Pictures from the 2014 Comic-Con International, part 3: Preview Night...night

We're back again with more pictures from Comic-Con.  We're still on Preview Night, finishing up the convention and venturing out into San Diego in the evening.  Let's check it out!

This was one of the coolest displays at the show, as the dragon was partially animatronic.  The eyes opened at various points and glowed.

Oh, Sideshow...why do you make such great stuff?  You can't quite tell the scale here, but this Dr. Doom statue was around four feet tall.  An interesting thing about Sideshow is that while they have a large, prominent display at Comic-Con, they don't sell a single thing.  It's all just to look at.  I suppose it's a good enough marketing scheme that they keep coming back year after year.  I know if makes me want to buy their products.  Amazing how high-end collectibles have exploded over the last number of years.

I was fortunate enough to get a parking pass at the convention center for a few of the days.  I took the stairs back to my car afterwards to unload the things that I bought and I saw this vehicle parked close by.  They didn't just stick with the decal, though...the side of the car was similarly decorated, including the gas cap.  Dedication to Hydra, it seems.

There's a San Diego-area cinema makeup school that must see Comic-Con as an opportunity to market themselves...and when you get costumes like this, it's easy to see why.  I think the most impressive part of this New 52 Joker was the mouth; it moved naturally as he talked.

Time to cross the street.

The Gaslamp District always holds great events as it has a prime location in relation to the convention center.  One of the best is the Chuck Jones gallery and its display of high end comic and cartoon art.  Here's art based on the "How to Train Your Dragon" movie series.

The Interactive Zone blew up this year as compared to 2013.  Even though nothing was up and running on Preview Night, I walked over to check out what would be there.  Back again was the Adult Swim Funhouse.  It was the same thing as the year before, but if you've got something this big (and presumably expensive), you might as well get some more use out of it.

Next to the Adult Swim setup was a display of classic cars from the new Sin City movie, along with a backdrop from the city.

There wasn't a lot to the display beyond the cars on days when this was in use, but it was still very cool to see.

A Sleepy Hollow setup.  Interesting note: Sleepy Hollow films in Wilmington, North Carolina, former stomping grounds.

New addition to the Adult Swim area: Meatwad's dome.  Got a chance to go inside on Saturday night.

Pizza Hut was really promoting the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie at the show.  I got caught up in it for sure.  Here's a couch made entirely out of pizza boxes.  You could sit on it and put your feel up on the pizza box coffee table.

One of the highlights of the Interactive Zone, for me, anyway, was the TMNT pizza launcher.  It was functional and you could sit on top and launch fake pizzas out of it.  It was still being worked on into the early hours of Thursday morning.  I had a chance this night to meet the guy who was in charge of the team that build this monstrosity.  We talked for a few minutes about what went into it, and he seemed very excited about, well, my excitement.

As luck would have it, four guys in different TMNT shirts waked by as I was looking at the pizza launcher, and I was able to get this picture.  Pizza Hut apparently thought it was a great advertisement, and they used the image on their Twitter account.  Cowabunga.

After wandering away from the Interactive Zone, we went deeper into the city.  One of the places we visited was the Barcade, a combination of...a bar and an arcade.  Here we see a giant Jenga set, which soon afterwards toppled over with a loud crash.

At the end of the night, we came back to the parking lot to find people already camped out for the next day.  Many were sleeping and most of those awake looked miserable.  But this is what you have to do if you want to be first in line at Comic-Con, I guess.

Next up: Thursday!

Franks and Beans: the Comic

Franks and Beans, the Internet comedy sensation show came about at a fairly unusual time: after moving to Wilmington, North Carolina, 600 miles from my hometown, I decided that it would be a good idea to create a show with my friend Larry, still living in Pennsylvania.  This, of course, made no sense at all, which just may explain how often logic comes into play during an episode of Franks and Beans.

