I have been blogging for the last several months about new comics and graphic novels that I have received for possible review in this blog...

So at times I kind of forget that this Blog is titled "ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com". Which means that I should be blogging about comic book titles that are also truly 'collectible' as well as a good read!

Well, today I'm going to mention again the DC Comic Book Series that Jack created and was an early 1970's hit and 'collectible' today because it is relatively easier to find at least reading copies of this series.

Quite honestly I was a BIG Fan of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's collaborations.  When they split, it was like the Beatles breaking up!   Plus I truly was a 'Marvel Zombie', picking up everything by that Comics publisher, including romance, westerns, war comics, and yes... I did say romance comics... my excuse was the artists in those: Romita, Steranko, Colan, Heck, etc.!

So when Jack left for DC I felt I should read his new series there and give his solo work a chance; The New Gods, Mister Miracle, and The Forever People.  Even picked up some Jimmy Olsen comics that Jack was doing, even though I hadn't read that title in years...

However, I just didn't 'get' Jack's "Fourth World" series, it wasn't what I was used to writing-wise in his earlier collaboration.  Yet I was drawn to the titles because of the art... And too soon those title ended for those that enjoyed Jack's foray into the world he created.   And with that, my brief time reading more than usual of DC Comics ended also.

So I missed the beginning of 'Kamandi' by Jack, even though he has been brought as a DC Universe character since then...

The majority of Kamandi's appearances to date occurred in the first comic book series Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, which was published from 1972 to 1978.

Kamandi was portayed as a young 'hero' in a Post-Apocalyptic future, which was set in a parallel Earth of the DC Universe's future.

It was set in a period after an event called "The Great Disaster". In that period humans are a persecuted minority in a world ruled by intelligent, highly evolved animals. If that sounds familiar to you, then remember that an earlier 1968 movie 'Planet of the Apes'  also portrayed an animal-ruled world!

Thanks to Jack Kirby who has given me so many hours of pleasure of reading the comics worlds that he created or co-created.  Kamandi was one that I enjoyed, albeit years later!

In an earlier blog I mentioned that I had met Richard A Hamilton at the recent 2009 Long Beach Comic Con while he was at 'The Antidote Trust' (TAT) booth...

At that time he told me that the mini-series I had blogged about earlier, 'The Miserable Dastards' had been collected into a TPB. (Click here for that blog.)

While I was there at the TAT booth he also handed me his earlier mini-series that I had not seen before. That was "The Return of the Super Pimps".

Okay... I had really enjoyed reading the first issue of  his 'Miserable Dastards' series,  and if he wanted me to check out his earlier work, then I was up for it!

But what was it about?  I kinda had an idea from the mini-series title and the covers of the six issues in the series, but wanted to know more.  Here is what the Press Release said about the series: 

"During the 1970’s, five protectors - Blackbeard, Foxy Mama, Homeboy, GhettoBlaster, and Sidekick - known as the Super Pimps kept the Hood safe and delivered justice with a strut. But that all changed on one night in 1979, and the Super Pimps were no more.

Now, almost thirty years later, Detective Jackson Maple still believes in his childhood heroes and sets out to reunite the Super Pimps, just as a familiar evil returns to The Hood after so many years."

I think I need to 'flesh' it out a little more... Yeah, that's a bad pun... But here's how the story really is set up in the first issue.   The reader gets to see the Super Pimps through the eyes of a young boy in flashback mode.

The Super Pimps had lost one of their own in battle, which basically had forced the team to disband on their own.  Then in the next scene it's now today in modern times and back to that same boy who had witnessed the end of the Super Pimps and who is now a Police Officer of all things!

Maybe this comic started off a little stereotypical at first for me...?  But then again, I am an older white guy that has grown up watching several blaxploitation movies and what not during the years...

But then the Super Pimps grew on me.  It was funny to see that the Super Pimps are considered an 'urban myth' of the past, and how they act like they are out of touch with that much time passing.  The storyline improves with each issue, and the dialogue works out for each character.

So with a full set of this mini-series I appreciated the storyline more, and the dialogue.  There's something about Richard's writing that I find to be a fun read. Maybe a little more so in the 'Miserable Dastards' mini-series, but this storyline here grew on me quickly, and I found myself enjoying it before the end of the first issue.  The additional issues just added on to the story, and the ending was pretty good as well!

