Web Comics Week: Misery Loves Sherman

We end the week with the Chris Eliopoulos webcomic: MISERY LOVES SHERMAN.

Known to most comic book fans as one of the hardest working letterers in the business, he's also great cartoonist/artist that does really well at bringing the funny. While many readers know him for his work on Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius, but I'll always associate him with DESPERATE TIMES.


But we're talking about Misery Loves Sherman.

The archive of the strip only goes back to 12/31/07. The strip kind of hits the ground running as if all of the characters are well known to the readers already. There might be strips that just aren't up on the site where people got to know the characters previously, but MLS provides a NEW READER section that introduces the entire cast fairly well.

(obviously from before the Wall Street hijinx)

On the surface, you might be tempted to compare the strip to Calvin & Hobbes (with two aliens replacing the stuffed tiger), but it would be a pretty unfair & inaccurate comparison. In Misery Loves Sherman, the title character isn't really the star. Sherman seems to serve more as our window into his world for our entertainment, rather than amusing the reader directly. All of the interesting quirks and personality traits belong to the other members of the cast. Sherman is just a fairly normal kid that we get to see the flaws and obsessions of other characters bounce off of.


Eliopoulos has expressed a goal to get this picked up by a syndicate, so you can fully expect the strip to be newspaper-safe and -formatted. I do tend to like webcomics that take fuller advantage of self-publishing on the internet by not falling into the old mold, but holding that against MLS would be like being mad that Boondocks strips on the 'net aren't reformatted and scripted (don't know whether or not that's the case, just using an example).

It's a comic that basically any member of the family could read and enjoy. For a family strip, it does push things to the edge a little bit (at least for how I remember strips used to be). I don't recall any strips ever making a weeklong gag out of a kid being "a mistake" or "an accident".


Miserly Loves Sherman is a winner. Friends I've linked to MLS have wound up going back to read the entire archive. It's like the Brian Regan of webcomics: you hardly notice the lack of shock value/foul language because you're having too much fun. As someone who has seen Regan live as many times as he's seen George Carlin, that's meant as a strong compliment.

Palin To Shoot Obama In Mercs 2?

Oh, what's that? It isn't really like they're encouraging a sore loser character to be able to shoot and kill a Presidential character?

Yeah, but that's not a headline that will provoke coverage and hits, so Kotaku.com used it (and now I'm copying it).

I'm sure EA.com will privately be thrilled with that sort of coverage, because it will blossom into 24 hour cable news coverage and ultimately drive more sales and offend none of their customer base.

Ultimate Comics Walk-Up Sales For Oct 22nd, 2008

From Lee Newman of Ultimate Comics, the list of top-selling books at one of their locations in North Carolina for what was released on 10/22/08. Pull lists are not included, as this is meant to capture what is being bought off the shelf.

1. Final Crisis: Submit
   
2. Secret Invasion #7
   
3. Final Crisis #4
   
4. Superman: New Krypton Special #1
   
5. Aetheric Mechanics
   
6. Unknown Soldier #1
   
7. Hulk #7
   
8. Amazing Spider-Man #575
   
9. Invincible #54
   
10. New Avengers #46

Commentary:

1 - Um... this is why walk up sales are more interesting, shear numbers wise Secret Invasion and Final Crisis CRUSHED this book, but for folks who didn't commit to something this sold better. Part of the reason is the nature of the FC tie-ins themselves. Most of them seem so periphial to the book itself that a one off would seem undesirable. However, this is where working in a chain or really big shop gets a hand up. I get to read a number of books Tuesday night. I am no dummie, so I read books that aren't going to sell them selves, I can check out Final Crisis and Secret Invasion in the quiet hours of the morning at the shop to avoid spoilers, but knowing that Submit was a bridge into FC #4 allowed me to tell people and get the book to walk out the door. Product knowledge is key.

1,2,3,4,7,8,10 - event books... hmm event fatigue huh? If it actually existed I would see other books creep into the top ten. I include Hulk and Spidey in this category because they are buzz books which in the end is just as good as an event or crossover.

5. Warren Ellis. We love him here at Ultimate Comics.

6. Unknown Soldier was a bit of a surprise for us. There is a genuine disconnect, I feel, in the marketing of comics. If you follow my comments around the intrawebs, you will see that I think Kids books are being woefully mismarketed. I think the downfall of Minx was evidence of this. The comic book industry markets to itself and as a result, it stays a niche market.

