Comics Return to Maui

So, I recently learned some Hawaii factoids: there are nine comics shops on Oahu, three on the Big Island, and just one on Maui. That shop used to be Compleat Comics, which I visited in its temporary digs in 2007 shortly before it closed for good. But after almost ten years of no comic shop on the island, a new Maui institution has arisen in its place:   
 

Maui Comics and Collectibles fills a small storefront in the same open-air mall that the Compleat Comics stall was in; I spent some time there on the way back to the Kahalui Airport at the end of my recent trip.

The storefront is a bit unassuming  - it's difficult to see the posters and such because the windows are tinted.

(If you were to print out this panorama and wrap it into a ring, you could get a VR scene of the store: essentially one small room that effectively maximizes the display space. )

The space is very welcoming despite its size: Maui Comics is one of the most fun shops I have been in. It has a large selection of new titles and a surprisingly extensive range of back issues. My particular interest lay in the local Hawaiian comics scene - I had read some articles about good homegrown stuff coming out of the islands. I had a great conversation with the young man running the shop, who filled me in on the latest news, recommended a few titles, and commiserated with me that back issues were not available because of the short print runs. I wound up taking home issue #3 of 'Aumakua and issue #1 of Native Sons (about which more in a future post).

And this is perhaps the most appealing aspect of Maui Comics: it's clear from the staff and the time they spend with the customers, from the store itself, and from its social media presence that Maui Comics exists not just make money or even fill a niche, but to promote and foster the love of comics on the island.

The in-store materials reflect this, with a mixture of standard industry posters and pieces by and about local artists on the walls:

The store was also the impetus behind Maui's first-ever Comic Con - which I missed by about eight weeks!

All in all, I can't say enough good things about Maui Comics and Collectibles. If you make a trip to the island, be sure to include a stop here on your itinerary. It's well worth it.

Oh, and there's this: I visited Maui Comics and Collectibles two years to the day after I made my visit to see Mike Sterling at Sterling Silver Comics in California. How comic-bookally coincidental!

It's here!

So, as I reported about a week ago, I had a great visit to Sterling Silver Comics (Mike Sterling, Esq., Prop.) when I was down in California for Winter break; the idyllic sojourn was marred only by my forgetting there was a Part Two to the story in the X-Men comic that I purchased specifically for one panel by Werner Roth - and of course that panel is not in Part One.

Undaunted, I made mail-order arrangements with the Mikester for the second issue; it was easy, since he's such an Ebay maven and has all the ducks particular that kind of exchange nicely lined up. And today, a package was delivered to my door by a uniformed representative of the federal government.

I want to digress a moment to say that the package was pretty impressive. It was a nice stiff manila envelope with a professional mailing label; inside was a thick backing board and a thinner protective cardboard sheet; and inside that the poly-bagged comic was wrapped in another plastic bag for added protection. Nice.

When I got the issue out, I realized the cover was cooler than I remembered - here it is scanned clear:

The story concerns Count Nefaria's (um, okay) attempt to revive the criminal organization The Maggia (cut it out, Stan!) and use the captive X-Men as pawns in a plot extort one hundred million dollars (that's three quarters of a billion in today's money) from the U.S. government by holding Washington, D.C. hostage in a weird transparent dome. The Count's lieutenants are The Eel, Scarecrow, The Porcupine, Plantman, and The Unicorn. (I thought this group had a name, but if they ever did, it came later.)

As achingly Silver-Age as much of the story is, this installment is as action-packed as promised on the cover, with lots of teamwork from both the X-Men and the Five Bad Guys as they battle through the capital. The Army steps in, apprehending super-heroes and super-villains alike (which was actually pretty reasonable), and that leads to the panel that I have remembered for decades: the not-capture of the Bad Guys.

The panel is almost exactly as I remembered; I had the figures a tiny bit smaller in the frame, but otherwise the layout and composition were just as I recalled. I don't know why this panel, of the thousands upon thousands that have passed my eyeballs, is among those that have burned that flashbulb memory into my brain. There's just something about the almost pictographic arrangement and the hyper-expository dialogue that is totally charming. It's almost like old-school filmmaking when they would interrupt a scene to freeze frame and zoom in and highlight with arrows or other markers the details of a scene before letting it resume speed and play out; I get that same explainer feeling with this.

It must have made an impression of some kind. And now I have it again.

Thanks, Mike.

Sterling Stuff

So, Wonder Wife and I took a real vacation recently, forsaking the gray majesty of a Pacific Northwest winter for the sunny climes of Southern California. During the second half of the trip, I found myself a mere 51.1 miles from Sterling Silver Comics, the almost brand-new retail shop owned & operated by Mike Sterling, the grand-deanmaster of the comicsweblogosphere (if you don't know Progressive Ruin, you should), and even in California traffic that's not very far, so of course I paid a visit.

