November Art Show Canceled

Sometimes, things just don't work out. We will not be able to host the November Art Show as expected. We apologize to any artists who may have expected to be in this show and to our loyal customer base. Comics & Classics is going through a difficult period, as is the country.

On a good note, now is the time to pick up great deals at C & C! Come by for our Economic Crunch Sale and get great deals! We hope the economy picks up soon and wish everyone the best.

Invest in Your "Main Street" of Jax Beach!

Okay, art, books and comics lovers of Jacksonville Beach, now is your time to be a part of your local economy! Comics & Classics is looking for local (or even non-local) investors who have always wanted to own their own bookstore/comic shop/art gallery (take your pick)! Check out more about us on our website www.comicsandclassics.com or our myspace or comicspace pages (available from our website).

Anyone with an interest please contact Kimberly at info@comicsandclassics.com. Serious inquiries only, please. Silent or Active partnerships welcome. Full or partial buy-ins available. We are open to many types of arrangements.

Comics & Classics is profiled for Publisher's Weekly Comic Week

This week reporter Judith Rosen of Publisher's Weekly wrote a wonderful article about Comics & Classics and our efforts here in Jacksonville Beach. To read the article in full, click on the link below:



http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6605087.html?nid=2789



The article highlights our efforts to work with schools to educate them on the benefits of using comics, graphic novels and manga in their classrooms and media centers, as well as our efforts with the local art community.



It seems we've been getting a bit of attention lately, as well as this article and a smaller profile, along with other new booksellers around the US, for the print edition of Publisher's Weekly (Oct. 6th edition), we were recently contacted by a reporter for The New York Times, regarding small businesses and their efforts to attact customers in our current economy. While all the attention feels good, it is a rough time for local independent businesses. We encourage everyone to spend their dollars with local, independent businesses whenever possible. For more on how local economies help communities, visit http://www.indiebound.org/.



To help our customers, we'll be holding an "Economic Crunch Sale," starting Friday, Oct. 17 and running through the election until Nov. 4th! Come visit us and shop early for the holiday season. We'll have huge savings on nearly every section in our store. Of course, there's great Halloween art by local artists. Don't invest in Wall Street, invest in Main Street (or, in this case, Third St.) and your local businesses and artists. Spread the word....we're taking back the economy!

The Halloween Show Kicks Off October Fun!

It was a little early for costumes last Saturday night but many of us dressed up for C & C's first Halloween Art Show. No pictures of me here (since I was taking them) but even I managed a last-minute but completely adorable leopard costume. The winner of the $50 gift certificate was Petie Pickette dressed as Captain Janeway, who also managed to duck getting her picture taken. We should probably put someone else in charge of pictures for the Nov. 1st political art show "Right, Left, Middle: Politics in America."

Check out the few pictures below I did manage to take before having to help with snacks and the front counter.

Matt Kirkland's "Jorge Calaca", pictured here next to Matt (top right), was a big hit. To the left of Matt's digital print is Josh Hoye's "Brains!"

Pictured left are three new pieces for the show by Ed Dansart. I think his little green monsters (bottom right) would make great plush toys.

We were happy to have Squid Dust join us for this show. His Krampus and Puking Snakes (pictured left, upper center) make for great Halloween fun!

Come by and view the entire show, but hurry!! Halloween is fast approaching and this show goes down Nov. 1st. Join with Comics & Classics and support Jacksonville's local artists.

August Customer of the Month Winner!

Rhett Anderson Wins August Customer of the Month!

Comics & Classics couldn't have seen a nicer guy win Customer of the Month! Always willing to lend a helping hand or listening ear, Rhett makes our days brighter around here, so congrats to Rhett our August Customer of the Month!

Of course, I had to ask Rhett the obligatory six questions. Read his answers below:

Thanks for being such a great customer, Rhett and spreading the word about Comics & Classics like only you can!

C&C: Who is your favorite superhero or character in a book or comic and why?

Rhett: The Pro, enough said.

C&C: If you could have any superpowers, what would they be?

Rhett: Elasticity and the ability to blow up other's heads.

C&C: What is the best comic or book you've read lately?

Rhett: The Reader is Warned by John Dickson

C&C: You're asked to create a comic, what is the most creative hero or power you can imagine?

Rhett: Pubes of Truth, Hero "Pissy," Secret Identity: Richard Noggin. Not a good guy or bad guy, when faced with a decision our hero goes limp and flies away.

C&C: What's on your iPod playlist?

Rhett: TimeCat (C&C note - TimeCat is Rhett's band)

C&C: Zombies are attacking, how do you defend yourself?

Rhett: Get on a motorcycle because you can carry more gas a get away fast, or bicycle away. Wouldn't use any weapons because they run out of ammo and you get tired.

July Customer of the Month Winner!

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!

Well, no chicken dinner for Ed Dansart, Comics & Classics' Customer of the Month for July, but Ed did receive a yummy $10.00 gift certificate!

Congrats and Enjoy, Ed!

Read below Ed's answers to our Six Questions from C & C:

C&C - Who is your favorite superhero or character in a book or comic and why?

E.D. - Jessie Custer (Preacher), an old-fashioned cowboy in modern times, not afraid to fight and loyal to a fault. And, Cassie Hack (Hack/Slash) for the obvious reasons.

C&C - If you could have any superpowers, what would they be?

E.D. - Invisibility & Flight

C&C - What is the best comic or book you've read recently?

E.D. - The Exterminators (Vertigo) and Hack/Slash (Devils Due Press)

C&C - You're asked to create a comic, what is the most creative hero or power you can imagine?

E.D. - Anti-Douchebag Ray....or Mullent Gun (when I shoot someone, they get a mullet haircut)

C&C - What's on your iPod playlist?

E.D. - Murder By Death, Iron Maiden, Patton Oswald (comedy), Jimmy Eat World

C&C - Zombies are attacking, how do you defend yourself?

E.D. - Travel light, blunt intruments only. Maybe a handgun. Move constantly!

