Bloodshot #1

Bloodshot is back in a new series from Valiant Entertainment and writer Duane Swierczynski, pencillers Manuel Garcia & Arturo Lozzi, and inker Stefano Gaudiano. Here’s what the solicitation says about the book:

It’s the start of a new mission for one of comics’ all-time best-selling superheroes in Bloodshot #1 — the first issue of new ongoing series from acclaimed novelist Duane Swierczynski (Immortal Iron Fist, Birds of Prey) and the lethal artistic tag team of Manuel Garcia (Checkmate) and Arturo Lozzi (Immortal Weapons)! Your name is Angelo Mortalli. Your brother is trapped behind enemy lines and on the verge of — no. That’s not right. Your name is Raymond Garrison. You’ve retired from the dangers of the field, but a desperate plea from your oldest friend plunges you into a vicious firefight that — no. That’s not right, either. You are Bloodshot. You are the shade of gray that freedom requires. The perfect confluence of military necessity and cutting-edge technology. A walking WikiLeaks that is a reservoir of dirty secrets that could set the world on fire. And you’ve just been captured.

Valiant has provided us with a preview of the book. Take a look at this beautiful pencil artwork!

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Bloodshot #1

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Bloodshot #1

Dark Shadows/Vampirella #1

May 16th, 2011, Runnemede, NJ – This coming August, Vampirella and Barnabas Collins meet for the first time EVER in Dark Shadows/Vampirella #1!  Written by the acclaimed Marc (Manhunter) Andreyko and drawn by Patrick Berkenkotter, with a cover by Fabiano Neves, this will be a cross-over to remember!

Dark Shadows/Vampirella preview page 1

In Dark Shadows/Vampirella #1, when the disappearance of a family friend brings Barnabas Collins to New York, he is ill-prepared for the seedy underworld of clubs that awaits him! And Vampirella’s quest to find the “Big Apple Butcher” sends her on a collision course with the vampire of Collinsport! Will Vampirella and Barnabas uncover the shocking identity of this madman before they kill each another?

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“Barnabas Collins and Vampirella are two classic characters in vampire lore, so getting the chance to pen their first meeting is a blast,” says writer Marc Andreyko.  “I remember watching Dark Shadows reruns and sneaking peeks at the Vampirella magazines when I was just a wee lad, so getting to do this book seems like fate! And I’m not going easy on Barnabas or Vampi in this series, either! They are going to be put through a gauntlet of terror before this book is through!”

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Jim Pierson, spokesman for Dark Shadows rights owner Dan Curtis Productions, adds, “It’s fun to further expand the reach of Dark Shadows and hopefully expose the classic characters to new fans who might just be discovering Barnabas with the new Johnny Depp movie.”

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“Cross-overs get a bad rap when they’re not done right, or they feel forced,” adds Dynamite editor Joe Rybandt. “But this one felt like a natural the moment we had the idea. The setting, the characters, the bad guys…the whole thing has come together so naturally, and Marc and Patrick are the perfect pair to make it happen.”

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Scott Pilgrim Color Vol. 1 HC

Creator Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim is back from Oni Press! The classic series returns in full color volumes with extra content. Here’s what the solicitation says about the book:

Just when you thought you knew all there was to know about Scott Pilgrim comes Scott Pilgrim Color Hardcover vol. 1: Precious Little Life! The first in a series of brand new hardcover editions, this FULL COLOR, remastered, 6×9 hardcover presents Scott’s first evil ex battle as you’ve never seen it before! Plus, previously unpublished extras and bonus materials make this mighty tome one that’s required reading for Scottaholics everywhere!

Oni has provided Westfield with this preview of this new volume. Take a look!

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Scott Pilgrim Color Hardcover vol. 1: Precious Little Life

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Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1 HC preview pages 128 & 129

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1 HC preview page 130

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Scott Pilgrim Color Hardcover vol. 1: Precious Little Life

KC Carlson by Keith Wilson.

by KC Carlson

The Avengers

Apparently, The Avengers rule, as the movie has made over a billion dollars worldwide. “Oh, my stars and garters!” one famous former Avenger might say. I happen to think the film deserves it, at least a little bit, for being one of the more completely entertaining blockbuster pictures in recent memory. (Sorry, I don’t do vampires. Or sparkly, either.)