Ulises Roman, who does the pencils and inks for the first issue is a little 'rough' at first for me.  However his pencils grow and he does get additional inking by Rick Bonilla in issue #2 & #3.  Robert Roach comes in for lettering and layout design in issue #3 and stays till the final issue #6.  The art style was a little different for me at first, but I could see that it did fit the storyline and jelled for me reading into the issues as I went along.

It was the coloring that helped put this mini-series together for me.  Jasen Smith had a hand in it for at least issues #1 thru 3. 

The credits for who did what got a little expanded and then contracted for the mini-series.  I don't know the creative backstory to this series, but all in all I enjoyed the mini-series as a whole, and was entertained by it.  One of the hardest things to do in publishing an indie series is to publish all the issues that are figured to be in the story arc.  This creative group did it, all the way through to the final issue which was #6.

I shouldn't compare it to the 'Miserable Dastards' mini-series which Richard also wrote; which was a completely different storyline and setting, so I won't much, other than what I've said prior to this. 

Suffice to say that I did enjoy reading this mini-series written by Richard and developed further by those listed above and more not named here.  I look forward to reading a third mini-series written by Richard! 

Here's the direct link to the Dial 'C' For Comics online store where you could purchase this mini-series, and also the 'Miserable Dastards' mini-series that I previously blogged about:

http://dialcforcomics.com/shop/fs_shop.html !

Thanks to Richard for bringing this earlier mini-series to my attention!

Last week I attended the Faction comic book signing at Southern California Comics in San Diego...

Southern California Comics, a.k.a. SoCal Comics, is owned by Jamie Newbold and is one of the major places in Metro San Diego area that I stop in at for comic book supplies and new comics for myself. 

When I stopped there last week for the comic book signing, (click here for that blog), Jamie and I went over what's been going on in San Diego sales wise for comics.  The following is from Jamie's own words:

"It’s late October and San Diego is experiencing yet another dry spell. There is also a continuing “dry spell” in the comic book sales arena. I’m speaking about two years of recessive sales nationwide finally catching up to “new comic’s” sales (more later). Capitalism is still reeling under the weight of mortgage defaults, stalled loans, unemployment, and bailout fallout. But, one collectible continues to hold its own in battle--the old comic book. Capitalism is capital-schism in my world! Our 2009 economic reality split from much of the sadness in other parts of the business world.

The average Gold, Silver, and Bronze comics remained popular purchases. They consistently sold well worldwide at the same basic pricing points as they did in 2006. While other markets either feel the pinch of current economic woes or are returning to normal, comic book back issues flourish as though the state of America’s retail business was bi-polar!  Beginning with the tragedy of 9-11our business has survived potential sales droughts as the economy reshuffles itself. After the recession began this time around I expected to see horrible sales figures, books go unwanted, and money not made. Instead, as with 9-11’s impact on the US economy, our current economic insecurities have reduced back issue sales very little.

 Our sales are not huge, not even big but they are consistent. Back issue sales from ages past to the present rarely slowed down throughout the year. Prices achieved reflect a market savvier from sacrifices made by businesses to stay alive and attract customers.

Sure, some people have stopped buying new comics. We’ve seen it and continue to witness the slow departure of customers that we depended on for new comic’s sales. We’ve seen stores apply ridiculous discounts to retain customers. The selling of new comics to make a living is truly an art.

However, older comics continue to keep moving. Why? Older comics are just so darn appealing and the prices are right. Many customers choose comic books that are priced to their liking because old comics often stay the same price. There usually is no fluctuation with these books, unlike purchasing food or gas. At the very least, you can negotiate a comic book sale. Try negotiating your gas price at Chevron. Or, the cost of milk at a 7-11!

Selective discounting at the retail store level helps move books that would sit at full price for years. We found that round-filing lower graded pre-1980s books into $5 and $10 price tags have better turn out. By ignoring established prices and buying and selling at cheaper rates, this strategy works for everyone (except those determined to get more). There are plenty of buyers at our end of the state making it worth our while to carry them.

Customer’s of eBay set the standards years ago and the recession has reinforced those pricing standards. There is no need to try and sell a VG copy of Strange Tales 163 for $12.00. Better to slap $5 on it and the buyer will eventually arrive to collect it. Wholesalers and collection owners offering these kinds of books to us see the same reality. We are getting opportunities to buy older collections with less resistance to lower offers. Those same eBay standards are seen by everyone.

STORE SALES: Comic book buyers love a store that sells new and old comics. At our store, the “hands-on” ability to hold comics before making a purchase breeds trust and loyalty. I cannot emphasize enough how easy it is to sell a comic book if the buyer can see it in three dimensions first. The tactile sale and the fact that there are not many stores left with exotic comics in quantities give us a huge advantage over eBay.