Thanks to Ed for his time spent with us and his good advice on fighting zombies! Come by and register for August's Customer of the Month!

A Good Review for Comics & Classics!

Check out the good word about our latest art show "Icons," featured in today's The Times-Union. We encourage everyone in Jax to support our local artists and writers!
Be on the lookout for updates on our upcoming shows. I'd like to especially thank Ed Dansart, whose coordination of this month's show made it all possible. Come see Ed's work, along with our own Rob Jones, at Club TSI Friday, August 15th!

Link to Laura Capitano's article http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/080808/enc_314853261.shtml

Reprinted from jacksonville.com

Art, icons in world of fun and games

By LAURA CAPITANO, The Times-Union
It was all very inviting, last weekend's opening reception in Jacksonville Beach for Comics & Classics' first group art show: "Icons: Interpretations in Comics & Gaming Pop Culture." Martini glasses flowed over with Jelly Bellies and the melodic yet futuristic sound of the Flaming Lips paired perfectly with a shop full of fantasy. Even the Batman-for-hire refused to break character to talk to the press. "I'm here in case things get out of hand," were his only words to me.

Kimberly Smith-Johnson, who opened Comics & Classics Books and Art Gallery 10 months ago with her husband, Percy, says the "Icons" show is the first in a series of monthly group art shows. This month's show includes works from 24 local artists and features watercolors, mixed media sculpture, photography and illustrations.

The artists come in all shapes and sizes, even an eight-months-pregnant Ellie Hoffman, who subscribes to the Juno anti-maternity-wear stance. Oh, how her T-shirt strains as she tells me about her paintings: "I'm into robot chicks, and I'm a video game dork!" she giggles, gesturing toward her collection. None of the three offerings includes a Pac-Man ghost or the BurgerTime chef, so I'm clueless. Hoffman explains her icons are from Ghost in the Shell, a game adapted from an anime series, where the main character is a cyborg chick named Motoko.
Most of the gallery space is in the back corner of the store. Additionally, I'd consider the tomes of comics and graphic novels on display an extension of the art show. From slim comics to graphic novels that weigh in like dictionaries, browsing a comics shop has the same "you never know what treasure you'll turn up" thrill as antiquing. The Prisoner had a comic book series? Whoa! A whole comic collection called I Love Led Zeppelin?

Comics & Classics currently carries three Jacksonville-grown titles. There's the dark and zombie-laden She's a Super Freak, which tracks the adventures of superhero Party Girl. Behemoth is a bounty hunter who can turn into a werecat as a means to save mankind from his evil father. The Perfect Storm spins the adventures of busty spy Erin Storm.
Smith-Johnson, a former teacher, says the store is a way to keep kids interested in reading. To play up the hang-out vibe, the couple added gaming tables and a reading lounge.
Informal "sketch societies" meet at the store Saturday mornings to exchange ideas. Youth art lessons are also available. "Icons" show director Rob Jones, artist and editor in chief of Alpha Cat Comics, heads up instruction series, at a very reasonable $5 rate, per student per class.

laura.capitano@jacksonville.com,
(904) 359-4370

"Icons" Show Sets Record Attendance and Garners Media Attention!

Twenty-four artists came together to contribute to our August group art show "Icons: Interpretations in Comics & Gaming Pop Culture." Among the opening reception's honored guests were no other than Batman himself! Florida Times-Union columnist Laura Capitano, dropped by, as well! We thank Laura for checking out our newest show and invite everyone to come and appreciate the talents of all those who contributed their time and talents.
























Below are pictures of the evening, which included artwork by the following artists:





Erin Adams, Laurie Childs, Cesar Cordero, Toy Crusher, Ed Dansart, Wade Dillon, Grindstone, Inc., Brian Gray, Ellie Hoffman, Latwan Holland, Josh Hoye, Rob Jones, David King, Matthew Kirkland, Max Michaels, James Ranieri, J. Dallas Russ, Jeremy Sellers, Matthew Stinson, Robert Thilmont, Oliver Villar, Korey Watkins, Logan Zawacki, and Glenn Zimmerman.

Thanks to all who made the evening a great success.

Con-con reporting! Wish we could have gone!

Here's reprinted info. on this year's San Diego Comic-Con. From everything we read, the biggest concern was whether Hollywood and the gaming industry has taken over Comic-Con and the difficulty in finding and meeting the creators of smaller indie comics at the mega event. Ultimately, we think Comic-Con is good for the industry, but it should resist being swallowed up by other, competing forces.
Art Show Note: "Icons: Interpretations in Comic & Gaming Pop Culture" opens this Saturday Aug. 2nd from 7-9pm with an opening reception at Comics & Classics. Come support local art!

Comic-Con International 2008 Bursts at the Seams
This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on July 29, 2008 Sign up now!
by Douglas Wolk, Calvin Reid and Laura Hudson -- Publishers Weekly, 7/29/2008 12:42:00

AMFor the first time ever, 2008's Comic-Con International was a complete sell-out--there were no passes available at the gate, and the San Diego Convention Center was jammed wall-to-wall for the entirety of its July 23-27 run. The curious thing regarding this is that quite a few of its attendees had no particular interest in comics. CCI has become a crucial spot for movie, TV and game studios to promote forthcoming major releases; there's still a huge chunk of the show that's devoted to comics, their artists and their publishers, but the banners promoting it in downtown San Diego don't have pictures of comic book characters on them any more.