Part of what made The Avengers so satisfying was that it had a little something for everybody. Sure, there were practically wall-to-wall action and spectacularly cinematic superheroic battle scenes, but what made the movie for me was all the lighter touches, from the sparkling Whedonesque dialogue to the silly little fact that the Hulk likes to punch people when they’re not looking. The film had some of the best battle one-liners ever, as well as plenty of moments that made life-long comics fans’ hearts swell, seeing their four-color fantasies come to life (even CGI life) on a big screen.

STAN BRINGS THE FUNNY

An early Human Torch and The Thing dust up from Fantastic Four #5 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby.

That use of humor is in keeping with the great Marvel tradition. In the comics themselves — at least in the Stan Lee-written Silver Age, as well as a couple of the eras that followed — humor was an essential part of the Marvel experience. Some of comics’ most memorable moments for a certain generation of readers included scene after scene of Human Torch vs. Thing battles (or perhaps just their aftermath) in the pages of Fantastic Four. Few of us at the time realized that was how these “brothers” expressed their love for each other.

Aunt May marries Doc Ock? From Amazing Spider-Man #131

Plus, many’s the time that young Peter Parker had to go into battle as Spider-Man wearing something embarrassing, because his super-suit had been destroyed or (more often) was in the wash. My favorite was when Spidey actually donned long underwear (and a web mask) to take down the foe du jour. The Spidey books were filled with crazy stuff — Spider-Mobiles, J.J.J.’s Spider-Slayers, Aunt May dating Doc Ock, clones. (Okay, maybe those weren’t that funny at the time — but they are now!) But for sheer Marvel craziness, three words: Swingin’ Mike Murdock! (Look it up!)

Stan Lee also ran Marvel like a madman running the asylum. He had crazy nicknames for everybody who worked for him. (Many of which have stuck — probably into eternity. Who da King? Jack Kirby da King!) Stan made so many mistakes while writing (mostly from forgetfulness) that he eventually gave out prizes for people who could explain away the mistakes. The joke was on the winner of these No-Prizes — the prize was (really) an empty envelope, with the Hulk on the front telling you that you’ve just won a No-Prize! Is that not goofy!?! And yet they have become one of the most enduring collectibles from that era.

Most of the classic Marvel superhero comics shared this humor with a lot of flat-out superheroic action, as well as straight drama (or melodrama). As with any good piece of fictional entertainment, good comic book storytelling should contain a number of different story elements — from humor to drama to action to big emotional conflict and all points in-between. Stories that concentrate on one thing (in comic books, frequently the physical conflict) tend to be less interesting or memorable than those that mix several different elements, making for a more diverse reading experience. (Although, I do freely admit that if you are solely into comics for the artwork alone, it’s very easy to be attracted to the super-fights.)

SOMETHING TO BE LEARNED FROM FILMS THAT SHOULDN’T BE FUNNY — BUT ARE

Die Hard

It’s the mixture of these diverse elements that makes stories memorable. For example, in film, the Die Hard series of movies are pretty much non-stop action (and massive explosions!). What takes them beyond your typical run-of the-mill action flick is the sardonic quip machine who is John McClane, tossing off one-liners with the speed and ease of a Robin Williams. You also have interesting characters (that you care about) and situations that lead to humor — no one ever initially believes that McClane is chasing killers in mundane situations (airports, office buildings, etc.). Finally, you have the bigger-than-life heroic element of McClane doing things that obviously no ordinary human could survive. There have been seemingly hundreds of action movies trying to be the next Die Hard franchise. Most of them fail miserably because instead of balancing the mix, they just concentrate on one thing. (Usually, blowing up stuff!)

