The Thrill of the Hunt

It was a really cold morning, I remember Mike bitching about me rolling down the back window because he had the heat on full blast. I think it was early March, but I'm not certain.  I arrived at the shop an hour early but was only trailing Kevin who showed up a few minutes later and we set out on our adventure.

We were all quiet for most of the car ride up, focused on the task at hand, and I imagine we were each developing a plan of attack for our own individual quest, but I know each of us counted our money at least once before we arrived. I had $1,000 in cash for the first time in my life and I wanted to make sure I made it count.

We parked in a gravel lot on a slight incline about 30 minutes before the doors were going to open at 10am. We had to prepare. We each poured over our "lists", thumbed through the marked pages of our Overstreet Guides, counted our money again, and discussed our game plan. This was a war and we weren't taking any chances.

In 1997 I was a 15 year old who's best friend's were all 10 years older than him. At the age of 12  my interest in vintage Comic Books exploded and my local store owner and his 2 best friends were there to help shepherd me. Mike owned the local comic shop, and Frank and Kevin were his childhood friends who hung out at the shop a lot. All 3 had been collecting since they were in middle school, but I was determined to build a collection to rival theirs as quick as possible. I had "the bug" bad. 

The previous year was my first time making this trip and I came ill prepared and under funded. At 14 it was hard for me to have high expectations about going to a Flea Market Comic Book show but that 8,000 square foot building was a feeding frenzy. It was packed full of dealers who had premium books and other things I had never fathomed. But this year I was ready. I was going to kick this show's ass and leave them all wondering who that "kid" was.

I sat in that Nissan 170 miles from home, with 3 grown men, and we were psyching each other up like we were about to storm the beaches. With 10 minutes to show time we got in line about 10 people deep. By the time the doors opened there were another 40 or so behind us. As the line began to move we all looked at each other and knew we were ready to conquer this show.

Context

No one could have predicted how Comic Book Shows/Cons would have evolved. It was sort of like the "Wild West". Before eBay took off and before PayPal provided a trusted method of online commerce, Comic Book Collectors had to scour the wild for the books of their desire. If you wanted to finish a run or if you were simply seeking one of your "Grails", traveling to Shows/Cons and other Regional stores was the only way to accomplish it.

There were no smartphones or readily available databases. You had to know the value of the books you wanted, shop smart, and haggle. You were forced to be armed with knowledge and ready to fight for every precious dollar. Every buck you saved on a book put you that much closer to to walking out with another good find under your arm.

These shows were 80% Comic dealers and they all had a lot of boxes worth looking through. The attendees were mostly serious, real collectors who had traveled to be there. No one was there to meet any special guests, buy T-shirts, or to cosplay. Merchandise wasn't really on anyone's radar.

People usually attended these shows with an agenda so it was important to focus on your wants and to not let someone snake a book from under you because who knew when you'd be able to find it again? And that right there is the "problem" that the internet "solved" and changed how cons/shows would evolve. It's a problem I kind of miss.

"Where are your parents?"

As I handed over my $5 entry fee I could smell it... that mix of mildew, must, ink and oxidized paper. The smell of money and dreams. It was like getting an adrenaline shot to my heart. I immediately made a very quick lap around the room before it got too full to get a feel for what booths I needed to hit first, and it didn't take me long to acquire a target...

To say that the first dealer I encountered didn't know what hit him would be an understatement. I didn't know it at the time, but Mike and Kevin were a few feet behind me and watched this whole ordeal go down. Being 15, I was a little more socially oblivious, so when he asked me "Where are your parents?" I didn't initially realize he was being condescending.

This guy easily had the best stuff in the room. Graded comics were still 2 years away, but he had serious books in serious grades, and some great cheaper Golden Age comics. I was on a mission to find a Golden Age issue of "Flash Comics". I didn't own a Golden Age Flash, and I wasn't particular about which issue I wanted, I just wanted one that looked nice. This guy had 3 issues that caught my eye, the most expensive being Flash Comics #17 Vf- condition for $500, and two others for $350 each.

