Random Comic Stuff

[Elijya]

so i went to the comic store today on my lunch break to pick up an item or two, and i went to new place, mind you i never go to comic stores i pre-order, and it dawned on my the importance of the store itself. previously i would go to gotham comics on 62nd street in manhattan, and it was like going to a crack den, very small very dark. today i went to midtown comics on 45th street and it was like the target of comic book stores. big, bright, clean lots and lots of stuffs, inclusing a wall of bootleg comic dvds. awesome store! honestly why to a dank little store when you can go to an awesome big store, both people treat you nice, and i felt bad about the smaller store. with larger stores how can the smaller ones compete, and i think thats why so many stores struggle. the smaller store has that fanboy feel in that if you are just a casual reader it would turn you off, whereas if you go to the bigger store, it would actually draw you in more.

just a small rant.

every time I've been to Gotham, they've been rude and treated me dismissively. Maybe THAT has something to do with it?

 

[DeadFeckin'Last]

If only England had lotsa comic stores. I live in this little s**thole town called Wigan and we only have, like, this one store inside a f**king a home supplies centre (go figure). The next nearest store is a 45 minute train journey away. Oh, and due to work I only get my books on Fridays so no New Avengers for me till tomorrow, but I have taken like the odd Thursday off work to go get my comics early if I desperately need to read something. Obviously New Avengers isn't that desperate or I'd have it today . . . . I hope there's copies left. Man, England sucks doggieballs.

 

[Anubis]

Is it ture that england is filled with loose women with bad teeth?

 

[iloveclones]

No, it's bad women with loose teeth (What? England? Sorry, I thought we were talking West Virginia)

 

[DeadFeckin'Last]

Weeeeelllllll, thats only half true . . .

. . . a lot of them have REALLY bad teeth.

 

[DeadFeckin'Last]

Whats the difference between a Wigan girl and a walrus?

Ones hairy and smells of fish . . .
. . . and the other swims in the sea.

Seriously, if my girl saw this . . . haha.

 

[newnoiseimage]

elijya.... knowing where you are from, why would you go to gotham comics? its a dinky little hole in the wall, especially with big stores like jim hanley's and midtown.

just curious.

 

[Elijya]

elijya.... knowing where you are from, why would you go to gotham comics? its a dinky little hole in the wall, especially with big stores like jim hanley's and midtown.

just curious.

I spent a weekend in new york last year and vistied as many shops as I could and wrote synopsis' of them all for a website


oh, and it's also right around the corner from the hotel my parents like to stay at whenever we go

 

[DBM]

I was reading a book on comic history last night and I came across and interesting point.

Back in the 60’s it was considered detrimental to a comic to have a low issue number. That’s why:

Incredible Hulk started with issue 102 continuing from Tales to Astonish
Thor started with issue 126 continuing from Journey into Mystery
Captain America started with issue 100 continuing from Tales of Suspense.

The belief was that people wanted established comics that weren’t going to disappear soon, which was often indicated by a low issue number.

It seems so bizarre to me that today one of the major marketing “ideas” for a comic that is flagging is to restart it with a number one when back when Marvel was just coming to dominance that was avoided at all costs.

 

[iloveclones]

Ha! I forgot about that. The funny thing is, that always kind of annoyed me, that it wasn't a continuous run from #1. Now it's a continuous run OF #1's.

 

[newnoiseimage]

well since the 90's #1 = investment copy, which is why in any given month you have at least 2 or 3 #1's from the same company.

 

[DBM]

Here's another thing I've been thinking about.

My local library and the comics they have.

I went to the library last night after work and, as always, I checked the TPB and GN section at my library. While looking at them I realized how misshelved the really were.

All of the comics are on a seperate shelf to themselves and you'll find Garfield and Peanuts in the same place you find Sandman and Maus. Not necessarily a bad thing to group all sequential art together but the fact that all of these are in the childrens' section disturbs me.

I think everyone would agree that some comics don't belong in the kids section. Sandman, Maus and Contract with God are really written for adults and not children though I guess a child could read them if they wanted, there's not really anything too offensive in them. All the "great" comics being lumped in with kiddie comics didn't really bother me that much compared to a single TPB that was in there.