Some people don’t like the Die Hard movies because that guy just won’t shut up. That’s okay. Some people don’t like it when too many jokes mess up their “violence for the sake of violence” movies. If you’re one of them, you won’t like the rest of this article. Me, I happen to like stories that have more than just people punching or blowing up other people.

EARLY BIG-BUDGET SUPERHERO FILMS

Christopher Reeve as Superman

Tonality and getting all the elements in proper balance was very important in DC’s superhero films. They tend to get it right early on and then lose it in subsequent films. For a long time, the first two Superman movies were the epitome of what a perfect superhero movie should be. They were heartwarming and humorous — but they also told a great action story that was also mythic to the lead character. And then, somehow, it all fell apart, with the too-Hollywood Superman III and the train wreck of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, which was so poor that I no longer even remember any of the details.

Batman (Michael Keaton) & the Joker (Jack Nicholson)

The first two Batman films (the Tim Burton ones) were also acclaimed by most comics fans as spectacular. My take on them wasn’t quite so high, as I felt that they frequently placed style over substance (but what style!). I thought they had made a few too many concessions to change the characters from the comics to the films. But, in retrospect, the first two films are masterpieces compared to what was to come. Batman Forever was slightly interesting, but I would have liked to see a little bit more of Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face and a lot less of Jim Carrey as The Riddler. The tone and balance of the film was all wrong. This was too silly.

Then I saw Batman & Robin and had to redefine “silly”. I saw it at the official DC Comics employee pre-screening with Johanna (not yet my wife). We both wanted to walk out about 30-40 minutes into the film, but we thought better of that when we realized that Paul Levitz was sitting right behind us. As it turned out, we were ultimately happy that we didn’t leave, as it was about that time that writer Peter David had had enough of the film and started yelling insults at it from his seat, just a few rows back from us. We spent the rest of the film being entertained by Peter while we (and most of the rest of the audience) were not doing a very good job of trying to stifle laughing at his witty comments. I’ve not seen the film since, despite us owning the DVD box set (which Johanna found very cheap). I refuse to watch this film again without a Peter David commentary track.

The current series of Batman films are much better, although I occasionally apply the tagline of The Dark Knight to them. “Why so serious?” They seem overwhelmingly grim to me, despite the occasional one-liners thrown out by the supporting characters, especially the acidic Alfred. I think the films have a lot to offer, but the relentlessness of them often gets to me. (When I first saw The Dark Knight, I actually thought it was over when the Joker blew up the hospital and just walked away. Little did I know that there was still most of an hour to go! I guess I just wanted it done at that point.) I don’t watch them very often.

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises poster

In contrast, as soon as the Avengers film was over, people were standing and applauding and commenting on how fun it was. I immediately thought back to the very dark and grim trailer I saw beforehand for The Dark Knight Rises and thought “Uh oh.” Guess we’ll find out what folks still think of that approach in a couple of weeks.

PUTTING THE FUN IN EPIC (EPFUNIC?)

The Avengers is the latest and best Marvel film to date, and the culmination of their strategy to take more control over the movies. After their bankruptcy and the resulting rebuilding of the company, they felt they needed to make better movies, ones that represented their characters more correctly on screen. It’s been a long, hard battle, not always successful, but with each relative failure (Hulk #1, Daredevil) came eventual success elsewhere (The first Spider-Man and two seperate X-Men franchises). And now, Marvel’s movie franchises are among the strongest in film. With The Avengers, we see that they’re also extremely profitable, with more of the profits staying close to home.

Look back over Marvel’s film successes to date. Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America are all infused by the Marvel style of Stan Lee. They all know when to not take comics too seriously and when to go for the joke as needed.

Give that man a bouquet of banana peels!

____________________________

Actors Felicity Huffman and Clark Gregg meet to save Sports Night. It worked in fiction, but not in reality.

KC CARLSON: I’ll really miss Agent Coulson, although I’m not convinced he’s really gone. S.H.I.E.L.D. still has LMD (Life Model Decoy) technology, and Tony Stark mentions it in The Avengers. But what I really wanna know is if Agent Coulson (as Calvin Trager) bought the Continental Sports Channel (and its Sports Night TV show) before or after he became an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Amazing Spider-Man cover from the Grand Comics Database.