I asked to see the #17 and that's when he laid that question on me. I laughed and said "I came here to buy a Flash Comics, can I smell it?" and his eyes lit up... Smelling comics is a weird collector quirk. It's hard to explain but it triggers a feeling of awe. Not all collectors do it, but the ones who do are usually pretty serious, so this was the point he realized I might actually have money.

He handed it to me and I took a deep whiff. God I love that smell. I asked to see the centerfold and he obliged and I began discussing my personal collection and I watched all of his doubts disappear. We even began to get a little friendly until it came time to haggle. This guy was easily in his 50's and had been around a while, but I didn't care, I wasn't paying sticker price, not at a Show.

I laid the book down and just said "$350". He looked at me as if I told him his wife was ugly. He picked the book up and put it back on his wall and told me to "run along kid". This infuriated me.

I was a smart-ass who liked to pick at my friends and I hated being dismissed due to my age. I was never someone who would take things lying down. I told him I didn't know many thousands of dollars my friends and I brought with us, but none of it would be leaving with him, and I walked off. He said something that I couldn't make out but I just shook my head and marched on. 

Mike and Kevin walked up to me laughing. They said that guy was in such a bad mood that the customer behind me walked away quickly. By the end of the day I made sure to stroll by his booth again with the biggest pick-up of my day, a decent copy of Adventure Comics #72, on the out side of my small stack of goodies. Was this petty? Yes. And I loved it.

"A $30 Playboy?" 

Shortly after my first encounter, Mike wanted me to meet his dealer friend Barry. We walked up and Barry had the biggest spread there. He had purchased 3 booth spaces, one for comics, one for records, and one for Playboy & Penthouse magazines. I had never seen so much "smut" displayed at a show before and it was hilarious. There were at least 6 or 7 long boxes full of it.

The issues on display were bagged up and only had their titles exposed with the price and issue notes written on the front board in the bag. Barry is a giant, jolly guy and we're still friends today. He was probably in his late 20's at the time and the first thing he said to me was "Want to buy this Suzanne Somers Playboy? Only $30!"... Of course I was curious, but I wasn't about to purchase a $30 Playboy from the 1980's. I told him I was only 15, and he said "Good, I like to get my clients hooked young."

This guy had no shame and I loved it! All he wanted to do was make a buck and enjoy life. He had a table full of random comics collected he called the "Lets Make a Deal Table!".  He was such a natural salesman and made several deals while staying engaged in conversation with us. Before I knew it I had bought an Adventure Comics #283 from him for $30. Yep, he was going to squeeze that $30 out of me one way or another. Barry is easily the longest lasting friendship I've made through Comic Books outside my local store. He has since gone on to become a fairly successful attorney.

The Great Rancor Incident  

In one of the more random dust ups I've witnessed when the nerds gather, two neighboring vendors get into a fist fight over a factory sealed original Star Wars Rancor figure. The Rancor was Jabba the Hutt's giant cave monster pet in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. I have no idea what the price on the item was, but apparently a customer wanted to purchase the item to open and the dealer declined the sale. I can respect that.

Where things went south is when the guy set up next to him interjected and chastised the dealer for not making the sell. He said he shouldn't care what someone does with something after purchase, that he should just take the money and run. This escalated quickly.

I don't know exactly what was said, but fingers were pointed and the Star Wars dealer pushed the neighboring dealer into a table of back issues knocking a box off, which resulted in a retaliatory swing and miss! They locked up and fell over a steel chair onto the floor. The 2 were quickly separated and as they flailed like toddlers, they were both taken out of the building and there booths were covered with sheets. Neither of them returned while I was there. At 15 years old I thought this was the wildest shit I'd ever seen.
 

The Box

Speculating on Comic Books is just part of the culture. You always hear these people boast about cashing in on a comic they had bought a dozen copies of, and I've certainly bought extra copies on books I thought would spike, but to this day I still haven't met anyone as all-in on a book as I did at this show.

Barry walked us down a few booths to meet his friend Eric that was also a dealer. Eric was a short, stocky, hairy, ball of testosterone. He was wearing a dirty NY Met's jersey and his hair was slicked back to such a high shine I could see the over head lamps reflecting the light. The first words I heard him speak were "Brought me more victims Barry? I don't think this kid can handle what I got!" and I remember thinking this guy looked like a cartoon character.

