March 2023 – Page 2 – Anime Motive

23Mar

CONCERT POSTER AUCTIONS: GRATEFUL DEAD & ALL the current UPDATES

by eeajc Anime

As concert poster collecting continues to pick up steam, we will continue to monitor the current sales of both graded and raw pieces. Did you bid on anything this week? Here’s the current in concert Poster Auctions.

Concert Poster Auctions: Results

Latest results from ConcertPosterAuctions.com –

BG 227 Grateful Dead Miles Davis David singer 1970 Fillmore West Poster sold for $575.00 after 16 bids.

This is an original 1st printing 14 x 21″ concert poster for the Grateful Dead, who appears with the Miles Davis Quintet and stone the Crows at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, CA from 4/9 – 4/12 in 1970.

With art by David Singer, this image is #227 in the famed bill Graham/Fillmore series.

Condition: “Medium glossy-coated index stock poster is in exceptional (B+) condition; there are a couple of nearly-invisible soft horizontal roll bends (mostly visible from the reverse), along with a bit of light surface wear (mostly a few stray fingerprint smudges along the top border), a 1/8″ tear in the bottom center margin and a tiny managing ding or two hiding within the image area, otherwise it is a very nice-looking 1st printing example of this famous David Singer-designed image from a historic pairing at the Fillmore West.”

Grateful Dead Magic Sam The bank Torrance AOR 3.92 concert Poster sold for $611.00 after 15 bids.

From the seller: “Original 1st printing 15&3/4 x 22&5/8″ concert poster for the Grateful Dead appearing with Magic Sam and Turnquist remedy at the bank in Torrance, CA from 12/13-14/1968.

Art by Robert A. Wilson, image is featured in the Art of rock book on page 283 (plate 3.92).

Thick flat index stock poster is in very good to exceptional (B/B+ to B+) condition; aside from a bit of matte burn shadow around the outer border area (about 1″ in from the outer margin on all four sides), a touch of fading to the paper, a stray managing ding or two and a tiny pressure crease in the extreme lower left margin, it is in really great shape overall. Were it not for the matte burn, it would likely rate out a lot closer to near mint, it’s THAT nice.”

Captain Beefheart Rick griffin AOR 4.125 UC Irvine YELLOW stock concert Poster sold for $420 after 6 bids.

This is an original 1st printing (early/mid-’70’s California graphic Exchange) concert poster for Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band appearing along with portable people at Crawford Hall on the campus of the university of California in Irvine, CA on 11/28/1968 (*show canceled/never happened).

Art by Rick Griffin, image (white stock version) is featured in the Art of rock book on page 372 (plate 4.125), this is the YELLOW stock version. dimensions of this piece are 14 x 20″.

“Medium-thin flat vellum stock poster is in near mint to exceptional (A-/B+ to B+) condition; other than a few stray soft managing dings here and there and a tiny nip tear in the upper ideal margin, it is a very sharp example of this classic Rick griffin image.

This particular color stock is much a lot more vulnerable (and slightly harder-to-find) than the white stock version.”

There’s a lot a lot more to see! check out all the results from this auction HERE.

Upcoming concert Poster Auctions:

The HeART of rock and Roll Auctioning Graded and Raw Posters – opens Soon

The HeART of rock and Roll Poster Auction is presented by Sixties Posters, presenting a prime collection of rare posters and handbills available for bidding. Some pieces are rare and have not seen an auction block before, making the result worth analysis by collectors.

There are still nine days left to check out the posters and make your picks. pieces worth note in this auction:

Rare Rolling stones 1969 Altamonte Raceway original Poster

After last-minute scrambling to find a venue and get posters printed, Alamonte organizers ended up with just two days to print posters for this event. The Ron Rafaelli back alley photo that appeared a month earlier on the BG 201 & 202 posters was used, and the posters simply provided the venue and date for this complimentary concert.

The total print count is unknown, but it is not believed to be very high. Making preservation even a lot more difficult, the paper stock used was rather flimsy/cheap, and few have survived the years without needing a great deal of repair.

This poster procedures around 12 1/4″ x 18 3/4″, and remains in very good condition, with a bit of “wear along the lower left edge and a few mild horizontal bends. In 17 years, two of these have passed through here, both yellow. This is the first to come through here that was printed with the green ink. It’s an remarkably scarce piece.”

The opening bid for this poster is $1,000.

Grateful Dead Jefferson Airplane 1967 original BG 74 Toronto Poster

Collectors don’t need an explanation about what makes this poster iconic. This is an original/first print BG 74 poster, which was used to promote a series of shows at the O’Keefe Centre in Toronnull

23Mar

BEAUOLOGY 101: exactly how HUGH HEFNER contributed to MY COMIC book COLLECTION

by eeajc Anime

This publish is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews as well as Columns

Comic books After Dark With Your Host—Beau Smith

by beloved Smith

REMINDER: Please note that the late 1960s was a much different world than the one we online in today.

The complying with phone conversation transpired between me as well as my grandma in 1967 when I was in the 7th grade:

My Grandmother: “Beau, what do you want for your birthday?”

Me: “A membership to Playboy Magazine”.

My Grandmother: …..Pause…..

Me: “Granny, you still there?”

My Grandmother: “Yes…a membership to Playboy? That’s what you truly want?”

Me: “Oh, Yeah. mom as well as dad won’t let me have a BB Gun, they believe I’ll shoot Mitch as well as gig (My younger brothers)…a lot.”

My Grandmother: “Well, we don’t want that, it wouldn’t be safe. Okay, I’ll order you a membership then. Don’t take them to institution or church.”