The show is something I like to do and a creative outlet for some of my stranger ideas, and let's face it, it was only a matter of time before I did something comics related with it.  So I'd like to proudly present the two page comic, which is titled "Larger than Life".  Read it, won't you?  No, seriously, read it:

In this comic, I tried to keep the same feel of a regular episode of Franks and Beans while doing things that couldn't be done (without one of us striking it rich at random) in real life, thus the giant muscleman look for me and the wanton destruction that happens throughout; I also tried to squeeze as many jokes and references to actual episodes in these two pages as I could.  I'd like to think that I accomplished both goals.

Art for this beauty is by none other than Alan Gallo, who meticulously recreated Larry's kitchen on the page, not to mention capturing the likenesses of me, Larry, Larry's mom and superfan Mark Moncheck.  Colors were provided by Michael Wiggam, and it took me SO LONG to letter these crowded panels.

Beyond simply being a vanity project (which, I'll admit, plays a part in this comic's creation), Larry and I are going to include this as an insert in the third volume of Franks and Beans DVDs.  We're also going to print out copies of this comic, at full size, and hand it out at conventions.  I'm also posting it online for free.  The marketing push begins!  And this, apparently, is at the forefront as an advertisement.

Franks and Beans also has a new website...with exactly the same URL as before.  A while ago, when I was having trouble with the main Teddy and the Yeti website, the F&B site was experiencing the same problems.  It's since been wiped clean, and the long, tedious process of rebuilding it has begun.  As always, though, I've been given the opportunity to streamline and make some things better, so hopefully this is all for the best.

If you haven't (it's not like I haven't promoted it enough, a hem), check out the Franks and Beans website at http://www.franksandbeansonline.com and the F&B YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/user/FranksandBeansOnline.  They're both good AND good for you!

Magic Bullet #3!

Thanks to Rafer Roberts and, well, the United States Postal Service, I got some copies of DC Conspiracy's The Magic Bullet #3 yesterday, and it looks great.  I'm always happy when some of my work gets printed, but it's more of a treat to read the other entries and see what else people are creating.  The page limit is a real challenge and it's something others find more creative ways to deal with that I do.  Even so, I think "The League of Obscure Historical Figures", with art by Jeff McComsey, turned out very well.

As with any publication featuring multiple contributors, I found that this issue contained stories that I liked alongside others I didn't enjoy as much, but there was more good than bad.  I especially enjoyed entries by Bill Ellis, Dominic Vivona, Matt Sheean and Michael May & Jason Copland.

To find a copy of is issue, you can check out this Google Map for locations around the country.  The map is as of yet incomplete, as I haven't added my stack to the list.  If you're in the Pittsburgh area, I'll be dropping copies off at the Century III New Dimension Comics, Impossible Dreams, Pittsburgh Comics and Evil Genius Comics.  I'll also take a few copies with me to next week's Xcon World and maybe even Fanboy Comics in Wilmington, NC.

Gabriel Lehman & Conor Mahoney

A couple of guys from Wilmington, NC (old stomping grounds of mine) are doing some great work together and I thought -- because I'm a supremely nice guy, don't you know -- that I'd take a few minutes and promote some of their nascent work together.

The collaborators in question are Conor Mahoney, a budding writer I helped, out of the kindness of my heart (I'm a nice guy, remember?!?) with a school project a few years back, and Gabriel Lehman, an artist I've never met but displays some prodigious talent that is easily on display here.

The two creators are combining words and art in not a traditional comic book sense, but in a way more common to more traditional picture books - Mahoney is adding his poetry to Lehman's paintings, often interpreting and expanding on the physical image on the canvas.  So far they've come up with some exciting, creative things, and I'll be interested to see what happens next with their collaboration.

I'll post a few of Lehman's paintings (I wouldn't be surprised if these incorporated some mixed media as well), followed by a corresponding poem by Mahoney.  And we'll all enjoy them.  Let's begin!

