Comic Book Candy

Could fill a lot more than one blog post as proven by  Millar's recent  tone-deaf comments concerning depictions of rape versus violence within his work . But two very different views of one comic in particular may shed a little light on what Millar and many more still don't get. A few years ago when I still worked full time at Graham Crackers Comics, a lot of our time was spent talking about comics. A shocking pastime for comic shop employees, I know. We talked about what we liked more often than what we didn't, though we would oblige any customer that asked for our honest opinion ( haunted vaginas and pentagram boob tassels - apparently there is a place in the world of comics for books like Tarot ). Healthy debates about the merits of comics and creators thrived. Was the work of Alan Moore still the benchmark to which we compared the best of the best superhero titles? Was the ending of Final Crisis satisfying for anyone? Are there really readers out there that h...

Joker and Batdog hanging out in front of G-Mart Oh boy. Who else is still recovering from the non-stop fun and insanity of Free Comic Book Day? No doubt comic book retailers are relaxing after what has quickly become one of the biggest sale days of their year. Other fans like myself that attempted to visit as many local comic shops as possible are likely feeling exhausted as well. We made it to seven stores all together and still did not get to visit every shop on our list ( you can see a map of our progress here. ) The newly opened Aw Yeah Comics in Skokie would have been a fun stop, as well as the downtown location of Graham Crackers Comics, and First Aid Comics in Hyde Park. Perhaps next year we will go in on a rental with friends and commit to covering more ground. Traveling an area of about 16 miles in a day doesn't sound like a lot, but to a city dweller relying on public transit carrying a large camera and an ever growing stack of free books, this was an epic odyssey of...

May the 4th be with you this Free Comic Book Day (picture of Graham Crackers Comics in Edgewater during last year's FCBD) It only comes but once a year, so be sure to set aside an hour or two today to enjoy Free Comic Book Day . It may be difficult to pry yourself away from the premiere of Iron Man 3 or Star Wars: May the 4th Be With You events; I can assure you, it is well worth doing. You would think free comics would be an easy sell but each year I meet fans that either don't know about the annual event or have never made the time to check it out. Here's a quick guide to how to get the most out of your FCBD experience. Where do I go to obtain these "free comics"?  A good place to start! Most, but not all comic shops participate. The quickest way to find out if your store will have free comics is the FCBD store locator .  Just enter your zip code and they will find the shops for you! Keep in mind that these comics are free for you, but not for the pa...

This article is not what you might have immediately envisioned. It isn't about Batman uncontrollably spewing his every thought, but rather fandoms' inability to quit talking about the problematic genre of superhero comics (even mainstream media outlets suffer from this ailment ). Even when criticism is well deserved, the amount of time spent shaming the missteps of large publishers is rarely equal to time spent showing examples of comics that actually get it right. Men, women, old fans, new fans, we all have a super-god given right to complain when superheroes let us down, and keep relatively quiet when they succeed in entertaining us. This superhero word vomit that makes fans fixate on the shortcomings of comics, particularly of the tights variety, is the same impulse that applies to any customer service relationship. Think about how much more likely you are to tell a friend about a bad experience you have with a business than when excellent service is rendered. Perhaps ...

It's been two weeks since Chicago's third C2E2 convention ended, which has given me enough time to decompress, edit photos, and reflect on the show as a whole. Though results may vary, it is safe to say the show was a success. With the official number of 41,000 being thrown around, attendance was up from last year, great news for vendors and organizer Reed Pop. I missed the first year of the show where it was held in a far-too-large space at McCormick, and each year since it has been in a different hall. This  year it had the goldilocks room (not too big, not too small) which allowed the layout a little more breathing room. Aisles were much wider, and though there were still bottlenecks of traffic, it was normal convention congestion and not "they underestimated the crowd" congestion. The organizers provided generous space for celebrity signing lines, and though this made sense for a day like Saturday, it made small lines look extra sad during the rest of the show....

Comic Book Readers by Ruth Orkin, c.1947 (found on Liszka's Soup ) "Girls read comics, not just Manga either. Girls read superhero comics, indie comics, autobiographical comics, historical comics, literary comics, horror comics, romance comics and even just plain terrible comics. Girls are comic fans. They want comics aimed at them, or aimed not at them, or just comics that are good. They want all the same things male comic fans want. They want to be sold to, they want to buy the cold cast porcelain model of Rogue looking badass and put it on their shelf. They want Wonder Woman underwear sets and Wolverine stationery for the new term. Women are just as whimsical, gullible, romantic and fanciful as men. They are capable of grasping the finer points of all the weird freaky made up stuff that we all commonly know to be “ACCEPTED CONTINUITY.”  They will talk about costume changes and characterisation." - Comic book writer and fan Leah Moore Leah Moore knows a...

  This past Wednesday evening Graham Crackers Comics located in the Chicago Loop looked a little different. As one keenly observant male customer opined a little too loudly, "You guys are swimming in estrogen today!" After manager Matt Streets pointed out that the store's first Ladies Night event was about to begin, he sheepishly took his books up to the register and went on his way. Considering the large turn out, it's safe to say this will be the first of a regular monthly event at the local comic shop. As an employee of Graham Crackers Chicago Lakeview location, I served as a store liaison for the event and also helped to moderate the conversation. Comic book creator and recent transplant to Chicago, Hannah Chapman spearheaded the event and organized it along with store manager Matt Streets. Ladies Night served a few purposes; first and foremost, it was a chance to meet and talk comics with other local female fans. Participants were encouraged to bring books they...