Me: “Okay. Thanks, Granny, I won’t. (Lie)

That was quite much the conversation. as well as my mom as well as dad were right, I would’ve shot my bit siblings a great deal with the BB gun. Years later, in college, I did get a BB gun, as well as I did shoot my siblings with it…a lot. parents understand everything.

I checked out The Articles….I Promise!

So, from 1967 with 1983, my Granny got me a membership to Playboy magazine every year on my birthday. I treated those problems like my comic books; I took care of them, had them organized, as well as proceeded to wallpaper my bedroom with the centerfolds, in addition to the ceiling. Ask any type of of my buddies, I had the coolest space ever – comic books, all the latest records, tons of sphere cards, as well as years worth of Playboy Magazine.

After a few years, it ended up being the norm. My friend’s parents all knew, as well as truly didn’t notice any type of deviant habits out of any type of of us, nobody at institution ever stated anything to my knowledge, it just ended up being the norm. I have to say, my intentions with the magazine at very first was purely for physical discovery, however after a bit, it ended up being mental as well, mental in the truth I truly did checked out the articles, evaluations , interviews as well as commentaries. I discovered more about politics as well as world news than I ever did from the regional newspaper or TV. Of program when composing institution papers, I lied as well as stated I referenced my findings from more socially accepted sources. I was no fool. keep your great thing under the radar.

Let’s take a pause right here for a second, one more reminder, 1967….it was a different time. It truly was.

Daredevil #115 exactly how Did I miss This In The 70’s??

Okay, back to the point. I have to say, when in Junior High, high institution as well as particularly college, my social life was rather active. Girls, sports, activities that I won’t mention here, even though the statute of limitations is on my side, I’ll just keep any type of possible criminal perceptions at a minimum. I didn’t buy as many comic books in the 1970s. I was as well hectic with other things. when the early 1980s rolled around, I was married, had a child, a routine task as well as the time to rediscover comic books. I still had my youth collection of comics dating back to 1958 though 1969, some smatterings of comics from the ‘70s, however not many. So I began to recollect comic books. By this time, there were actual comic book stores. growing up, I never believed that day would ever come. I was elated. I likewise found Westfield Comics. So I was able to not only shop brick as well as mortar stores, however mail order as well. It was great…..to a point. There was almost a decade of comic books that I kinda missed out on.

One day, in laid-back conversation at work, a co-worker told me that he had been downtown as well as saw there was a utilized book store in Huntington, West Virginia (my hometown) as well as he saw where they had some “old comic books” when he occurred by there. Needless to say, I inspected it out as well as he was more than right.

Fantastic four #5. I bought It For A Dime!

Star utilized book store was the name of the establishment. Small, hole in the wall location in historic Huntington. They offered mainly utilized paperbacks, popular with housewives at that time, as well as people dumping their dead relative’s junk. There were a few hardbacks, as well as then they had a tons of magazines as well as comic books. I bought a few comics, mainly from the ‘70s, as well as a few option books from the ‘60s like Avengers #5, remarkable Spider-Man #7, as well as great four #5. almost all the comic books were priced at 5 cents to a dime. If it was a quarter annual or special sized comic, then it was 15 cents. Each comic had a rubber stamped imprint near the book’s indica that read: star utilized book store as well as their address. next to that , in sphere point pen, was the price. It was like stealing. I bought as many as I could.

I ended up being a routine customer, got to understand the extremely nice woman that ran the place. She noticed that I would buy almost every new batch of comics that she brought in. I noticed that she offered a ton of Playboy as well as other “Men’s Magazines” in the section corded off in the back where only full grown, semi-creepy guy as well as younger guys would wander. You have to remember, I had more Playboy magazines than she did, so this was of no rate of interest to a suave continental like myself. someday when I was looking with the stack of utilized comics, she told me that she was getting in a big collection of old comic books on Friday from a regional person as well as wished to understand if I wished to buy all of them before she put them out. I stated I was interested as well as then asked her if she took trades. She believed I meant comics as well as told me that she was trying to offer comics, not get more, so I told her that I wasn’t speaking about comics, I was speaking about almost two decades of mint Playboy Magazines. She stated bring them in as well as we would make some kind of deal.

Adventure Comics #450. Jim Aparo Greatness For A Dime!

I did. My collection of Playboys, even without the centerfolds were like gold to her. She understood she might offer those as quick as she might set them on the shelves. I brought my collection in, took the huge collection of comics she had just bought, as well as I still had a big amount of store credit history on top of that. She was so happy, as well as I had just filled in a decade of missing comics in addition to key Silver Age books. It truly was a red letter day for me.

After a year or so, star book store went out of business. Waldenbooks, as well as other shopping center kinds of stores were spreading. She was getting less as well as less stock for her store. I will state that the Playboys I traded her went quick as well as she made a nice bit revenue from them before the closing of the doors. I brought The star book store their last Hurrah!.

Thank You Barbi Benton as well as Hugh Hefner!

So this week, with the passing of 91 year old Hugh Hefner, I just want to state say thanks to you to him on many different levels. since of him, many different, enjoyable worlds were opened up for me. You can insert all your snarky, “This seems funny to me” lines in here, however it’s the truth…”Hef” broadened my horizons…he likewise assisted me gather comic books.

I’m in his debt.

Rest In Peace, Hugh Hefner. You did me a fantastic favor.

