There’s a lot going on in Geek Culture right now. I’m just amazed how shows like Supergirl, The Flash and Jessica Jones have engaged faithful fans and created new fans simultaneously. I’m surprised to be reading about Santa Con and noting the similarities to the explosive Cosplay growth at every comic convention this past year. And I’m encouraged by the all the great Geek Culture books, comics, merchandise and collectibles out there – and ecstatic that it’s so creative and fun.
So this week, let’s take a pause and look at a few of these treasures. This isn’t meant to be a Holiday Buying Guide – but if you get a little cash from your Aunt Agnes this yuletide season, you might want to zip down to your local comic shop or bookstore and check these out.
Scott Dunbier is so much more than just an editor at IDW. He’s a passionate fan who’s committed to creating product the way he’d love to see them –and not afraid to blaze a few trails along the way. In recent years, his “Artist’s Editions” have created a new category, replicating the look and feel of holding the actual, oversize comic pages upon which artists typically pencil and ink their illustrations.
Scott has created books that are reproduced from the actual original artwork pages, so in addition to every ink line and stray pencil mark, you can also see the corrections, whiteouts, touch ups and scrawled notes in the margins. It’s an astounding experience for fiction lovers and art lovers.
And in the “he’s done it again” category, Scott and IDW have created the Artisan Edition. This format is similar, but it presents the pages reduced to a size we’re all more accustomed to seeing the final printed product at; the typical book/magazine size. For an artist like the great Wally Wood, who packed every panel with brilliant and thoughtful detail, this is a feast for your eyes. If artwork had calories, you’d go over your daily allotment reading just one story illustrated by Wally Wood.
The other rule that was “broken” here is that this Artisan Edition presents several different stories, and covers, from a bunch of different EC comics. This provides the reader with a fantastic assortment of artwork and adventures from this influential artist, clearly one of the greats of the industry.
Most of the folks reading this column probably saw the latest James Bond adventure, Spectre, and probably enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun for long-time fans but had a fresh cutting edge vibe that kept it from being stale or stodgy.
That’s exactly what author Anthony Horowitz has done with the newest Bond thriller, Trigger Mortis. This spy novel is set in the past, right after the James Bond adventure with Goldfinger. And the good news is that Pussy Galore, the quintessential Bond Girl –is still hanging around at the novel’s start.
This novel weaves in some original Ian Fleming chapters. These were pages he had written for a proposed James Bond television show. And the nice part about a James Bond novel is that the reader can cast his or her favorite Bond actor in the lead role. This one seems tailor made for Sean Connery, and in my mind’s eye it played out like a lost James Bond movie broadcast on the old ABC Sunday Night at the Movies.
One other note: Horowitz provides Bond with exposure to alternative lifestyles in this book, and presents Bond rising to the occasion. In the original novels, Bond sometimes exhibits a misogynistic or close-minded side, but that was refreshingly absent here. Bravo!
I’m blessed with an abundance of generous people in my life. One of them is my cousin Yamu. Despite a childhood filled with non-stop reading and re-reading old 60’s Marvel Comics bequeathed to him, and his brother Peter, by their baby sitter, Yamu is always enjoying new and different comics. He still enjoys the capes-and-tights stuff, but he’s great at finding fresh new voices and then helps spread the word.
Yamu gifted me The Complete Pistol Whip and what a treat it’s been. Dark Horse publishes it, but Top Shelf published the original series. Kindt is currently gaining accolades with Mind Management, but this is where it all started. In fact, Pistol Whip was named as one of Time Magazines Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2001. (How’d I miss that?)
This is a lovely book that still seems fresh and innovative, despite being almost 15 years old.
And much like the Wally Wood book with all the imperfections and corrections, this collection also lovingly provides the reader with many thoughtful, small extra touches. One of my favorites – they’ve printed a tear in the book as if several pages were ripped in the same place. They aren’t of course, but it adds to the astonishing attention to detail that makes this volume a reading experience.
This book isn’t a graphic novel, but it does have many of the hallmarks of heroic fiction. On one hand, it’s the story of a guy trying to do the right thing and working hard to be a good father. He faces his challenges with a great deal of courage and humility. And in the end, he ultimately triumphs. Jim usually writes insightful marketing books (his Experience Effect series are marketing “must reads”) but this very personal memoir is outstanding and I can’t recommend it enough.
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And in the meantime, I hope you’re enjoying your Yuletide. You (probably) deserve it.
My first regular comic shop, Kim’s Collectibles, was a cramped little store that shared a cramped little building with a barber. Old men would share war stories in the barber shop, while right next door kids would be flipping through the newest Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man. The small space got gleefully smaller with the long boxes of comics’ back-issues and bins of vintage vinyl records.
I stumbled across this treasure at the end of the story arc rainbow the day before they opened. And you can bet I made sure I returned the next day to make a purchase. But in 1975, especially in a little town like Auburn, nestled in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, we didn’t really know about comic shops. It would be a long time before being a Geek would be cool and “nerd shows” like the Big Bang Theory were waaaay in the future. But it was a glorious time to be a kid and fanboy.
I had the good fortune to catch up with Kim Draheim, the founder of Kim’s Collectibles (later called Kim’s Comics & Records) and he revealed some astounding things about those early days.
Kim explained that his path to opening a comic shop was not planned. He and his girlfriend were buying their weekly comics from a newsstand, but then decided to make a regular trek to a comic shop in Rochester. The so-called Flour City was way ahead of the curve, with two comic shops already located in that town. And he reminded me that back then, nearby cities like Syracuse had no comic shops. Queen City Bookstore in Buffalo had opened in 1969, but that was long drive from Auburn. New York had a couple of comic shops, but they had yet to catch hold in other major cities, like Boston.
So as Kim and his girlfriend made their weekly pilgrimages to Rochester’s The Fantasy Shop, there came a day when the owner suggested that Kim start his own comic shop. He had never considered it before. But in those early days, long before today’s monopolistic distribution model, The Fantasy Shop sold comics at a near wholesale price to Kim.
Kim knew that low rent would be important, and he found that little hole-in-the-wall in the Five Points section of Auburn, NY. The tiny brick building was owned by the barber, and he provided a separate storefront for Kim’s comic shop.