After a nice cruise from L.A. along the part of the Pacific Coast Highway that wasn't closed from mudslides and scenic drive through the Malibu Canyon, a few short minutes on the 101 brought me to Camarillo - where I screwed up and stopped looking at my GPS too soon, winding up across the street in the wrong lot.

I squared myself away and got to the store, which is every bit as attractive as I have heard - and the floor certainly lives up to is reputation.

I was a doorbuster, getting there right at the opening hours, so I had a chance to chat with the Mikester before the crowds descended. He was suave enough to recognize me from our online exchanges (or to pretend to) and it was great fun to meet in person someone whose stuff I have been reading for so long. It wasn't a reunion as such, but calling it a union sounds either formal or creepy, so let's just say we were well met.

But I have to tell you, Sterling Silver is just a great comics shop. It has the usual appurtenances - new comics racks, graphic novel sections, some doodads and trinkets - but the jewels in the crown are the back issues. I live in Seattle, where there are almost as many comic book shops as Starbucks, and I have to say I have never seen a back issue stock that was as complete and accessible as Mike's. He gave up some of his personal collection to open the store, and man, that must have been some collection. I could easily have spent the rest of my vacation money (and the rest of my vacation) going through his stock, but I dutifully restrained myself - more's the pity. Here's the stuff I took away:

War of the Gods is a 1991 DC miniseries chock full of Perez art that totally passed by me 24 years ago. (I just love finding complete miniseries in a back-issue longbox.) I am working my way through this; the muddy printing from that time is a bit of a hassle, but it's a great find!

This sure brought back memories! I had totally forgotten Moby Dick was a Saturday morning cartoon hero! (I think it came on right after The Gatsby Green Light Adventure Hour.) This is a cool collection of classic goofiness.

This was the prize - or I thought it was. I bought it for one specific panel by Werner Roth: the final "stampede" of the sensational super-villains. But I forgot that this was a two-parter! The panel that I wanted is actually in the next issue.

Hey, Mike! I need X-Men number 23! Hold it for me will, you? Seriously, I mean it.  I'll be in touch.

Besides getting the right X-Men comic, I would really love to run through that longbox of 80-page giants again, with a little less self-control this time. Anyway, if you're anywhere near Camarillo, California in the near or far future, stop by Sterling Silver Comics and say hi to Mike. And buy stuff.

Doin' it right

So, today was Free Comic Book Day again! You might recall that my FCBD experience last year was a bit disappointing and I told you all about it; well, this time, one of my local comic shops did it right, so I'm going to make a big deal of that, too!

Dreamstrands Comics in Greenwood turned the day into a special event - I felt like I was at a preview of Geek Girl Con. Let's go to the videotape!

I was pleased to see (a) so many people supporting a local business (b) so many families coming out together for a little fun and (c) a retailer who went the extra mile to show he gets what this should be all about. 

Pleased but not surprised by that last: Dreamstrands has consistently delivered great customer service every time I have shopped there.

The FCBD give-aways they had this year were great. Here are a few:

I found a new hardcover, The Atomic Legion from Dark Horse. It looks like a slightly goofier take on the same sort of themes explored in Marvel's The Twelve, with great EC-esque artwork.

And look what I found in the three-for-a-buck bin! Some online price guide I selected at random says it's worth four bucks - woo-hoo! 

Actually, I have a friend who is a Dazzler completist, and I am not sure she has this.

So, congratulations, Dreamstrands, for doing it right. See you next year!

Spring Break Bargain Box Bonanza

Hey, kids! Comics!

So, it's Spring Break in my little corner of higher ed, and that means time to play. While I was out and about enjoying the first of my free days, I stopped by one of the comic shops in my area and found some goodies in the bargain box (what used to be called the quarter bin and is now functionally the dollar bin). Here's the haul:

Graphic Novels!

I'll get to those comics in detail as the week progresses, but I wanted to start with something from the bargain "graphic novel" box. (I think the term was actually used to designate "comics with perfect binding.") I grabbed this collection for cheap:

I had remembered running across a comic strip set in a D&D game; the characters in the strip interacted at the gaming table and as their characters within the game adventure as well, bouncing from reality to roleplay and back. I thought it was amusing and at least somewhat clever, so I picked up this TPB of Knights of the Dinner Table.

I don't know what strip I was thinking of, but this is definitely not it.

I'm not including any scans of the content because, frankly, I like you too much and this hurt to read. It's not just that the interior art is amateurish or even bad (although it kinda is both); it's not even that there's really no graphic storytelling going on (although the images are rarely used to carry any of the narrative or emotion); it's not at all that the depiction of the tabletop roleplaying game experience is inaccurate (it's pretty good, as a matter of fact). It's that all the characters are so throughly unlikeable - by turns mean, petty, and foolish - that wading through this collection of strips made me feel like I was gaming with odious, unpleasant people that I did not like. Furthering the foulness, the conceit of the strip rests heavily on the game master vs. players trope, a dynamic that flies in the face of the collaborative spirit my gaming cronies and I bring to the table.

