News for the Week of December 28, 2008
We still haven't received last week's books. We should be receiving this week's books on Friday, January 2nd. Please read below for more information.
Rick’s Writin’s
It sure was nice to take Ollie for a walk this morning and not hear the
crunch of snow and ice under foot. Good Riddance!! First off though I
want to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH to you folks for your thoughtful Christmas
greetings and gifts to Paula and myself. I can't begin to describe how
good it makes me feel to know you folks care as you do. Thanks again soooo
much!!! Obviously we're still recovering from the impact of the snow as
we still have no new books as of Sunday. It's possible we'll have them
Monday, but I'm betting it'll be Tuesday, if for no other reason than
the fact that I want it to be Monday. I have too much other stuff to do
Tuesday. Somehow, some way we'll have a delivery this week though. I'm
not too confident about the next week's books arriving on Friday as scheduled,
but I could just be being pessimistic. We'll see. Fred Meyer's meat and
dairy shelves were almost bare as their trucks haven't been able to make
it in. Many of you folks have told of the backups you're having at work
too. Paula just yesterday decided it was safe to drive her truck home.
All in all, this snow and cold has been a major pain. Another note on
Fred Meyer and my previous journey there and the dilemma I had about the
girl and her assets. A couple customers, who are a couple as well, felt
that if the guy was a "hot" guy, he would have a much easier
time pulling off the compliment, as the hotness negates the creep factor.
I think they may be right and I'm shocked that I didn't realize this before.
This means of course, that I could've pulled it off. What a shame I didn't
try. The next item has a religion factor to it, but I feel it needs mentioning.
Besides, I think the religion connection is dubious given my belief that
this guy is all about the money. I'm referring to Casey Treat and his
Christian Faith Mega church right up the street from our shop, and Mr.
Treat's plans, as reported by the Tacoma News Tribune, to build a heliport
landing pad at the Federal Way location so he can travel by helicopter
between his Federal Way Megachurch complex and his South Everett Megachurch
complex. This is what he feels should be done with the dollars he rakes
in from his churches followers, private Christian schools and his TV preaching
and money begging hours. I wonder how many needy people could be fed,
clothed and housed with the money spent on helicopters and landing pads.
Quite a few I'd bet. This, just so Mr. Treat himself has a convenient
way to travel. To me, if there was any doubt, this proves he's all about
the money, under the guise of faith. I wonder why anybody would give that
guy a dime? Amazing.
It's weird to write about next week's comics when this week's comics still haven't arrived. To be clear, we're talking about books scheduled for Friday January 2nd. (Check the Spy Comics archive for last week’s list, which will be in this week. Confused...me too). The selections are quite nice starting with the long overdue but greatly anticipated Kick Ass (#5). I really like the Warren Ellis written story in this book so far, but it's a text book case of what NOT to do if you want a successful comic long term. This issue was solicited last May, for July shipping. I don't even remember if the sixth issue has been solicited. What a shame if Marvel/Icon just blow this book off. Icon has a new title this week, Ed Brubaker's Incognito (#1). Brubaker writes Marvel's Captain America, Daredevil and Icon's Criminal. The premise is a super-villain in a witness protection program, done in a noirish style. Each issue is supposed to be stand alone, as is Criminal, which I didn't realize. The preview looks great with art by Marvel Zombies artist Sean Phillips. Marvel also has a new title, as Iron Man spin-off War Machine (#1) gets his own book...again. This one starts as part of the Dark Reign story and had one of those secret solicitations that was in the special Marvel Dark Reign preview we handed out recently. Wolverine's "Old Man Logan" story (#70) continues, and Hulk has an Ultimate Annual (#1), to go with the multiple X-Men minis and titles, the What If Secret Wars special, and Stephen King's The Stand (#4 of 5) mini.
DC's highlights include the Final Crisis Secret Files (#1) special, two big Bat books, Cacophony (#2 of 3 mini) by Kevin Smith, and Batman (#684) which concludes the "Last Days of Gotham" story by Denny O'Neil started in Detective #851 that came out a couple weeks ago. The big one for me is Justice Society (#22), the finale to the excellent Kingdom Come sequel started in issue #10. It's been a long one, complete with an annual and three specials, but I almost hate to see it end, it's been so good. Top notch writing and art all the way around. Superman (#683) also finishes off the New Krypton story, aside from next issue's epilogue. Looks like the Superman titles have some changes in the works too, to go with the Batman changes we've talked about previously. We also have Justice League (#28) featuring the Milestone characters, and Dark Horse's Star Wars Legacy (#32) finishing the twelve issue title and time spanning "Vector" story, their first ever crossover. That's about it for this week. We'll keep you updated via e-mails and the website as to the status of when the comics are coming. I'll try not to send the e-mail updates through our E-bay account as I did last week, as it was confusing to some of you. And I was so proud that I got that done without Paula's help, only to botch it. Have a safe New Year's Eve and a Happy New Year, though hopefully I'll see some of you before then. PS. We'll be closing at 5:00 pm on Wednesday Dec 31st, New Year's Eve.
Paula’s Picks
I hope everyone had a good Christmas! What a week it’s been! We
still don’t have last week’s books. We will be sure to email
everyone and update the website when we know what’s going on with
them. We’ll be closing early on New Year’s Eve at 5pm, but
we’ll be open on New Year’s Day. Why? Because I don’t
have anything better to do and I’m sure Rick would appreciate any
extra cash flow since all this snow has messed us up a bit. But, if it
turns out to be a totally dead day, I’ll be leaving early. So, if
you decide to come out, give me a call first!
During all of this crummy weather, I got caught up on my Jack of Fables (#29 ships this week). That book cracks me up. I really love the little Babe (the Blue Ox) stories.
Joss Whedon’s run of Runaways finally arrives in softcover! I’ve been waiting for this book to come out! It’s about these kids that find out that their parents are members of an evil group of super villains. They run away from home to figure out what to do. I love the Runaways series and Joss is a perfect fit for it. It’s Jossome! (yes, I did)
This just in! Amanda called to let me know that Bruce Timm is going to be at Emerald City ComiCon in April. That high pitched squeal you heard a few minutes ago? That was me and Amanda doing a simultaneous girly squeal. Bruce Timm worked on the Batman Animated series and worked with Paul Dini to create my favorite character, Harley Quinn. I guess it’s time for me to start saving up for a sketch because it’s got to be expensive!