Eric had a hodgepodge of comics, Conan, EC Horror, Vamperila, Kiss, 80's Cartoons, and Heavy Metal merchandise. He had a real big thing for Frank Frazzeta and asked all of us if we had any copies of Tally-Ho Comics #1 we wanted to sell. This was Frazzeta's first published comic book work. After we all said no Eric pulls out a short-box of comics and produces 17 copies of Tally-Ho Comics #1. That is a VERY hard book to find and this guy has 17 copies... But wait!!! There's More!!!

After he pulled those out I noticed about another 50 or so comics in the box and the top comic was Adventure Comics #247, the first Legion of Superheros. That book was rare even back then and it was on my short list, so daddy was ready to pounce! I pointed at the book and Eric immediately shut me down and turned into an iron curtain. He then picked the box up and every single comic left in that box was an Adventure Comics #247. He had 58 copies of it. 58! Holy shit man!

Eric spent half of his year traveling the con/show circuit and had acquired these books on his travels. He said he never passed an opportunity to buy either one. He then pulled out a nearly flawless copy of Adventure Comics #247 to let me look at, and it was like sex after a chocolate sundae... There aren't many things that excite me like Near Mint Silver Age gems. I would love to know what that book ended up grading for, and just how many copies Eric ended up with. I never saw him again and Barry dropped out of doing shows a few years later. So if you're out there Eric, drop me a line!

 Breaking the Law 

While the primary agenda was comics, I did have a secondary objective. The year before I had encountered a guy at the show who sold bootleg VHS tapes of rare B movies, Anime, and Japanese action flicks, as well as a few under-the-table films. I'm pretty sure everything on this guys table was %100 illegal, and he probably had 500 tapes there. My primary goal was to secure a copy of the Roger Corman Fantastic Four movie from the early 90's that was never released.

If you're unfamiliar with this strange chapter in Comic Cinema history, the short version is that Corman had to make a movie to retain the rights, but he didn't have to release it. So on a shoe string budget he assembled a  cast and crew to film this movie and didn't tell them he had no plans to release it. There's actually a pretty good documentary on Amazon Prime about this called DOOMED: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's Fantastic Four.

The film itself can be found in it's entirety on YouTube, and it's worth a watch just for the laughs, but in 1997 I forked over $20 for a copy of a copy. Legend goes that the Director sent the finished film to the studio to have two copies dubbed for himself and another crew member, and it's believed that whoever at the studio was dubbing these tapes made a third copy for themselves and then it just spread like wild fire.

Frank was shopping at this booth as well and walked away with 6 tapes, and was almost talked into 7th... Another Urban Legend of the time, the infamous Supergirl porno film. You have to remember that the internet wasn't the gold mine of opportunity that it is today. This film had been made in the early 80's and blatantly ripped off the character of Superman/Supergirl and was cast into oblivion by DC's lawyers... but again, a copy found its way out. I think Frank really wanted to buy but was worried about being given shit from us for buying porn, but I think we were all a little curious about it. 😂😂😂

I heard a few years later that guy was finally busted by authorities at a show for his bootlegs. I don't know what kind of punishment he received, but they likely did him a favor since most of his inventory is now easily found online, and often on YouTube.

The Haul 

Between the 4 of us I think we spent about $5,000 at that show. We weren't the biggest ballers walking that concrete circle, but it wasn't from lack of trying. Overall though, we conquered that show.

What's difficult to properly convey were the silent, subtle and tense moments while digging through boxes when someone tried to crowd you out of your spot. These were the moments where the battles were won. While I don't know if this stranger would have bought the Flash #137 that I found, I wasn't giving him the chance. I'm generally a polite person, but within those walls it's kill or be killed.

I walked out with about a dozen comics and about $35. I got a nice copy of Detective Comics #225 (1st Martian Manhunter). I was happy at the time, but I chose that comic over a nice copy of Detective Comics #168 (1st Red Hood/Joker Origin), and in retrospect I regret that immensely  😭😭😭... Both are fantastic pieces to add to any collection, but the #168's value has gone nuclear.

