Originally published November 13, 1998, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1304
And now, a cautionary tale having nothing to do with comics, but which should be duly noted in the log of “things that could happen to you, so watch it.”
A few months ago, the phone rang in my office (as it is wont to do). I answered it, and there was a representative from MCI on the other end. “Hello, Mr. David,” said the rep. “We’re calling to verify your new MCI calling card.”
Originally published November 6, 1998, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1303
No one can argue the absolute necessity of trying to get new fans, new readers on board. To present stories and concepts that will ideally stir the interests of those who are not currently reading comics and bring them into the hobby.
The last time that comics had massive or rapid expansion, it was driven by the collector mentality. The characters and stories were of no interest; rather, comics were being bought and sold purely as commodities. Purchasers had as much emotional attachment to the characters as stockbrokers have to AT&T stock. It’s just business, with no personal investment or interest. Unfortunately, if one is at all interested in the long-term health of the industry, then ways have to be found to stoke the fire of that interest once more. There are far too many things vying for the attention of potential young readers these days, and comic characters are a very small voice in a very loud wind.
So, companies continue to make efforts to bring in new readers, any way they can.
I have two recent examples of such, both available for under three dollars, and both aimed at substantially different audiences. One is quite charming, and the other is kind of… meh.
First up is Spider-Man: Chapter One.
Continue Reading “Comic Reviews: Spider-Man: Chapter One and I Hate Superman”
Originally published October 30, 1998, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1302
And now, let us step onto the elevator in the BID Department store. Going up….
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Originally published October 23, 1998, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1301
Warning: The following is a test of the Complete Lapse of Good Taste System. This is only a test.
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COMIC BOOK PUBLISHER RECALLS ‘SLUR’ COMIC
NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 1998 (UP) – Marvel Comics has recalled a bestselling issue that contained an anti-Semitic slur, the New York Post reported today.
Continue Reading “A Test of the Complete Lapse of Good Taste System”
Yesterday marked 5 months since Peter had his stroke. And what did he do? He went to the premiere of After Earth at the Ziegfeld and then to the after party. We saw our friends at Overbrook along with the rest of the floating heads for Mystery Trekkie Theater (yes, they have picked the episode and no, I won’t tell you what it is but it is gonna be a lot of fun so mark your calendars now for that Sunday slot at Shoreleave that we have grown to know and love). Caroline got to talk to Jaden so she is over the moon right now.
It is amazing to me how far he has come since the stroke stopped attacking his body. We have a tentative diagnosis for what has been going on with the shoulder. They think he has frozen shoulder syndrome. There are ways to counteract it but he has another MRI scheduled to make sure this isn’t any more damage.
He is typing now along with dictating. He is typing as long as he can before switching to dictate. He has been writing the end of X-Factor along with some other projects.
He continues both physical and occupational therapy. That is where we get our empirical evidence that he is improving slowly. They have been measuring what he could do when he got there and what he can do now and the results are encouraging.
Everyone who talked to him at Phoenix Comic Con can attest to how well he is doing. We also got to thank people in person for all their help and well wishes. Wil Wheaton told me that he boosted the signal for Peter on his twitter feed.
There are good days and bad days. He injured his right calf muscle just about right after he had gotten his gait pretty much back to normal so he didn’t need his cane of support. This has now solved itself. He bowled rather well this past Tuesday.
We are still very grateful to everyone who has helped us on this unexpected journey. Your good thoughts and support have helped us through a pretty dark time. I am seeing light at the end of this tunnel and I don’t believe it is the oncoming train.
I am opening this thread to questions you care to ask. Please do understand if we can’t answer it. We live in a household of NDAs and the like. This can be questions for Peter, Caroline or me.
In other household news, Ariel has her driver’s license and has been driving. She graduated from college but will be going back to finish up her masters next year. Anyone know anywhere that is looking for an early elementary school teacher to start in the Fall of 2014?
Originally published October 16, 1998, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1300
“Bring back Kara.”
It’s probably the most oft-repeated (if I were cynical or in a bad mood, I’d say “tired”) refrain that I hear as the current writer of the Character Currently Known as Supergirl (and Formerly Known as Kara Zor-El.)
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