That Old Man's Cap

There once was an Old man,
as quick as can be
who would go far away
and pick flowers for me

He would always be back
with a snap of his fingers
his cap on his head
and a smile that lingers

Flowers so gorgeous
to make any girl blush
If I asked he would wink
And tell me to hush

He's been gone a long while
But with my grandfather's cap
I can pick my own flowers
And won't ever look back

Each and Every Day


The Artist awakes each and every day
to find a canvas and a fresh paint tray.
Without thinking clearly he grabs brush
and begins to create such worlds
as only a boy can dream of.

Such beautiful colors and swirls,
pure ideas run rampant and fly,
Umbrella girls and cups in the sky.
If only he were to turn round,
He would see his personal muse,
His own Inspiration's guide.

The Flying Machine

Thadius Penley was according to most
incredibly odd and prone to large boasts.
So when the yearly winds crept in
and he got the ears of betting men
He made quite the outstanding wager

You see old Thadius Penley was no fool
He was a genius you see, a man of tools
An inventor of sorts but a gambler of course
so the hustlers came up with a real tour de force
and accepted Penley's incredible wager

You see Thadius was a real mean drinker
And always pretended to be a crazy old duffer
So he bet the men a million in cash
that he could get across the Ocean De' Gashe
In less than eight days, that was the wager

The gambling men laughed, easy as pie
No man could swim that, no point even to try
But they gave him his eight days and,
by six and a half Penley, showed them first hand
exactly how he would win his wager

The Flying Machine, he called it, laughing,
They joined in, joyously bragging
The old man was nuts, the money was theirs
Nothing like that could really ride the airs
And by the seventh day all the town spoke of the wager

And boy did he do it! Flying over the ocean!
Like a bird only sideways, by his own locomotion!
He soared across the sea, and came back before noon
He floated back to land, grinning like a loon.
Drunk off of his ass and ready to wager.

So there you have it, that's how it happened
Mankind can fly now cause of what good booze fashioned.
A gamble of such incredible scope and absurdity
But drawing quite some speculative uncertainty,
Old Thadius Penley never planned on losing his wager

Lehman has a website for his art that you can see here: http://www.gabrielart.com/.

The two should get a friggin' website for their collaborations already.  Blogger is free, fellas.  Best of luck to 'em both.

Magic Bullet #2 is in! Plus, PlanetJune blog links!

The second issue of the Washington, DC-area "Magic Bullet" is out and, presumably, being read by a thousand or so metro commuters (perhaps AT THIS VERY MOMENT).  I managed to snag a handful of copies, so I can attest that they look just great.  All of the entries have something to add and it's cool to see my work among those included.

Rather than just hoard these copies in hopes that one day they appreciate in value so I can, I don't know, send someone to college (kids be damned), I'll be distributing them to comic stores in the Pittsburgh, PA and Wilmington, NC areas in the next few weeks, so if you're in either of those parts of the country, stop by and pick up the issue for zero dollars.  There's currently a handy Google map with listings of where to find the publication, with most results coming from the Maryland/Virginia/DC area.

"End of the Line", with art by Jeff McComsey, is on page 16.  I still can't get over how great it is to have something printed on newsprint.  It's the nostalgia of it all.  I'm also a big fan of fellow FUBAR artist Steve Becker's contribution:

You can find out more about DC Conspiracy's Magic Bullet at the very awesome MB website.  Many thanks to everyone who made this a possibility.

In addition to...whatever it is I just talked about, I recently had a review posted at the PlanetJune website regarding the crochet Yeti doll I commissioned last year.  It posts some pictures of the Yeti doll and, well, me (and Lion-O) at last year's New York Comic Con.  It turned out really well and I'll have more with me at this year's upcoming cons.  Good stuff.  Check it out!

Boob problem? Crime does not pay, ladies.

I picked up Crime Does Not Pay #112 a few weeks ago - Fanboy Comics in Wilmington, NC had a stash of golden age comics and I leafed through a few of them only to find this gem.  I've always wanted to own a cheesy Frederic Wertham-era crime comic, and at five bucks, this one was worth it.  I believe it was published in 1952, which makes this comic the oldest one I own - as much as I'd enjoy a copy of Action Comics from the second World War (maybe that one with Superman riding a huge bomb), that's probably never going to happen - and inside and out, it really shows its age.