Now this book was handled quite the way I think it should be. It was previewed in House of Mystery, certainly the most successful of the Vertigo books in the last few years. There was quite a bit of buzz in the market and outside it about this book and its social consiousness. While I was excited about the return of the concept and interested in this new take, the customers did not respond in kind. Instead, the same two guys were on the card for the book, so we ordered conservatively.

However, all that marketing worked and the demand was bigger than our supply. I don't know how to correct this disconnect between marketing correctly and getting the customer to say they want the book.

A few weeks ago, I talked about the success of No Hero #1 and how people wanted this book before it arrived. Would a zero issue have helped this book? I don't know, all I know is that there was demand here that we could not meet because it was not expressed. Maybe bagslicks like Ellis did with Doktor Sleepless, I don't know. I certainly hope that the folks who read this have some ideas, because I would dearly love to know how to tap into what happened here.

9. I think this is a result of kind of a lite week overall. Sure there were big books and it was an average sales week overall, but there was not a large amount of titles like this current week or the previous week.

Well, it looks like either Lee perfectly called it on the demand for the Presidential Materials books or he just didn't have enough left in stock for it to crack the Top 10. ;)

Amazing Spider-Man still doing noticeable walk-up numbers, but it drops to 8 this week where it had two entries in the Top 6 last week. This seems to suggest that Paul C (a reader of SCHWAPP!!!) may have been right to say the book got the Colbert Bump last week. At the same time, any week where ASM is in the Top 10 of walk-up sales has to be a positive sign that sales might be going back up for the title.

I only read Unknown Soldier #1 this morning, but I believe it merits every bit of attention it has gotten. Like any book with a completely brown skin cast, it makes me happy & sad at the same time. Happy for the diversity it brings to the shelves, sad for the potential of a cancellation clock already ticking in a market with a customer base that rarely seems to reward this sort of diversity.

Web Comics Week: Multiplex

Once again, here we are with a webcomic that has advertised on SCHWAPP!!!

Gordon McAlpin's MULTIPLEX has been around since 2005. I'm embarrassed to say it took me a long time to notice him plugging the strip in his old Newsarama signature before the remodeling over there. But I checked it out from time to time and enjoyed it. Ironic as it is, I'm not great at checking sites daily or multiple times a week (God bless the RSS feeds, I say). But it was a lock for being featured this week just because it's about time I took a more in-depth look at MULTIPLEX.


Now, there are 295 installments up on the site, so I wasn't able to read them all for this review. I caught up on about the first 40 and then skipped to the last 30 or so.

What I've found in those groups is both expected and surprising. It's natural that the strip would need to make observations and jokes independent of actual movies or theater chains, because it can't rely on the strength or weakness of the Hollywood release schedule. But what is surprising is how some of the non-movie-focused arcs are quite often the strongest riffs in the life of the strip.


After running for 295 installments, you'd expect the characters to have been fleshed out and evolved before your eyes...and you wouldn't be disappointed. You likely know people that match all of the personalities on display in the stories and, like in real life, they grow and change due to their interactions with each other.


McAlpin doesn't shy away from some controversial topics. It isn't all political correctness over on Multiplex and that's often a very good thing for the strip (tho' your mileage may vary).

Multiplex is a strip that finds equal parts of its humor in its world, our world & the movies. I think it's worth checking out.

The Root Cause For Final Crisis Delays?

Hi there, folks. You may remember I blogged about how I felt JG was falling on his sword and taking too much of the blame when Grant Morrison was likely more responsible for the delays.

What's that you're saying, Dan Didio?

The fact that at a point we were waiting for parts of the script from issues #6 and #7, the reality came to be that we were never going to be able to hit our dates.

Thanks, Dan. Dan went on to talk about other issues, with one in particular grabbing my attention:

In February, again, we’re bringing the line back closer together and working to bring the continuity back in synch. In that month, we’ll have a series of books – I think we’re up to about 19 in all now – that will have six page stories as backups, and each book will be branded “Origins and Omens.” What you’re going to see in those stories is a little of the origin of each character, what’s essential to know about each character to date, and more importantly, a little foreshadowing of what’s to come with the character. Each one of the “Origins and Omens” installments will have a common narrator, and that narrator has direct ties to Blackest Night later in the year.

Can we say Martian Manhunter? That's my guess, at least.

Holy Crap! Literally.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sam Mendes (director of Jarhead, Road to Perdition & American Beauty) has been named as the director for the PREACHER feature length film that Columbia just picked up the rights to make.