The biggest book of the show was a trickle-down effect from the biggest movie of the show: Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' graphic novel, came out over 20 years ago, and still sold well over 500 copies between various dealers on the floor (one of which marked up the $20 paperback to $30); the longest line at the con was for a showing of a few minutes of footage, whose attendees were rewarded with Watchmen T-shirts. Even MAD magazine got in on the action: a special giveaway issue of MAD included a Watchmen parody drawn by Glenn Fabry.
Comic-Con's biggest debut, though, wasn't a movie tie-in—it was a music tie-in. Comic Book Tattoo, a 480-page, LP-sized anthology of comics inspired by Tori Amos's music, was the anchor of Image's booth; the company sold around 400 copies of the $30 paperback and a generous stack of the deluxe $150 hardcover edition. (It helped that Amos was present for a panel to promote it.) Image also sold around 100 copies each of the Popgun 2 anthology and the long-awaited hardcover reprint of Howard Chaykin's American Flagg! The Image-affiliated collective of artists Becky Cloonan, Fabio Moon, Gabriel Bá, Vasilis Lolos and Rafael Grampa were the buzz cartoonists of the week—after the Eisner Awards on Friday night, their table boasted trophies for Best Anthology (5), Best Limited Series (The Umbrella Academy) and Best Digital Comic (Sugarshock).

Oni Press announced a handful of forthcoming projects, notably Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim Vs. the Universe (the lines for O'Malley's signings were impossibly long) and Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth's detective series Stumptown; First Second debuted Chris Blain's Gus, and sold a sizeable stack of copies of Eddie Campbell's The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard. Fantagraphics blew out piles of the debut of the Hernandez Brothers' Love and Rockets: New Stories, and featured constant signings at their booth; Drawn and Quarterly reported an excellent year, including debuts of books by Rutu Modan and Ron Regé Jr., and signings by Lynda Barry (the lines to get her book What It Is signed included a lot of other cartoonists).

Both the DC and Marvel booths were constant hives of activity, thanks to a perpetual stream of in-booth signings and events. They weren't selling their own books, though, and canny shoppers tended to head toward the end of the hall, where various vendors had large selections of Marvel and DC graphic novels discounted by 50% or more. DC also unveiled a new sub-imprint, Vertigo Crime, and announced forthcoming Batman projects to be written by Kevin Smith and Neil Gaiman. (If they sell one for every San Diego cosplayer in a Nurse Joker outfit, they'll do just fine.) The Batwoman series still hasn't been officially announced, but it's the worst-kept secret in comics; art collectors' jaws were dropping over the pages by J.H. Williams on display at the Naked Fat Rave booth.

At Marvel, the biggest announcement was a joint venture with Stephen King and Scribner to produce an online motion comic called N, based on an unpublished short story from King's upcoming prose collection Just After Sunset. N will be released in 25 installments by screenwriter and Young X-Men writer Marc Guggenheim, artist Alex Maleev, and colorist Jose Villarrubia. N is designed for viewing on the web and on more advanced cell phones such as the iPhone, with the first episode now available at nishere.com. N will be also be published as a comic from Marvel in early 2009.

Dark Horse was having a pretty good week of its own: Hellboy 2 may not have had quite the runaway success of The Dark Knight, but Hellboy creator Mike Mignola was effectively a rock star at the Con in terms of the mob scene at his signings, and so was an actual rock star: Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance, who announced the second Umbrella Academy series and promoted it with an onstage conversation with Grant Morrison. (Morrison was the con's Conversationalist-in-Chief; he also had onstage chats with Deepak Chopra and Stan Lee.) And anything with Joss Whedon's name attached, from his Web musical Dr. Horrible to Dark Horse's Buffy series, set cash registers ringing at this show. Is he a mass-culture star or a comics creator? As far as Comic-Con's audience is concerned, there's not really a difference any more.

Boom! Launches Disney Imprint

Very exciting news out of Comic-Con for those of us who love comics and Disney's Pixar. We're looking forward to The Muppet Show: The Comic Book, especially!

Reprinted from Publisher's Weekly Comics Week Post

This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on July 26, 2008 Sign up now!
By Laura Hudson -- Publishers Weekly, 7/22/2008 2:28:00 PM

Boom! Studios announced the formation of Zoom, a new children's comic book imprint for licensed Disney properties, at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday. The new line, which launches in spring 2009, will publish original comics based on Pixar films like the animated hit movie Wall-E, and also on The Muppet Show.
According to Boom! publisher Ross Ritchie, the imprint’s first title will be The Incredibles, a four-issue miniseries based on the Pixar animated movie about a superhero family. The comic book will be scripted by Kingdom Come writer and Boom! editor-in-chief Mark Waid, with covers by The Spirit artist Darwyn Cooke.
Waid expressed excitement over stepping back into his former role as a superhero comics writer. “As someone who has written The Fantastic Four in the past, it seems like a natural fit. I still feel the itch to dabble within the superhero genre. Plus, The Incredibles is probably my favorite animated movie ever.”
With the dominance of superhero titles in comics shops, “The Incredibles is the most obvious book that will have an audience in the direct market,” added Ritchie. “There’s also a big crossover with comic book fans who are also Disney fans, and that will drive sales as well.”
A miniseries based on the Toy Story movie is slated to follow in the spring as well as the first of four one-shot comics based on characters from The Muppet Show. Centering on Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fonzie and Gonzo respectively, the comics will be written and drawn by Fred the Clown creator Roger Landridge.
Other titles planned for 2009 and beyond include Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Cars and Wall-E. Each four-issue miniseries will be collected into a trade paperback and sold both at mass market bookstores through Boom!’s distribution deal with Perseus Books and in direct market comic shops.
The licensing deal with Disney has been two years in the making, said Ritchie, in part because of the approval process involved in licensing high-profile Disney properties for new content. All Zoom comics will feature original stories that take place within the world of each property, rather than translating existing plots. “We are not doing any adaptations,” said Ritchie. “That’s huge, especially with licensed characters.”
Waid lauded the creative latitude Disney offered to the comics creators handling its properties. “They were after us to not feel bound by style sheets,” Waid said. “They don’t want us to try and emulate the faux 3-D graphics; they want it to look like line art. And with the Muppets stuff, they're letting us go crazy with that.”
Waid calls the child-oriented imprint the result of his and Richie’s commitment to making sure that comics find their way to the next generation of readers. “As much as I appreciate that we have hundreds of thousands of hardcore superhero fans, I'm smart enough to realize that we're going to die off,” particularly now that the comic book readership has become so dominated by adults.
“I hope that [a Zoom comic] will be the first comic for some six-year-olds—the age I was when I got my first comic— and that it helps them fall in love with the medium and progress with it as they get older,” said Ritchie.

