:

GEMSTONE PUBLISHING
presents
YOUR FAVORITE DISNEY COMICS

Delivered Right to Your Door!

We know how much you enjoy your local comic shop, but wouldn't it be nice to have your favorite Disney comics delivered to you? Subscribe today and we'll send you the latest issues of your favorite comics directly to your doorstep. And if you would still prefer to browse through the latest in comic art but aren't sure where to go, check out the Comic Shop Locator Service at www.diamondcomics.com/csls or call 1-888-COMIC-BOOK

Holy mackeral, I'm apparently in direct competition with my distributor! What a world.

Friday Comics Chat Open Thread - Batmobile Lost A Wheel Edition

Well, here we are again! What did you read this week? What did you like? What didn't you like?

I read and really enjoyed HELLBLAZER #217, the second part of new writer Denise Mina's seven-part "Empathy is the Enemy" story arc, in which, among other things, we find John Constantine cursed with an unanticipated and unfamiliar feeling of... empathy with his fellow human beings! And it's killing him. Great stuff.

Airing the Linnen: Meeting Mike Oeming

Guest post by Brian Linnen

It's been a while since I have made it to a big comic convention. I'm not sure why I haven't been going (actually, I think I do know, but I want to write about it here in the future, so I'll keep it under my hat for now!), but I received a little taste of the excitement I have been missing a few weekends ago here at the Comix Connection.

For the record, the Oeming appearance was a blast! If you didn't manage to make it in, you really missed a great time. Mr. Oeming was extremely friendly and approachable, and it was really cool listening to his various industry-stories as he sketched and signed books. It really seemed like he was having a good time meeting everyone, which is always good. I once met a "legendary" creator who made it pretty obvious he wasn't in the mood, and to this day, it's still probably my worst comic memory. Having met Mr. Oeming twice now, I can confidently say that he has too much class to pull something like that.

Another thing that I enjoyed was having the time to dig through some of the back-issue boxes! Being a "fanboy extraordinaire", I almost always pick up my books on Wednesdays at lunch, which of course means I have to hot-foot it back to work. I can't remember the last time I was in the store with time to kill and fingers nimble enough to sort through the thousands of bagged-and-boarded goodies! Anyway, I took the time that afternoon and found some good stuff I had missed the first time around. It was kinda like a mini-convention!!

Before I left, I bought a page of original Oeming artwork from the book he does with Brian Michael Bendis called POWERS. I have some original art in my collection already, this is the first piece I have that was actually used in the production of a comic. Pretty cool! I think I'll twist Bill's arm and get him to post it here on the site. (See above! - ed.)
Anyway, the Oeming appearance was a great event - Thanks for Bill, Ned, and Ken for making it happen!

Comix Connection T-shirt Update

OK, I've got a t-shirt guy (the one who did them *gulp* ten years ago) and he mocked up a couple of shirt images (see above) with the YELLOW logo image. The one on the right is the forest green one. I'm still debating over whether to put "www.comixconnection.com" along the bottom of the logo, or just let the pure Comix Connection logo fly free, without any extra text. What do you think? Also, it looks like we will be able to sell the shirts for a reasonable $10.00 each, so at this time I'd like anyone who wants one to let me know what shirt color (black or forest green) and what size you would want, so I can gauge the size of the order. By the way, these are quality 100% pre-shrunk cotton Ts, not some crappy shirt that will "pill" after a few washings. Leave your order in the comments, or email me at the bill (at) comixconnection.com address (using an "@" and no spaces).

And yes, if it was up to us you would ALL be entitled to a FREE t-shirt for all the years of being loyal customers. We really wish we could do that, just to see the hordes of Comix Connection t-shirt-wearing comic book fans wandering around... and if I win the lotto you will all get one, GUARANTEED! Until then, ten bucks isn't so bad is it?

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Today is the perfect day to tell the ones you love, no matter what species, that you LOVE THEM! Go on, don't dork around here... GO TELL THEM!

More on Saint Valentine HERE... Apparently over ONE BILLION cards are sent worldwide each year on Valentine's Day... that's a lot of crappy cards.

VALENTINE'S DAY UPDATE: Andy Macdonald of NYC MECH fame sent this cool card out:

Star Trek: The New Voyages

Alert reader Jennifer F. (via her brother Johnny in Jackson, Ohio) sent me a link to a really cool site... check out Star Trek: The New Voyages! A group of Star Trek fans have been filming NEW episodes of original series Star Trek, for web-only broadcast. I haven't watched an episode yet, but the sets and cast look great. They've even managed to snag some of the original cast and writers from that groundbreaking '60s TV show. Pretty darn cool.

(Disclaimer: I am a fan of the original Star Trek series only, not any of it's various permutations. And the early-'70s Saturday morning cartoons. OK, and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was great too.)

Not quite S. E. Hinton, but there you go

This one just cracked me up... they are LITERALLY... OUTSIDERS!


Because they're OUTSIDE! And the in-crowd is... INSIDE!

Wotta riot!

The Return of MEGOSTEVE!