No writers are attached yet, but Mendes will apparently start the search some time after his new film (Revolution Road) is done with post-production tweaks.

While there have been other stops and starts to Preacher hitting the big or small screen, this might be the best fit creatively and commercially. Here's hope this winds up in a theater near you in a couple years.

FYI: I didn't mean the "crap" in the title in a derogatory way, just as a synonym for "stuff". I would have used "shit", but it seemed a little harsh for a title.

(hat tip to MTV Splash Page)

Jock Does Christina Aguilera

What? No...this isn't some DC Comics Insider thing.

Jock is great comic book artist & frequent collaborator with Andy Diggle on things like Green Arrow: Year One and The Losers.

Apparently, he's, also, a storyboard artist for music videos. Jock provided some images for director Peter Berg to work from in shooting Christina's latest video (Keeps Getting Better).



(found via Heidi)

MTV Puts Entire Music Video Library Online

As reported elsewhere yesterday, MTV is putting all of their music videos online. Apparently, they only work for US viewers (sorry non-domestic readers), but it's a start.

Web Comics Week: Circle Vs. Square

A reader e-mailed in to suggest CIRCLE VERSUS SQUARE be included in Web Comics Week. After I recovered from the shock of having a reader that would actually e-mail in with something constructive ;), I checked it out.

It obviously not an artsy web comic, but what it lacks in stunning graphics it makes up for with wit and inventive situations to place the characters in.

The main thrust of the comic is, as the title would suggest, pitting Circle & Square against each other. There's no real basis for the animosity, which the creator kind of admits in the way it is introduced in the first installment. But you quickly forget about that (as you should for a nonsensical humor strip) and sit back to enjoy the ride.

As I've stressed in the last two reviews, delivering the funny in each strip is important. Circle Vs. Square consistently follows the rule. Even during the Election (for lack of a better term) plotline, there are jokes delivered in each installment (and good for a chuckle 9 times out of 10).


The one drawback with the current Election arc is that it's a little unfriendly to new readers. Some of the jokes are more reliant on continuity and many characters are mentioned without appearing on panel or being given any bit of background. But I guess that's one of the benefits of being a free webcomic: that "FIRST" link is always there to take you back to a new reader friendly place in its history.

If you dismiss this comic based on the often basic drawings, you're making a big mistake.

Uh Oh...

So, Secret Invasion #8 is going to be late? Brevoort says it is due to the extra pages and the care Yu is taking with them, but we all know that Tom and the truth have an on again/off again relationship when it comes to spinning negative news.

I hope it's not to make another change due to spoilers. According to Mr. Anonymous, Mockingbird was supposed to turn out to be the real deal until spoilers started flying willy nilly.

I don't think it is possible that they'll change who leads the Dark Avengers or who becomes/remains Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Well, maybe it would be easy enough to slot in someone else as leader, as long as they answer to the person originally intended to be the leader. It gives the appearance of change without really screwing up all the things they have planned already.

I, also, doubt that they'll change who is jumping ship from one Avengers team to another. The character that Mr. Anonymous gave me would need to have so many plans changed that I don't think they can scrap the move just to nullify spoilers.

Can't wait to find out...

Oscar Worthy Comic Book Movie Performances?

I think I originally saw this over on Heidi MacDonald's THE BEAT. One tiny little point of the Variety article stuck out like a sore thumb:

Oscar's biases are nothing new. Unfortunately, they're increasingly out of step with the reality that some of the finest acting in American movies -- and, for that matter, some of the most artful filmmaking -- can be found in the realms of what might be uncharitably described as "fanboy cinema." In a year that saw a surfeit of memorable performances in superhero pictures -- Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman in "The Dark Knight," Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow in "Iron Man," Charlize Theron in "Hancock" -- it may be time for the Academy to start taking this work as seriously as the actors and filmmakers have.

Do they have a drug testing policy over at Variety? Because someone has to be on really heavy narcotics to have thought ANY performance in HANCOCK was Oscar worthy...

Web Comics Week: The Wang

Yesterday, I started off Web Comics Week with a look at Calamities of Nature. That strip came to my attention due to having advertised in the past. So, why abandon that method of picking strips to take a look at already?

THE WANG is quite a funny comic. It has a diverse cast, as well as subject matter. Unlike the turn that Calamities took with changing to the old standard layout, WANG has at least kept to giving you something more akin to the double-sized Sunday newspaper version. And why not, since it is delivered weekly rather than 2-3 times a week?


