A lot of people have been asking me to discuss the most recent series of “Doctor Who,” and since it’s available on DVD so that anyone can see it, I figure now is as good a time as any. I’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum.
Month: November 2010
Erie-at-the-switchboard
Originally published March 25, 1994, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1062
There are some people who do their job extremely well. Their ability to do that job effects hundreds, even thousands of people every day. And when they die, their passing prompts outpourings of grief from those many hundreds and thousands of people. There are memorial services, and obituaries (albeit sometimes erroneous ones) in national newspapers.
And there are some people who do their job extremely well. Their ability to do that job effects hundreds, even thousands of people every day. And yet, by an interesting turn of priorities in our society, these people are generally not noticed. At least not consciously. Because the nature of the job is such that, if done right, the person isn’t really acknowledged by the outside world. Like a gimmick that’s part of a magician’s illusion, it makes the trick work without drawing attention to itself.
The Gift of Me Update–Spider-Man Vault
You’re gonna love this
It turns out, for reasons that I can only guess at, that Running Press–the publisher of the Spider-Man Vault–has released it exclusively to…get this…Costco stores (so yes, Tom Galloway was right). Not that it’s on their website, because that would be too easy.
My guess is that they’re holding national bookstore distribution until there’s a movie to tie into (since I suspect that this was originally supposed to time out with the fourth Spider-Man film which, as we all know, got pushed back.) But they’re putting out some now on a limited basis, through Costco, presumably to tap into the Christmas season.
Isn’t publishing great?
I should put some of my author copies up on eBay. I could probably make a fortune.
PAD
I Hate to Admit It
But I would totally buy “Coon and Friends” action figures and plush toys.
PAD
The Gift of Me
I’d like to think that most people who hang out here do so because they’re interested in my work. Well, with the holidays coming up, I thought I’d suggest a few items that have my name on it that would make nifty gifts. In no particular order:
THE SPIDER-MAN VAULT: A coffee table book (co-authored by Bob Greenberger) telling the history of the wallcrawler, copiously illustrated and featuring reproductions of classic collectibles.
FABLE: THE BALVERINE ORDER: A novel tie-in to the popular video game. Familiarity with the game is not a requisite, but for those who are into it, it features a code for a weapon that can be used in-game.
WRITING FOR COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS: A personal guide to writing in general and writing comics in specific.
MORE DIGRESSIONS: Considering so many people asked for so many years for a second collection of “But I Digress” columns, it’s kind of a shame that people STILL ask about it and then look surprised when I tell them it came out months ago.
BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE, Vol 8 and BEN 10: DOOM DIMENSION. The former is a recently released DVD of the popular Cartoon Network series that features my first episode for them, “In Charm’s Way.” The latter is a two-book original manga published by Del Rey.
FALLEN ANGEL OMNIBUS EDITIONS. For those who have been waiting a mere seven years for DC to finally get around to collecting all of the original “Fallen Angel” run, your wish was granted…except DC didn’t do it. Instead IDW has released all the original material, making it a nice companion to the previously published omnibus which features the first twenty issues of the IDW run.
DARK TOWER TRADE PAPERBACKS. The original collections of the “Dark Tower” comics, now available in trade paperback.
Also, in the interest of full disclosure, be sure to avoid:
Trade edition of Sir Apropos of Nothing People were asking me what the hëll this was ever since it first showed up on Amazon, and I was unable to get an answer from Pocket. Turns out it’s a print-on-demand edition of the original novel, and it’s just awful. It consists of the mass market edition printed at trade size with no adjustment in the typeface, meaning each page is about thirty percent border. It features an excerpt for the sequel advertised as “coming soon in hardcover” when it was published years ago. The real travesty is the cover, in which they removed the silver trim from the lettering, so the remaining typeface is basically a mass of unbordered blackness. My name is hard to read and the title is nearly impossible. A quick Amazon check seems to indicate that it’s been pulled, but if it shows up again, give it a wide berth. Instead go for an original edition or pick up the trade collection of the IDW limited series.
In case you get ESPN Classics
They’ve been showing old episodes of the 1970s “Celebrity Bowling.” Every single show is a nostalgia trip, many times with actors I haven’t thought about in ages. For many younger viewers, the names will be unknown or else you’ll be astounded at some of the people you’ll see. I mean, really, where else can you see Adam West teamed up with Roy Rogers? Interestingly, thus far the best bowler was Bob Newhart, who clearly knew what he was doing and could have beaten everyone else single-handedly.
So tune in Saturday morning at 8 AM and get a blast from the past, even if it’s not your past.
PAD
The J.J. Sachs statue and more
Originally published March 18, 1994, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1061
Maybe once a year or so, I indulge in a column that’s mostly self-promotion. So here’s your warning that the following is largely a commercial announcement. If you want, you can skip past it to another section that starts “Now this is interesting…”
• 
Recent Comments