Beau Smith

www.flyingfistranch.com

@BeauSmithRanch

23Mar

BEAUOLOGY 101: THE color OF fear IS BLACK…. BLACK TERROR! part two

by eeajc Anime

This publish is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews as well as Columns

Beau Smith

by beloved Smith

You can checked out part One here.

It took two years before I might get my Black fear ducks all in a row. This job was extremely important to me as well as I understood that I had to make sure the clip was completely packed as well as there was one in the chamber before I flicked the security off.

The Black fear by Dan Brereton

I had written my proposal for The Black Terror. It wasn’t going to be a basic superhero story. True, the primary character would be using a mask as well as costume, however this story was going to be criminal offense noir in an alternating world a great deal like our own only a bit distorted, perhaps even twisted.

In this world, the Al Capone household as well as the Joseph Kennedy household reversed functions making the political as well as criminal offense landscape of the united states extremely rough terrain. The C.I.A, F.B.I as well as N.S.A are allies as well as enemies at the exact same time, however the government branch that truly ruled from the shadows was The department of Agriculture.

It was from the D.O.A that a long line of covert operatives maneuvered with the veins of government legislation enforcement fighting criminal offense with extreme prejudice as well as impunity based out of the government blank spots. When one of these agents died or retired, one more would take their location building on the legend of this agent understood as “The Black Terror.” The intimidation factor was just one of the many weapons at The Black Terror’s disposal.

One of my finest buddies is Chuck Dixon, noted writer of every comic book character you can picture as well as then some. Chuck is likewise the co-creator of one of Batman’s most powerful as well as prominent villains, Bane. Back in 1989, Chuck was the routine writer on Airboy at Eclipse Comics. I had always admired Chuck’s style of composing as well as the truth that he might seamlessly work in any type of genre as well as with any type of character. Chuck as well as I had always talked about co-writing together as well as I understood that The Black fear would be a perfect location to perform this alliance. I had sent Chuck my proposal as well as he truly liked the alternating world as well as the method criminal offense as well as politics meshed. He agreed to find on board as well as then proceeded to add even more fascinating layers to my proposal improving it to an even higher level. I was stoked.

Black Terror. Art by Dan Brereton.

Chuck as well as I likewise came up with a unique style to our collaboration. We had the beginning, the middle, as well as the end of our story all laid out, however what we added was this: we would each compose scenes in the story utilizing the plot as our guideline, however we didn’t tell each other whatever that went on. Example: I would compose the very first scene then send it over to Chuck as well as he would discover that I composed him into a corner with the characters as well as he would in turn have to continue to move the story ahead with the surprises I left him as well as then hand it back to me putting me in a corner. Each problem went such as this providing us a possibility to inject challenging double crosses as well as story twists that were fresh as well as emotionally hooked the visitor into each character as well as their actions.

Speaking for myself, I couldn’t wait on the mail to find with the scene that Chuck composed so I might see exactly how deep in the mud he had left me as well as begin figuring out just exactly how I was going to get out. We enjoyed this style so much we utilized it on our next co-ventures Batman/Wildcat as well as Catwoman/Wildcat.

With our proposal adjusted, we sent it over to Dean Mullaney, the publisher at Eclipse Comics. Dean is a big fan of politics, criminal offense noir, as well as the history of comic books. Not only did he like what we set up with the story, he likewise liked the truth that Eclipse Comics would be bringing back the golden Age character, The Black Terror.

Dean believed in this story so strongly that he believed it should be performed in what was then called the “Prestige Format”. This came after the method Frank Miller’s Batman work was formatted during this time around period. The series would be on slick paper in a square bound style of 42 pages each with a cover cost of $4.95. That was not inexpensive in 1989.

Dean turned the book over to Editor-In-Chief, feline Yronwode who then assigned the direct editing to editor Fred Burke. Chuck as well as I had talks with feline as well as Fred as well as all of us decided that a story such as this should be completely painted to provide it a more cinematic look as well as feel. Fred was in fee of wrangling new skill for Eclipse as well as had just recently hired a youngartist just out of art institution on some anthology jobs at Eclipse. This artist was not only a whiz with pencils, however he was likewise an ingenious painter with his own style that in shape completely with what we had written. The artist’s name was Dan Brereton.

Beau & Dan Brereton 1989

Fred had told Dan about the job, the character, as well as a rough concept of what we were going to do. Dan was quite excited as well as on his own, painted 11 pages of what would be called “The headache Scene”. one of the reasons is since it had The Black fear fighting blood sucking vampires, even though there were no vampires in our story as well as the other reason it was called “The headache Scene” was since feline as well as Fred liked the pages so much, they desired Chuck as well as I to utilize them in the story. They didn’t want to squander these gorgeous pages to ensure that required Chuck as well as I into making them work as an opening to the genuine story.

Black fear page 2

It wasn’t the simplest thing to do, however then great composing is never easy. Chuck as well as I utilized this as a literal headache for the primary character, The Black Terror. I have to admit, we ended up integrating the style of the headache into the rest of the story as well as the character’s background as well as it worked out rather nicely. We could’ve been all pissed off at having to utilize these pages, however in the huge picture, it was a blessing in disguise as well as truly added to the story. great move on Dan, feline as well as Fred’s part. I say thanks to them.

The series subtitle was “Seduction Of Deceit”. It was provided that since what we wished to do was show just exactly how alluring the advantages of criminal offense can be even to a guy who’s devoted to doing what’s right. might the undercover agent, Ryan Delvecchio, A.K.A. , The Black Terror, be seduced by the power as well as riches of organized crime? might his moral compass discover a true reading in this Bermuda triangle of treachery? That was what we wished to discover out in this complex story of great vs. a man’s inner evil. sometimes nightmares are the mirror to our inner reflections.