“Those little hole-in-the-wall comic shops are lost. Now they are they are all big and well lit … and that’s great. But there was a charm to those little comic shops,” Kim reminisced.
At that time, Kim reminded me, no one had ever heard of a comic shop. He had a hard time convincing his landlord that it would not be a porn shop. In fact, Kim had to give the barber all kind of guarantees that it wouldn’t be a porn shop.
The Community and the Comic Shop
Kim recalls how suspicious some parents were of the shop. Some thought he was dealing drugs. He was not. Other parents, and members of the small town, were supportive and would become friends.
One mother didn’t want her son to read comics. The boy was a voracious reader, however, and Kim would see time and time again that “readers read”. So many of his customers read not only comics, but also everything they could get their hands on.
There was an irony where one parent who was quite a drinker would give his son a $10 bill and say, “Go to that weirdo store”. The father would then spend an hour in the nearby bar. His comments probably reflected the mood of many folks in those days, i.e. reading “weirdo” comics was less healthy or productive than spending an afternoon in a bar.
“It’s funny, but I didn’t realize until later when my early customers grew up, how much it meant to them.” And local musicians, the other part of Kim’s Comics and Records, credit Kim for expanding their musical horizons. Several of them still have the first guitar that they purchased through the store.
The Early Days of Comics Distributors
I was curious how the distribution system worked in the early days. At first, Kim’s Collectibles would pick up comics from another store in Rochester. But quickly, he outgrew that system.
“We eventually worked with Capital then switched to Diamond Distributors. We were big enough so we were getting a 50% or 55% discount due to our big volume.” At least it was big volume for those days. “Today we wouldn’t get those discounts.”
In today’s world, where the vast majority of Geek retailing comes from one near-monopolistic distributor, it’s easy to come across complaints. “The one thing I do remember is customer service,” said Kim. When he would call his distributor “…everyone at Capital and Diamond knew comics” and was a fan or collector too.
What Made It Work … and What Didn’t Work
For a brief time, Kim left Auburn and sold the business to one of his best customers, Gary Amadon. Gary ran it for about three years, but the business went downhill without Kim’s passion as a fan of both comics and music. From the start, Kim had blended those two interests together for his retail store. “(Boston’s) Newbury Comics is an extreme example of a retailer who’s done this,” said Kim. To make it work in a small market, he realized he needed to use a blended model to ensure an income stream.
Kim also knew that as a retailer it was important that he didn’t let a fanboy’s collector mentality take over. He related a story about a time where Gary was astounded when a near-mint Amazing Spider-Man #2 was brought in for sale. And soon after, a second near-mint Amazing Spider-Man #2 was also brought in for sale. Gary, as a huge collector, bought both of those comics but couldn’t bear to sell either one. That was a lot of cash for a small store to tie up in non-saleable inventory.
A Return to the Business
Not long after, Kim returned to the Auburn area to start a family. They say you can’t go home again, but he decided to reboot the comic shop. He took it over from Gary.
And so it was time to re-negotiate with his landlord, the barber. Originally, Kim was paying $100 rent each month. That low overhead helped keep the business going. During renegotiations, Kim was concerned when the barber told him that he wouldn’t be able to give him the sweetheart deal any longer. “The price would have to be raised,” he told Kim in a serious manner.
“‘It will now be $110 a month’, the barber tells me,” said Kim with a laugh.
Upon his return to the store, Kim partnered with a super-fan named Thaddeus Foos. Thad had a great talent for grading comics, and together they took great pride that they never gouged collectors and always sold back issue comics at a fair price. They worked hard to ensure that nobody ever felt ripped off.
Thad, with a warm smile and infectious smile, helped make new customers feel welcome and continued the high standard of retailing authenticity for long-time fans.
His Greatest Regret
“I’ll tell you my greatest regret”, Kim confided. “It has to do with the astounding quality of superhero movies today. I feel bad that Gary Amadon died young. Gary loved superhero comics ten times as much as I did. He used to dream about quality superhero movies. He used to talk about it constantly.” With great sadness, Kim explained how much a super-fan like Gary Amadon would have enjoyed today’s big screen, and small screen, comic heroes.
It really has come full circle. Kim’s three-year-old granddaughter dons her red cape regularly to watch the new Supergirl show (over and over) with Grandpa.
Still Deep into Geek Culture
“Do you still read comics?” I asked.
“Absolutely!” he enthusiastically replied. Even after all this time, Kim’s still into Geek Culture.
Then Kim went on to explain that he drifted away from superhero titles, but his wife loves the superhero movies. Due to equal parts of nostalgia and habit, Kim still reads Conan comics, now published by Dark Horse. Conan was the title that pulled him back into comics, in eight grade, after he had “graduated from them” in fifth grade. He still likes several series such as Dynamite’s The Shadow, Drawn and Quarterly’s Berlin and Image Comics’ Stray Bullets. His favorite of recent years was Vertigo’s Scalped. “I kept waiting for it to jump the shark, but it never did.”
Kim still sells to a select group of fans. “To be honest – even now – when I get my new comics box I’m always excited. Even though I only purchase five to seven comics each month. And I’m always excited to look through Diamond Previews. It’s just a thrill.”
My daughter is a college freshman, and she’s going to be working at the popular yoga and athletic apparel retailer Lululemon over her holiday break. It makes all the sense in the world as she’s focused on fitness and is a certified yoga instructor. She told the family a little about her training, and I was struck by some of the very thoughtful and progressive business practices the company embraces in order to make customers feel like they are truly guests. And at the core, they want to hire people who are passionately involved in fitness so that the retailer can best connect and care for their customers’ needs.
And then I thought about that “front line of pop culture,” our nation’s 2,000 comic shops. One of the reasons comic shops are thriving, while other, more established retailers are stumbling (I’m looking at you, Wal-Mart), is because comic shops know how to shift customers out of that “us vs. them” conundrum and into a “we’re all in this together” mindset.
Comic shops can be fun and engaging in ways far beyond those of ordinary retailers. Many times it starts with the people, and like Lululemon in the example above, the best-in-class comic shop retailers also recruit fans and “experts” to not only sell merchandise, but to help the clientele find what they need.