Way back in the late 1990s, there was one site that I would always check in on a daily basis - MegoSteve! MegoSteve had a 'blog about comic books, toys, video games, music, and "Bite-Sized Chunks of Delicious Web Goodness"... weird, funny and wondrous things, things you can only find on the big, beautiful internet. Like when to say "Meh." MegoSteve is where I first posted to a 'blog, and where I followed many links to weird and fun sites. MegoSteve kept me entertained so I didn't have to entertain myself.

And then one day the site was gone... MegoSteve was apparently filled with ennui ... or, he was just tired and lazy. He shut down the 'blog to find himself, to seek wisdom, to learn, to explore exactly who and what MegoSteve... was. Or he wanted more time for videogames. Either one. Whatever. The site was sorely missed and I found myself in the wilderness - cold, lost and alone. Then I did a Google™ search for Buckaroo Banzai and forgot all about MegoSteve... until a couple of days ago! On Monday, I got an email from MegoSteve informing me that he was reviving the site, with more focus on the suff he likes... comic books, videogames, and MEGO action figures! Go check it out HERE!

Welcome back, MegoSteve!

Friday Comics Chat Open Thread - Waitin' at the bus stop edition

OK, cats and kittens, here you go! Time for the weekly gabfest! What have you read lately? Was it good? Was it bad? What did you eat while reading it? Where are my keys? Speak up!

I read ATHENA VOLTAIRE #1, from Speakeasy Comics... it's a rollicking 1930s pulp-style adventure, with layouts reminiscent of the artwork of Dave Stevens or Mark Schultz... great fun! Zeppelins! Gunplay! A butt-kicking heroine! Nazis! Fencing! It's got it all. Give it a look-see...

ZOOM SUIT - (How to promote your comic, part one)

If you're a Comix Connection Pull/Hold Service subscriber, you may have noticed a flyer in your box recently. The flyer is for the upcoming comic book ZOOM SUIT from Superverse Comics, and is by writer John Taddeo, penciller Billy Dallas Patton, and inker Kris Justice. (Future covers will be by artists Bob Layton, Gene Colan, Bart Sears, Jim Starlin, Billy Tucci, keron Grant and others.) The neat thing about this comic is that the publisher and writer contacted us to see if we would like flyers to give out to our customers. I replied to the affirmative, and they sent out enough flyers and trading cards to enable us to give one out to each of our Box Holders in both stores, plus a stack for the counter! Additionally, they included preview copies of the comic book, posters and a very nice HAND-WRITTEN letter thanking us for our interest. This is how you promote your comic... this will create about 1000 impressions, and I'm sure some of those impressions will result in sold comics - because ZOOM SUIT is FUN! The ZOOM SUIT preview issue (which will be at both stores in the Preview Comics Notebook shortly for your perusal) begins with the crash of an alien spaceship in a field in Roswell back in 1947... and leads to a powered armor suit ending up in the hands of a young boy! There are many nods to comic book and pop culture cliches along the way, done in a very dorky/fun way. But probably the most stunning thing about this comic is the printing quality of the book itself - it's truly incredible! Liberal use of metallic inks to great effect make this comic seem at times like you're looking at animation cels! Incredible. (By the way, ZOOM SUIT is also a short film!) When you stop by the store at least take a few minutes and check it out. Any publisher who takes the time to provide everyone with promotional stuff is doing the right thing, and we need to always support and encourage these efforts! It's the least WE can do.

DOOP RULES!

Thanks to a tip from alert reader Phil E., I read the new Marvel comic I ♥ MARVEL: MY MUTANT HEART, which contains a story written by Pete Milligan, with art by Marcos Martin called "How Love Works" that features everyone's favorite amorphous green blob, Doop! Yes, that's right... Doop in a romance comic! I laughed out loud at this one! Check it out when you're in the store... whatta hoot!

-BONUS DOOP TRANSLATOR:

YorkArts Chalk It Up!

(Yes, that is a CHALK DRAWING on pavement! Click on the links below for more mind-blowing chalk artwork.)

Here's a nifty art happening being sponsored by YorkArts... a chalk mural competition in the West Manchester Mall! There are some incredible sidewalk chalk artists out there... see HERE and HERE. Mark your calendar for Saturday, March 11th... it sounds like fun! Applications available at the York store, or online.

Oooh, here's a GREAT one I just found at the second link... don't know how I missed it!

V FOR VENDETTA - My favorite comic book of all time

From the movie trailer:

The original advertisement in the comics:

The cover of the graphic novel:

Well, it's coming March 17th... the V FOR VENDETTA movie. See the trailers here.

V FOR VENDETTA is my favorite comic book of all time. Written by Alan Moore, with stark artwork by David Lloyd, V FOR VENDETTA tells the story of a slightly-into-the-future world where an ugly Fascist government has taken control of England in the wake of a nuclear exchange. It's the story of how one person can make a difference, and how you should never bow your head to those who would enslave you with fear. I don't want to give any of the story away, but if the movie can manage to hold on to even HALF of the great Alan Moore plot, then it'll be one of the best movies of the year.