Black fear page 3

The three problems series did quite great for a book that brought a $4.95 cover price. Each problem offered an typical of 55,000 copies to the direct market. The part that thrilled us the most was that The Black fear story was well got by the readers. crucial acclaim for the book traveled well with word of mouth as well as the icing on top of this piece of cake was that Dan won the Russ Manning award for his work on the book. We were all truly happy for Dan. Needless to say, his career in comics continued to increase after The Black Terror. Dan has gone on to do high profile work for other publishers in addition to his own creator-owned work such as The Nocturnals.

The down side to The Black fear is that it was never collected into a trade paperback. In 1994, Eclipse Comics went bankrupt before the series might be put into hardcover or trade paperback form. soon after that, Todd McFarlane of Spawn fame bought the stays of Eclipse Comics however has refrained from doing anything with it since it’s purchase as well as it doesn’t look like he will anytime soon I’m sorry to say. Please remember, at the time Todd bought Eclipse Comics, I was working for him. At first, he was all stoked about it as well as even had Ted Adams as well as I compose a new resource book for all the characters called overall Eclipse. This book was a extremely restricted direct market retail reward as well as only about 3,000 were printed. It’s a true collector’s product as well as well worth digging for a copy.

Art By Clayton Crain as well as mark Irwin

The Black fear was likewise supposed to be the very first problem of the new Eclipse under Todd’s publishing banner. I composed the new problem with Clayton Crain as well as mark Irwin doing the art. It was done, bought as well as paid for. then whatever stopped. This was about the time Todd as well as Neil Gaiman were having their well covered disagreement on the ownership of Angela as well as a few other characters that Neil had written.

Being the self-serving guy that I am, that all sucked for me. when again, the original series didn’t get collected as well as the new series was sent to limbo. many years passed. I went on to work freelance, Ted Adams went on to co-found IDW publishing as well as Todd kept on making millions as well as a great deal more toys.

Black fear #2

I have no sick feeling towards Todd. I only have frustrations in that the series has never been collected. Without any type of conceit I feel that The Black Terror: Seduction Of Deceit not only stands the test of time, however I honestly believe that it is in the exact same league of The Dark Knight as well as The Watchmen. I understand that’s quite huge talk, however I truly do believe it. The Black fear was a break-through series for superhero criminal offense noir. If you checked out it, I believe you’ll agree.

I hope that a person day you’ll have the possibility to checked out it in a collected form. I hope to see that occur before I shuffle off from this mortal coil. In 1989 I still felt invincible. right here it is 2011 as well as a few of my paint is beginning to fade.

Here are a few other fascinating Black fear facts:

Black fear from the cover of The Westfield Newsletter

** When The Black fear debuted in 1989 it made the cover of The Westfield newsletter utilizing my preferred black as well as white art from Brereton’s pencils. A fantastic piece.

** When noted artist Brandon Peterson was still in art school, he did an eight page Black fear tryout story from one of my scripts. I keep in mind showing his work around to everybody at the old Chicago Con.

** I have a gorgeous pin up of The Black fear that was penciled by Dan Brereton as well as inked by Tim Bradstreet from circa 1990.

I would like to compose The Black fear once again in addition to see it collected. It’d be a lovely tribute to my dad who introduced me to The Black fear all those many years ago. I miss my dad as well as I miss The Black Terror.

Your amigo,

Beau Smith

The flying Fist Ranch

www.flyingfistranch.com

Editor’s Note: want to checked out Beau’s work on Black Terror? We have a restricted number of sets of the total miniseries available, all signed by Beau! You can discover them here!

23Mar

INTERVIEW: CHUCK DIXON & GARY KWAPISZ ON CIVIL war adventure

by eeajc Anime

This publish is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews and Columns

Civil war Adventure

Chuck Dixon and Gary Kwapisz have helped almost every major comics publisher, including a unforgettable run together on Marvel’s savage Sword of Conan. Recently, they developed their own company, history Graphics Press, and their initial introduce is Civil war Adventure. Westfield’s Roger Ash just recently contacted Chuck and Gary to learn more about this new undertaking.

SPECIAL OFFER! All copies of Civil war adventure offered with Westfield this month will be signed and include a mini poster!

Westfield: how did you come to begin history Graphics Press?

Chuck Dixon: Well, Gary and I have understood each other for years. We worked together on savage Sword of Conan and rather a few problems of Punisher war Journal back in the 80s and 90s. We stayed in touch besides that was done and about two years ago Gary asked if I’d be willing to compose some Civil war scripts for a comic he was thinking about doing. I didn’t requirement a great deal of encouragement. I always liked working with Gary and I’m into all things historical and take pleasure in the research study aspect.

Gary Kwapisz: I had been out of comics for a few years and had been doing other picture work, some movie stuff, books, etc., but I was getting tired of that and was believing about perhaps doing some painting, when Chuck asked me to do a short western story he had. I did that and it made me recognize how much I like doing comics! I had just checked out Shelby Foote’s huge three volume history of the Civil war and I was blown away at how great the stories of the war were!

These were the type of stories I always have wished to tell, they were terrible and sad, funny and poignant; they ran the whole gamut of human experience and they were all real! and they are our history and they still matter! So when I started looking into the Civil war and began to recognize how prominent it is, I decided I was going to go ahead and do my own book. I understood Chuck had done some self publishing , so I called him and to ask him some concerns and when he heard what I wished to do he stated he wished to partner with me on it. The rest is history!