The stories inside the creased and brittle cover are fairly mundane, with tales of crooks getting their comeuppance and learning a lesson along the way (perhaps they should have read the title of the book before engaging in criminal activity), but that's not what stood out to me.  Yes, I've talked about my unusual affinity for old comic book advertisements before, but this one's a real doozy.  I scanned it and will post it below:

I'm baffled by this.  First by the fact that the publishers of this book would think to advertise to grown women, but more so by what's being advertised.  It's a girdle, basically, one that showcases its ability to make boobs look smaller.  Really?  Something that makes women look more flat chested?  Was there something particularly Communist about large breasts in the 1950s?  Was Joseph McCarthy holding hearings about the dangers of boobs?  Because I can't figure this out otherwise.  I mean, I realize that this ad is almost 60 years old at this point, but I refuse to believe that men in the 1950s didn't find breasts attractive to the point where one would remark "say, honey, why not hiding those girls away so I can't see them tonight? I just can't bear to look at them right now."  Preposterous!

I am curious about the "free 10-day trial", though.

If that's movin' up then I'm...something something.

The past week of my life has been spent preparing to move from Wilmington, NC back to the Pittsburgh area for the summer.  Moving is a stressful event for anyone, but I find myself in a situation that makes it even more interesting: I really don't know where I'll be when the fall rolls around (hey, maybe I'll be dead or something), so I'm stuck in that place in-between moves.  Most of my ever-growing stuff is packed away (floor to ceiling) in storage for a few months, but I had to decide what I'd need to take with me and use for three months as I stay with family for that time.

I knew this was coming, so I planned ahead and brought stuff back home the last few times I visited; all of my Thing statues came with me on one trip (and almost all fell on my dog as I made a sharp turn), my Rusty painting came up on another, etc., but the final trip is always the most contentious - it's when decisions on what stays and what goes have to be made.  Needless to say, I've accumulated quite a stack of comics since arriving in Wilmington, and even though I was diligent in transporting them back home after I had read them, I still had a couple of tall stacks in my room when it came time for the final packing.

It was never a question of leaving my comics in storage; I have the unfounded image in my head of wild animals breaking the door to my storage locker down and tearing my comics to pieces and leaving the more mundane items - coats, furniture, flower pots - just as they found them.  But as I packed the car to make the 600-mile journey to Pennsylvania, I realized that there was no way I was going to fit in everything I had wanted to take.  I suppose it wouldn't have been 100 percent impossible, but I'd imagine the bottom of the car would have been shooting sparks and my reliable Toyota Camry would have averaged about six miles to the gallon along the away.  Oh, and I'd have had to steer from the roof.

As I made a mental inventory of all that was in the car and realized that some hard decisions had to be made, I realized that my boxes (and boxes...) of comics weren't as important as things like clothes.  Or my dog.  So I sucked it up, taped the boxes shut, and took them to the post office.

Media mail is a great thing - it allows you to mail things like books, DVDs and CDs for cheap; I ended up mailing three boxes, the heaviest of which was 27 pounds, and the cost for it came to about 13 bucks.  I am, however, terrified that they will get lost or shredded in some...I don't know, shredding machine or something.  Even though I could look at a picture of any comic ever and tell you if I own it, I have absolutely no idea what books were in the boxes I shipped.  So if one gets lost, I'm going to have a heck of a time replacing those books.

I bought insurance and tracking for each box, but I'm still fretting the disaster that will hopefully never come.  The boxes and their tracking information are each listed on the United States Postal Service's website, and you can follow along with me (hours of fun!) and see their progress by going here and entering in the following numbers:

0309 2880 0000 7564 5892
0309 2880 0000 7564 5915
0309 2880 0000 7564 5908

Fingers crossed.

