Returning From Vacation
After a hectic few weeks away from the regular grind (as anyone with children can attest to), a few notes from the world of comics while I was away.
The passing of Steve Ditko: Sometime on approximately 29 June 2018, Steve Ditko passed away. Co-creator with Stan Lee of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange at Marvel, creator of Captain Atom and the Question at Charlton, and the Creeper and Hawk and Dove at DC Comics, Ditko was known for the heart and soul he put into every character he worked on (usually by injecting qualities of himself into the astory.) Although he only did 38 issues of the Amazing Spider-Man, these issues defined the character. He created Doctor Octopus, the Lizard and the Green Goblin. He was also involved in the relaunch of the Hulk in Tales to Astonish after his own magazine died after 6 issues.
After a fallout with Lee that no one (including Lee) understood what happened, Steve left Marvel and moved on to Charlton Comics where he revamped the Blue Beetle, and worked again on his creation the Question. It was during this period he created the character Mr. A, who was based on Ditko's increasing Objectivist beliefs. Within a year, he was at DC Comics were he created the Creeper and Hawk and Dove (who ended up with the Teen Titans). His biggest contribution to the company over his short time there however was managing to bring Charlton bigwig Dick Giordano over to DC (which was huge for them in the 1970s and 80s.)
Ditko by the time became increasing hermetic, as his political beliefs (I dislike using the word alienated) isolated him from most of his colleagues. It is this isolation that led to him being dead for what the coroner believed was two to three days before his body as discovered on June 30, 2018. He leaves a legacy that will be ever lasting as Spider-Man is arguably the most popular super-hero ever.
Comic content - Ditko's passing and his interesting belief system leads us to the next topic I have for today. Although I read The Terrifics (huge fan of Metamorpho and the Legion,) I haven't bought the Plastic Man mini-series. But the uproar of this book's contents that is on the web had me curious as to what the hype is. It turns out, the hype is bullshit. No, seriously. The word "bullshit" was published in a comic put out by one of the major publishers (Fredric Wertham must be turning in the urn he was put in.) To me this is a little surprising for a company trying to woo younger readers. However, my own kids have said worse and no doubt have heard worse words come out of my mouth (this morning when I spilled coffee on my foot is an example), so I don't think this is really a big deal. Comics are a reflection of the times they are published in, and casual swearing is a part of our modern life. It's not like the F-word is going to show up anytime soon anyway.
Stan Lee Elder Abuse - Love Stan the Man. He is corny and fun, as well as a stalwart of our industry. It sickens me that he is allegedly the victim of charlatans who have taken over his life (are we saying that Funky Flashman himself has been bamboozled by a booby?) and his social media. Even his recent Twitter account update saying that was the only true account has been confirmed to have been hacked. Since Joan Lee died, he has not been the same. Hang in there, Stan, there are people that will protect you.
Movies - Do we really need a Frozen 2? Only if it's about the "Big Summer Blow-out" guy. However, as long as it doesn't become canon, the Joker origin movie would be an interesting story. Pictured above is Batman (v2) 23.1, which I have found to be the best Joker origin story yet.
Ottawa News and Notes - One thing I have been finding frustrating lately (more than I ever have before) is the exchange rate used for US cover price conversions. Multizone Aylmer, where I get my books, likes to use the current rate on a weekly basis, without a significant markup (in fact they round down on occasion, like they did this week to 1,30 $). That is not always the case, as I have discovered in the last couple of weeks where the mark-up was considerably higher at some stores. The US dollar as I write this is 1,32 $ CAD. Even with a two cent banking differential it does not justify 40% in some cases. This nearly destroyed the comic industry in the late 1990s when our dollar was 69 cents USD, and I am afraid this will happen again. We do need to keep buying folks to keep our LCS open, but I used to buy 26 titles a month and now I currently only buy 15.
The Comic Book Shoppe in Nepean (1400 Clyde Avenue) is holding a Kid's Comic Sale Day on July 28 where children's comics will be on sale and they will have face-painting and prizes. This is a great idea to try an introduce more fans to the hobby. Check it out with your kids (or if like me, a fan of Disney Comics)
And today, July 15 (the day I write this), is the monthly show at the Jim Durrell Arena. If you have time, check it out.