Westfield: Why did you decide to lead off with Civil war Adventure?

Dixon: There’s a large, prepared audience that’s familiar with the American Civil War. It’s weird to state that it’s our most “popular” war but it is true that it seems to catch most folks’ imagination. The drama is all there. A nation divided, brother against brother. And, for a great deal of Americans, it’s a war that occurred in locations we’re familiar with.

Kwapisz: The Civil war is really, truly big! There are most likely a dozen books published every month on it. and then there are the reinactors and the museums and civil war round tables, and the stories as I’ve stated are just great.

From the story The Devil’s Due by Gary Kwapisz

Westfield: The book consists of a number of shorter stories. What are the advantages, or disadvantages, of doing that instead of one big, long story?

Dixon: We wished to create a type of graphic novel/anthology hybrid. There’s a seventy page legendary story but then smaller pieces ranging from four to twelve pages. plus great deals of one page illustrated “fact” pieces. This lets our meant audience (young adult) sample the book in little bites before diving in. We truly desired a visitor friendly approach.

Kwapisz: The Civil war stories are of all sorts, some are legendary battles and some are three panel gags! one of the big advantages of self publishing is that we don’t have to follow any preconceived format. We can do it up as we see fit. If the story works out to four pages, fine! If you decide you requirement six, we can make that work too! We have the high-end of letting the story be what even page count it needs to be.

Westfield: There is a great deal of factual detail in the book. how much research study did you do for the book? how did you balance fact and fiction in the stories?

Dixon: Gary and I are both compulsive visitors so it’s not truly a chore. In fact, that part is the most fun. There’re so many great stories in the Civil war years that the issue is selecting only a few. I believe at the beginning of the process I was more knowledgeable about the war. but Gary has blown method past me in the exhaustive reading he’s done on the subject. The person understands his stuff.

Kwapisz: now that I’m doing some composing I can’t believe I get to sit around in the middle of the day reading! I feel guilty, like I should truly be doing some genuine work! but now, I am working. So for me, I view the research study as a luxury! For me, when the story concepts come they just handle a life of their own. and they just seem to work themselves out

Westfield: While at least one of you has a hand in all the stories, you also have some other creators working with you. how did you decide who else you wished to work with on the book?

Dixon: first criteria: can you draw horses?

I relied on my Argentine amigo Enrique Villagran because he’s a history buff also and I understood he’d do an incredible job on the Custer stories (we have another one in the next volume too). He draws great horses and has all the visual ref to make the details accurate.

Sylvestre is a person I wished to work with also and he was willing to draw a complex story about the river war with great deals of demanding detail. His story is gorgeous.

Esteve Poll is another tremendous skill that I satisfied with a Spanish friend of mine. We wound up working on Dynamite’s The Good, The bad and The ugly comic together. but the story of the doomed Union sniper in this volume came first. Esteve has also drawn a story for the second volume that Gary wrote.

From the story home again by Chuck Dixon & Gary Kwapisz

Kwapisz: I see what we are trying to so as something like the EC war comics and so I would like to have other artist bring their different styles and storytelling to the book. right now we don’t have much money, so Chuck and I do the bulk of the work, ‘cause we work cheap! In the future we would like to work with a wide range of interested artist.

Westfield: are there plans for more books from history Graphics Press?

Dixon: We plan at least six volumes in the Civil war adventure series. even more if they prove prominent enough. but then we’ll move on to other segments of American history.

Kwapisz: Self publishing has been a whole great deal more work than I believed it was going to be when I first conceived this project! between working on the second book while trying to offer the first and trying to stay out of foreclosure has been a task! I online in SW Virginia, which is Daniel Boone country and his stories are wild! I would like to do them too. but we have to take care of the books at hand first. one of the big insights I’ve had self publishing is how creative and tough being a service person is! having always worked on the creative side of the business, I’ve had the artist’s tendency to look down on the service people, but not anymore!

Westfield: any closing comments?

Kwapisz: It’s been interesting the reaction we’ve gotten to our book from different people. Our buddies in the comic biz have been surprised that the book isn’t boring! They believed we were doing some new version of the old classics Illustrated! While people in the Civil war world have expressed surprise that it isn’t Sgt. Fury and his shouting Commandos! I like to believe of what we’re doing as a new version of EC’s Blazing Combat!

Purchase

Civil war Adventure

21Mar

COMICLIST PREVIEWS: experience TIME season 11 #5

by eeajc Uncategorized

When Finn as well as Jake are lastly prepared to discover a new house after their treehouse was destroyed during Golb’s attack, an unlikely group makes shore on Ooo, leading Finn to face the concern of where he truly belongs.

Adventure Time season 11 #5
Publisher: KaBOOM, an imprint of BOOM! Studios
Writer: Ted Anderson
Artist: Marina Julia
Colorist: Meg Casey, Francesco Segala
Letterer: Mike Fiorentino
Cover Artists:
Main Cover: Jorge Corona
Preorder Cover: Julie Benbassat
Incentive Cover: Tara O’Connor
Unlocked retailer Variant: Jon Vermilyea
Price: $3.99

THE marvel universe STANDS UNITED against THE secret empire

by eeajc Anime

Media release — It’s been building for months, across a bevy of titles! It’s time to stand together against Hydra and the forces of evil, but how can the heroes of the marvel universe cope with this shattering betrayal by the most trusted figure among them? and what will this mean for the world?
It’s the story that has shocked the world. Captain America is an agent of Hydra?! now – superstar creators Nick Spencer, Daniel Acuna, Steve McNiven, Andrea Sorrentino, Rod Reis, Leinil Yu, and more, bring you the most ground shaking marvel saga ever – secret EMPIRE! available now in comic stores everywhere, marvel is pleased to present a special trailer devoted to the devastating first arc of this blockbuster series!