Dr. Horrible and other notes

If you're a self-respecting Firefly fan (and who isn't?) and you live in or reasonably close to Wilmington, North Carolina, you've got to check out the Brown Coat Pub & Theatre.  It's a Firefly/Serentiy themed bar/restaurant that also puts on plays and musicals.  This month's play just happens to be another Joss Whedon brainchild, Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, which is just like combining chocolate and peanut butter.

I took the show in last week and it was a lot of fun - and unbeknownst to me, the role of Penny is being performed by my friend June Bunce, so that's even more reason to go...I guess.  This is the last weekend for Dr. Horrible at the Brown Coat, so if you're able, check it out!

- June Gilbank of PlanetJune wrote about the crochet Yeti doll she made at my behest on her website, and soon a thousand or so other sites picked up on it.  Apparently amigurumi yetis are big news on the Internet(s).  News of the crochet pattern soon sprung up on Facebook, Amazon, a bunch of blogs, and my favorite, a website titled "Bigfoot Lunch Club".

In addition to the Yeti, June also created a crochet Sasquatch, which, really, makes a lot of sense (and also looks adorable).  She's working on the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amigurumi, due out in October, and if she really twists my arm about including the Yeti in the book...I suppose I'd have to let her.  And by that I mean hoooooly crap would that be awesome.

- Fanboy Comics recently held a drawing for free Avengers stuff as a promotion for the new Avengers series (not to be confused with the new New Avengers series that will also be out soon).  Fanboy does a lot of great things to advertise their store, but I've never won anything from them...until now.  My name got picked and I got this nifty-looking Mighty Avengers: Assemble hardcover that you can see below:

To this, I say..."hey-ooo!"  I look forward to reading it, as I didn't pick up all of the individual issues when this series launched a few years ago.  I wonder if it'll seem better because it was free.

- Who else wasted hours of their lives by playing Google's Pac-Man from last weekend?  Okay, "wasted" isn't accurate - I enjoyed the heck out of it.  And, wonder upon wonders, Google has left it online at www.google.com/pacman.

Did you know that if you hit the "insert coin" button twice, you can play a two-player game with Ms. Pac-Man?  Her controls are the WASD buttons.

- Lastly, as always, here's a new episode of Franks and Beans.  This one is titled "Kill Switch", and I think you'll like it.  If you don't, you might just be a communist.

For those who like vague, brief references to Teddy and the Yeti...

Wilmington's Star News did a nice (if not surface level) piece on this past weekend's Free Comic Book Day event at Fanboy Comics, discussing the event itself and all that Fanboy had planned for the comic book celebration.  Above is a picture from the article, featuring shop owner Thomas Gilbert pretending to organize comics that I know he already had out and in order.

The entire article can be found here, but let's be honest - all you're concerned about is the brief and fleeting reference to both me and Teddy and the Yeti.  Well, okay, I hate to disappoint:

Fanboy is also sponsoring an appearance by Wilmington-based comic artist and fantasy illustrator Tom Fleming, who’ll give a slide show and retrospective on his work with DC, Marvel and others at 6 p.m. May 10 at the Northeast Regional Library, 1241 Military Cutoff Road.

Local self-published comic creators Bill Cofflin (Cape Fear Comics), Jeff McClelland (“Teddy and the Yeti”) and Mike Pigford (“Bleedfish”) will be on hand for a question-and-answer session and comic signings. During the event, Fanboy will hold the drawing in its raffle to raise funds for the New Hanover County Public Library.

This is a reiteration of something I posted a little while ago regarding the New Hanover County Library panel that takes place on Monday, May 10th.  I met with Tom Fleming at the Pittsburgh Comicon and we talked about what I could possibly bring to the appearance.  Beyond my general attractiveness, that is.  I'm looking forward to it!