McCain and Obama to Get their own Graphic Novels

I love politics and I love comic books, and yet I'm not sure what to think about IDW's efforts to bring the two together. I'll withhold judgement until I see them, but anything that promotes comics in mainstream America is good with me.

Reprinted from Booksellers This Week

BTW News Briefs
July 23, 2008
McCain & Obama to Get Their Own
Graphic Novels
The Los Angeles Times reports that senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Barack Obama (D-IL) are getting their own comic books. The Times said, "IDW Publishing, a comics company best known for horror titles (most notably 30 Days of Night)
and adaptations of movies and television shows, is going into the beltway
world by publishing Presidential Material: Barack Obama and Presidential
Material: John McCain, a pair of graphic novels that chronicle the life of
the two men who both want to be riding on Air Force One for four
years."

Jeff Mariotte, co-owner of San Diego's Mysterious
Galaxy and author of a number of graphic novels, wrote the Obama book,
which is drawn by Tom Morgan. The McCain book is written by Andy Helfer and
drawn by Stephen Thompson. According to the Times, both books will be priced
at $3.99 and will be in stores on October 8.

August Group Show "Icons"

With the success of our solo art shows, we are charging forward with our first group art show "Icons: Interpretations of Comic & Gaming Pop Culture." We plan to have 10-15 local artists represented in this show. The response so far has been very enthusiastic, and we thank in advance the Jacksonville artists for supporting our efforts here at Comics & Classics, especially Ed Dansart and Brian Gray at www.theouterbox.com.

This show begins with an opening reception August 2nd from 7-9pm and continues throughout the month of August. For questions or to submit artwork for this show please contact Kimberly at info@comicsandclassics.com or Ed Dansart at edbot5000@yahoo.com.

Brian Michael Bendis Drops by Comics & Classics

When strange and wonderful things happen, sometimes you can't help but think, "Hey, am I dreaming? Is this real?" Comics & Classics just had one of those odd moments. Brian Michael Bendis visted us just less than 30 minutes ago.

In town to visit family, Bendis dropped by to pick up a few books. Wondering what the mega-talent for Marvel Comics is reading these days? Michael bought Scott McCloud's Zot!, Alex Robinson's Too Cool to be Forgotten, "Univeral War One," and "Final Crisis Rouge's Revenge." Oh, and he picked up a copy of Rob Jones' "Perfect Storm #1." Rob was, of course, pleased as punch!

The guys here wanted to smash me because I didn't get a photo, but since Michael had riden over from the beach on a bike, I didn't think he would appreciate me whipping out a camera and snapping pictures of him or hasseling him for autographs. I am considering framing his credit card receipt (...... just kidding). So, how cool is that, huh?

Movement Comics Promotes Fresh Artistic Talent

Friends of the store Movement Comics is always on the look-out for fresh artistic talent! We at Comics & Classics commend them for their support of artist and writers in the comic industry here in Northeast Florida and worldwide!

Reprinted with permission by Movement Comics:

MOVEMENT COMICS is based on creator owned characters and projects. Do you have a comic creation that you would like to expose to the world? MOVEMENT COMICS is always taking submissions and contributions. Please do not feel limited to the genres you see on our site already, we enjoy the entire range of creation from the sacred to the profane. If we think your creation is something special we will post it on our site and make sure you have proper credit and links and/or help you publish it in print and get distribution.We looking forward to your comments and suggestions.Contact us at MovementPR@aol.com

Rob Jones Art Show Opening

Friends and customers gathered last night for Comics & Classics' third monthly art show. This month's featured artist is Rob Jones, pictured here with Katie McDonald, Katie's mom and yours truly.


Rob's work can be seen through July and online at http://www.perfectstormcomic.com/.



As posted earlier, Rob will be at Club TSI in downtown Jacksonville, as part of a larger group show of local artists, which has been rescheduled from July 11th to August 8th. More info. to come on this event.



Any inquires about Rob's pieces for this show can be sent to Kimberly at info@comicsandclassics.com.



Next month will be our first group show, ICONS: Interpretations of Comic and Gaming Pop Culture.

We are currently taking submissions for the show, which is scheduled to open August 2nd. Submissions and questions can be sent to the above email or to Ed Dansart at edbot5000@yahoo.com.

Alex Ross art for July 4th

Happy Fourth of July America!

Rob Jones "The Girls of Summer" at Comics & Classics

Rob Jones brings sexy back Saturday night at Comics & Classics! Come and join us for the opening of his show "The Girls of Summer" Saturday night, July 5th, from 7 - 9pm. They'll be food, drinks, and plenty of sexy pin-up art for everyone!

Also, join Rob at club TSI in downtown Jacksonville on July 11th for a group show!

See Rob's art at http://www.perfectstormcomic.com/! Come out Saturday night and show your support for local artists.

1722 Third Street North, Jacksonville Beach, FL

904-242-2632

Customer of the Month

Comics & Classics loves its customers! Beginning with Free Comic Book Day, May 3rd, we initiated our Customer of the Month drawing. Each month we will choose one customer's name from those submitted during the month prior. That lucky customer wins a $10.00 gift certificate (and during May won a Spidey basket won during a drawing at the American Cancer Society Relay for Life Event).

This month's lucky winner based on last month's entries is Brent Hawkins! Congrats to Brent! Posted below are six questions we asked Brent. Of course being a former school teacher, I couldn't let him get away without an assignment first.

1. Who is your favorite superhero or character in a book/comic and why?

Wolverine, because his is an unstoppable force of nature.

2. If you could have any superpowers, what would they be?

Flying ability, healing factor & super strength.