Scheduled to be released at the end of July, we are now taking orders for the following character standups of Sheldon, Leonard, Penny, Howard and Raj! Click on each image shown here to get a better view! Each standup retails for $34.95 and is currently scheduled for release at the end of July. Only orders placed with us by the afternoon of Thursday, May 24 can be guaranteed, so act now! (We really need to do an infomercial.)

The Man-Thing Omnibus (Olivetti Cover)

Westfield’s Roger Ash recommends Marvel’s The Man-Thing Omnibus HC.

The Man-Thing Omnibus (Brunner Cover)

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The Man-Thing Omnibus HC (Olivetti Cover)

The Man-Thing Omnibus HC (Brunner Cover)

World's Finest

by Robert Greenberger

Superman and Batman have been crossing paths almost since they debuted at the dawn of the DC Universe. As a result, they have battled their arch nemeses Lex Luthor and the Joker with startling regularity. By 1990, it would have to take something – or someone – special to get fans to sit up and pay attention.

Wisely, DC did just that by combining Dave Gibbons and Steve Rude for the Worlds’ Finest miniseries, which has withstood the test of time as one of the best loved team-ups of the Gotham Guardian and the Metropolis Marvel. At this time, Gibbons was best known for his work first on Green Lantern then, of course, Watchmen. But few knew he could also write so this got people curious while Rude had made a splash with Nexus. The Dude had been working on his co-creation for some time but rarely did work for a major publisher. He was coaxed by me into his DC debut with 1988’s Mister Miracle Special and this was his next big project for the company.

Long out of print, this story returns as an affordable trade collection and by all means you should be checking this out. Gibbons was one of the first to really explore the differences in approach between Superman and Batman, which didn’t seem necessary until both characters received the reboot treatment in 1986. But the combination of light and shadow was too appealing to leave unexplored and Gibbons does a nice job here. He creates a scenario that has the two swap cities for their case and exploring a Dark Knight in the city of tomorrow while the Man of Steel trolled the alleys of Gotham allowed for some fresh perspectives.

That concept of opposites is not only in the story and dialogue but it seeps into every panel of the artwork. Rude played with visual contrasts especially noteworthy on the three covers and accompanying retail poster that came out at the time. His sense of composition and design is just brilliant.

His Superman is a streamlined, modern day descendant of Joe Shuster’s lush line work with a fluidity not really captured since the Fleischer Bros. cartoons of the 1940s. His wink and smile are classic while the flying is powerful and graceful at the same time. His artistic influences beyond Shuster are clearly Alex Toth and Doug Wildey for design simplicity but at a glance, it’s easily recognizable as Rude. Gibbons made certain Rude would have a chance to draw his own version of iconic moments, including exchanges with Luthor and Batman.

Rude’s Caped Crusader owes just a hint of the earliest Bob Kane drawings, notably the cowl, and the figure is powerful and lithe, not the overly muscle-bound crimefighter seen in his own title at the time. There’s more David Mazzucchelli than Kelley Jones in the figure work.

His takes on the villains are just as iconic and just as menacing, pure fun to look at.

Making the clean work stay pristine is courtesy of inker Karl Kesel who is a perfect companion for Rude’s pencils.

But the purty artwork is all in service to Gibbons’ story, which doesn’t necessarily trod new ground but effectively explores why each hero works best in their hometown and how their diametrically opposed methods actually work well together when necessary.

The World’s Finest heroes against their deadliest foes, written and drawn by two of comics’ top talents? How could you pass this up?

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World’s Finest SC

Roger Ash

by Roger Ash

Over the past few years, a number of people have bemoaned the seeming loss of “done-in-one” comics; comics that feature a beginning, middle, and end in one issue. While I don’t recall a specific instance of this, I’m in that camp myself. While I still think “done-in-one” stories shouldn’t be abandoned as they make a great jumping on point for new readers, I’ve begun to question if it’s what readers really want. Allow me to explain.