My great friend Greg Price used to tell a story about Seattle’s Zanadu Comics. At one point, they sent him a copy of a comic that they knew he’d like – even after he had moved to New Jersey the year before. That’s dedication. And that goes far beyond an Amazon recommendation, doesn’t it?
My exposure to comic shop retailing started in the 70s. I was a voracious reader, and I loved and collected comics. I made a weekly pilgrimage to the local convenience store (even though we called it a “Food Store” back then). I even studied the on-shelf patterns so I could predict when different comic titles would be on sale.
While I was riding my bike back from one of these weekly pilgrimages, I saw an astounding sight. A man and a woman were moving boxes of comics into a small store. Boxes of comics? A store? At that time, I was vaguely aware that there were some stores dedicated to selling comics. But all those stores were located in mythical, far away lands with names like “New York City” and “Rochester.”
I introduced myself and wanted to dive in a right away. They told me, politely but firmly, that they’d be opening tomorrow and I could return then to peruse and purchase. I had to wait a whole day. I’m sure I muttered something like, “What a rip-off!”
But I returned the next day and many days after that. To me and my little gang of hoodlums friends, this comic shop was more than just a retailer. It was our entry point into a wonderful world full of stories, collectibles and adventures. And we knew even then that the swimming pool of pop culture was so big and wide that we would dive in and never have to come out. That retailer, Kim Draheim, knew it too and as an apostle of Geek Culture, helped foster a love of the industry that continues for all of us to that day.
I’ve caught up with Kim and next week we’ll catch up this early comic shop pioneer and explore the days of the direct retail market from his unique point of view.
Print sales for the debut issue of Paper Girls were 75,000. That’s impressive. This accomplishment is even more impressive when you realize this story includes no capes, superheroes or zombies and was not published by Marvel or DC. But the more you understand the discerning appetite of Geek Culture; the more it makes sense.
Although it’s one of the hottest comics right now, at first blush it’s an unlikely candidate for such strong sales. As a monthly comic that will soon be collected into a trade paperback, Paper Girls follows the exploits of four middle school girls in suburban Cleveland. Their part-time jobs are part of an old distribution model for an outdated form of mass media – delivery morning newspapers. The story is set in the wee hours after Halloween in 1988. But quickly it careens from the ordinary to a wildly intriguing thrill-ride.
Paper Girls is published by Image Comics, a publisher dedicated to helping creators bring their visions to life. Brian K. Vaughn is the writer and co-creator, and as his ongoing series Saga is such a huge hit, it makes sense that his fans would follow him to this new series.
But this series offers so much more – there’s 80s nostalgia, Matt Wilson’s brilliantly innovative coloring, unconventional protagonists (tough girls who smoke and swear) and this crazy, keep-the-reader-off-balance story. This is one of those stories where you kind of think you know where it’s going, but you quickly realize you have no idea. And then you think, “it’s ok not know what the hell is going on.” And maybe it’s even more fun that way too.
There’s something to that tried-and-true entrepreneurial idea of “offering value” too. The creators clearly are innovative small business people. The first issue had double the standard number of pages, but was still priced at $2.99, less than a standard Marvel or DC Comic.
But even beyond the moody story, the stark, deceivingly straightforward artwork from Cliff Chiang is a huge part of what makes this series enjoyable and masterful. Cliff’s a brilliant guy with an impressive background, but you need only enjoy his comics work – from Beware the Creeper to the more recent Wonder Woman – to know he’s a real pro at the peak of this game.
Even when he’s busy, Cliff is one of those guys who is affably professional – so much so that he almost seems like he’s a throwback to a more civilized age. As you have probably guessed, I recently caught up with Cliff Chiang to get his thoughts on the series.
Ed Catto: Paper Girls employs such a unique, fresh and clear voice, especially in contrast to not only other comics but other movies/books/TV Shows. Was that your intent and what are you, and writer Brian K. Vaughan, trying to accomplish?
Cliff Chiang: We wanted to tell a different kind of story, both personal and unpredictable (hopefully). The book definitely harkens to the ’80s adventure films we all loved as kids, but it’s not purely that. As the series progresses, we’ll show more of an adult perspective, too.
EC: It’s easy to tell that you push yourself with this book’s composition, characters and even jagged lifework. How do you approach new projects and did you approach this one differently?
CC: I try to imagine what the book needs visually and see what I can do to adapt to those needs. With Paper Girls, we’re seeing a lot of everyday life, which needs to be rendered in a style that’s a little looser and more evocative than usual. It needed a lot more personality, whereas in superhero books, you’re often just trying to make things look believable.
EC: There’s a real 80s nostalgia in this series. What was it like when you were growing up and what was your favorite part about the 80s?
CC: I think everyone’s somewhat nostalgic about his or her childhood, but I really wanted the book to feel authentic rather than a caricature of the ’80s. Being a latchkey kid, I remember having a lot of independence in those hours between the end of school and my mom coming home from work.
EC: What’s next for Paper Girls?
CC: We’ll get a glimpse of the larger conflict surrounding Stony Stream, and the girls wind up in some very strange places.
EC: Thanks, Cliff.
Paper Girls is available at your local comic shop and issue #3 will be on sale this Wednesday. Give it a try and I’d love to hear what you think.
Even though police procedurals are all the rage on TV right now, I’ve always preferred detective shows and Film Noir movies. This week, let’s take a walk down some mean streets as I tell you about an outstanding Film Noir thriller. You’ll have to listen closely, as there’s no film at all.
Broadway Is My Beat is a crime drama from the Golden Age of Radio. Originally broadcast in the late 40’s and early 50’s, this show follows the homicide caseload of Lt. Danny Clover, a cop assigned to the “Broadway Precinct” of New York City.
Each week Lt. Clover must solve a murder. And it’s all done Ellery Queen/“fair play” style, so the listener can figure out whodunit as well. These stories are pretty clever. It’s always a race for the listener to keep up with the police lieutenant and discover what really happened before it’s revealed.
The writers played fast and loose with the geographical boundaries of the precinct, so Broadway Is My Beat also becomes a travel log of a New York City that’s long gone. Any given episode might take you to Times Square’s Dance Halls, or to a seedy apartment building or to an ethnic neighborhood that simply no longer exists.