I must be in the minority here: apparently, Kenzer & Company, the producers of the strip and books, are going great guns, generating card, board, and tabletop games (including an RPG based on the imaginary game from the strip) as well. Business seems to be thriving. Good on 'em, but I can't understand why. If this sample collection is any indication, I wouldn't want to spend any more time in this world than I had to.

Bonus pick-me-up: this is still a thing!

Yes,  Transcontinental Interglobe of Beauceville, Quebec is still printing newsprint copies of Comic Shop News for Cliff and Ward out of Marietta, Georgia and delivering them to comics shops. The best buy in comics (free!) is still available. Check out their first issue from 1987.

Big Box

So, as I said elsewhere, I recently purchased some comic books from Mile High Comics, and I'm really not shilling for them, but I am going to to talk about them again. They included some propaganda in with the shipment, of course; adverts for special editions and some sort of custom variant cover stuff, but one of the comic-sized flyers had a three-panel photograph of one of the firm's retail stores. I wanted to scan it, but it's way too big, so here's a different way to show what it looked liked:



Man, that's a big comics shop. The flyer says it's the world's largest at 45,000 square feet. What gets me is that there doesn't seem to be any stock besides comics - I can't see any action figures or gaming supplies or whatnot. Holy moly.

All right, enough of them. If Mike Sterling will send me some pictures of Ralph's, I'll post those.

And if anyone has pictures of the Passaic Book Center, where I bought back issues in the 1970s, I'd love to see them.

Completist, not elitist

So, I had a need (yes, a deep need) for a copy of JLA #200 and although I own it I could not find it, so I decided to buy a(nother) copy. I couldn't find it at a local comic shop, so I went to the ready stand-by on the internet, Mile High Comics.

Since buying the one comic would have incurred exorbitant shipping costs, but spending more money got free shipping, it seemed only logical to buy more comics. In that spirit, I took the opportunity to fill in a few series.

I sort of felt like this:

(That's right, I couldn't find the actual Doonesbury strip that illustrated how I felt, so I posted a picture of someone describing it.)

I remember when obtaining back issues meant multiple trips to used book stores, tracking down the few specialty comic shops that were in existence, or going to a convention. Now, I can just log on, click my mouse, and the desired copies are winging my way forthwith. It takes some of the adventure out of it, sure. But it does fill the shortbox! Here are the series that I filled out:

Great Lakes Avengers: I had gotten 1 through 3 (of 4) from a quarter bin, just for Squirrel Girl... now I have the conclusion.

Mage: I had all 15 of these but 1, 2, and 4 -- it was one of my favorite series back in the day and I wonder if it still holds up. It certainly deserves another read-through.

Amethyst: I found 1 through 12 of the original mini-series in a less-than-a-quarter bin at the thrift store, except for 8 - I think that one cost as much as all the rest combined. Anyway, this is a series deserving of a close read.

Dalgoda: One of the best science-fiction stories in comics -- for some reason, I only had sort of every other issue. I think the story will flow much better now.

It wasn't just the completist impulse that led to this extravagance: I have always wanted to explore these series as complete stories (well, three of them, anyway), and this will give me the chance to do that. Keep watching this space for the dissection reports!

Oh, and of course I screwed up. I forgot that the Fujitake-Strnad Retief series for Mad Dog went to six issues. I have the first three, so I didn't see a gap, but I need to complete this one soon, too -- it really needs to be celebrated,

Of course, that just means Ill have to find some other stuff to buy in order to get the free shipping...

Aptly categorized?

So, a friend was visiting from Boston and I decided to take him to visit Zanadu Comics, the legendary Seattle comic book store. As we strolled among the comics and graphic novels, and the now-mandatory action figures scattered about the displays, my eye was caught by a felicitous juxtaposition. There was a figure of the Batman comics character Harley Quinn in her Nu52 design on top of a bookshelf; here she is in all her blister-pack glory:

You'll forgive the all the glare and reflection, the result of the plastic following all the rather improbable curves of the figure. The box just happened to be sitting on top of a label intended to identify the genre of books below it, but in which I saw another meaning:

Why, yes, I am sure it is somebody's. Holy unintended signification, Batman!

Free to be...

So, Saturday was a spectacularly sunny day here in the Queen City of the Pacific Northwest, and even though I hadn't specifically planned for it, I decided to head on down to a Free Comic Book Day event. I'm lucky enough to live in a town where I have four or five comics shops within in a couple of miles; I decided to walk to one particular shop which shall remain nameless because I really don't want to call it out.