The other night, I was watching the new episode of How I Met Your Mother. I thought it was a good episode, but realized that a lot of it was built around storylines that had been developing over the season. If I saw this show at random, while there most certainly would have been some laughs, there would have been a lot of it that wouldn’t have made any sense. Compare this to what many consider to be one of the best sitcoms ever, The Dick Van Dyke Show. For that series, nearly every episode was self-contained (there were a few two-parters) and you can watch any of them at random and get a complete story and know who the characters are. Yes, you do get to know the characters better the more you watch and there is a depth that comes to them and their relationships by doing that, but it’s not necessary. For this particular episode of How I Met Your Mother, I think past knowledge of the show played a big part in my enjoyment of it. And the continuity of this show is nothing compared to sitcoms like The Office, Parks and Recreation, and 30 Rock.

Game of Thrones

And the continuity of these sitcoms is minimal compared to shows like Game of Thrones, Justified, or Lost. Can you imagine seeing a random episode of Lost? I don’t think it would make much sense at all. You could tune in to Star Trek every week in the late 60s and get a full story in an episode, but not so much with Babylon 5, the new Battlestar Galactica, or Falling Skies. Sure, you may get a solution to a dilemma that is presented in that episode, but the episode itself is part of a larger storyline.

The Dark Tower

And it’s not just TV shows. I was talking with a friend recently and she asked me about the books in the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin since she really likes the TV series Game of Thrones. She commented (and this is a paraphrase) that she didn’t like starting a novel unless she knew it was part of a series because one book wasn’t enough. She wanted to know as much about a character, or characters, as possible. And when you look at the success of that series, and series such as Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and The Dark Tower, it’s easy to see that she’s not alone in her feelings.

Marvel's Avengers Prelude

Films are slowly beginning to follow suit but the time and cost it takes to make a series of films requires a commitment that not all actors and studios are willing to make. But that is beginning to change with series like the Harry Potter films and The Lord of the Rings where actors were willing to literally give years of their lives to a single project. And the way Marvel was able to set up The Avengers film with a series of other films and mostly keep the same actors is really quite remarkable.

Looking at it this way, having longer storylines in comics makes them fall in line with how much of the rest of pop culture is presented today. So why the change from self-contained stories to longer serials? While I’m not entirely certain, there are a couple possibilities that seem likely. First, it could simply be a change in taste. Things change over time as tastes change. What is considered popular music now is different than it was 50 years ago. Reading a Golden Age comic is different than reading a Silver Age or Bronze Age comic. Tastes change and pop culture changes to reflect those tastes.

Secondly, in the case of TV, technology has hugely changed the face of how things are done. Going back to an earlier example, when The Dick Van Dyke Show was on, you had a chance to see it when it was originally broadcast, during summer reruns, or hope to catch it in syndication. Fast forward to today with DVRs, DVDs, networks putting shows online, as well as many other options, and you can watch an episode of a TV show whenever you want! In fact, many people I know don’t even watch live TV anymore, aside from sporting events.

Origins of Marvel Comics, an early comic collection

Compare that to how distribution for comics has changed over the years. It used to be that you’d scour all your regular haunts to find comics. Sometimes you’d find them, sometimes not. It wasn’t that odd to miss an issue here or there. Sure, you could subscribe to the comics but speaking from experience, not even that was foolproof as issues were occasionally lost in the mail. Having self-contained stories (or maybe two or three issue stories) worked well then with how distribution worked at the time. Also, when I was growing up in the 70s, trade collections of stories were a rarity. We had Origins of Marvel Comics and a couple follow-ups but not much else. So if you missed an issue you were pretty much out of luck unless you had a friend who had it and let you read their copy or you ran across it at a flea market or rummage sale. Then came the advent of the Direct Market, comic shops, and mail order retailers like Westfield. Now, getting consecutive issues of comics is relatively easy and collections of comics are a staple of the industry. Things have changed so that telling longer stories is now a practical thing to do.