Frank got his anime and a few EC Horror comics that I had yet to learn how to appreciate. Mike bought a few long boxes of decent $5-$20 books to sell at his store. Kevin was the big winner though. Kevin walked out of there with a Police Comics #1 (1st Plastic Man) and a few other things, but that book is a true gem. It's hard book to find and even harder to get a discount on. I don't know what Kevin said or did, but the dealer let it go for $900 and was asking $1,350, and it was a clean mid-grade copy.

After 6 hours in combat we piled back into that shitty little Nissan and headed back home. The ride back was more memorable. We were all in a euphoric daze bragging about the deals we found. We were all riding this buzz like we had just won the Super Bowl. I look back on those trips and find great peace in how simple the times were and how hard you had to work at being good at your hobby. Don't get me wrong, I love having eBay and all the other resources at my disposal, but few things beat the feeling of finding a book in the wild to complete your run, and that's a feeling that's all but extinct.

The evolution of Comic Book shows is a bitter sweet history. Today they're more geared towards Pop Culture in general, but they generate immense revenues. While I miss the thrill of the hunt it was wholly propped up by the era it was in. I've been spoiled by how easy the internet makes it to shop for books but with that has come an explosion of growth and total social acceptance. The community is stronger than ever and if the price for the culture's current position is the thrill that I miss then so be it.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnd on that note I'll end it.

Come back next time when I talk about the drama that Hal Jordan's death caused at my local shop and what a total little shit I was at 12 years old. Thanks for stopping by!

Coming Back Down to Earth

"Well, damn..."

My heart sunk a little and I grimaced with disappointment. It only took me about 30 seconds to come to my senses, and another 30 seconds to smile big. DC Universe had just announced they were developing a Stargirl series with Geoff Johns overseeing the project. Now that might be an odd reaction to such news, but it was somewhat justified. 

Before I continue on about why I was disappointed I want to very clear on the fact that I'm super excited to see this show. Stargirl was created by Geoff Johns as a tribute to his late sister and the show looks to incorporate many of the elements that I fell in love with during his epic run writing JSA. There is no one better suited to bring this property to us and I think he's going to knock it out of the park.

So... with that out of the way, let me explain why I had a frowny face to begin with.

My story starts in roughly 2003-ish. By that time I was a hardened veteran of the Comic Book world. I'd seen some things, I'd met some folks, I'd held some "Books" and owned a few "Big Boys"... I was hot shit if I do say so myself... Ok, that's a lie, I was just a nerd who drooled at any opportunity to increase my knowledge. But at 21 years old I feel like I was pretty seasoned. 

James Robinson's Starman had always been on my list of books to get to, but I had pushed it aside. At that point the only thing I really knew him from was his Golden Age mini series (excellent work by the way), but I soon realized that I'd been passing over on one of the best Comic runs I've ever read. Long story short, it blew me away. I devoured it. I made 3 trips to my local shop that week to pick up more issues and made a special trip the week after to Nashville to purchase the 15 or so issues I was missing. That book slapped the taste out of my mouth and had me asking "please sir, may I have another?"

The book resonated deeply with me because, like Jack Knight, I felt disconnected to my father. We had a loving relationship but I never felt like he truly understood me. Shortly after I returned home from college I quickly realized that he didn't care about understanding me, he just loved me and wanted me to be happy. I can proudly say that we had a great relationship until his death. I still read Starman once a year (at least) and it's my favorite comic series of all time. My hardcover omnibus's will be the last items I part with in my collection.

So, in 2015 when I saw this little announcement, I got overly excited...

Don't be shocked if you don't remember this because sadly it never happened. I suspect they began developing this and binned it to begin working on the DC Universe streaming app... I've also heard unfounded rumors that James Robinson might have a contractual stipulation allowing him to decided when and where DC can use Jack Knight, but who knows if that's true.

I clearly remember being at my desk at work when I stumbled across this and I immediately opened up a new file to start writing down ideas. I was all-in on this. My love and admiration for Starman were deep and I felt like I had a better than average chance of making the cut. Hope right?