3. What is the best comic or book you've read recently?

War World Hulk

4. You're asked to create a comic, what is the most creative hero or power you can imagine?

Same as question #2

5. What's on your IPod playlist?

Hip Hop & R & B

6. Zombies are attacking, how do you defend yourself?

Run faster to the gun store than the person next to me!

Thanks, Brent, for supporting your local independent book and comic store and to all our customers who have supported us through our first eight months in business. We love ya'll! Be sure to come in and submit your name for June's Customer of the Month.

The "Invasion" Has Come! Ed & Bo's Opening A Big Success!

Ed and Bo pose here with Bo's beautiful wife Kelly in front of the yummy office break room snacks offered at Saturday's art show opening.
Junk food and fantastic "lowbrow" art were just two of the many wonderful features of our June 7th opening reception for Ed and Bo's show "Corporate Invasion."


You would think Ed and Bo have been trapped working in corporate hell for years the way they capture the sense of mundane desperation often felt by the average office worker.

Entitled "Cosmic Corporate Ladder," Ed's triptych painting depicts the cosmic, universal (and perhaps futile) attempt to climb the corporate ladder and forge for ourselves a better future.

Both arresting and humorous, these pieces will stand out in one's collection as a reminder that we can't let corporations invade us with their commercial influence or steal our souls. We are not for sale! But, these great works of art are!

Check out more pics from the evening on our MySpace page on the links page on http://www.comicsandclassics.com/.

The Invasion is Coming!!!!!!!!!

The "Corporate Invasion" is nearly here and we are all giddy with anticipation of Ed and Bo show opening at Comics & Classics this Saturday, June 7th! Beginning with an opening reception from
7 to 9pm, Ed Dansart and Bo Dillard present their take on corporations! Described as "low-brow, cartooney, fun, not-so-serious" art by Ed himself, this show captures our feelings that perhaps there are robots and monsters out there and they call themselves Exxon, Mobil, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble .... and their legions are many!!

Hey, wait....isn't Comics & Classics, Inc. a corporation? Well, technically, but we're a "good corporation" like Google ("Do no harm" is their corporate motto), or Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, or the makers of earth-friendly products like Method or Seventh Generation (both creators of "green" cleaning and laundry supplies that I'm sure must be incorporated). We're not all evil. Actually, our unofficial corporate motto is "We don't suck!" So there, we can't be bad and run by robots and monsters. We promise. Pinky swear. You believe me, right?

Haven Distributor (David) takes on The Goliath (Perhaps?)

Funnies Business #3: Reheating Cold Cut

This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week May 20, 2008 Sign up now!
By Todd Allen -- Publishers Weekly, 5/19/2008 5:04:00 PM

Remember Cold Cut Distribution, one of the last independent (that is to say, not Diamond) distributors of comic books to the direct market? After a February sale, the new owners have changed Cold Cut's name to Haven Distributors and are in the process of redesigning the company, even as Diamond continues its efforts to sign smaller publishers to exclusive contracts. Recently, I dropped by the Haven offices to speak with director Lance Stahlberg and his formerly silent partner, David Hitch, about their plans.

Their first task is to rebrand the company. This is being done partially with the new name. Explaining the name, Stahlberg, who publishes comics under the Rogue Wolf imprint, rattled off a litany of issues faced by small publishers and retailers, ranging from reorder problems to customer service, which he wished to provide a haven from. This might be best summed up as a haven from red tape.

Multiple steps are being undertaken to address brand identity. Ask someone what Cold Cut carried and you'd probably hear "Slave Labor," "manga" and "Fantagraphics." It's well known that Cold Cut was the go-to guy for SLG, moving much more of its product than Diamond did. Manga was a staple until Diamond pried Viz and Tokyopop away with exclusive contracts.
Currently, Stahlberg cited SLG's Squee and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac as Haven’s bestselling titles. SLG is Haven’s top publisher, with Top Shelf recently nosing out Fantagraphics for second and third on its chart. Does this put Haven firmly in the art-house category? Looking at that set (and we'll talk about Fantagraphics a bit later), you might think so.
With an eye to emphasizing a little more genre diversity in the catalogue, Haven is now carrying the Dabel Bros., Maw Productions and Checker Book Publishing Group. The plan is also to take on Zenescope and Moonstone, two publishers that had been in the Cold Cut system, but who haven't had as large an impact as Stahlberg thinks is possible.

Stahlberg will also emphasize Haven as an outlet for back issues and hard-to-find items, such as the hard cover edition of From Hell, the classic by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, which has been a brisk mover, and the first issue of The Dresden Files, published by Dabel Brothers Productions. Haven is also partnering with Enemi-Entertainment to publish its catalogue, which would potentially increase that publisher’s exposure outside of the traditional direct market.
As for back issues, Stahlberg said, "Diamond doesn't want to sell back issues? Cool. We'll take it." Especially when Diamond's time frame and stock levels of backlist graphic novels is a frequent point of complaint by retailers.

Stahlberg profusely denies any antagonism toward Diamond. He views Haven’s back issue distribution as providing a slightly different service for smaller publishers Diamond doesn't service as heavily, back issues and back list, quicker fulfillment on re-orders, that sort of thing.
Once you get past the "regular" comic part of the rebranding, things get significantly more adventurous and digital. For starters, Haven is now in the Web store fulfillment business. Having already signed its first (and confidential) client, Haven will be handling everything from order processing and shipping to turnkey Web stores in the near future. It's worth adding that Web store fulfillment is separate from distribution and has nothing to do with Diamond exclusivity. Stahlberg, who does have a background in IT, also foresees digital distribution in Haven's future, in the likely form of content management and digital download management.

Then there's previously silent partner, David Hitch. Hitch has a background in distribution, but as a distributor of supplies for the dry cleaning industry, not comics distribution. He's managed to survive in an industry that's consolidated from 11 distributors to three. You might think that's an odd match, but on a certain level, distribution is a business-to-business operation about putting the right product in the retailer's hands at the right time. It's also always interesting to watch the reactions of a successful businessman from outside comics to that industry's particular practices.