Usagi Yojimbo #134, a "done-in-one" issue

There may be other reasons for telling longer stories but those are two that spring immediately to mind. However, I don’t think this means that “done-in-one” comics should completely go away. It’s important to take a break every once in a while to give new readers an easy spot to jump on. Even continuity tight TV shows will have episodes that are not hugely important to the continuity but are great for new viewers to give them a try. And Lost would occasionally have recap shows to catch viewers up on what had been happening. There has to be a good entry point for new readers, and the “done-in-one” book is perfect for that. A great example of what I’m talking about is Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo. Throughout the run of the book, Sakai has mixed longer stories and shorter stories in a way that has satisfied long-time readers and kept the series accessible to new readers. Marvel has addressed this issue with their “Point One” comics as these were created specifically as jumping on points for new readers.

However, just because stories are longer doesn’t mean that I want “filler” issues. I have read a number of superhero comics within the past couple years where nothing happens. You know the kind I’m talking about; where the heroes sit around talking for 16 pages and there are only two pages that actually advance the story. No. That’s dull. Comics are a visual medium and ignoring that removes an element that makes comics what they are. Every issue in a storyline should have conflict; it should be compelling; it should advance the story; and it should give you a reason to get the next issue. To put it succinctly, extended stories should not be an excuse for bad storytelling.

I think “filler” issues often happen when a writer tries to make a story a specific length instead of letting the story dictate how long it needs to be. In other words, if you have a four issue story, don’t stretch it to six; write a great four issue story. Common knowledge these days seems to be that collections of comics need to be six issues. But why does that mean it has to be one story? Couldn’t it be two or three stories?

Amazing Spider-Man #679.1

When looking at extended storylines in comics, that seems to be what people want in their pop culture now as we see in trends from books, TV shows, and movies. “Done-in-one” comics aren’t what people tend to look for in their entertainment today. However, that does not mean they should be completely abandoned as they are important in gaining new readers. How longer stories are juxtaposed with shorter ones is an important element to consider in comics so both long-time and new readers alike get maximum enjoyment from a series. At least that’s my opinion. What do you think?

Now, go read a comic!

Thanks to KC Carlson for his help with this article.

Origins of Marvel Comics cover is from the Grand Comics Database.

FCBD

Free Comic Book Day is Saturday, May 5 and you don’t want to miss out on the fun! In addition to the free comics, here’s what else is going on!

At our West Side Store (7475 Mineral Point Rd. Phone: 608-833-4444) you can meet artists Jeff Butler, Cory Carani, Ed Dunphy, and Jeffrey Moy! You can also buy sketch cards and benefit the Hero Initiative. There is a mystery buy (you choose a random card not knowing what you may get) for a $5.00 donation. Don’t want to take a chance? You can also request a specific character from one of the artists on hand for a donation.

At our East Side Store (944 Williamson Street Phone: 608-663-5555) you can meet artist Rachelle Rosenberg from 10:00am-1:00pm. There will also be a sketch card benefit for the Hero Initiative as well with cards by Rachelle, Jordan Gunderson, and Micah Farritor. A $5.00 donation gets you a mystery card!

Can’t make it to either location? Then come to the Westfield Web Site beginning at Midnight for your free comics! Limit one of each FCBD title per customer while supplies last. This special will only be good for 24 hours, so don’t delay! While the comics are free, you will still have to pay for postage.

Hope we see you on Free Comic Book Day!

"Your Hero & Mine."

by Beau Smith

August 18, 1993

Do you know where you were? I do.

SDCC 1993

I was lucky enough to be in San Diego, California at the San Diego Comic Convention as one of the first judges for the First Annual Will Eisner Spirit Of Comics Retailer Award. Even then, when asked to be a judge, I knew what a big deal this was.