The past two year’s of economic headaches created our dependency on greater numbers of out-of-town buyers for older back issues. San Diego’s transitory-resident nature drove out a few customers through the year due to both financial and career related reasons. Unfortunately, these were the same people that frequented our back issues on regular basis. Although the drop was relatively minor, we were able to bounce back with the amount of tourists visiting the area. Many of these visitors came in to the store inspired by on-line reviews, Overstreet, prior contacts, or internet sales activity. Often, they would share stories of other dealers and collectors with me. These discussions provided different perspectives of pricing/collecting and also allowed for informative feedback. Plus, you get a real good feel of the nationwide market scheme through the visitors.

NEW COMICS: 2008 brought about a 20-30% loss in business. Retail numbers steadily began a return right after Christmas. It was as though everybody took a collective sigh of relief and returned to old habits. 2009 proved to be different in that summertime brought positive growth and spending with some help from Comic Con attendees. However, college tuition hikes, labor shortages, and recurrent fuel increases spelled trouble just on the horizon. California’s sales tax increase also hampered sales of new comics. These unfortunate events produced the next round of disappearances that affected the sale of new comics.

I ended up in a new round of cutting quantities of pre-ordered monthly comics. Diamond Comic Distributor’s F.O.C. (Final Order Cutoff) feature became a steady function every Wednesday (adjusting ordering numbers--downward). Now, in the fall of 2009, we are still regularly reducing the quantity of title orders. This has slowed down a market we enjoyed for the first 8 months.
 
Marvel’s general cover price increase to $3.99 across a majority of their titles did not impact us immediately. We initially saw increased daily sales figures as our customers segued into new cover prices. Slowly, customer complaints about the extra dollar per book, the constant one-shots, tie-ins, and limited stories against their tightened budgets abounded. Two common complaints we have heard centered on substandard story arcs and late titles. Even fan favorites, like “Kick-Ass” and “Captain America Reborn“, got sales-slammed.

Similarly, DC presented $3.99 issues. If DC had retained $2.99 prices universally, I could have countered Marvel sales decline with DC titles as affordable reading alternatives for Marvel fans.
 
Cover prices, delays, and a bad economy forced some of my die-hard, big pull customers to consider which titles they absolutely must have. Whether the page count was 32 or 48, the $3.99 cover price continued to hurt business as I stacked unsold copies in hopes that buyers would still pick them up. To alleviate money problems, many of our regular pull-list customers deleted Marvel titles from the subscriptions all together.

I must add that the current theme of DC and Marvel’s constant story events seem to be losing gas each time they come out. Dark Reign and Blackest Night story lines started off strong. Then, too many comics sharing the same storylines (with convoluted continuities -- Spider-Man!) and no end in sight created buyer backlash in hard times. These problems stopped buyers from purchasing them, even if the story line was good. It was done to save money at a time where comics’ creators need to compensate for this phenomenon.

On a brighter note, trade paperback book sales have continued to rise in quantity. My customers have a combative nature when it comes to overpaying for comics. They see that some small publishers cover price their books at $9.00 across the board. My customers pursue those comics in very small quantities as though they were luxuries. They require Marvel and DC to toe the line at lower prices to remain active readers. Their frequency of TPB purchases against buying single issues indicates:
 
1) Customer’s reluctance to experience $3.99 cover prices
2) Their patience to await a full stories’ release in book form months after the comics were released
3) A way to send a message to the publishers that pricing should be a serious consideration."

Jamie went on to talk about individual comics publishers and their titles... I have titled this blog post as 'Part I'.  If YOU would like to read more of Jamie's thoughts on comics retailing in the San Diego Metro Area... Please email me, message me, or write on my Facebook Wall that YOU would like to read more and I'll move 'Part II' up quicker in the timeline for posting here! Thanks again to Jamie Newbold for sharing the above with me and giving me permission to post it in my Blog!

For those of you that are looking at visiting the San Diego area soon, be sure to visit Jamie's SoCal Comics store.  There is much more to comics in San Diego than just the once a year Comic Con International: San Diego (CCI / SDCC)!

Here's the direct link to Jamie's store:  http://www.socalcomics.com/!

I have been mentioning the AMC mini-series of 'The Prisoner' that airs tonight for a while at several venues, including my own Facebook Group Page as well as my Facebook Wall.