Pre Convention Random Notes

It's time for another EXTREMELY POPULAR random post from me, an extremely popular poster.  And by that I mean the "placard intended for posting in a public place" definition...I'm feeling rather existential today.  Anyway, it's almost time for me to pack up and head to the Pittsburgh Comicon this weekend, so I'll go over a few things that are on my mind.  And by "on my mind" I mean...okay, never mind.  That joke is dead.

- The copyright-infringing poster you see above is from Wilmington area Fanboy Comics.  The comic store is doing a great thing by holding a food drive that supports the Foodbank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.  Not that giving to the needy ever needs a tangible reward (just try not to come off as...gasp...a socialist!), but Fanboy is giving away some swag if you bring in some canned food.  Check it out!

- Teddy and the Yeti issue #3 is on its way from the terrifying storehouses of New Jersey to the terrifying front porch of my parents' house via a terrifying UPS truck, where I will meet up with it soon.  I should be getting both the regular edition and the extra terrifying convention edition at the same time, if all goes according to plan (I'll post pictures of things like the shipping box as always, don't worry).  You can follow along here, because you're curious about shipping schedules, right?  Perhaps it'll already be delivered by the time to check.

- My new friend Henry has once again done me a great favor by posting a preview of Teddy and the Yeti #3 on his always amusing "I love the Yeti" blog.  It mentions the Pittsburgh convention as well, which is great.  Check it out if you already haven't - not just for the preview, but hey, that too.

- I've briefly updated this blog by adding some resources and links.  To see them, just look to your right.  Really, it's there, just look...oh, okay, I'll post a picture of the VERY BLOG you're reading.  Specifically, I've added some "reference"-style material such as the Wikipedia page, online stores where you can buy Teddy and the Yeti, and links to fellow T&Y contributors, friends, and...Weird Al.  Because I can.  I'm planning on also creating a list containing the physical "brick and mortar" stores that carry the book...but I ran out of time.  Soon.

- I'm showing the movie "V for Vendetta" as an out-of-class assignment tonight where I work.  I'm almost ashamed to say that I might just like the movie, as sensationalist as it tends to be, more than the Alan Moore-penned graphic novel of the same title.  Hugo Weaving does a fantastic job.  I've done this for a few years now, so I might have watched this movie more than any other movie in my life...but every time I push "play", I have to pay attention.  It happens, I guess.

- I'll end with something un-comic related, but familiar to those who read the blog (BOTH OF YOU).  There's a new episode of the Internet(s) sensation Franks and Beans online.  I'll embed it below, because...I feel like it.  Enjoy!

FREE CHICKEN!! (and also comics)

Wilmington area Fanboy Comics is promoting an upcoming Free Comic Book Day-related panel at the New Hanover County public library just about one month from today.  This event will feature a presentation by artist Tom Fleming and a question and answer session with Fleming and several local creators, such as...uh...me.  What fun!  But really, Chick-Fil-A will be there giving out sandwiches of some sort, and this is what I'm most excited about.  Chick-Fil-A makes such great chicken sandwiches - I had never eaten there before moving to Wilmington, and every day of my life I lament all of those missed opportunities.  If you've never had some Chick-Fil-A before...do it.  Delicious.

I'm still a little short on the details of this event, but Mr. Fleming will also be attending the upcoming Pittsburgh Comicon, so I'm planning on hassling him there to figure out just what I need to do to prepare.  I do know that I'll have the third issue of Teddy and the Yeti with me at that time, and there's a planned signing event at the library after all the other festivities are concluded, so if anyone wants to drop on by and pick up the complete T&Y run so far, I'd be happy to do my part.  Also, there will be chicken there.  Did I mention that?

More details to come...

UPC Codes...AND YOU!

As comics have more or less lost their space on spinner racks in grocery stores and gas stations, the need for UPC codes have lessened; comics have since found more homes in smaller specialty shops with no capabilities or desires for electronic scanning devices.