But where it really breaks from standards is in the subjects and language used. Our protagonist, Eugene Wang, constantly has the short term romantic hook up between his mother and his ex-girlfriend thrown in his face. They have his friend, George L. Gedaladapus, tricks a dimwitted friend of Eugene's into bed and into handing him a check for a bogus pyramid scheme (that might be a redundant phrase, come to think of it). The language used tends to be a little blue from time to time and has no qualms about employing sexual humor.


In addition to going politically incorrect or with shock humor, they tackle the more "middle of the road stuff" (like what a dog on a walk is thinking) and politics (like addressing some of the voter suppression tactics used).


Unfortunately, since the online version only goes back to February 2008, I can't really compare and contrast how the strip started versus how it is today. It existed in some form before that date and, I'm gathering, previous strips were pulled down once they were printed in a collection. From the start of this iteration, though, Stan Yan (the creator) was in full stride.


Every strip has a laugh, even when it is really meant to set up for a larger joke. Maybe Yan is more keen on this due to his weekly schedule. Readers are probably even more concerned with having a payoff in each strip when they only get it on Mondays. But whatever the reason, it consistently works.


The cast is extremely well-balanced. While Eugene's ex-girlfriend might not be able to carry the strip with cutesy observations about a dog being walked, there is rarely a case of feeling the strip is lacking by the absence of a particular character. Quite the opposite, it works when it's Eugene & George, George & Sueann, Eugene Jr & Eugene Sr or any other combo that graced Yan's WebComicNation page. That page apparently does contain some old work with the character, but not the beginning of the version you'll see under THE WANG.

I'd head on over and catch up on the last year of strips. I don't think you'll regret the time spent.

Uncanny X-Men: Terry Dodson Pencil & Ink Interior Pages

As always, the provided images come from the Terry Dodson fan group on Yahoo.

Some People Are Way Too Sensitive

Entertainment Weekly has a list of the 16 most offensive stereotype characters in film.

I can see the point with some of them, but in many cases the same movie provides examples that break the stereotype as a method for demonstrating that it isn't accurate.

The reader voting seems more ridiculous. Malibu's Most Wanted & White Girls (two over-the-top comedies) are more offensive than the portrayal of black women in Gone With The Wind (a dramatic movie that many point to as demonstrating the level of prejudice that still existed in the 1930s)? Really? Seems more likely that people are judging based on how much they liked the movie, rather than any true level of racial stereotyping.

Why don't you head on over and see what you think?

Torso Fast Tracked?

Over on MTV Splash Page, they're reporting various sources that are saying David Fincher might start production on the TORSO movie as early March 2009.

You know why I think they're right? When replying to the MTV Splash Page twitter linking to the story, it garnered this response:

BRIANMBENDIS @mtvsplashpage :) 25 minutes ago from web in reply to mtvsplashpage

Yeah, I think the talk of fast tracking is spot-on.

Who's That Girl?

Mr. Anonymous checked in with a new spoiler. Since this is for a Hudlin book? No redaction. Just white text that you'll have to highlight at your own risk. Going to put it pretty far down the page in case some RSS feeds discard the coloring of the text.








Not yet.







Ororo becomes inhabited by the Panther God, which makes it highly likely that she's the one under the new costume.



There ya go.

Web Comics Week: Calamities Of Nature

As I mentioned in my previous blogs about Cru the Dwarf, I tend to check out my advertisers. I like to see who or what is taking up a spot somewhere on the blog.

Calamities of Nature is, quite often, one of my sponsors.

Reading through the entirety of the strip (current to 10/26/08), it has its rough patches early on, but settles into giving consistent chuckles.

In the early going, it tries to make statements without any real funny to it. It talks about the leadership vacuum that he felt the country was experiencing in 2007. He tries to tie the funny into it, but allowed the first part to be dry as heck. That's not generally the format for something that seems to be aimed towards laughter rather than arcs that are drawn-out and heavy on thought-provocation.

It only takes a few weeks for the creator, Tony Piro, to go for more of the wacky comic strip stuff, complete with making sure there's at least an attempt at funny in each individual serving. It starts with A Hairy Situation and seems to find a good formula from thereon out. While there isn't always a chuckle with each new page, there is more obvious setup, often using somewhat off-the-wall premises. While it might not deliver that laugh, it tries to make sure you know there will be an attempt at one in the next strip. I'd have to imagine that is key to keeping new readers around for more.

In September, Piro took a mildly disappointing turn, eschewing his fuller page strips and adopting something more akin to the newspaper strips. This necessitates most of the strips rushing the setup to get to the punchline.