That's because I picked up a few copies of 'The Prisoner' preview comic book at the July 2009 Comic Con International: San Diego (CCI / SDCC), and have been selling them from our eBay Store.  Plus the trailer shown at the SDCC and online has looked pretty good for a remake. I'll reserve judgement till I see the entire mini-series.

Earlier this summer I devoted a full blog post 'Main Feature' for this mini-series that finally starts tonight! (Click here for the full blog post of the AMC Prisoner TV mini-series!)

Since then I've had in the back of mind about blogging about the earlier unpublished comic book adapation of the original series.  Vince Musacchia, who I met at the recent 2009 Long Beach Comic Con, reminded me Friday evening of that adapation that was not published by Marvel Comics.

So I thought that a little bit of info on that adapation would be fitting for today as an update and as a reminder that show is on later tonight, as Tina and I are taking it easier this weekend celebrating her birthday, (see the below 'Featurette' section.

As long time readers of this Blog know... It was Jack Kirby's cover to "Journey Into Mystery #72" that got me from just reading comics into actually 'collecting comics'!  So I have a special fondness for most of his works...

Back in 1966 the premise for the TV Show 'The Prisoner' was conceived.  Patrick McGoohan became the actor/producer for the Show.  It was  a complicated show, and although not a true 'sequel' to Patrick's UK Show 'Danger Man', better known in the USA with the  title: 'Secret Agent', it was a great follow up to the earlier show.

'The Prisoner' had already acheived 'cult status' by the mid 1970's. I am not aware of any earlier adaptation prior to Marvel Comics wanting to publish this proposed comic book series.  Jack Kirby had returned to Marvel Comics by then, (from DC Comics), and was creating new series for Marvel, as well as a licensed series.

For whatever reasons, Marvel Comics dropped the proposed series after Jack Kirby created the first seventeen pages for the first issue.  Mike Royer had partially inked and lettered several of the pages in the Summer of 1976.  The timing of this series was to have the 1st issue published in November of 1976 with a February of 1977 cover date.

I've seen the unfinished pages before with reviews and insights, here and there in fanzines, and on websites, so I won't go into too much detail here about what Jack included and didn't include in his unpublished 17 pages...

I just wanted to acknowledge that there was this unpublished comic book series that was based upon the UK TV Show that was broadcast there in 1967-68.  USA viewers saw it in 1968.  Here we are 41 years later with a remake!  It truly is amazing how ideas get recycled in Hollywood!

(And yeah, I know there was a later published four-part sequel by Dean Motter and Mark Askwith, that was printed by DC in 1988-89, but I haven't read that series. I'll mention it here because it is only the second licensed project to be attempted on this TV Show that I'm aware of for comics format.  Of course there have been references made to 'The Prisoner' in other comics, and even some similiar stories published story wise, but I'm going to pass on mentioning those here today...) 

For those of You that want a copy of the preview comic book of "The Prisoner", just click this link to be taken to our eBay Store for purchase.  The cost will remain at $1.95 plus shipping until the preview comic is sold out.

Thanks again to Vince for reminding me that I hadn't mentioned the earlier unpublished comic book series in this blog!  And to all of You that have posted comments on my Facebook Wall or sent me emails or messages about your wanting to see this mini-series also!

This comic book is being released November 15th and the creator / publisher has asked me if I would mention it in my Blog....  

Since a preview copy of the comic book that is the first issue of a new ongoing series came in with the request, I thought I would include it in today's blog post.  I'm always interested in new comics, especially those that are the first issue of a proposed ongoing series, although I may not blog about all the comics that come in for possible review in the 'Main Feature' section of this blog.

First, here's what the Press Release said about the comic book:

"Legend has returned from retirement only to find the world on the brink of domination at the hands of his long-time nemesis, Anthrax and his team has been replaced by a rowdy, disorderly band of ex-super-criminals. HOW can Legend win and WHO can he trust.

There is an invisible war going on without our knowledge. A battle being waged between our government and an alien empire bent on enslaving our entire species. It is a fight that we are losing and our only hope is a super-human military force known as THE MAJESTIC-XII."

Here are the credits: 

Created by Justin Leach and Andrew Kilian.

Written by Justin Leach.

Penciled and inked by Andrew Kilian, with coloring by Omi Remalante Jr. with Lettering by Jon Zamar.

24 pages, bi-monthly, on-going series, and produced by Odyssey Comics

Okay, so why did I take the time to blog about this first issue in the 'Main Feature' section of my Blog?