As Hydra’s tentacles tighten around the world, Steve Rogers’ seemingly full proof plan for global domination begins. Can the heroes of the marvel universe find the cracks within the foundation of Hydra’s control or will they ultimately succumb to the power of one of their most trusted allies?

SECRET empire #0 and secret empire #1 are both available digitally through the marvel digital Comic shop and at all local comic book retailers. To find a comic shop near you, visit comicshoplocator.com.

To find a comic shop near you, visit www.comicshoplocator.com
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About marvel Entertainment

Marvel, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy-five years. marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing.

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MARKLEY’S FEVERED BRAIN: I’M SO sad

by eeajc Anime

This post is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews and Columns

Wayne Markley

by Wayne Markley

Recently, DC has announced they are ending a number of books, well five so far, and while I complain quite a bit about the new 52, it is still sad when some of my favorite books get cancelled. So I am going to look at a few of the titles that are cancelled or have ended recently that I miss even though they ended for the most obvious of reasons, poor sales. It is a shame that in the comic world it seems that the only thing that sells is the straight superhero book. Over the last 75 years, the majority of the time, superheroes are what sells and very little else. Yes, there was a period in the 1950s where almost everything but superheroes sold, but that was really for less than ten years and was driven by outside factors.

Saga

In the rest of the world, comics thrive with all sorts of genre’s selling,such as in Europe, Mexico, Japan, and Russia, where comics of all sorts sell much better than superheroes. and depending on the country, some have little to no superherohero comics. but for reasons which I will not go into here, in America, superheroes have dominated the landscape. To be fair, there have been some terrific superhero books over the years, and there are still terrific superhero books today, but there are so many other genres that comics could explore, but don’t as they cannot not find an audience. image has shown that there is an audience out there, with the success of The walking Dead (helped by the television show) and Saga, which word of mouth has literally made into a best seller, particularly the trade collections. With those two exceptions, almost all the other bestselling comics are superheroes. Unfortunately, I think this is largely due to the direct market and the death of comics on the newsstand where they had the best chance to find new audiences. There are numerous other reasons also, such as demographics, marketing, history of the business, all which take up a number of other columns. While there are attempts to do other genres, there is rarely any real attempt to reach the markets those genres would appeal to. and the successes are in spite of the direct market.

All-Star Western

As much as I have complained about All-Star Western and how they had Jonah Hex in Gotham City then in the present day and then they took away his scars (which I hope they return before they wrap up the series), the book has always been a good read in spite of my complaints. When it was Jonah Hex, it was great. As All-Star Western, it was very good in spite of the restraints put on the writers. Alas, now it is coming to an end. I hope DC will find a way to bring Jonah back again, in a traditional western setting. but he does not seem to fit in the world of superheroes which populate today’s DC Universe. Thankfully, there are a number of places to read classic Jonah Hex; there are two showcase collections, a number of collections of his previous series, and four collections of All-Star Western so far.

The Phantom Stranger

The Phantom stranger has never been all the terrific of a book in its current incarnation. I have read the Phantom stranger in all his various series, from the original 1950s run to the terrific series in the 1960s/70s, which was most notable for the art by Jim Aparo, to the most current version. outside of the 1950s version, it always seems to me the character was a bit too ill-defined to work that well. In the new series it went too far in the opposite direction explaining his background and telling stories that were too fantastic. To me, the Phantom stranger worked best as an observer or guide to the odd and supernatural, when he was around the edges of the story, not the focal point of story. The current version made him part of the Trinity of sin and took the whole mystery away from the character. I still read it every month hoping they would return to the mysterious, but now the book is ending so it will have no chance. For those interested, there are two showcase collecting the 60s/70s Phantom Stranger, there are two collection of the new Phantom stranger so far, and I do not think the 1950s material has ever been reprinted.

Wonder woman Chronicles

I also miss the DCs trade series called Chronicles. DC was collecting and reprinting all the stories of their characters in the original order they first appeared. For example, they would reprint Batman from Detective #27-30, and then Batman #1, and then Detective #31-35, then World’s best Comics #1, etc. Unlike the Archives, where they would reprint all the stories in numerical order, such as Batman #1-6, Detective #27-40, the Chronicles were done in order of publication and they included the characters appearance in other places, such as anthologies, which were common in the golden Age. DC was doing Chronicles of Superman, Batman, wonder Woman, Flash, and green Lantern,and they had announced the Justice league but it was cancelled and never published. I am guessing the sales on these books were not terrific and the material had largely been reprinted already in DC’s Archive series, a bit in different order, but these low-cost trade collection were easy to read and a lot of fun. Admittedly there is little advantage to reading the stories in sequential order as there was little to no reference to other stories (Marvel would pioneer the concept of a big picture universe in the 1960s), and it was still fun to read these old classics. I should note that DC has been going back and reprinting a lot of this material in large hardcover omnibus format.So far they have done the golden Age of Superman, Justice league of America, Flash, and green Lantern. I suspect these high dollar versions are what have killed the nice trades.

Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories

The final thing I miss (well, there are tons of things, but for the purpose of this blog at least) is Walt Disney Comics. By this I mean the traditional characters of Donald Duck and Mickey mouse and all the lesser known characters such as Scamp, Chip and Dale, Bucky Bug, all of the Duck Clan, etc. in a monthly book. Fantagraphics has been reprinting the classic Carl Barks material, and it is beautiful, but I miss my monthly dose of Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories. I loved the original series and I loved the Gladstone/Gemstone giant monthly comics anthology that reprinted material from all over the world from all through-out the ages. Well, since the 1940s. These books were a goldmine in storytelling, from classic Carl Barks’ Donald Duck to Paul Murray’s Mickey mouse to reprints of the Italian Mickey mouse story retelling Dante’s Inferno using Disney characters (an outstanding story well worth seeking out). It was filled with short stories about tons of different characters, all which were fun to read and enjoy. marvel currently has the rights to all this material and I wish they would bring back a monthly anthology of Comics and Stories, although it would surely be a money loser.

Alas, money is the cause for all of these titles discussed today to be cancelled. None of these titles found a broad enough audience to make the books profitable enough for the publishers to keep them going. This is what I find sad. First, that there is not a large enough audience for comic books to support non-superhero comics, with a few exceptions, and secondly, the publishers cannot (and I understand why) continue to publish books that fill a niche, but do not make money in the long run. Thus, keeping the cycle of superheroes only going.

Everything I have written here is my opinion, and it is greatly simplified for space. It in no way reflects the thoughts or opinions of the Westfield Comics or their employees. I welcome your thoughts at MFBWAY@AOL.COM. What books do you miss? Is there hope for something other than superheroes in today’s comic book world? will marvel bring back Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories? Please let me know what you think.

Thank you.

18Mar

2007 Isotope award Contenders

by eeajc Uncategorized

Last month, the winner of the Isotope award for excellence in Mini-Comics was announced as Max Riffner’s quick Step. one of my readers asked me to talk about what other books I would have nominated. So here they are… the best of the batch, as I saw them, in no particular order.

The Executioner Is a Lonely Man
Written by Sam Costello, art by Brian A. LaFramboise

This caught my eye not only because of its skill but because of its unusual subject matter: the relationship between two men on death row. It’s horror, but unlike the too typically seen visceral, blood-soaked zombie comics currently popular, it’s all psychological. The expression-centered, heavy on faces, grey-toned art carries the thoughtful dialogue, creating a moody whole suitable for immediate re-reading.

Sequential Life
by Mathew Digges

The small press collection of daily life strips is an overused concept, but Digges makes it work here. possibly it’s because his comics started as letters to his girlfriend, giving them much more content than some. possibly it’s his oddly simplified figures, with their creepy blank eyes. Or maybe it’s just that I related to numerous of his issues and fears.

His second strip, handling the creative process, hit a particular note, about trying to not think too much, and working out of desperation. I also appreciated his Valentine’s Day strip, where he and his sweetie appreciate each other for the small things. and his “lazy bones” strip wonderfully captures the feeling of a day off. There are cats included, which is a cliché for journal comics, but he captures their fluidity of movement well. read strips online.

I walk with my wife in the evening
by Christopher Davis

This is the kind of odd way of taking a look at life that I read comics for, showing me another way of thinking about things, accompanied by beautiful thin-line illustrations. below its surface are meditations on class distinctions, the significance of money, the possibility of disaster, and the worry that permeates today’s daily life. It’s a disturbing indictment of how psychologically tortured we are, that we no longer have mental room for easy pleasures. view Davis’ art or read Shawn Hoke’s review.

Oil Can Drive
by Sean Tiffany

This last one doesn’t belong here, really. It’s a slipcovered full-color comic with CD marked 15 out of 20. instead of a minicomic, it much more resembles a limited-edition special collector’s item.

I remember reading Tiffany’s exit 6, oh, 10-12 years ago now. I liked it, but as happens to so numerous small press efforts, it never concluded. The artist has great style and creative ideas, but it’s difficult to sign on to the introductory chapter of a large adventure by anybody without knowing there’s major support (read: money) and commitment to conclude behind it.

Ok, enough digression. The story is about a rock band in a post-apocalyptic America. The CD is a natural tie-in, including their music. It’s a familiar concept, taking the idea of punk rebellion one step further. Oni press has a similar-sounding book coming out in July, Apocalipstix. With a gorilla and a young young boy in the band, it also reminded me of Grease Monkey.

It’s an eye-catching package, but with so much to set up — new world, ongoing premise, set of characters — the comic itself is mostly introduction. The impression I came away with was that of surface flash over substance, which is probably unfair of me. Still, very good limited edition. Sean has talked about his Isotope experience, which was a fascinating peek into the “other side” of the event.

INTERVIEW: PETER MILLIGAN ON DYNAMITE’S terminal HERO

by eeajc Anime

This post is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews and Columns

Terminal Hero #1

Peter Milligan is the popular writer of such comics as all-new Doop, Red Lanterns, X-Statix, Shade, The changing Man, and lots of others. His most current project, terminal Hero, is on the way from Dynamite this August. Westfield’s Roger Ash recently contacted Milligan to learn more.

Terminal Hero #1 preview page 1

Westfield: What was the genesis of terminal Hero?

Peter Milligan: It started with pretty grim stuff. someone I knew contracted a brain tumor, as it turns out just as fatal as our hero Rory’s tumor is diagnosed to be at the beginning of terminal Hero. From there I started thinking about cancer, facing mortality, ways of avoiding that and how much of the person you thought you were you’d be ready to lose or have changed, in buy to stay alive. That was the beginning but as is the way with these things, the story grew and became about other things too.