If you pick up a back issue from one of the large companies published in the 1980s, it's easy to see which of them were originally sold in comic shops (i.e. the "direct market") and which were sold at, say, a Walden Books at the mall - direct market editions would still have the box on the cover where the barcode would have been printed, but instead of the zebra-stripe lines, companies would put logos or artwork in their place.

Until I figured this out, I would wonder why Marvel decided to put a picture of Spider-Man's head in the bottom left corner of all my Fantastic Four issues. Did they think I just wanted to see it? Was it a marketing tactic to get me to pick up issues of Web of Spider-Man? No (well, maybe on some level), it was because stores selling this version didn't need to scan a barcode to keep an inventory of what they were selling like they would at, say, a hardware store. They sold one thing and almost exclusively one thing - comics. If comics cost a dollar and you bought 16 of them...well, I'll bet adding all the books up wasn't the most difficult thing, either.

This, apparently, is changing, as I found out when I listed the first issue of Teddy and the Yeti in Diamond's Previews publication. It seems that anyone listing a book in Previews is now required to have a unique, scannable barcode on the cover.

I'm honestly not sure that I've yet been to a comic shop equipped with a scanner. The one here in Wilmington is a fairly up-to-date shop; it's a decent size with lots of different products - comics, shirts, posters, action figures, games - to choose from. They write down what you're buying on a piece of notebook paper and add the total up with a calculator. This is how they do it! And it's never once struck me as odd.

But I suppose that it was bound to happen, and, I thought, now I could have my own shiny barcode that I could flaunt around school to all of my friends. It seems that most barcodes are bought in bulk, and it was suggested that someone like me, who needed to buy...well, one...go to a website where they resell barcodes. I'm curious as to why there are barcodes available to sell again. The one you had wasn't working out for you? Found a newer one and decided to replace the older model?

At any rate, I ended up buying three from www.buyabarcode.com. One UPC code cost $85 and the total for three was $150...so now I have two codes just lying around, taking up space in my house. Maybe I'll take one and slap it on my pants...just so I can walk around scanning my pants when I go out shopping. Maybe there will be guards who will try and stop me as I walk out of Target or some place, and I will have to explain that this has all been a big misunderstanding, because you see, these pants are mine, and the barcode is mine. And then we will laugh.

So Teddy and the Yeti #1 is appropriately tagged and coded. I had to move a few things around on the cover to make sure nothing was obstructed, but it worked out just fine. Now the three comic shops with scanners can all breathe sighs of relief.

Et Tu, Ultimate Vision?

As I've mentioned more times than necessary now, there was a big 'ol comic book sale at the local comic shop here in Wilmington recently.  Boxes upon boxes had books priced at 25 cents each, so needless to say I bought more than a few that I otherwise wouldn't, with some good surprises in the mix.

I had picked up some of the Ultimate Galactus books when they were released - Ultimate Extinction and Ultimate Nightmare, I think they were called - but I never did pick up the sequel series, Ultimate Vision.  When I saw all five books (plus the zero issue) in a row, I snagged 'em without hesitation.

I will say that the story is, overall, worth the time to read it.  It's a satisfying continuation of the story, though there are a few annoying inconsistencies throughout.  Even so, it's a good book.

But, all right.  The question you're asking once you've seen the picture posted at top is, "why does the Ultimate Vision have giant robot boobs?"  And you are right to question this.  I mean, I understand that the main audience for comic books is male, and I, like many other men, like boobs and women in general.  But there has to be a line drawn somewhere, and I think that this is it.

The main character of the book is A ROBOT.  Yes, I get that this robot has been given a fairly human figure.  And seeing as that figure is feminine, it makes sense that it might have some semblance of robot breasts, functional or not.  But why the double Ds?  Not only does this robot have robot boobs, but they are too big to possibly fit into any sort of robot bra contraption.

I wish they had some purpose other than to get people to buy the book.  I wish little propellors came out of them and gave the Ultimate Vision the power to fly or something.  Anything better than a robot pinup.  That's just weird.

I guess I can check THAT off my list...

