In my last column I somehow repeatedly wrote “Sunny Sumo” where I of course meant Sonny Sumo; what I think happened was somehow in my mind I transposed Sonny Sumo with another character from the early 1970’s, Sunny Sparkle “The Nicest Guy in the World!” who first appeared in Shazam #2.

I know it’s convenient but I’m going to blame my nearly fifty year old memory; it’s a fairly feeble excuse considering how much I supposedly love the character*, not to mention the fact I had just reread both Forever People and Final Crisis where he also appeared.  But if you Google “Sunny Sumo” (the way I did before I sent in last week’s column) you’ll find a number of people that likewise believe Sonny’s first name is inexplicably spelt with a ‘u’.

So mea culpa and believe me, if I could fire me I would.

It has occurred to me all my sourpussing might undermine my message of hope, and upon reflection realized there’s quite a bit to be hopeful about in the coming year.  Maybe it’s a little too early to crow about it, but it sure seems as if comic books are doing better than either newspapers or magazines these days, probably because of the insulated nature of the direct sales market that I so often deride (i.e. it’s hard for anyone to leave when the publishers have taken down the EXIT signs).  And I know anecdotal evidence usually isn’t admissible but Super-Fly Comics and Games had its best January in its (admittedly short) history.

Digital comics remain a threat to our bottom line but not an immediate one.  Given current economic conditions a lot of people are going to delay getting the portable electronic devices needed to read them (i.e., while print comics remain cheaper than electronic ones, advantage; print comics).  And one advantage to having a graying audience, the way comics does, is that it's traditionally reluctant to adopt new technologies. 

The last time I was in Super-Fly its co-owner Tony was showing me all the "apps" on his new iPhone and I could barely refrain from exclaiming “Oganza bisassa” (which, as we all know, means “big magic” in Pakuni, the language of the little hairy guys from the Land of the Lost TV show).  Was it super cool?  Oh, yeah.  Was I going to rush out and get one?  Not this year.

Though not as comic book related as last year’s slate there’s still a big roster of genre films that are likely to interest your customers coming out this year.  I’m sure I’m missing a couple but my list includes Watchmen, Monsters vs. Aliens (based on a comic so obscure even I haven’t read it), X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Star Trek, Terminator: Survivor, Land of the Lost, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Whiteout, Where The Wild Things Are, The Wolfman, Sherlock Holmes (based on a comic that hasn’t even been published), Avatar, Dragonball: Evolution, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Race to Witch Mountain, Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian, Up, I Love You Beth Cooper, Astro Boy and The Princess and the Frog (Disney’s first 2-D animated film since Home on the Range).

And while there are upcoming comics I’m not that enthused about (I know it’s condemning it sight unseen, but if you read the solicitation for Flash: Rebirth #2 you know that Barry Allen has a "dark secret" -- no, no he doesn’t and you’ve already made wish he was dead again and safe from this kind of revisionist tinkering), some I am.  Like Marvel’s 70th Anniversary Specials, a new Howling Commandoes comic (Secret Warriors) and, hey, is it possible that along with being (a) most likely very funny and (b) very pretty Spider-Man: The Short Halloween is actually a self contained, done-in-one shot?  I didn’t know they even made those any more.

And we do have Free Comic Book Day coming up, our annual open house, the day we all dress up and make our shops presentable for the crowds that never seem to get tired of getting free stuff.  I don’t believe there’s ever been this wide a selection of free comics for just about every age and interest, though predictably the one I’m looking forward to most is the all-new issue of Savage Dragon featuring the Golden Age Daredevil.

* Growing up there weren’t a lot of "stocky" superheroes to serve as role models for us fat kids after you got past the Hulk, Beast and Thing, but The Forever People had two:  Sonny Sumo (ok, he was kind of undernourished looking for a sumo but still pretty bulky for an adventure hero) and Big Bear (whose name now unfortunately has connotations I don’t think Jack Kirby could have possibly imagined).