Terminal Hero #1 preview page 2

Westfield: What appealed to you about doing this series at Dynamite?

Milligan: I’d been talking with Nicky Barrucci at dynamic about doing a project with them for some time. I think creatively the company really seems to be moving in the ideal direction. When the idea of terminal Hero started to form dynamic seemed the best fit. This is a dark and twisted book and I wanted the license to explore some very meaty sexual and moral stuff. and dynamic gave me a completely complimentary hand.

Westfield: What can readers look forward to in the book?

Milligan: though the genesis might be grim – cancer – this is not a grim book. There’s a lot of humor, albeit a lot of it dark and laced with bitter poison. It’s a brutal, fast, and chilling ride as we follow our hero facing up to his many, lots of demons. but as well as the sex, and drugs and violence and madness I like to think there’s a real heart to the book, too.

Terminal Hero #1 preview page 3

Westfield: who are the main characters in the story and can you tell us a bit about them?

Milligan: Our hero is Rory Fletcher. He’s a junior doctor in London. He’s a good guy. He likes listening to Bob Marley and smoking a little weed. He’s told he has a tumor in his brain. ideal next to the cerebral seat of any psychokinesis, psychometry, bilocaton and anything else of that nature that we might possess.

Rory’s best friend is Raza, and it’s Raza who discovers the banned treatment Q, which leads to a change in Rory’s fortunes.

Doctor Quigley was the cracked genius scientist who created the volatile treatment Q, a radical treatment for cancer. Quigley has officially been dead for some years, killed by his pet Alsatian dog, with who he was having an affair.

And coming in from sidelines are Mia and Minesh, who also get their hands on treatment Q. Neither they nor anything they come in contact with will ever be he same again.

Terminal Hero #1 preview page 4

Westfield: You’re working with artist Piotr Kowalski on terminal Hero. What can you say about your collaboration with him?

Milligan: I’ve never worked with Piotr before but it’s been and continues to be great. Prior is very thorough and really cares about what he’s doing. He’s very good with character, which is essential in a story like terminal Hero.

Westfield: any closing comments?

Milligan: terminal Hero is probably unlike anything you’ve read. I know it’s unlike anything I’ve written.

Purchase

Terminal Hero #1

17Mar

AN ETERNAL PATTERN

by eeajc Uncategorized

The Eternals #1 has seen enormous surges in sales prices since the news leaked that marvel was considering making it the basis of an all-out cosmically themed ‘Phase Four’ movie. In the meantime, and with periodic surges and dips, the returns on this Jack Kirby Bronze Age comic is following a familiar pattern.

The Eternals #1 (June 1976) – first appearance of The Eternals

Let’s go back to 2001. There were all of 7 copies of this book on the CGC census. By January 10, 2007, that number had jumped to 29. That’s not a lot, which says that this book was very far from a highly prized comic at the time.

In fact, nobody except the most devoted Kirby completists seemed to be seeking this comic out back then.

From February of 2007 until about March of 2018 there was a rather steady submission rate, but the average number sent in for submission was about around 1.26 copies a week. What this means is that while there were exactly 245 copies on the census on February 1, 2007, precisely 578 weeks later, by March 1st of 2018, we see 976 units listed: a rise of 731 submissions. Not at all bad.

Then the announcement that the MCU was planning an ‘Eternals’ motion picture for ‘Phase Four’ first started making media rounds. This happened about a year ago in April of 2018 (see here). quickly we witness the CGC action jump- while a 1.2 unit a month submission rate was standard before April 03 2018, submissions between then and April 03 of 2019 shows numbers jumping from 990 to 2, 342. A submission rate of 26 copies a week over 52 weeks. Today that number stands at 2, 538.

Correspondingly, the increase in demand for this book follows what I call the standard pattern. prices spiked with the announcement of the MCU film, and while we await the first trailer are trending up. If the past is any indication, and if ‘Phase Four’ of the MCU can maintain comic fan interest, this book should see another significant spike upon release of ‘The Eternals’ trailer or teaser trailer.

Looking at only the regular non price-variant edition of The Eternals #1, and taking 9.8 blue label certified sales as our benchmark- the surge in value since January 1, 2000 (earliest Gocollect.com data) stands at a robust positive +111%. Narrowing down those numbers and the date parameters, and taking into account sales on other grades, we see that over the last three months the returns on this book look as follows:

9.8 = positive +12.8% after 42 sales [Last three eBay sales= $1, 275.00 (04/29/2019), $1, 200.00 (04/26/2019), $1, 200.00 (04/23/2019)].
9.6 = positive +4.5% after 70 sales [Last three eBay sales = $385.00 (04/29/2019), $350.00 (04/29/2019), $375.00 (04/27/2019)].
9.4 = positive +22.6% after 50 sales [Last three eBay sales =$275.00 (04/29/2019), $299.00 (04/27/2019), $370.00 (04/27/2019)].
9.2 = positive +13.2% after 37 sales [Last three eBay sales = $235.00 (04/28/2019), $222.50 (04/27/2019), $165.50 (04/24/2019)].

What if you missed the Eternals window and don’t have a copy yet? There’s still time. If there’s anything like a sure bet in today’s speculation market it’s that marvel keys surge when a movie version of their stories hits theaters. The Eternals movie is more than a year away and all indications point to the movie meeting its schedule and coming out during ‘Phase Four’.

Looking at the available data, The Eternals #1 comic is following the same, now established, pattern that we’ve seen with other marvel books.

Archives March 2023