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/).