Confessions of a Comic Book Guy is a weekly column by retailer Steve Bennett of Super-Fly Comics and Games in
I hoped we’d have a strong FCBD this year but I admit I was nervous, prevailing economic conditions being what they are. Maybe it was Iron Man raising comic book awareness that brought more people into our shops than last year (and I’ve yet to read a retailer FCBD report that said otherwise), but it also could’ve been the “free” part, as in what the comics were, because when times are tough nothing is quite as sweet as free. And while comics aren’t cheap they’re certainly cheaper than, well, just about everything else. We’ve tried to downplay this over the years while struggling to get the respect of the over-culture but cheaper remains one of our medium’s strongest selling points. They’re cheaper than most of our entertainment competition, from DVD’s to CD’s, videogames, magazines and paperback books.
And last Saturday people sure wanted them. I volunteered to help out at Super-Fly Comics & Games and got there a half hour before they opened at 10am where I met Tad and Tony, who’d been there since 7:30. They’d set up the FCBD comics in the back on the racks where the new releases usually go, next to a couch from our lounge and in front a card table full of swag (suckers, pins, pens, etc.). Because of the way it was positioned Tad called it “the throne” and before anyone knew it I had declared myself King of Free Comic Book Day and for the next five hours presided over their distribution.
There have been years where even free comic books were a hard sell, but this year there wasn’t just something for everyone, from indie girls and gamers to family guys and the whole family, there was something good. Some retailers grumbled about DC just offering a reprint of All Star Superman #1. And while it’s true that next year I’d prefer it if they made an effort and produced something original, but if I wanted to give a civilian an example of a “good comic,” you couldn’t ask for one better than this.
Marvel gave us an FCBD miracle: an original standalone X-Men comic which not only didn’t suck but was comprehensible if you only knew the characters from the movies. I also went out of my way to recommend Atomic Robo, Maintenance (hopefully this will give the series the exposure it deserves, or at least a Sci-Fi Channel series), Hellboy, Owly, Gumby, and Amelia Rules. And while there’s not much chance they’ll find the demographic they need in comic shops, it was nice of Viz to gave us a Shonen Jump Special.
The movie season got off to a good start with Iron Man; everyone loved it. I know I did though I did have (as I almost always do) a quibble. The movie had the classic
It’s entirely possible they’re right; while on the treadmill I read a People magazine review of it that was essentially a rave -- but the critic thought the last part seemed “too much like Transformers.” All I know is if they want to keep us happy, in the already announced sequel there’s got to be at least five minutes of metal on metal conflict.
As I once said there are only two economic engines left driving this country: Christmas and Summer Movie Blockbusters, and
I know I mentioned this a couple of columns ago but in Justice Society of America #10 (cover dated December 2007, released on October 31st), there was a scene where Superman heard a despondent girl’s last words and caught her after she jumped off a building. On the following March 26th, All Star Superman #10, cover dated May, was released and featured a scene that was eerily similar, right down to the dialogue.
Now I it’s highly unlikely Geoff Johns and Alex Ross, writers of Justice Society, somehow colluded with Grant Morrison, author of All Star Superman, so identical scenes would appear in both comics, and I’m hardly accusing one of somehow stealing from the other. I just think it’s is kind of interesting, and exactly the kind of thing I’d like to see more of in comics.