And as an audio drama, you’ll have to use your imagination for everything. I always tend to conjure up long dark shadows for most scenes and pretend it’s filmed in black and white. Of course, if I’ve recently read an Ed Brubaker comic, I tend to imagine Sean Phillips’ art (below). But if you envision Steranko, in full Chandler-mode, you can’t go wrong either.
These adventures offer a fascinating mix of purple prose and hard-boiled dialogue. Lt. Clover typically offers over-the-top narration for the reader, often speaking directly to you’ But when the characters talk, it’s a time capsule of New York, with loads of sass and moxie.
Here’s a great example of pulpy-but-poetic opening narration. This from a 1952 episode called The Eve Hunter Murder Case, written by Morton S. Fine:
The pallor of the long day ebbs finally from Broadway,
What had been sallow and gray is a sudden scarlet.
Where drabness was, where surfaces were drained of color,
There’s a glitter that’s now silvery – darted through with splinters of neon light.
And at this edge of twilight the shock gathers … waits for the revelers.
The sighing wind draws them into it one by one,
From the long corridors, from hall bedrooms, from the embrace of solitude.
They drift, they run, they whirl to the dancing of the wind
And shock waits..and shock comes!
The talent on this production is top notch. The best episodes of Broadway Is My Beat were directed by one of the most talented guys in the radio industry: Elliot Lewis. He was an important producer and a visionary with some of the later shows he created. He was also a very gifted comedian, appearing as guitar player Frankie Remley in the long-running Phil Harris – Alice Faye Show.
Larry Thor played the lead with an urgent, world-weary staccato for most of the show’s run. In fact, in so many episodes you can hear his impatience and frustration from constantly wading through death’s aftermath. Quite often, the police characters in the series will have to pause and apologize because they’ve just been too short or too rude to one another.
When the show hit its stride, Alexander Courage was in charge of the music. You probably remember him for his best-known work: the Star Trek Theme.
You can find episodes of Broadway Is My Beat at Radio Spirits, one of the premiere companies selling old time radio shows. You can also discover many episodes on the web, and Radio Archives has a great online collection.
We’ll end this week’s column the way Lt. Danny Clover ended each episode:
Broadway is my beat, from Times Square to Columbus Circle, the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world.
Last month we said goodbye to the great comics artist, Murphy Anderson. He had such a body of work, and given his impressive talents, it’s not surprising that he was working as a professional comics artist over six decades.
My gorgeous wife, Kathe, had come to love Murphy too. She was so impressed with the man, his lovely wife Helen and his son, Murphy Anderson III. (This is one case where you can’t parrot that old saw, “There will never be another Murphy Anderson” – because there is!) She and I were talking to some friends about Murphy’s passing and we were trying to put it into perspective for these folks who weren’t comic fans. I stumbled into the analogy that Murphy was the “Tony Bennett of comics.” Upon further reflection, I think that’s pretty fitting. He was the consummate professional, always delivering high quality work and was always consistent. He never changed his thinking to bend the times – neither in his art style nor his thoughts on how a professional presents himself. And like Tony Bennett, Murphy was humble, warm and charming.
But even though he never changed what he did or how he did it, Murphy leaves us with a rich scope of non-traditional work. Oh, sure, if you’re feeling nostalgic for the great man you can pull out some old Hawkman stories or Buck Rogers strips. But this week we’re going to celebrate some of Murphy’s non-traditional work!
MS Magazine
You probably know that MS Magazine proudly debuted with a Murphy Anderson cover featuring Wonder Woman. I wouldn’t have been in their target demographic, but I know I would’ve bought this issue!
PS Magazine
It’s hard to believe, but in the days before Instagram and cellphones, folks used to read print material when they were just hanging around. The Army knew this and created PS Magazine, a hybrid of information for the serviceman told in a light, engaging comics style. You probably know that Will Eisner worked on this, but did you know that Murphy Anderson managed the contract for years afterwards?
Prince Valiant
Pioneer’s Prince Valiant reprint series invited some of the industry’s best artists to contribute covers to the series. Murphy’s Prince Valiant was a winner:
Aurora Ads
Sometimes an advertised product looks nothing like the real thing. Safe to say that no kid’s finished model kits looked as good as they did in the ads in which that Murphy Anderson provided the art.
Black Cat
In the 90s, Alfred Harvey rebooted a family property: the original Black Cat. Mark Evanier was the scripter and Murphy Anderson was the interior artist. Although not known for rendering vivacious women, Murphy could rev it up when needed (see my previous column on his stunning depiction of the lovely Dejah Thoris) and he sure did here. Keep an eye out for this gem (Alfred Harvey’s Black Cat: The Origins) when you’re diving into the back issue bins.
Super Queens
You might have known that Murphy provided the packaging artwork for Captain Action, but did you know he also provided stellar artwork for the companion Super Queen’s line? It included lovely images for Supergirl, Mera, Batgirl and Wonder Woman.
Record Albums
Ok, we’ll admit it – these weren’t quite Sgt. Pepper level, but Murphy created several record album covers for Batman, Robin and more!
Seduction of the Innocent
Do you love Craig Yoe’s IDW reprints (Haunted Horror and Weird Love) as much as I do? Back in 1985, Eclipse did a similar thing with their Seduction of the Innocent comics. Issue #2’s cover features the lovely Gloria Wheeler, Interplanetary Girl Reporter using elements from the 1950s story called “The Space Treasure.” The whole story, with robust Murphy Anderson pencils and inks, was originally printed in Standard series called Fantastic Worlds.
Now, before I wind it up, I might need to remind you that Murphy, the quintessential gentleman, was a Tarheel… and the University of North Carolina’s team color is baby blue. There’s an old saying in the south, “God so loved Carolina, that he made the sky Carolina Blue. There’s should be a corollary to that, something along the lines of: “God so loved the comics industry that he gave us Murphy Anderson.”
The more things change… the more they change. The very first StreamCon, a convention that’s all about online influencers and digital content, was just held in New York City. It’s a show that’s blended for both industry professional and fans, just like the bigger comic cons. And it was held in the Javits Center, just like New York Comic Con, so it brought back a lot of memories of the “early days” of what has become one of biggest comic-cons in the world.
