We’ve currently got every volume of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series from Oni Press in stock, so be sure to get caught up on what some are calling the next big fad!

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Here is a video of Grant Morrison interviewed by Wired Magazine’s Adam Rogers. Grant discusses the story behind All Star Superman and other interesting tales. Grant also talks about Superman’s changes over the decades and his writing process.

http://www.wired.com/video/latest-videos/latest/1815816633/comic-legend-grant-morrison-talks-superman-and-more/490934997001

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Please go read this cool article in the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/books/27moore.html?_r=1

This is about Alan Moore’s new project called Unearthing. This is a very different thing for Alan Moore to do, in fact it is not even a comic book. Unearthing is a spoken word interview with weird music and photographs.
We also learn a lot about the history of British comic books.

here is the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMTWDYdVXV0&feature=player_embedded

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Kansas’s Westboro Baptist Church arrived at the recent San Diego Comic Con to protest with a big sign that said “God Hates Nerds. Rom 9:13″

Here’s what one of them said:

They have turned comic book characters into idols, and worship them they do! Isaiah 2:8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made…

The destruction of this nation is imminent – so start calling on Batman and Superman now, see if they can pull you from the mess that you have created with all your silly idolatry.”

the full story is here:

http://nerdbastards.com/2010/07/12/westboro-baptist-to-protest-at-comic-con/

Luckily there is another group somewhere with a “God Hates Signs” sign:

http://ecopolitology.org/2010/04/09/westboro-baptist-church-gets-out-protested-in-west-virginia

laterz

-Avery

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Avery here. This is a New York Post article about a guy who robbed a Chase Bank in Long Island dressed as Darth Vader. If Boba Fett tries to mug me that would be cool. when Ewoks start committing crimes then we’re in trouble.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/man_wearing_darth_vader_mask_robs_jrawp2Q3PbnsdKTz60DQ0L

Man wearing Darth Vader mask robs Long Island bank

A man wearing a Darth Vader mask and cape robbed a Chase bank branch on Long Island on Thursday, police said.

The thief entered a branch in Setauket at 11:30 a.m. and demanded money from a teller. But instead of using a light saber, “Darth” threatened the teller with a semiautomatic gun.

The teller gave the robber some cash from the drawer.

The Darth Vader thief, described as between 6 feet and 6 feet 2 inches tall, took off heading east through the bank’s parking lot.

To read more, go to MyFoxNY.com.

Suffolk County Police Major Case detectives are investigating the robbery of a Chase bank branch in Setauket by a man wearing a Darth Vader mask and a cape.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/man_wearing_darth_vader_mask_robs_jrawp2Q3PbnsdKTz60DQ0L#ixzz0v5mTZQcm

Heart of the City

On that note, we had someone bring in some vintage comic books yesterday – from the 1940s and 1950s. Even in bad condition, these comics are worth something! She is going to try and sell them on her own, but if she can’t, we will be working out a consignment deal with her.

Whether or not we get them in our store, it was very exciting to just SEE these comics and touch them! What rare finds!

My good friend was kind enough to video the speech, so here it is in all of its raw glory:

FACT: Both Marvel and DC’s editors-in-chief (Joe Quesada and Dan DiDio, before both of their recent promotions) have stated for a fact that they do NOT want to stop printing comics. However, after watching what happened to the music industry, they recognize that by NOT embracing digital publishing, they’re missing out on an entire stream of revenue that will lead to future problems.

FACT: So far, Marvel is doing a good job of keeping 99% of things fair for the brick-and-mortar comic stores, as 99% of what hits their digital store comes out SIX MONTHS AFTER the print version. Yes, there are exceptions – the recent SPIDER-WOMAN series was a motion comic before the seven individual issues were printed, and the upcoming INVINCIBLE IRON MAN ANNUAL will see physical and digital stores at the same time. But eight items over the course of 9 months is nothing, when you consider that Marvel have had over 1,000 issues published physically six months before digitally in that time frame.

FACT: DC, meanwhile, have announced exactly ZERO plans for digital distribution. They seem to be content with things as they are – Which is an opinion that is hard to argue with; They’re constantly in 2nd place in sales numbers and sales dollars, but they also print about 75% the material that Marvel does (if not even less!), on a per-month basis, and are generally not very far behind Marvel in terms of direct market sales. It’s hard to make a argument claiming that DC doesn’t want to print comics anymore when they have zero online distribution methods in place, currently.

FACT: Smaller publishers (Dark Horse and IDW, specifically) Are the ones who are jumping to the same-day distribution models a lot faster, particularly with their licensed material. However, maintaining those licenses is an added expense that Marvel and DC don’t have, so it makes sense that Dark Horse and IDW would want to get an extra stream of revenue going as quickly as possible. Also, both Dark Horse and IDW make up less than 10% of the comics market share (even combined they make up less than 10%), so they’re taking far less of a risk of alienating current fans and finding new ones.

FACT: Paul O’Brien of HouseToAstonish.com (formerly of TheXAxis.com) is an X-Men completist, and has reviewed almost every single issue of X-Men, ever. Do you really think he’s going to STOP buying every X-family comic in print format just because online distribution is now available to him? I can tell you for a fact that he isn’t, DESPITE the constant problems that the UK’s postal service has, causing him to consistently have books shipped late.

It will take several years before online distribution becomes the norm for the comics industry. There are far too many people who have all 700+ issues of the various Avengers titles (Avengers, West Coast, Solo/Spotlight, New, Mighty, Initiative, Dark, Secret, new New, etc.) to just STOP the monthly habit of buying physical copies.

Will there be a shift in current readers who want to jump on the digital bandwagon? Absolutely. But it’s far too early to tell what that percentage of current readership that will be, especially if Marvel continue their six-months-later policy.

But what we DO know is that their online sales have created new readers. And as long as people are reading comics in one form or another, the industry survives. And that’s why the online distribution model began in the first place.