Now, you can read about how a well-run store might do FCBD other places, like from Mike Sterling at Progressive Ruin,  but I am afraid that's not the story I have to tell. I chose to head down to a nearby store run by a kind and well-intentioned fellow who just can't seem to crack the nut of a good retail operation; this FCBD was no exception.

Normally, each time I go into the store, the experience is pretty much the same: there is a motley group of "customers" sitting around the gaming table, which is situated smack in the middle of the main space, right as you enter. The Regulars are arguing whether Thor could beat Superman in a fight or if Obscure Anime One was more or less awesome than Obscure Anime Two or if Bruce Campbell could beat Joss Wheadon in a fight, and they give me, the stranger in town, the same sidelong glances employed by the extras in Western movie saloon scenes. Often there are foodstuffs present; Subway or pizza or phad see-ew take-away scents the air. Some folks might be reading comics. The owner is scurrying about stocking shelves, participating in the discussion as he moves around the shop. I look around for the particular graphic novel or trade paperback I came in for, but can't find it on the shelves crammed with new releases, DC and Marvel collections, and RPG manuals. I catch the proprietor's attention and ask about the item; he is friendly, sympathetic, and willing, but totally unable to meet my request in any way that satisfies my needs, and he apologizes sincerely and wishes me a good day.

The fellow always strikes me as someone who has read a book on good customer service and memorized some of the suggested lines, but really hasn't internalized it yet - or contextualized it in the operation of his store. If my experience is even within a standard deviation of the mean value of customer satisfaction, I honestly don't know how the store stays open. But maybe I am just a bad match, and not in his customer base.

This being FCBD, I guess that hope which springs eternal in the human breast led me to believe that the store might actually ramp up its performance above the typical; I am sorely disappointed.

First of all, there is no Free Comic Book Day signage - no banner, not poster, no xeroxed flyer taped the door, no hand-scrawled note on an old grocery bag, nothing. Inside, the Regulars are at their stations; on the menu today are gooey garlic cheese sticks and a piquant red sauce, which are being shared across the table. The Regulars are having a robust discussion on D&D vs Magic. The owner is scurrying around; no other staff is present. No one greets me.

So wait, is FCBD even observed in this store? Well, it must be - otherwise what are these piles of comics, semi-neatly sloppily stacked on the gaming table for? I really can't tell - there are no labels or signs, the regulars seems to be leaning on/eating over the comics, and there is a guy to my right going through a longbox, pulling out back issues, and making similar stacks, so it's a little confusing. I don't recognize any of the titles on the table, and none of them clearly says "Free Comic Book Day Edition," so I am unsure about taking any.

The proprietor is busy so I decide to just leave. I feel sad, though. Not because I didn't get any comics; I clearly could have tried a little harder if that was really the objective. It is more that something that could be so much fun - whether it's Free Comic Book Day or just a regular visit to my Friendly Neighborhood Comic Shop - is so disappointing. As a business model and as a cultural value, I guess I expect some inclusion, or at least to be made to feel welcome.

But the sun is still shining on the walk home, so there is that.

Alfred, let's go shopping.

So, I am here in the Capital of the Inland Empire, The Lilac City, Spokane, Washington. Although I am attending an academic conference, I carved out a little time to re-visit some geeky haunts I discovered when I lived here for grad school:

First, we have Merlyn's:

Their cool A-frame elaborates on their trade.



They have a huge new comics wall as well as tons of back issues,



and a big gaming area, eerily quiet on a weekday.

The shelves are just one big D6 short of a full set of oversized Platonic solids.

And it has perhaps the coolest restroom in Washington:

I also managed to squeeze in a trip to Boo Radley's, an awesome gift and curiosity shop downtown:

It also sells graphic novels

as well as vintage genre paperbacks

and Steampunk gear.

Here was a great find: the D&D version of Clue. I kid you not, the back of the box asks "Was it Tordock in the Dragon's Lair with the Flaming Battle Axe? Or Mialee in the Dungeon with the Staff of Power?"

And here's a ST:OS action figure set - from the "Dilithium Collection."

If you are ever in Spoke-a-loo, check out these shops - they are worth a visit!

I wish I had left room for dessert anyway

Saw this image floating around the interwebs. It looks like an old photograph, but the car in the reflection appears to be a fairly recent model. A little digging found this:

Apparently the bakery had been in operation for some time and the location was taken over in the late twenty-naughts by Desert Island, a store for comics, art books, illustration, and design. Takes a lot of confidence to leave your name off your storefront.

It put me in mind of another establishment with a different approach to old signs and naming. This restaurant in the University District of Seattle is located in what used to be a florist shop:

The name of the restaurant? Flowers.