Mind you, there are still a number of laughs to be had, but regressing to the format of the establishment (whether to become more homogenized or to be able to pop out strips more quickly) isn't the sign of a strip striving for originality. It will still manage to be entertaining enough to read for the price ($0), but it doesn't look like it will become a standout. Here's hoping I'm wrong.

Vixen Mini-Series

(Vixen #3 Cover by Josh Middleton)

Somewhere on this site, I lamented the angle they were taking with the Vixen mini-series. To some extent, I still feel that way. But G. Willow Wilson has certainly produced some quality for the chosen angle.

She's managed to include the JLA in enough of the book to possibly help in its marketing. The direction she has taken the story managed to be compelling on several fronts...and timely to boot.

Dealing with what amounts to tribal warfare and potential acts of genocide, the conflict is clearly established. Given the personal motivations of Vixen's presence, the reader can easily become emotionally invested in the story.

(Vixen #4 Cover by Josh Middleton)

So, while I still think they could have gone more audience-friendly by keeping the story more like the JLA arcs that new readers have come to know the character through, G. Willow Wilson and editorial are certainly trying to make it successful while giving us a story true to the character's roots. DC's commitment to the mini is evidenced on using Josh Middleton as the cover artist. He's pretty much one of their marquee artists as it applies to covers, so I don't think they take his assignments lightly.

In my opinion, they are putting out a quality product that still might have a chance to catch a decent share of the JLA audience. Which is much better than I thought they were going to accomplish going in.

Hulk Vs Thor DVD Trailer

Football Sunday

So, Stephen Jackson is out this Sunday. Winslow is still inactive, despite having his suspension removed. And there are a ton of teams on bye weeks. Hope you all got your teams set in advance.

Rooting for my Jets today. Somehow, I don't think this guy (Tyler Thigpen) is going to beat them:


Though he just did get lucky with two passes, one being the great play Tony Gonzalez made to catch a ball while sandwiched between two defenders, stay on his feet and go another 3-4 yards into the end zone.

My teams are pretty well set for the week. When Terrell Owens is predicted to be your weakest player other than tight end, things are good.

But I'm going to take a few guesses at what the top fantasy performer at each position will be:

QB: Donovan McNabb - Atlanta isn't an outstanding defense, while the Eagles are coming off a bye, getting Westbrook and Curtis back.

QB Honorable Mention: While I'm tempted to go with either QB in the London game, I'd have to think Jason Campbell is going to do some good things. Same goes for both QBs in the Arizona/Carolina tilt. So McNabb-Campbell-LondonQBs-Delhomme.

RB: Clinton Portis - He's the obvious pick this week, but sometimes the obvious is still the right one. One of the top performing RBs in the league this season, going against one of the worst defenses in the league? Yeah...I'll take that.

RB Honorable Mention: If I could be sure which would get the right carries, I'd probably have picked one of the Titans RBs (most likely Chris Johnson). McGahee was, also, tough to pass up...as Oakland isn't a great rushing defense. Somehow, I think MJD will finish in the top 5.

WR: Santana Moss - Top 10 fantasy WR, bottom 5 fantasy defense...you do the math.

WR Honorable Mention: Steve Smith leads the also-rans. There should be enough yardage for the WRs of both teams in the Panthers/Cardinals game. Fitzgerald would be in this group, except for the fact that Boldin is back and the yardage might be just balanced enough to let others pass them. Like Andre Johnson and...well...no one else. OK, I'd possibly have put Roddy White up there, but I just saw an update that would make him too easy to pick.

TE: Mercedes Lewis - His last two games produced great for a TE. The receiving corps of the Jags is just ugly at the moment with injuries & suspensions. Going against the Browns, I expect him to get serious targets.

TE Honorable Mention: Dustin Keller & Jeremy Shockey. That's all I got. The TE position isn't sexy enough to type a paragraph about.

D/ST: Baltimore Ravens - Running game is back. Defense is still pretty good. Their weakness? Passing defense. Oakland offense's weakness? Passing offense. Yeah...the Ravens will do well.

D/ST Honorable Mention: Jets. KC can be atrocious on offense. Sacks are on the menu. Maybe even a turnover or two.

What do the rest of you think?

New Comments Style: Yea, Nay or Meh

I've switched to the new embedded comment feature of Blogger, as I always appreciate not having to leave the blog post and load a new page to submit a comment on the other blogs I frequent.