I spent a tremendous amount of time over the next month working on outlines and developing a pitch. I read through my Golden Age Starman Archives and purchased the Stargirl trade-paper backs to bolster my knowledge of the property. I was going balls deep on this and it was intoxicating. -- If you'd like to see some of the bolder ideas and changes I had in mind, they'll be listed below at the end of the blog.

I think most big comic book fans have had the dream of becoming an industry Creative at some point and this opportunity felt like a window for me. We've all had ideas we thought were gold, and boy did I have ideas... Whether or not they were actual Gold or just Pyrite remains to be seen... but the prospect lit a fire none-the-less.

About 6 weeks or so after the initial announcement I began to realize that I was probably getting ahead of myself and decided to cool it until there was something more official.... queue the crickets.

Nada. Zilch. Zero... The infamous NZZ Trio began to confirm my fears. This thing wasn't happening. It was disappointing at the time, but so is playing the lottery. So life goes on... And boy did it. I lost my father at the end of 2015 and fell into a depression. I can thankfully say I'm much better now and that comics helped guide me out, including my dearest friends Jack Knight and James Robinson.

I can now reflect on the contest that never was, and mine it for inspiration. I poured god knows how many hours after work into those pages, and despite not being able to submit them for professional review, I'm able to scan through them for personal insights towards my own accomplishments. The goal in the beginning was to have a vision and a dream realized, and while the door of disappointment was slammed in my face, the window of reflection was opened to allow me to enjoy my efforts. They may not ever reach the audience I aimed for, but by god I focused on my goal and I surpassed it and I'll take that victory lap any day.

Like many of us I wanted to be a writer when I was younger and it didn't pan out... so when I look back at this small body of work that consumed me for 6 weeks I have no problem smiling with pride even if its wasting away on a thumb drive.

This exercise also just solidified my love for the Starman property as a whole, and not just for James Robinson's run. I now own all of the DC Golden Age Archives and full runs of every iteration there has been. The Will Payton era is growing on me but it was a challenge at first. I even recently flirted with acquiring an Adventure Comics #61, but I decided that if I'm going to spend $4,000 on a comic book, I'd rather save my money and put it towards chasing my true Grail, Showcase #4, because no matter how much I love Starman, the Flash will always be my first true love.

Stargirl premieres on May 11, 2020 on the DC Universe app. and a week later on the CW... If you haven't checked out the DC Universe app. I highly suggest it... I'm quite bitter over Swamp Thing being canceled, but beyond that I find it to be WELL worth the monthly subscription. The Movie and TV content is fine, but the digital comic library is excellent and has allowed me to plow through many titles I have yet to collect.

I hope you come back for my next blog where I'll be reminiscing about attending a Comic Show in Nashville in 1997... Bootlegs VHS's, Heated haggling, $30 Playboy's from the 80's, a box full Adventure Comics #247, and a fist fight between 2 vendors over a Star Wars toy, and a few other strange incidents from a world of collecting pre-smart phones ... It'll be more entertaining than the above sentimental reflections, I promise.  

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DC Heroes Project -- Starman Treament

The following is not a complete summary of my work. These points highlight the changes I wanted to adopt. I ended up with over 60 pages of content outlining relationship paths and crossovers, conflicts, and how to make things from the comic work on screen. 

Feel free to ask me any questions you'd like. 😀  

 

Q: How do I explain the heroes staying younger?

-I wanted to keep the World War 2 era identity of Ted Knight's Starman and his JSA friends relevant while staying true to a more modern tale, and to reasonably explain why they appeared to be 35 years younger than they were.

I found the answer in Johnny Sorrow. I changed Johnny to Joannie Sorrow. Joannie Sorrow was to be a failed actress in the early 1950's who was corrupted by her own vanity and chasing eternal youth. Her obsession would lead her to a life of crime using a stolen device that allows her to walk through walls. She would use this device to steal artifacts so she can explore the Dark Arts for an answer. She would be confronted by the Golden Age Starman, Hourman, Black Cat, Sandman, and Dr. Midnight. In the process of her defeat, she would open a portal to the Subtle Realm, and her device would explode after a direct hit by Ted Knight's Gravity Rod, and she gets sucked into the universe by the King of Tears, sending a shock-wave that would be absorbed by the heroes, slowing their aging process by half.