I still have a home-made V FOR VENDETTA t-shirt (back when they didn't make too much peripheral comic book-related gear), and the hardcover that was released by the Science Fiction Book Club (again, DC didn't do all those nifty hardcovers that they do now), and I located a copy of the EP of music from V FOR VENDETTA, including the song "This Vicious Cabaret", which appears in the comic. This record was released only in England and was composed and arranged by Alan Moore and members of the band Love & Rockets... I guess once the movie hits there will be more stuff for me to covet...


(For years I have tried to find a "Guy Fawkes" mask like the one worn by the mysterious V so I could be V for Halloween, with no luck. I suppose now with the movie coming out, someone somewhere will make one that I can afford. And yes, DC is releasing a V For Vendetta "prop mask", but that's more for display, not for wearing...)

This just in: I scanned an image of that EP (record) I was talking about...


Even MORE V for Vendetta goodness... I found the T-shirt I made back in 1987, which was almost TWENTY YEARS AGO! Check it out:



Hey DC COMICS! Please make some new V FOR VENDETTA t-shirts (designs from the original art, not the movie) because there is -NO WAY- that I can cram my bloated torso into this t-shirt anymore...

Me, the Toddler, and The Freak

I dug this photo up while looking through the Vault the other day. It was taken at one of the Diamond Comics Distributors Retailer Seminars, probably back in 1991 or 1992. Those seminars were a once-a-year event where most of the comic book publishers would get together in one location to show off their wares for four days of fun and mayhem - no general public allowed. But that's when there were competitors to Diamond Comics... like Capital City Distribution and Heroes World Distribution and Friendly Frank's and a few others. Nowadays, with a near-monopoly, Diamond just holds regional "mini-seminars". No need to wow the retailers anymore... *sigh*.

Anyway, I was goofing around with a fellow retailer friend of mine who sometimes dresses up in costume as The Freak, when we spotted Todd McFarlane strolling the floor. I handed my camera to an innocent bystander and had him photograph us while we both screamed gibberish at the man who came to embody the Image Comics '90s... the Toddler.

Good times.

R.I.P. Grandpa Munster

As a kid, I always loved the intricate detail of Grandpa Munster's cool basement laboratory... it appeared exactly as one I imagined a mad scientist would have...

Sadly Al Lewis died yesterday...

R.I.P. Grandpa Munster

Comix Connection T-Shirt color selections

Steve L. sent me these color ideas for the Comix Connection t-shirts. Which one of these do you like best? Once we narrow down the color selection, I will take preorders so that I can figure out how much they will cost... the more the better the cheaper.

And, I usually have a standing offer... if I ever see you out in public (not in the stores) wearing a Comix Connection t-shirt, I will GIVE YOU A DOLLAR RIGHT THERE ON THE SPOT! Seriously. Ask Adam M.

Friday Comics Chat Open Thread - KINGDOM edition

Hey everybody! Take a seat, get comfortable and LET'S TALK COMICS. I have something a bit different this week. Alert customer Steve R. pointed out a book to Manager Ken that most of us have overlooked... DC's THE KINGDOM, written by Mark Waid with art by various artists. Here's a summary from DC's webpage:

Continuing to look at a possible future of the DC Universe and it heroes, the young boy who survived the holocaust that consumed the farmlands of Kansas has grown up and judged Superman at fault for the destruction that he lived through. Using newly granted powers, Gog has set out on a mission to remove Superman from existence throughout all of time. Now it is up to the children of Batman, Robin, Flash, and Plastic Man to work together to save the Man of Steel and the world from the madman's quest.

Have any of you out there read this book? When it came out, I skipped over it, thinking that NOTHING could follow the incredible KINGDOM COME. Steve R. has pointed out that this book may actually be a lead-in to the events of the current INFINITE CRISIS! What do you think? Have you read this?

The End of an Era

I just saw THIS and was stunned... an end after 150 years!

A Brief History of the Telegram.

What does this have to do with comic books? Nothing. It just struck me that this service, a pivotal plot device, a bearer of news good and bad, the very first "text messaging" where the sender tries to say a lot with just a few words, was finally at an end. Sure, Western Union will still exist as a wire-transfer service, but that's it for telegrams...

Western Union - Five Americans

Things went wrong today
Bad news came my way
I woke up to find
A wire that blew my mind

Western Union man
Bad news in his hand
Knocking at my door
Selling me the score

Fifteen cents a word to read
A telegram I didn't need
Said she didn't care no more
Think I'll throw it on the floor

Got your cable just today
Killed my groove, I've got to say, hey
(...hey) Western Union

Da-da-da-da-da da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da da-da-da-da-da

We're thinking of selling Comix Connection shirts again...

Yep, we're thinking of selling Comix Connection logo shirts again... what do you all think? Do you have any suggestions about shirt color, etc? The ones we had in the Good Old Days™ were bright yellow with bright green CC logos... should we do that combo again? How about hunter green shirts with bright yellow logos? How about black t-shirts with white logos? What do you say? I should be able to keep the price hopefully in the $12-$15 range (or lower if possible). Lemme know what you think.

And, if anyone has any recommendation for someone who does QUALITY screenprinted shirts for a reasonable price, contact me.