There’s been a lot written about New York Comic Con and the continuing growth of Geek Culture. It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since the first NYCC. No one knew quite what to expect. It was held in just one section of the Javits Center, in stark contrast to the sprawl of recent years. And that first year, when the crowds got too big, the Fire Marshalls put a halt to anyone entering, or reentering the convention floor. (You can imagine how well that went over.) How could they not have known that it would soon become the biggest show in the convention hall?
On the first day of StreamCon the crowd wasn’t overbearing. It was so easy to get from point A to point B. There was a casual and relaxed atmosphere. And there were only handful of cosplayers. To be fair, Day #1 was meant to be the Industry Summit day, so that was all by design.
But the fascinating part, during this designated professional day, it was all the stress and strains of the marketing community in flux. Sure, there were “industry experts” present but there were also a lot of professionals there to learn about who the YouTube/Vine/Twitter media stars are and just why fans love them so. These folks may have been a little overwhelmed, but the NYC marketing community is nothing if not tough, and you didn’t see anyone sweating.
But It was soon clear that the days of advertising agencies reaching out to the most popular celebrities product spokespeople based on the top network TV shows are long gone. For today’s millennial audiences, the first thing they reach for is their cell phone. And fewer and fewer of them even watch traditional shows – and when they do it’s usually not on their television. It’s one a different screen. TV stars like Tim Allen and Ted Danson are irrelevant to them. Instead they live in a world dominated by online celebrities like PewDiePie, Smosh and Allicatt. In fact, in Variety’s recent ranking, Taylor Swift just barely cracked the top 10.
During the conference, you could see the struggles as many professionals tried to keep up. They worked to make sense of this world of “non-scripted reality fiction”, cord-cutters and the deemphasizing print media. Carrying around a newspaper or telling stories about things like “waiting in line at the bank” were clearly out of place.
One parallel, of course, is how rapidly Geek Culture is also changing. Movies and TV shows serve as not only the gateway for many fans. And these versions are quickly becoming the “alpha continuity” as well. Cosplayers have leapfrogged from being labeled as “nuisances” at comic cons to becoming main attraction. In fact, now there are whole conventions built around cosplayers. Many women now lead the way in creativity and fandom. And with the recent blockbuster debut of Supergirl on TV, you just know that more female fans are being created every Monday night. (Disclosure: I liked it too!)
Change is good! Change is exciting! Flux is the new norm… or the new black or the new orange or something like that. It’s a fascinating ride to be on, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. How do you feel about it?
You don’t have to explain what a comic convention is to most people anymore. They know that these conventions are a celebration of geek culture, that they are places to sell comics and collectibles, and that a lot of people attend these things. Some people might know that the San Diego Comic-Con is the grand-daddy of them all, and generally considered to be biggest and the best.
But that standing is rapidly changing. Recently, New York Comic Con published some astonishing attendance numbers. As it has been each year, this was another record-breaking year as they counted 167,000 attendees. That’s a lot of people.
Geek Culture business analyst and author Rob Salkowitz sees different strengths for each. “NYCC strikes me as a great way for brands to reach influential audiences in the New York area (including a lot of media and publishing elites), whereas SDCC is still the only truly global fan event in North America.”
So while every major convention might have a distinct flavor or purpose, I feel the strong attendee and revenue growth across the board seems to speak to both the rise of Geek Culture and changing consumer habits.
Remember just a few years ago when Target was a “cool” place to shop? Everyone even pronounced the name as “Tar-jay” with a half-jokey attitude. Since then, big box retailers like Target and Wal-Mart (for the first time in ages) find themselves struggling and falling short of expectations. So many Americans feel that if you just have to “buy something,” it’s easier to just order it online and have it delivered.
But if there’s an experience involved, it’s a different story. If you need an expert to help you plan your bridal registry, for example, you definitely want to go to visit a retailer. Or if you want to meet a favorite author, you’ll visit a bookstore for an autographing event. And if you want to celebrate your fan passion, you probably want to visit your comic shop every Wednesday or attend one of the country’s many comic conventions.
That’s where you can see you’re part of something big and exciting. There’s so much to see and learn about – it’s not only about acquiring stuff. Now it’s about acquiring stuff and experiences.
And with the rising tide of Geek Culture and comic cons, everyone seems to have a vision of how they should all work.
I shouldn’t have been surprised to read Alisha Grauso make her case in The Wrap (a news portal that covers entertainment news with a generous dollop of Hollywood insider insights) that movie studios should focus their efforts on promoting at New York Comic Con. For the industry, it’s been “understood” that Hollywood likes to participate in San Diego Comic-Con because it’s fun and it’s an easy economical trip. In her article, Ms. Grauso pointes to several important economic reasons to consider shifting Hollywood’s marketing focus away from thw San Diego Comic-Con and to the New York Comic Con.
I’ll admit it, in my role as a marketing guy we were recently suggesting to a client that they focus their efforts on other conventions rather than San Diego. And this choice makes sense for that particular client, and it also makes sense for more and more brands.
“Fan events… are big business,” said Lance Fensterman, senior global VP of ReedPOP. “It is where brands and media companies can connect directly with fans… passionate, passionate fans. These guys are rabid consumers of content, they have heavy social media presence, and they’re savvy. These are people that marketers want to reach. With that in mind, an important part of our job is to ensure this is done the right way and isn’t too overwhelming or distracting to the fan experience.”
The reality of the situation is that there are now so many venues for marketers to choose from. And that’s great for fans and great for brands.
I moderated a panel at New York Comic Con called The 7 Archetypes of Comic Shops. My All-Star panelists included several outstanding comic shop retailers. It was a fascinating time with lots of surprises – remind me to tell you about Marc (Aw, Yeah) Hammond’s Frank Gorshin story someday. We had a packed room and it evolved into a celebration of smart retailing and Geek Culture.
The new kid on the block was Jeff Beck, an ambitious retailer who just opened a comic shop called East Side Mags in Montclair, NJ. It’s a great store and you might remember I was impressed when I visited it during my marathon comic shop travels on Free Comic Book Day. I sat down with Jeff and here’s what he had to say:
Ed Catto: Jeff, your store looks great. Can you tell me how long you’ve been retailing, and the backstory of how you decided to open East Side Mags?