When Hitch was looking into comics distribution, he went to the San Diego Comic-con and ended up sitting by some reps from Diamond. He couldn't believe how arrogantly they were acting to their customers.
"Your customers are your partners, they're not who you take advantage of," Hitch said.
He was alarmed enough to try and call the Diamond rep he'd been talking to, after the show was over. Unable to reach him, he left a message. When his call wasn't returned, Hitch decided there was an opportunity in comics distribution, based on the apparent lack of customer service.
And when you talk about independent comics distribution, Diamond is the elephant in the room. Thus far exempt from anti-trust rulings, Diamond controls the vast majority of top-selling publishers and has been actively signing more publishers as recently as last week when it signed Dynamite and Fantagraphics. Yes, the same Fantagraphics that was the number three publisher for Haven.

The case of Fantagraphics gets a little more interesting when you figure that at approximately the time the publisher formally announced it was going exclusive with Diamond last week, I was in the Haven offices and Haven had received no notification that it would no longer be able to carry Fantagraphics. More interestingly, to quote Tom Spurgeon at the Comics Reporter: "[Fantagraphics has] grandfathered in their relationships with Last Gasp and Bud Plant, both of whom do business with DM retailers. Eric Reynolds of Fantagraphics told CR that these were the last two DM distributors with whom Fantagraphics had a relationship that wasn't Diamond."
I suppose to have an exclusive contract, you have to exclude somebody and the somebody in this case seems to be Haven. Fantagraphics didn't even acknowledge Haven as carrying Fantagraphics product, but perhaps it's a case of out of sight, out of mind. Makes you wonder if Haven was targeted by Diamond or if this was just a communications gaffe on Fantagraphic's part. Having large accounts get signed away is definitely a danger for an independent distributor, especially with Diamond's sales charts being the default measuring tool for direct market circulations. Stahlberg has indicated his intention to publish a similar sales chart for Haven later in the year. It will be interesting to find out what's selling that’s off Diamond’s radar, especially with companies like SLG that everyone knows have different distribution patterns but that nobody outside of their staff and creators has data on.

Factoring in back-issue sales, Web store operation and fulfillment, and the proposed digital services, Haven is taking steps beyond standard distribution and into the business services category that has popped up to service a number of creative sectors online, including music and Web comics. Still, Diamond's signing of Fantagraphics casts a familiar, monopolistic chill in the air at a time when Haven's just settling into its new offices. So Diamond's apparent quest to be last distributor standing continues as Haven reinvents itself.
[Todd Allen is a technology consultant and adjunct professor with Columbia College Chicago's Arts, Entertainment & Media Management department. Allen's book, The Economics of Web Comics, is taught at the college level. His further comics industry commentary is available at Indignant Online. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of PW Comics Week.]


To not s--- where we eat, as they say, "Enthusiasmos" will refrain from commenting too much on this reprinted article, but we certainly, certainly wish Haven Distributors well. We will be adding them to our list of distribution options. Yes, there are other options out there, and isn't that nice! As retailers, we encourage other to do so, as well. I'm sure if you got a group of Direct Market retailers together and promised them Big Brother was not watching, they'd come up with a laundry list of concerns they would love addressed in the distribution of the merchadise they sell to their loyal customers. It would be nice if a distribution company treated their customers (the retailers) not as the end consumer themselves but as the frontline force that keeps them in business and really help that frontline be strong and successful, instead of feeding off of them and sucking them dry. Okay, I'd better stop now....they're everywhere!! Go get 'em, Haven.

Our first art class!

Always a giver, Rob Jones hosted Comics & Classics' first comic art class on May 10th at the store. We are putting a comic art class series together for the summer and hope to have more info out on it soon!

This class focused on drawing faces and participants got valuable information on some of the basics of drawing figures.

Although first scheduled for youth, a few adults "crashed" the class and added their enthusiasm and experience. All are welcome at Comics & Classics, so no worries. Besides, Robbie loves the attention, anyway.

We are all looking forward to the June opening of "Corporate Invasion," our June Art show with Ed Dansart and Bo Dillard. Check out their Myspace page at Ed & Bo's Awesome Art Shows.

Free Comic Book Day

Free Comic Book Day last Saturday, May 3rd was a great success, which included the opening of Logan Zawacki's art show. Posted are pictures. Highlights of the day were David and Logan creating sketches for customers, Logan show reception, and Dain burning the popcorn (the boy cannot multi-task fo anything!). David made an awesome Oscar and Sid panel of the event for the store and folks enjoyed free comics, popcorn, Rita's Italian Ice all day long.

We look forward to our June Art Show with the urban art of Ed Dansart and Bo Dillard. Come see their show entitled "Corporate Monsters." And, mark your calendar for the next Free Comic Book Day the first Saturday in May 2009!

High Prices At the Pump & Comics

When logging on to the Internet to check email this afternoon, I came across this image of current gas prices, and instantly I thought of the price of comics. If you're a comic reader, you know that most comics cost $2.99 or $3.99, generally. At times we have customers who grumble about the cost of comics, which at the current price, while a bit much when you're buying 20+ titles a month (which is often the case with the avid reader), is a relative bargain compared with the current price of a gallon on gas. And, besides, you can read X-Force #3 over and over again, while you can't enjoy that gallon of gas years later.

Luckily, we haven't reached this price here in Jacksonville ... yet. However, I'm sure we will. And, with gas prices, soaring food costs, and so many great titles coming up to choose from, it's in the best interest of all fanboys and fangirls to take advantage of Free Comic Book Day on May 3rd, discounts at conventions, garage sales, flea markets, and Spring/Summer sales at their local comic shop. Let's face it, we can start riding our bikes, taking public transportation, and trading in our SUV's for smaller, more efficient cars, but we shouldn't have to cut back on comics, just when Secret Invasion and Final Crisis is starting!