But my opinion on how to place comments isn't nearly as important of the readers who frequent my blog. Vote your preference and majority rules. The polls will be open until November 1st.

New WATCHMEN Trailer (In HD)

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Oh Well...

Friday evening, I created a blog in the range of the blog titles DCCI had used in the past few days. The idea was to see how many people were still frothing at the mouth to hear more of the stuff he was spewing before.

That experiment was blown. Someone with strong Google Fu blew it for me.

The results are pretty inconclusive with such a short span of time and no chance for it to go viral, but the page had 100 hits in about 20 hours. The most important period would have been over the business day on Monday. After about 9pm EST, I planned to put up the final numbers and either proclaim happiness over a low number of hits (doubtful) or point and laugh at all the people salivating to hear more trashy gossip that doesn't really concern them.

That blog has been deleted as no one will fall for the trick now. Oh well...it was worth a try.

The Scare Tactics Are Getting Ridiculous Now...

UPDATE: And No More Developing Stories For Him, Either...

1st & 2nd blogs are both gone. Which is GOOD NEWS!

Update: Removed the links to the previous blogs as a comment suggested. Giving printscreens of the blogs.


As you can see, someone picked up the initial blog address and posted their commentary on the whole thing. The second one was quite forcibly removed by Google, it appears. One can be fairly certain this was due to pressure from a legal team Wrangling Blogger into pulling it down.

Update 2: You should really take a look at Valerie D'Orazio's take on the insider.

Election Shenanigans

Apparently, Reed Richards (shown above at campaign stop) is running for President, with his campaign managed by Johnny Storm.

Meanwhile, he's being opposed by Victor Von Doom's campaign. He's running, he's managing, he's doing everything...for he is DOOM!

I'm still voting Obama.

Wonder Woman Day III: Pt. 5

If you haven't heard, some great Wonder Woman art is being auctioned away to raise money and awareness domestic violence shelters and a women's crisis hotline during Wonder Woman Day III. Online bidding will be open through October 25th at 12am.

During the week, I'll be displaying some of the art being auctioned off on their site to hopefully pique your interest and maybe help send some bids their way.

Aaron Lopresti

Adam Hughes

Adam Hughes

Allison Sohn

Jaime Hernandez

Ultimate Comics Walk-Up Sales For Oct 15th, 2008

From Lee Newman of Ultimate Comics, the list of top-selling books at one of their locations in North Carolina for what was released on 10/15/08. Pull lists are not included, as this is meant to capture what is being bought off the shelf.

1. Presidential Materials: Barack Obama
2. Amazing Spider-Man #573
3. Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #2
4. Final Crisis: Rogue's Revenge #3
5. Presidential Materials: Flip Book
6. Amazing Spider-Man #573 Stephen Colbert Variant
7. Ultimate Origins #5
8. Presidential Materials: John McCain
9. Scooby Doo #137
10. Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen Special #1

Presidential Material - JUGGERNAUT!!!! Yay, unfortunately this will slow down as I will not be reordering any more, the time is past. If I could guarantee delivery and sales for before the election I would, but to reorder at this point would be fiscally irresponsible (editor's note: did political debate talking points slip in here?)

Amazing-Spiderman - Despite what the interwebs say, when you take Peter Parker put him in his proper setting and thro in Venom and the Green Goblin to boot, he sells comics. Since the Colbert variant was a seperately ordered item all together we had ample quantities and I tracked as if it were another title.

Final Crisis Tie-Ins, these are the best of the bunch and written by Johns, none of the others perform as well. Wonder why that is?

Scooby Doo - Kid's books, if you buy them, they will come. This one often makes the top ten as does Tiny Titans. Now if I could just convince more kids to buy Billy Batson.

Jimmy Olsen - Yeah, have Robinson write a phenomenal comic book and it sells well, even when it ties into the odd Atlas Arc.

Not mentioned in Lee's notes: looks like maybe some readers that left the Ultimate titles are wandering back to see its death and rebirth.

Wonder Woman Day III: Pt. 4

If you haven't heard, some great Wonder Woman art is being auctioned away to raise money and awareness domestic violence shelters and a women's crisis hotline during Wonder Woman Day III. Online bidding will be open through October 25th at 12am.

During the week, I'll be displaying some of the art being auctioned off on their site to hopefully pique your interest and maybe help send some bids their way.

Steven Gordon

Ibrahim Moustafa

Neil Vokes

Nick Sung

J-Bone

Mark J. Tannacore