Jeff Beck: ESM has been open for almost a year and half now. I worked retail when I was in high school and college but never in a management position. Just a floor guy or stock room guy. Nothing special. I went to college for music recording/radio/audio engineering and ended up in the Audio Visual industry while trying to find a job more geared to what I studied. I ended up working for a major corporation that provides AV services in hospitality environments. My position was Sales Manager but I had extensive knowledge in setting up equipment, operation, etc.
I worked in this capacity for about a decade – working in hotels and conference centers. I met my mentor (and one of my closest friends) Nicholas Cox, whose open door policy of management exposed me to the ins and outs of running a business. We discussed P&L statements, payroll, management tactics, operational details, etc. and he really gave me the opportunity to understand what it was like to run a multi-million-dollar department. My last “tour of duty” was with a privately owned conference center company (startup) in Manhattan in which I worked (again) as Nick’s right hand man after we both had left PSAV. I loved working with Nick and we saw high levels of success.
I wasn’t satisfied though. I needed to be my own boss and had always dreamed of owning and/or running a comic store, as I’ve been a collector for over 20 years. With the knowledge I had, I began to work behind the scenes of my regular job to put a business plan together. Studying sales statistics, perusing websites, blogs and message boards for 2½ years, I finally had a viable business plan and saw growth in an industry most thought would “go the way of the buffalo” in this digital age. The day came, I dropped five resignation letters, and I was off.
Having been turned down for small business loans by five banks, three co-ops and a government agency whose management “switched hands” and froze their loan program, I decided to cash out every account I had in my name and went all in! And here we are today – each day better than the last – and from here, the sky’s the limit!
EC: It’s cool that your store name doesn’t have the word “comics” in it. Was that intentional?
JB: Yes. I guess. I needed a cool name that reflected my rise to being my own boss so I chose East Side Mags. East Side Mags is the name of a song by a NJ punk band called The Bouncing Souls. When I first saw them play, it was in a skating rink in West Orange called JT SkateZone! Now they tour the world and play with big name acts, the Warped Tour, etc. They went from being grassroots to being a highly successful musical act and that’s what I wanted to achieve as well. That this particular song came on in my car while waiting to meet with another prominent retailer who had agreed to meet with me and, being off one my favorite albums, seemed fitting. Especially where the “Mags” is concerned. I have had one person – a food delivery guy – who thought I was a gun store. He couldn’t have been more wrong!
EC: What type of clientele do you have? Is that what you expected?
JB: My clientele is really very diverse. It reflects the research I did but you never really expect to see what you see until you’re there. It’s like seeing pictures of the Grand Canyon then actually going to the Grand Canyon! I would say that my customer base is almost half female – showing a greater number of female readers as per the reporting I had seen from several news outlets. Also, I have a lot of kids and families as we have an extensive kids section of all ages material – great for kids to come in and grab whatever they see that interests them – without parents having to be concerned about content.
EC: It looks like you are very involved in the local community. Is that important to you?
JB: Community is very important to me. Anyone can open a shop anywhere but they’ll close their doors just as fast as they open if the community doesn’t find value in what the business does. Because of this I am very focused on the community at large, constantly adjusting our products and services to accommodate a diverse community.
EC: What are some of the activities you’ve planned at ESM?
JB: We host a monthly movie night where I rent a 6’ screen, projector and sound system, but instead of collecting money, admission consists of healthy food donations that are then brought to local food pantries. Bring a bag of brown rice – you get to see a movie! That deal can’t be beat!
We also host local (and affordable) art from local artists around North Jersey/Central Jersey and constantly rotate it to keep things fresh. We sell the artwork on a consignment basis so that the artists’ costs are covered and the remainder is split 50/50, ensuring the cost doesn’t come out of the artists’ half of the sale. We also work with the Montclair BID (Business Improvement District, also known as Montclair Center) and host art walks, sidewalk stroll sales, etc. and we stuff shopping bags with menus and business cards of other businesses around Montclair to help promote other businesses to our customers.
EC: What activities are ahead?
JB: We continue to do all the things already mentioned and I’m also looking into hosting vintage video game tournaments and free play as a possibility.
EC: Can you talk a little about how you’ve laid out your store, and what you feel the ideal mix of Geek Culture items is?
JB: Comic book stores, by default, are visually overwhelming. If you’re a fan or even know a little about it, you walk in and are immediately floored by the variety of comics, toys, accessories, t-shirts, etc. that are available. We have a large wall clearly marked with new arrival tags where the new issues are put up each week. We have large, customized bins to hold back issues – some going back to the 60s or earlier. On the opposite side of the store we have a large wall housing toys, action figures and novelty items. Trade paperbacks and graphic novels make up the other part of that large wall, with mature trades separated from Teen or Teen Plus trades. Above the toys and trades, we have shelving that displays the local artwork mentioned earlier with tags showing the artists’ names and where they are from in New Jersey.
We have a few glass cases housing statues and the more interesting or expensive/breakable items and a few spinner racks with more action figures and toys. We utilize some of the space for pop up tables with featured items. Right now Star Wars is pretty big deal, so we have a table of all different kinds of Star Wars merchandise.
We have two large chalkboard walls as well. One, right next to the new issues, is used for listing all the new comics that arrive each week to allow customers an easy (and colorful) layout of “what’s new” that week and roughly where they can find it along the new release wall. The second chalkboard wall is for the customers and kids. We keep a small bucket of chalk next to it that kids can use to draw absolutely anything they want.
Then we take a picture of the wall post it on our website. The sales counter, where the register is, has cards, some art and smaller items that people can look through. Behind the counter, on wall shelves, we have the “wall books” – basically any comic valued at $10 and up that we display and sell but do not leave in the bins due to the overall value of the comics themselves. Some items include or have included Iron Man #55 (first appearance of Thanos), Amazing Spider-Man #300, X-Men #1 from 1963, etc.
EC: During FCBD, you had the most extensive offering of Free Comics. Can you explain your strategy and provide any results or follow-up?