Every headline touting a long-lost comic collection found in grandma's attic is sure to give retailers a slight headache. Whenever genuinely rare comics go for big bucks in auction , phone calls to comic shops from consumers with stacks of worthless comics from the 90's and dollar signs in their eyes are bound to follow. It would be a humorous situation if it wasn't such a time consuming (and frequent) occurrence to explain that no, your Death of Superman is worth less than the bag and board you put it in. Modern comic book readers know better than to believe the prevalent myth that comics are a sound monetary investment. Most fans have come to accept that these are a disposable form of entertainment (if you haven't, the sooner you come to terms with this, the less bitter you'll be later on). Recently I've seen more longtime readers  bringing collections in to sell back to the stores they bought them from, mostly siting concerns for space and wanting store cred...

“You have a generation of girls who have grown up with this stuff and view it as a natural part of culture. You’ve had three ‘Spider-Man’ movies and ‘X-Men’ movies since they’ve been growing up. You’ve had ‘Harry Potter’ books and movies. And this generation has gotten it in a more concentrated level than I had as a kid. I might have had a ‘Superman’ movie every few years. But it was still a bit of a learning process.” - Jeff Katz, former Fox movie executive And yet here we are, readership shrinking and no closer to expanding our niche market. Hollywood has been quicker to recognize the mass appeal of various "nerd culture" properties, but the comic book industry itself is taking its time creating products for the growing female market. There are many creators, fans, and retailers that don't treat female readers like an elusive / non-existant unicorn , but when it comes to the big two, the driving force behind production is short term sales. In an interview with Comics A...

When one starts a conversation concerning women in comics, they are bound to be met with various reactions: "Yes, please!" "What now?" and "What women?" are just a few. The growing number of articles on the subject indicate the times may in fact be changing. Oh please comic book gods, say it is true! Could more and more comic book readers be seeing the giant female elephant in the room? It comes in a few shapes and sizes, but the main ones currently gaining visibility include the depictions of women in comics, the lack of female creators, and the lack of female readers. My blog does not focus on the various topics of women in comics (there are already plenty of wonderful ones out there like DC Women Kicking Ass , Girls Read Comics , The Mary Sue , and Comic Book Grrrl just to name a few) but as a female fan, my perspective is influenced by my experience. Being a woman informs my opinions as much as having worked in local comic shops, too. Even my time li...

So you know your girlfriend / best friend / co-worker reads comics and enjoys various nerd cultural phenomena, but you have no idea what to get them. Sound familiar? It's tough. These are the people that are most likely to buy themselves that highly sought after collectible. They know what they want, and that makes your job as gift giver a tough one. No fear! Here are some suggestions that will have your loved one feeling thankful and hopefully surprised. Enjoy more gift ideas after the jump! Star Trek: The Next Generation - Next Level Blu-Ray The box says it all: "A Taste of TNG in High Definition." This is a perfect gift for several reasons. It will not be released until January, so you know they won't have it, and it's something that not every Trekkie will get for themselves, but they will enjoy nonetheless. This sampler collection contains three classic episodes of Next Gen, the first to be re-mastered for blu-ray. Paramount will surely release a complete se...

(For those joining late, please see the introductory post on Odyssey X, where I explain my attempt to read every X-Men title during X-Men: Schism) Uncanny X-Force #15 Writer: Rick Remender Artist: Jerome Opena Cover Price: $3.99 Uncanny X-Force isn't just the best X-Men titles being released; it's probably one of the best Marvel books period. Remender continues to push the boundaries of the X-Men line by infusing more than a few genres into this super-hero title. At the end of the last issue, Psyloche chose to stay behind in an attempt to save Warren, while her teammates fled from their losing battle to regroup. The Life Seed is being used to alter time itself by creating a new evolutionary path for Earth, one where life's mutation never reached the plateau of mankind. The dreamlike sequences of Archangel and his followers witnessing time and evolution re-form makes one hell of a subject for Opena to draw, and he more than meets the challenge. X-Force feels the lea...

(For those joining late, please see the introductory post on Odyssey X , where I explain my attempt to read every X-Men title during X-Men: Schism) X-Men Schism #2 Writer: Jason Aaron Artist: Frank Cho Cover Price: $3.99 Perhaps expectations were high after such a satisfying first issue, but Schism #2 felt like a letdown.  This issue is cheaper and shorter than the first and unfortunately, those extra pages are missed in the storytelling. The exciting revelations in issue one are expanded upon, but often the action is happening off the page. The character interactions that made the first issue emotionally engaging are now shorter, and at times repetitious (it's becoming pretty obvious who the young X-Men will end up following since they've had little or no time with Scott). After wreaking havoc at an international delegation, Quentin Quire returns seeking asylum from the world leaders and super-heroes attempting to apprehend him. His return appears only as another way...