Originally published February 16, 1996, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1161
This will be a relatively short column. Hope you’re all OK with that.
We’ll cover two topics:
1) A public service message. You’re not gonna believe this.
Category: But I Digress…
“The Cape Dripped Red” Part V (Conclusion)
Originally published February 9, 1996, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1160
Previous installments: Part I – Part II – Part III – Part IV
I was staring at the wall.
This entire business had started small with a request by a kid named Billy Gates (who was no relation to some guy that people kept asking me if he was related to) to find out who had taken the fun out of comics.
The trail had led me in a giant circle, going from retailer to speculator to publisher to distributor and back to retailer. Each one pointed the finger of blame at the next. Each one had an answer that passed along responsibility to someone else.
And, in the wake of my investigation, there had been a massive purging of people from one of the major comic book companies. I found myself ankle-deep in devastation.
Continue Reading ““The Cape Dripped Red” Part V (Conclusion)”
“The Cape Dripped Red” Part IV
Originally published February 2, 1996, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1159
I knew better than to roll over the corpse of the Big Boss—or, should I say, what was left of the corpse of the Big Boss. The last thing I needed was to have my fingerprints all over the epidermis of the recently deceased.
But even without getting close, I noticed something straight off.
The Most Awards 1996
Originally published January 26, 1996, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1158
Oops. Almost missed an annual tradition here at BID: the utterly unasked-for “Most Awards,” named after the guardian angel of the column—Donny Most, forever known as Ralph Malph of Happy Days. So we’ll get back to the adventures of Ðìçk Cosmic, the Cosmic Ðìçk, next week. (Hey, don’t complain. If this were a comic book, you’d have to wait a whole month instead of just two weeks.) In no particular order, here we go:
In the Makeup Chair for Space Cases
Originally published January 19, 1996, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1157
What with going “home for the holidays” (after an extended stay in Montreal), I find myself crunched for time this week. Therefore the adventures of Ðìçk Cosmic, the Cosmic Ðìçk (which has grown far more in the telling than I had anticipated), will be delayed one week. Instead, we have a time-saver column from the set of Space Cases, the kids’ science fiction TV series I co-created with Bill Mumy.
“The Cape Dripped Red” Part III
Originally published January 12, 1996, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1156
I felt the oh-so-gentle jab of a toe in my rib cage. The snow against my mouth tasted like New York snow usually tastes: dirty. What else can you expect from something that’s fallen through the air? After all, who knows where the air had been?
I tried to raise my head and get out a word that sounded vaguely more intelligent than a simple low moan of pain. Unfortunately, I was not particularly successful on that score. I made a sort of “urkh” sound, but that was all.
“The Cape Dripped Red” Part II
Originally published January 5, 1996, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1155
“Find out who stole the fun in comics.”
The voice of my client, 12-year-old Billy Gates, echoed in my head, as I trudged through the snow. I couldn’t be wasting my time on a pointless case during pleasant weather. Nope. It had to be snowing. The trouble with snow is that it’s deceptive. It floats gently from overhead with an almost soothing silence. When it falls just right, even the high-decibel crankiness of New York City seems to fade out and be replaced by a respectful silence.
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