JB: Diamond Distribution has a number of titles available for retailers to purchase on FCBD. Some retailers, I guess, don’t get copies of everything and everyone has their own strategy when it comes to picking comics for FCBD. I got X number of every single comic that was available to me to purchase and essentially got rid of everything!
Granted they are free, but we also had a ton of people buy things in addition to the free comics. I think people saw the generosity in making the widest selection available and minimal prohibition (customers could take one copy of as many titles as they wanted) so they bought items as well to show support back to us for the great spread! It was a very “Do unto others” type situation. People felt the love so they showed us love in turn and it was an amazing day!
EC: What are some of the most surprising things you’ve learned?
JB: I’m surprised at the number of indie comic book writers and artists there are out there! In a digital age when so many publications are being pushed to iPhones, tablets, etc. there are so many people out there with pen and paper, writing, drawing and marketing their own works on paper! I get at least two emails/phone calls per week with someone asking if we’re interesting in carrying their comics. I’m also surprised at how many people come into the shop and are interested but have never read a comic! We make first time recommendations for so many people. A lot of people must have had some negative experiences or something because they always tell us they wanted to [get into comics] but didn’t for some reason – someone must have turned them off to it.
But we thrive on a welcoming atmosphere where people of any level of comic knowledge can feel comfortable and our recommendations make it easy to get into the books! Like superheroes? No problem. Like love stories? No problem. Like zombies? Vampires? War stories? Different takes on historical events? Kung Fu? Music? Animals? Robots? Outer Space? Clowns? Feminism? Masculinity? We can find something for ALL OF THOSE!
EC: What’s your favorite comic and do you market it extra hard at your store? JB: I don’t know if I have a favorite per se but there is definitely a strategy to the comics I read each week. Yes. I read each week to keep up on what’s going on. I make sure I read the more popular titles like Batman, Spider-Man, Superman, etc. I read as many #1s as I can get my hands on and try to keep reading into the #4 or #5 issues to get a handle on the story arc so when customers inevitably ask about a title, I have an answer for them instead of “Well, a lot of people buy it so it must be good” mentality. I also have a lot of indie/self-published works that I read as well and probably push those more than major titles – based on the fact that they are written and drawn both by an indie writer/artist who doesn’t have the benefit of DC or Marvel or Image putting out and distributing their work. I can’t say I push any titles in particular extra hard but try to see what the customer likes and focus on that. Being that I read a wide range of titles, I honestly feel that I can find something for anyone based on their taste in movies and/or TV shows.
EC: What’s your experience with comic conventions and where do you see them going in the next few years?
JB: I think comic cons are great! There seem to be an awful lot of them these days but when they’re done right – they exceed expectations! Organized, lots of talent, focusing more on the comics with a little media thrown in is where it’s at! I think as long as comics are accessible to people and tie into movies and TV (mainstream), comic cons aren’t going anywhere any time soon! It’s also great for comic fans because it gives them a chance to meet the minds behind their favorite comics and get their comics signed or get a sketch or commission done by their favorite artists, ask questions with regards to inspiration or favorite story and really interact with the people who make/create the things they love so much. Where else can you do that?
EC: Is it true you are a newlywed and had a unique Pop Culture theme for your wedding?
JB: I’m a big Star Wars fan so once we were announced man and wife, I grabbed my original Han Solo plastic blaster from my childhood, my wife put on a headband that gave her Princess Leia buns, my best man put on a Chewbacca mask and my wife’s man of honor held a plastic light saber. The audio guys played the throne room music from Episode IV and we marched down the aisle as man and wife! We also gave out Lego Star Wars key chains to all our family and friends as wedding favors!
The world lost just lost another shining light: a brilliant artist who regularly shared his vision of heroes and adventures as he created countless pages of comics and an upstanding gentleman who shared his vision of living life with courtesy, kindness and class as he led by example.
Murphy Anderson passed away Friday at age 89. He had been struggling in recent years, but it’s still a crushing blow to those who loved the man and his work. Murphy, a prolific comic artist, was in facet one of the first wave of “fanboys” to turn professional. He was a big Lou Fine fan, and you can see wisps of that great artist’s work in Murphy’s figures and rendering. Murphy was also an enormous Buck Rogers fan and would one day professionally illustrate the adventures of this hero. He had a rich career in comics’ Silver and Bronze Ages, but also enjoyed great entrepreneurial success, managing the Army’s PS Magazine and running his own color separation business.
Murphy was an especially important artist in the Sixties, establishing the artistic gold standard of many iconic heroes for a generation of fans. His Justice League covers showed the world exactly how the leading DC heroes should look. His images of heroes like Hawkman and the Atomic Knights provided clear and engaging thrillers with solid storytelling. And his inking over so many great artists, from Gil Kane to Carmine Infantino to Curt Swan, provided something close to a house style that reflected the refined, best-in-class attitude of the DC line of that day.
Murphy was one of those rare artists who could compose fantastic stories with full artwork (pencils and inks), and yet, with his fine and precise inking, partner to make almost any artist to a little bit better. Even usual pairings, like Murphy inking over Neal Adams’ innovative and hyper-realistic pencils, produced memorable artwork, visual singing in perfect harmony.
A Gentleman and His Women
The females that Murphy drew were consistently pretty, but demure. They all combed their hair, had applied their make-up ‘just so’ and had spotless complexions. Any young man would feel confident in bringing a girlfriend who looked like a Murphy Anderson woman home to mother.
For me, that all changed when DC adapted Edgar Rice Burroughs’s John Carter of Mars series. In this series, a cavalry solider adventures on Mars amidst exotic landscapes and bizarre aliens. But many of the Martian cultures eschewed excessive clothing. And the strip’s love interest, the beautiful Dejah Thoris, was no exception. She was a raven-haired beauty with whom the hero was madly in love. And when Murphy drew her, it was very easy to understand why any man would be head-over-heels for her.
This series also provided Murphy opportunities for creative and non-traditional panels and page layouts. But these innovations were lost to many of us, as the eye was distracted by the beautiful figures and lush inking.