Will Eisner

In 1993 I was the VP of Sales and Marketing for Eclipse Comics. I had been with the company since 1987 and being asked to be a part of this was one of the crown jewels in my comic book career. I knew the importance and influence that Will Eisner had upon comic book storytelling, art, and the business of comic books. Sometimes we tend to overlook how Will Eisner blazed an innovative path in the business of comics. He formed studios and made jobs for other creators, in the process teaching them how to start their own studios and independent work. He was a pioneer for creator rights making sure that he owned things that he created and reaped the profit benefits from those creations. He also wanted to know what the people/consumers that bought his comic books wanted in entertainment. This was more than a job for Will Eisner, it was a livelihood.

SDCC 1993 "Will Esiner Spirit Of Comics" Award Program Cover Signed To Me By Will Esiner.

I learned a lot from talking to Will during that convention and the Expo where we were deciding who would be the recipients of the “Spirit Of Comics” Award. He took the time to not only talk to me about the importance of how to market our comics, but to market yourself as well. I was also flattered and honored that he asked me question upon question about how retailers and consumers felt and decided how they spent their money in 1993. He was interested in the trends and the distribution process of that time and where it was going. He wasn’t there just to lend his name to an award, no, he was there to be working part of a industry that he truly loved and dedicated his life to. I was impressed and in awe.

Here Come Da Judges.

I was also fortunate enough to be a judge with some great and iconic figures in comic books during that particular time of 1993. We were all a part of this first time award and we truly enjoyed the decision-making, the going over of many stores that were up for the award, and sharing business experiences that ranged from all paths. The other judges were:

Neil Gaiman-Perfect gentleman, now internationally best selling author. Neil and I have worked together, on the writing end (Angela Trade Paperback) as well as marketing end when Neil wrote for Eclipse Comics (Miracleman) and Image Comics (Spawn/Angela) Its always a pleasure to spend time with Neil no matter what boss of mine at the time was in a lawsuit with him. Always a first class guy everytime.

Ann Ivan-Comics Marketing Consultant. A long time friend who I first met early in my career when she was at DC Comics. Ann was always a straight shooter and was always happy to share information and trends with everyone that loved comics.

Bill Newhaus-Diamond Comics Distribution. Bill is another long time friend that I’ve made in comics. He and I worked together quite a bit early in my career and he helped me guide my way through the distribution waters of Diamond Comics back when there were another 20 distributors to also deal with. Bill was smart and made Diamond a flexible place to work with when you didn’t think the biggest guy would bend.

Bob Schreck-Dark Horse Comics. Marketing, editing, writing, promotions, publishing, Bob has had his hand in it all and done very, very well. Always a realistic look on the way comic books were and needed to be done. Like me, here it is decades later and we’re both still working in comics. Either we’re really smart or everyone else is really dumb for letting us run loose for so long.

Dave Sim-Creator of Cerebus. An early image of what Will Eisner set out to do with creator owned work. He pretty much did it alone and always had a strong opinion to go with it. You may not always have agreed with it, but he had it and held to it.

Martin Stever-Advertising, promotions & marketing for Capital City Distribution. Capital City Distribution was the other biggie of the Big Two distributors along with Diamond. Martin could be abrasive, bold, and of strong opinion, but if you took the time to spend time with him and get past his forceful nature, you’ll find a friend for life. Honest to a fault and not afraid to share his honesty with you. Martin was a part of the puzzle you always needed.

The Nominees of 1993.

The winners of the “Spirit Of Comics” award that year ended up being :

Gary Colobuono

Moondog’s

Chicago, IL.

Sean Scoffield & Steve Solomos

The Beguiling

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

And

Rory Root & Mike Patchen

Comic Relief

Berkley, CA. & San Francisco, CA.

I spent time in all these stores and saw the diverse magic happen, I saw these retailers carve a path for today’s direct market, and most of all I saw Will Eisner wear a proud smile.

The say “What goes around, comes around”, but I’d like to believe that the best things take the straight path and always move forward.

Thank you, Will Esiner and thanks to comic books read, and to forever be read.

Beau Smith

The Flying Fist Ranch

www.flyingfistranch.com