Next time, I will have a Random Books My Son Picks, followed by comparisons of the two Man of Steel Series. Until them, keep on reading.
The passing of Steve Ditko: Sometime on approximately 29 June 2018, Steve Ditko passed away. Co-creator with Stan Lee of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange at Marvel, creator of Captain Atom and the Question at Charlton, and the Creeper and Hawk and Dove at DC Comics, Ditko was known for the heart and soul he put into every character he worked on (usually by injecting qualities of himself into the astory.) Although he only did 38 issues of the Amazing Spider-Man, these issues defined the character. He created Doctor Octopus, the Lizard and the Green Goblin. He was also involved in the relaunch of the Hulk in Tales to Astonish after his own magazine died after 6 issues.
After a fallout with Lee that no one (including Lee) understood what happened, Steve left Marvel and moved on to Charlton Comics where he revamped the Blue Beetle, and worked again on his creation the Question. It was during this period he created the character Mr. A, who was based on Ditko's increasing Objectivist beliefs. Within a year, he was at DC Comics were he created the Creeper and Hawk and Dove (who ended up with the Teen Titans). His biggest contribution to the company over his short time there however was managing to bring Charlton bigwig Dick Giordano over to DC (which was huge for them in the 1970s and 80s.)
Ditko by the time became increasing hermetic, as his political beliefs (I dislike using the word alienated) isolated him from most of his colleagues. It is this isolation that led to him being dead for what the coroner believed was two to three days before his body as discovered on June 30, 2018. He leaves a legacy that will be ever lasting as Spider-Man is arguably the most popular super-hero ever.
Comic content - Ditko's passing and his interesting belief system leads us to the next topic I have for today. Although I read The Terrifics (huge fan of Metamorpho and the Legion,) I haven't bought the Plastic Man mini-series. But the uproar of this book's contents that is on the web had me curious as to what the hype is. It turns out, the hype is bullshit. No, seriously. The word "bullshit" was published in a comic put out by one of the major publishers (Fredric Wertham must be turning in the urn he was put in.) To me this is a little surprising for a company trying to woo younger readers. However, my own kids have said worse and no doubt have heard worse words come out of my mouth (this morning when I spilled coffee on my foot is an example), so I don't think this is really a big deal. Comics are a reflection of the times they are published in, and casual swearing is a part of our modern life. It's not like the F-word is going to show up anytime soon anyway.
Stan Lee Elder Abuse - Love Stan the Man. He is corny and fun, as well as a stalwart of our industry. It sickens me that he is allegedly the victim of charlatans who have taken over his life (are we saying that Funky Flashman himself has been bamboozled by a booby?) and his social media. Even his recent Twitter account update saying that was the only true account has been confirmed to have been hacked. Since Joan Lee died, he has not been the same. Hang in there, Stan, there are people that will protect you.
Movies - Do we really need a Frozen 2? Only if it's about the "Big Summer Blow-out" guy. However, as long as it doesn't become canon, the Joker origin movie would be an interesting story. Pictured above is Batman (v2) 23.1, which I have found to be the best Joker origin story yet.
Ottawa News and Notes - One thing I have been finding frustrating lately (more than I ever have before) is the exchange rate used for US cover price conversions. Multizone Aylmer, where I get my books, likes to use the current rate on a weekly basis, without a significant markup (in fact they round down on occasion, like they did this week to 1,30 $). That is not always the case, as I have discovered in the last couple of weeks where the mark-up was considerably higher at some stores. The US dollar as I write this is 1,32 $ CAD. Even with a two cent banking differential it does not justify 40% in some cases. This nearly destroyed the comic industry in the late 1990s when our dollar was 69 cents USD, and I am afraid this will happen again. We do need to keep buying folks to keep our LCS open, but I used to buy 26 titles a month and now I currently only buy 15.
The Comic Book Shoppe in Nepean (1400 Clyde Avenue) is holding a Kid's Comic Sale Day on July 28 where children's comics will be on sale and they will have face-painting and prizes. This is a great idea to try an introduce more fans to the hobby. Check it out with your kids (or if like me, a fan of Disney Comics)
And today, July 15 (the day I write this), is the monthly show at the Jim Durrell Arena. If you have time, check it out.
Next time, I will have a Random Books My Son Picks, followed by comparisons of the two Man of Steel Series. Until them, keep on reading.
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