Years later, during one of my lunches with Murphy, I brought along several John Carter comics issues of Weird Worlds for Murphy to autograph. I hadn’t realized it before, but his son, Murphy, Jr., who often accompanied us, was a dead ringer for John Carter!
Man And Superman
For me, the quintessential Superman will always be inked by Murphy.
As the Silver Age wound down, Murphy’s inks on Curt Swan’s 70’s Superman helped update the character, making him a little hipper and more relevant. Murphy’s inks rejuvenated the strip, with a more realism, longer sideburns and a vulnerable humanity. For me, the images of Superman casually eating a Kryptonite meatball (the deadly substance was temporarily rendered harmless) helped humanize the character in ways previously never imagined.
Murphy was a one of the most polite gentlemen I’ve ever met, and surely was not comfortable with being asked to “fix” the Superman renderings of Jack Kirby in Jimmy Olsen or Mike Sekowsky in Supergirl. But he was a true professional, and the editorial dictate of the day demanded that Superman look “on point”. And while I hate to see other artists’ work modified in this manner, now one could argue that a Murphy Anderson Superman sure looked like the real Superman.
One time as a child, my family was visiting my dad’s alma mater, Cornell University, for his Homecoming. After the football game, we were shopping at the campus bookstore and I found a curious book. It was called The Gospel According to Superman by John T. Galloway, Jr. The cover showed Superman, rendered by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson, flying over a small town church. At that time, the last thing I was interested in was theological philosophy, but I somehow knew this was legitimate and important because it had the ‘”real” Superman on the cover. And although I couldn’t have articulated it at the time, the “real” Superman meant an image rendered by Murphy Anderson. My mom and dad thought I was nuts when I started begging for this strange, hybrid book, but as they were more understanding than even Ma & Pa Kent, in the end they relented. I read the book, but I really loved that cover.
About this period, there was a life-sized Superman poster offered via mail order in the DC comics. The 6-foot poster, rendered by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson, was impressive and overwhelming. Superman was flying up through the clouds complete with a peace sign hand gesture. I’m not sure why, but I brought it to my Second Grade class and it was hung on the blackboard for a day. I might have trying to impress my beautiful teacher, Mrs. Beardsley, but that’s another story for another day. I’m sure my thinking then was “What woman wouldn’t be impressed with Murphy Anderson art?”
The first time I met Murphy was in 1984 at an Ithaca Comic Convention. Now, the year before I had the distinct pleasure of being the inker for a penciled Superman image provided to us by Curt Swan. It was a valiant effort, but I was certainly no Murphy Anderson when it came to inking. As you have gathered by now, my visual“ gold standard” for Superman was the character as inked by Murphy Anderson.
At the convention, I thought maybe this provided me a kinship to Murphy Anderson. While I’m sure he was mentally rolling his eyes at me, I recall his overwhelming politeness. He almost made me feel that he and I were part of an exclusive club, having both inked Curt Swan. That’s preposterous, of course. But somehow Murphy’s most amazing talent, far beyond his art skills, even surpassing his entrepreneurial efforts, was his amazing ability to make a person feel special by just speaking with him.
Ready for Action
Murphy was the quintessential artist for one character even though he never drew the character’s comics adventures. In 1966, Murphy Anderson was chosen to be an important contributor to a toy called Captain Action. Much the same way that Barbie could become a teacher or an astronaut, or GI Joe could become an infantryman or a frogman, Captain Action could become other superheroes via costume sets. For many of these toys, the packaging artwork was expertly provided by Murphy.
He created images for the packages featuring heroes like Batman, The Phantom, Flash Gordon, Superman, Aquaman, Superboy, Robin and Aqualad. As the line progressed, Murphy also created impactful representations of Captain Action on in a variety of poses for expansion sets. And when the line was extended to include heroines, Murphy outdid himself with gorgeous packaging illustrations for Batgirl, Supergirl, Wonder Woman and Mera, the Queen of the Seven Seas.
Years later, Joe Ahearn and I would acquire the rights to Captain Action and one of the first things we did was to bring Murphy back onto the project. How thrilled we were when he agreed to pencil and ink a new Captain Action comic cover! He agreed to recreate the classic Batman and Robin rooftop image, which was originally a poster by penciled Carmine Infantino and inked by Murphy. In the updated version, it’s Captain Action and his sidekick, Action Boy, on the rooftop, as Lady Action flies by in the Sliver Streak. Gerry Gladston, the CMO of Midtown Comics, loved the idea and we made the cover an exclusive variant.
We had discussed him doing another cover for Captain Action. The vision for this was to pay homage to Justice League of America #1’s cover, where the Flash and Despero were playing a game of Kalanorian chess – using JLA chess pieces. My vision was to have Captain Action facing off against Dr. Evil with chess pieces of all the Captain Action costume sets, but it wasn’t meant to be. At that point, Murphy just didn’t feel he could pull it off with the standard of excellence he demanded of himself.
* * *
Murphy was a Tarheel, who made good in New Jersey, and was surrounded by a loving family and adoring fans. I had studied his thoughtful inking for most of my life, but when gifted with his friendship, I soon realized that there were so many bigger lessons to be learned from this humble, kind-hearted man. Murphy we’ll miss you and thanks for showing us how it’s done.
Wally Wood’s EC Stories Comics Artisan Edition, Edited by Scott Dunbier
And in the “he’s done it again” category, Scott and IDW have created the Artisan Edition. This format is similar, but it presents the pages reduced to a size we’re all more accustomed to seeing the final printed product at; the typical book/magazine size. For an artist like the great Wally Wood, who packed every panel with brilliant and thoughtful detail, this is a feast for your eyes. If artwork had calories, you’d go over your daily allotment reading just one story illustrated by Wally Wood.
Most of the folks reading this column probably saw the latest James Bond adventure, Spectre, and probably enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun for long-time fans but had a fresh cutting edge vibe that kept it from being stale or stodgy.
The Complete Pistol Whip by Matt Kindt and Jason Hall
And much like the Wally Wood book with all the imperfections and corrections, this collection also lovingly provides the reader with many thoughtful, small extra touches. One of my favorites – they’ve printed a tear in the book as if several pages were ripped in the same place. They aren’t of course, but it adds to the astonishing attention to detail that makes this volume a reading experience.