That TPB was Green Lantern: Brother's Keeper.

For those who don't know, this collects the story in which Kyle Rayner's gay assistant Terry is attacked and nearly beaten to death because of his sexual orientation. This was a very well written story and one of my favorite Green Lantern arcs.

My problem came with the fact that this was shelved right next to the Garfield books, in the children's section. A young child looking at the Garfield books sees this brightly colored TPB with exciting action in at and picks it up. But most children aren't going to understand Brother's Keeper. It's written for an older audience, probably teenagers at the youngest. It has violence, aggression, complex societal issues and more in it. Issues that would confuse and probably even frighten some children.

Considering that it's in the children's section, a parent would probably automatically assume that it's OK for their child to read it. While I think this could be an important comic to help teach children about hate crimes and their impact, it most definitely is not a comic you want young children to read without guidance. It makes me wonder if the library staff ever even reads comic books as they come in or do they just automatically shelve them as for children.

It almost seems to me that someone needs to teach library staffs about graphic novels and comic books.

Has anyone else seen this problem in their local libraries?

 

[Elijya]

why don't you point it out and explain it to your librarian?

 

[Gambit8370]

Librarians tend to over-react.

They may pull all "graphic" novels as a result.

Just saying, be careful how you phrase it.

 

[newnoiseimage]

what is the place you speak off. i think i heard rumors of such a place when i was in college, but it sounds wonderous.

 

[DBM]

why don't you point it out and explain it to your librarian?

I may.

 

[Gambit8370]

what is the place you speak off. i think i heard rumors of such a place when i was in college, but it sounds wonderous.

You wouldn't like it.

No variant covers.

 

[newnoiseimage]

what about collector's editions?

 

[iloveclones]

My library's pretty good. They just went through a major renovation, and they have a whole section of all of this stuff. Manga seems to have it's own section. Before, they had two sections of this, one "teen" section, and one general. Now it's all together but a much bigger section. They even highlight certain books and they seem to revolve those. Does the library system you have "connect" to others in the area, because it really expands what you have available to you. I never thought I'd read comics out of the library, but it's a great way to re-read some old stuff without pulling your own, and a really great way to try stuff that you normally wouldn't. I'm certain I never would've tried : Powers, the Authority, Transmetropolitan,Ronin(now there's one I'd been meaning to pick up for YEARS) and a bunch of others. I still haven't delved into Manga, but hey, I'm old.

 

[Anubis]

I used to work for the Chicago Public Library, and for the most part, at least in the library I worked for, we kept them separate due to age group. The first couple of trades for Sandman where in the adult fiction sections. And the Spider-Man trades where in with the juvinile fiction sections. It really depends on the librarian. They are the ones who come up with the layout. Working for the city, there were times when I got handed out to other branches and things were completly different. Someplaces had erotic litereature side by side with science fiction. others had them separated into their own sections. So, its most likely just the way your librarian chose to set it up. Guess he/she just didn't know, or simply didn't think it was all that over the heads of the kiddies.

 

[newnoiseimage]

what did i miss this weekend that Gambit has changed his sig and outlook? what happened? (the poster not the character)

 

[Gambit8370]

I had an epiphany.

My outlook hasn't really changed.

I'm the same b***hy crabby disgruntled scorned s.o.b. I ever was.

My new motto basically just means I'll be posting a lot less.

No one wants to hear me complain all the time.

So I just need to knock it off.

I'll still be here.

I gotta tell you, it isn't easy holding back.

But I've heard the complaints too many times.

I don't want to ruin these boards with my constant pessimism.

And I don't want to turn every thread that I post in into another thread about me.

Including this one.

That being said, if any of you guys ever want to get my (normal) perspective on things, just IM me if you have to.

Bottom line is I need to stop.

Nobody ASKED me to do this. It's just the right thing to do.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Respectable decision, proud of ya (not that we know each other to where it would matter, but none the less+

 

[JewishHobbit]

Respectable decision, proud of ya (not that we know each other to where it would matter, but none the less)

 

[newnoiseimage]

aww dont stop, what else do we have? political comic book readers? marvel employees? and like 2 actual posters with a level head.


rethink it.