Joannie would find her way back to our realm after Jack Knight defeats Kyle Nimbus in his first battle as Starman. Kyle's city wide attack and his battle with Jack would awaken the beacon Joannie used decades earlier, creating a tether for her to re-manifest herself in the present day with the power of the King of Tears at her disposal. 

I like the idea of Sorrow being a woman because using it adds to the tragedy of the character and the events that broke Ted Knight. Haunted by her death it would weigh on Ted (much like Kyle's death will weigh on Jack) and contribute to the mental health issues he'd suffer before his boys were born. 

Joannie would also play an integral role in releasing Culp later on. 

Q: How do I explain the power of the Gravity Rod?

-Ted Knight develops a telescope unlike any before. It's range is greater than any other of the day through a series of lenses he created that allows him to see the "twinkle" in stars more clearly. In 1940 Ted discovers a new Star, just beyond the Moon. The Star shouldn't exist. After emitting a radio signal to the star from a high altitude weather balloon, Ted is visited by an alien race one night, Thangarian Scientist. They bestow upon Ted the knowledge to construct an anti-gravity device, and the ability to collect and manipulate energy from light. They telepathically plant a seed of knowledge deep into Ted's mind. The seed is a layered construct, that opens new layers to Ted after each step is taken, and each lesson learned.

The Thangarians had been watching Earth, leaving a beacon in orbit and waiting for a signal to return. They visited once before, to ancient Egypt, but left after realizing Earth was not yet advanced enough to accept the truth about what's beyond the Stars. They gifted Ted with this knowledge to help his world better understand what is waiting for them in Space. The caveat is that the technology should be used to advance man-kind, and that eventually the seed of knowledge growing in Ted's mind would likely overcome him, as the concepts would outpace the limits of the human mind.

Ted wakes in his bed late the next day, and discovers a chalk board covered in script, with a simple design planned out at the bottom. It's all in his handwriting, but he doesn't recall writing it, and all in a flash, he realizes his "dream" was real. He crafts the Anti Gravity Belt first, and then a Gravity Rod.

Q: What do I do with Nash Nimbius (Mist 2)?

-Nash would remain a mystery to Jack at first instead of taking the direct approach. She would stalk him and prey upon his insecurities to gain his trust and form a relationship in a ploy to destroy his world before killing him. She would eventually fail, and return to rape him like she does in the comics to conceive a child. 

Q: David Knight needs more "meat"

-David would be more of a "bad ass". He would have had a stint in the military and be a successful Lab Tech. and Tyler Chemicals. His status as an over achiever and an "All American" son would be more prominent. Ted will come to David to adopt the Starman mantle after a warning from the Shade about there being danger on the horizon. Ted will train David in secret for several weeks before David is murdered and Jack is forced into the role. Ted will harbor some resentment towards Shade over Davids death. 

- Rick Tyler 

Rick Tyler will be David Knight's best friend and will have misgivings about Jack Knight's role as a hero. Rick will have already taken on the role as Hourman from his father. Rick and Jack will ultimately form a friendship and Jack.  

Q: Do I need all of the O'Dares? 

-Yes. But I want to move Barry O'Dare to Gotham and have him transfer in later. I feel like creating the distance from his family and putting him in such a crime ridden city will help his transition into betraying his family.

- Hope and Matt O'Dare will likely be the only regulars. Mason and Clarence will have increased roles as the story progresses.

-Matt O'Dare will have his near death experience during Kyle Nimbus's assault on the city, and his friendship with the Shade will begin immediately. The dynamic between them is great and will open new avenues for series.

Q: Times Past/Evening wit David/Shade's Journal?
- These aspects add great layers of depth to the series. I would also want to incorporate stand alone adventures with Shade and Matt O'Dare as another outlet to relieve pressure from the main story line. Having these tools to buffer the flow create great flavor. The prospect of showing Golden Age Starman in action is juicy, as is doing episodes that are partially in Black and White.

R.I.P. Ted & David Knight

Donny, you're out of your ... Oh, I guess you're not...