Comics & Classics will be at the Daytona Comic & Toy Show on Sunday, April 27th from 10am to 5pm in the Holiday Inn & Suite on A1A with deep discounts on recent back issues, games, cards, and collectibles. Find a friend and carpool it down to Daytona to join us and enjoy the savings!

Drawing For Life Marathon A Success!

Drawing For Life Marathon was a success on April 5th. Logan and David believe they have met, and perhaps surpassed, their fundraising goal of $1,000 for the American Cancer Society. We came by during the 3 pm Power Hour, while Logan and David were drawing cartoon figure in five minute increments.










Even Alpha Cat Comic creators Rob Jones and LaTwan Holland got in on the action. I believe the foursome were working on interpretations of Sponge Bob Squarepants during this photo. Logan's looked appropriately cheery and optimistic, while Rob's...well lets just say Sponge Bob must have eaten a few bad Crabby Patties.
The event was covered by Daniel Richardson with Jacksonville's new pop culture and entertainment magazine The Spinner Rack. Come by the shop to pick up a copy of the magazine.



Also, be sure to make it to Fletcher High School in Jacksonville Beach on April 26th for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life where Logan and David's artwork will be for sale. All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society. You can pick up a Wonder Woman illustration by Rob Jones at the Relay, as well. Help support the American Cancer Society and Jacksonville's local artists!

See Logan's Comic Art and Photography at Comics & Classics from May 3rd to May 31st. We'll end Free Comic Book Day on May 3rd with a reception for Logan's Art Show that evening from 7pm-9pm.

1st Annual Drawing for Life Marathon

Comics & Classics is proud to help support the 1st Annual Drawing for Life Marathon April 5th. Artists Logan Zawacki and David King will start drawing non-stop for as many hours as their hands will allow with hopes of raising over $1,000 for the American Cancer Society.

Both members of the team "Logan's Heroes," Logan and David are participating with the Relay for Life campaign to give everybody a chance to become a hero. Comics & Classics is asking everyone to pledge $2 to $5 for every hour they draw. If you'd like to make a pledge, email Logan at lzcreations@hotmail.com. If you'd like to join along with us and donate to the team, simply go to the link www.main.acsevents.org/goto/Logans_Heroes and click on the Donate icon.

All sketches/artwork will be sold at the "Logans Heroes" tent at the Relay for Life Walk to be held at Fletcher High School in Jacksonville Beach April 26th.
Be a hero and pledge or donate today!

Don't worry, C & C will be sending "spies" to be sure Logan and David keep drawing non-stop. We're hoping for hand cramps and seizures, causing them to draw with their feet or clutching a pencil between their teeth around hour 10 or so. C & C will pay extra for that artwork!

Better Late Than Never

Okay, I'm a slacker. If you've followed this blog at all, you know I did drop out from my "responsible" job as a teacher, molding the minds of America's youth to open a book and comic store, so it's no surprise that I've spent all week putting off this post. No bad intentions here. I'm just a bit lazy, since spring has sprung.

Apology finished.

Saturday, March 22nd's visit from Alpha Cat Comics went splendid. Alpha Cat celebrated the release of two new books, Behemoth #1 (LaTwan Holland - writer, Antonio Brandao - artist, Rob Jones - inker) and Perfect Storm #1 (Gary Carbon - writer, Rob Jones - co-writer and artist, Dick Giordano - cover art and flashback pencils).

Unfortunately, Dick Giordano could not attend the event but has promised to reschedule. We look forward to hanging out with the legendary artist and editor.

As a special treat, David King, local comic strip creator, was able to drop by. His strip Oscar & Sid is the story of two best friends. The strip begins on the day the two graduate from college. It's unpretentious and full of heart. Check it out at www.myspace.com/oscarsid. David is currently working on a project for the American Cancer Society with local comic artist and photographer Logan Zawacki. See our event page for more info.

Dave was even nice enough to draw an Oscar & Sid panel for our friend and comic artist phenom Rob Jones. We wish we could tell you who will be drawing the cover for Perfect Storm #2. It's very exciting but I don't want to jinx it! Plus, Rob didn't tell me I could, and, trust me, you do not want to make this guy mad!

Off to the Spring Book Show in Atlanta tomorrow. Looking forward to finding rare gems among the many new publications and great graphic novels to bring back to our fair ocean town.

Jeff Kaufman from Big City Comics Visits Comics & Classics!

We'll we finally did it! We had our first "official" event. We are no longer "event" virigins. Don't worry...Jeff Kaufman went easy on us! (okay...enough of that talk ;o)

Yesterday, select customers got to spend time chatting personally with writer/publisher Jeff Kaufman of Big City Comics.

See that big smile on Jeff's face? Yep, he had a good time! I couldn't get him to sit at the nifty author table I set up, however.


We met Jeff at the recent Orlando MegaCon and he was nice enough to drop by our store for a few hours while he was in town with family. Jeff shared his views on the progress of Big City Comic's titles and their nomination as Best Independent Comic Press in 2007. Indie? Small Press? Upstarts? What do we call ourselves, Jeff mused. We call them GREAT ... and we're really diggin' the great titles they put out - Tempest, Totem, Dragon Cross, Ant Unleashed, and the latest title Ant Unleashed. My personal favorite, as I shared with Jeff, is Dragon Cross. The depth of character development in just the first few issues is impressive and evidence of Jeff's strong story-telling skills. Jeff's got mad skills! But check it out for the art by Rob Richardson as well, whose passion for his subject shines through on each page.





Also, we we're lucky enough to hang out with Diamond Comics Distributor Region Rep Eric Hitchcock. No pictures of Eric, though. I got the feeling he prefered to be the picture taker. I'm hoping to see our good press and pics on his "From the Road" report.

The first time went so well, we're going to do it again next Saturday! Spreading the love around, this time we'll hang out with the new guys from Alpha Cat Comics, who are releasing their Number 1 issues of Perfect Storm and Behemoth and comic artist and legend Dick Giordano, who was so gracious to accept our invite to visit our humble store.