Let me start out by saying that I get a little annoyed when people talk about their "bucket list."  This is not because I object to the phrase, per se, or its implication.  I understand that the 'list of stuff I want to do before I die' has been around forever - it's nothing new.  But I hate that people have decided to pick up on a movie title and use it like they invented it.  You didn't!  So stop using it like you're clever!  Jerks.

At any rate, when the local comic shop was looking for help this past week, I knew I had to respond.  I don't aspire to own a comic book store or anything like that, but I've always had a desire to work at one, just for a little while.  I suppose that it's on my list of things to do before I kick the...well, you get it.  I'm not going to kowtow to popular sentiment!!!

It seems that Fanboy Comics, the shop close by in Wilmington, is moving to a new location, as I mentioned a little while ago.  The move has provoked them to do some spring cleaning, which has lead to sales aplenty and a reorganization of a number of back stock items.  I was lucky enough to be a part of the organization effort - not just because of the mounds of store credit I piled up, but because I can say that the list of jobs I've had in my life now includes working at a comic book store.

My main tasks were to organize, alphabetically and by publisher, a mountain of back issues.  Afterwards there was some re-bagging and boarding.  This may sound like the height of monotony, but I am nothing if not meticulous when it comes to organizing my own comics - so this was second nature from the get go.  I mean, my goodness - I do this stuff at my own house, for free!  Why wouldn't I jump at the chance of doing it for some form of payment?

As I mentioned, I racked up a nice sized tab of store credit in this process, and I've proceeded to cut into it already.  I've snagged a bunch of back issues, including nearly 40 issues of Marvel's Greatest Comics - which are reprints of old Fantastic Four issues (but I need to get anyway...I do), and some great trade paperbacks: SCUD The Disposable Assassin and Kyle Baker's Nat Turner, for starters.  The capstone I'm looking forward to is the gigantic Secret Wars Omnibus, which clocks in at nearly $100.  I'm gonna get it for free.  Basically.

What wouldn't I buy for 15 cents?

I'm currently living in Wilmington, NC, and for all its population growth, it continues to support only one comic book shop, so if there's a book out that I want to get (and don't want to wait for, as a shop near Pittsburgh still holds the majority of my books), I have one choice in the matter.

The comic shop in question is in the process of moving a few miles away to a smaller location, and as such they are having a string of sales which does keep me hanging around to see what I can find.  Recently they had a sale where you could fill up a decent-sized paper bag full of comics for ten bucks - as long as they fit in the bag, you got 'em for a total of one Alexander Hamilton.  So, of course, I took part in the madness.

I ended up scoring a total of 69 books, stuffing them into the bag to the breaking point, and in that total I managed to get some pretty good books - but there's only so many good books that you can find for 15-cents-or-so-per-book.  If you put anyone in a room with a random assortment of comic books and said "oh, pick 70 or so", they'd invariably find some great ones, but they'd eventually run out of books that they wanted and would resort to throwing some in the bag by the end of the day.

This was certainly the case with me.  I found:

1) Books that I was looking for (a few 2099 issues and a recent Daredevil storyline)

2) Books that I didn't know I was looking for until I found them (some old Star Trek back issues and a Flash "Planet DC" annual)

3) Books that were great deals (the Bone holiday special)

4) Books that I was somewhat interested in but wouldn't pay cover price for (Amazing Spider-Man Family #1)

5) Books that I was only interested in for 15 cents (Savage Dragon #1; DC/Milestone's Icon #1...both of which ended up being fairly good for their time)

6) Books that I had no interest in but grabbed because of the urgent need to fill up the bag (see the picture at top?)

As I returned home and examined the spoils of my ten dollar adventure, I started to wonder: why would I buy a copy of Quasar #1 for ANY cost if I didn't want it in the first place?  What was the POINT?!

Then it dawned on me: this is, I fully believe, what is responsible for at least a quarter of all comic book purchases made.  You buy it because...well, you're going to buy it!

I still haven't read the damn thing.