The Spectacular Spider-man

On Saturday 3/8/08, The Kids WB debuted a new cartoon The Spectacular Spider-Man. This new show tries yet again to redefine Spider-Man for a new generation. Is it any good? How is the animation? And lastly, does it stay true to the Spider-Man mythos? The answer to these questions is a resounding yes!

The show starts with a young Peter Parker/Spider-Man. He's 16 years old and has been Spider-Man for about four months. Basically as he states when we first meet him as he is swinging through a nighttime Manhattan:

"How I spent my summer vacation by Peter Benjamin Parker. I can sum it up in one glorious hyphenated word : Spider-Man!!!! I am the Spectacular Spider-Man!!!"

So we don't get the spider-bite or Uncle Ben's death. That's fine. Most of us know the origin of Spider-Man and we don't need a rehashing. Besides we quickly learn in flashbacks how he became Spider-Man so if you've been on another planet for the last 40 years you can catch up.

Oh yeah, you better hold on when you watch this show because in the first two episodes we have been introduced to Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Aunt May ( she has money troubles), Anna Watson, Harry and Norman Osborn, Otto Octavious, Gwen Stacy, J. Jonah Jameson, Robbie Robertson, Betty Brant, Frederick Fosewell, Eddie Brock, Curt Connors, Flash Thompson, Liz Allen (she's Latina, in the comics she's a blond white girl), Sally Avril (those fans of Untold Tales of Spider-Man will remember her), Adrian Toomes ( The Vulture), Flint Marko (Sandman), Max Dillion (Electro), Hammerhead, The Enforcers, and The Big Man.

Phew, that's a lot. The only character conspicuously missing is Mary Jane Watson, but her Aunt Anna is in the show and there's no reason to have her and not have MJ so I expect that at some point she will show up.

The tone of the show closely mirrors the Ultimate Spider-Man book, so if you like that you'll like this. There are multiple plot threads that involve both Spider-Man (He's been Spider-Man for four months and has fought nothing but regular criminals. Now real honest-to-goodness super-villains are showing up, and he's got an unseen enemy plotting against him : The Big Man) and Peter Parker (he wants to date Liz Allen but he's a nerd so she won't give him the time of day at least not in front of her friends, he needs a way to make money because he and his aunt are broke, and he has to respect his Aunt's 10pm curfew which is tough when you're hanging upside down fighting Electro).

One of the cutest moments in the show is when he gets his nightly call on his cell at 9:58 pm from Aunt May wondering where he is. The ring tone is "Itsy Bitsy Spider." It fits with he overall tone of cheekiness and fun that the show has. This is the wisecracking, high-energy Spider-Man that we grew up and liked. The third Spider-Man movie could have taken a lot from this simple cartoon. This show does a lot of things right.

What does it do wrong? Well, if you are not a fan of the Anime style that a lot of cartoons are employing now and that the young kids love you may not like the animation. All the characters have eyes that seem freakishly large. And you may want the show to slow down and pace itself a little. But I'm probably nitpicking. All in all, a great effort and I can't wait for next week.

Percy Johnson
Owner, Comics & Classics

The Internet Buzz Has Begun! Spread it Around!

Read about our shop on comicbookbin.com. Thanks to Philip and his kind words about our humble store. Read about us at http://www.comicbookbin.com/bubble106.html

We love the attention, so email this to a friend. Northeast Florida has some great comic shops and independent bookstores. We must get the word out and encourge all to shop with the local independents before we're taken over by the big box mega-warehouses.

March is Small Book Press Month. Comics & Classics will be offering specials on Small Press Books and Indie Comics in March. Show your love for the little guys (and gals) in March (ah, heck! show the love all year long!).

Starting Off Strong in 2008

Shameless plug and tooting-of-one's-own-horn warning:
Comics & Classics gets a write-up in Diamond Comic Distributor's retailer's magazine Dialogue this week. In "Retailers: Things Look Great in 2008," Comics & Classics is profiled, along with five other retailers, who reveal their plans for growing the market and pleasing their customers.

In 2008, Comics & Classics will offer free art classes for youth ages 13 - 18 and a summer writing program.

Publishers Weekly Comics Week's critics have voted for top honors in 2007 and Rutu Modan's Exit Wounds and Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together come out on top with five votes each. Followed closely (with four votes) by All-Star Superman Vol 1, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier, I Killed Adolf Hitler, Shooting War, and Tekkon Kinkreet: Black and White. Read more at http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6514737.html
Or, go to Jeff Jensen's article in Entertainment Weekly Online, "The Best Comics of 2007."
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20167020,00.html

Marvel to release The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #1

Writers Peter David & Robin Furth and artists Jae Lee & Richard Isanove reunite for the five-issue limited series based on Stephen King's bestselling epic that begins where the The Gunslinger Born left off. The series has been wildly successful and drawn in new readers to the comic medium.

With other writers, such as Jodi Picoult (Wonder Woman: Love and Murder) and Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Guilty Pleasures and the introduction of other cultures and stories, such as the line of comics from Virgin Comics and their Nick Cage Voodoo Child, Ed Burns' Dock Walloper, and now even Jenna Jameson has a comic out, Shadow Hunter, it seems like everyone is wanting to jump into the comic arena. Which, though great in the short terms, hopefully has long-term positive effects on the market. It is questionable whether the comic-inspired movies have had a real effect on sales of actual comic books or trades. It is nice to see more comic lines on the racks.

Post your comments on Jensen's best comics in 2007 and your nominations. What did you enjoy in 2007? Lately, I've heard raves about DC's "Simon Dark" and Vertigo's "Army @ Love."

If you live in Jacksonville, pick up the Jan. 10th issue of E U Newspaper and read the article "Locally Inked" about our friends of AlphaCat Comics. We look forward to the release of their books at the Orlando 2008 MegaCon in March (more at http://www.alphacatcomics.com/).