Strange times my friends, strange times indeed. The funny books are in a bit of a limbo but the community endures. Our culture is one built on a foundation that's an odd mix of selfish love and genuine camaraderie. While we navigate this bizarre limbo, I for one will continue to find my own escape between the staples and ink.

Recently I decided to begin re-collecting the comics of my youth. The books and runs that inspired me throughout the 90's and early 00's. As a teen I mainly focused on collecting Silver Age comics and wholly neglected my Wednesday pickups. Don't get me wrong, I was reading at least 15 titles at any given time, but I never really took physical care of them like I did my "real" collection. Fast forward a decade and I'm selling off most of comics to help pay for "life" as an adult... and then here I am, another decade later, reassembling the loves of my life.

First off, I'm proud to say that I have assembled full runs of Starman, Preacher, All Star Squadron, Infinity Inc., New X-Men, The Flash (vol. 2), and JSA... But what I hadn't planned on was loading my weekly pull box with 15+ titles again. What started off as 6 has swelled to 16! But what's even more surprising to me are the titles I've added... most notably Thor. So to kick things off, I'm gonna jump on the bandwagon and do some shameless promoting of a book I have historically been down on.

I've never read a Thor comic and felt compelled to chase down the rest of the run. Don't get me wrong, Thor is a great character, and he's had his moments, but overall his solo titles have been pretty lackluster to me. I thin he's a hard character to consistently write.

Enter Donny Cates. I wasn't super familiar with Donny Cates before this, having only seen his name around and I don't think I had read any of his other stuff (but I'm certainly going to!). About 3 weeks ago I saw a small little review of his new Thor run and the response was overwhelmingly positive, so I said "what the hell? Why not!"... And damn. Just damn...!

Ok, I'll calm down... but seriously! In just 4 short issues ole Donny (I can call him that, we're buddy's now) has truly woven quite the tale and dropped enough crumbs to make the follow up to this current arc even more intriguing. Thor has captivated me. That's not something I thought would happen in print, well not in his solo book anyway.

I know Thor has plenty of fans that'll defend him to the death, but the numbers don't lie. Historically (up to he 2000's) Thor hasn't been a top seller for Marvel and a chunk of his legacy was heavily invested in his role as an Avenger.

Issue #4 of Cates' run left us with Thor and Galactus ready to face off against the big bad Universe Eating mega baddy The Black Winter. I don't want to divulge too much, but Thor is getting acclimated to his new role in Asgard as the King when Galactus makes a rather dramatically grand entrance to seek Thor's help against this cosmic threat. After a visit from Silver Surfer, Thor eventually agrees and Galactus imbues Thor with the Power Cosmic essentially making Thor a new Herald... Let that sink in.

Cates really dives right into the guts of things with a wonderful flow that weaves the stories larger elements through the dynamics of the world around Thor and explores some of Thor's internal conflicts. The hints that are dropped are "in your face", but are subtly drug along to create that yearning desire to see exactly where it can go. Mystery is a drug I can't ignore and he gives me just enough to keep me euphorically hooked. I'm not the best at describing how writers construct their stories, but the man knows how to bring it all together.

As the story progresses there are some interesting interactions with Loki that feed into the aforementioned breed crumbs and an action packed appearance by the Stormbreaker swinging Korbinite badass himself Beta Ray Bill! I'll leave this summary of events there because I don't want to give away the juice... Every man deserves to cut into his own steak first and get that juice rolling down his chin, and trust me when I say the juice is savory!

I never thought that the book I'd anticipate the most throughout the Quarantine would be Thor... But here I am. Strange time my friends, strange times indeed.

Now, I also dig a very minor amount of digging, and discovered that I need to go back and read Jason Aaron's run. I took about a decade long break on new releases, so please forgive my obvious Thor ignorance. But I'm here now oh God of Thunder, forgive my doubt!

Batter late than never right?

Anyways... On to the second half of this little blog!

Let's get interactive! I don't care if you're reading this the day it's published or 5 years later, I invite you to openly share with me the answers to any of the following questions!

What's a title/character that surprised you years later? Who was an "unknown" writer that slapped you in the face with their talents and on what book? What's your favorite current on-going series? Why hasn't Billy Zane been properly recognized for the national treasure he is? How much is gas in your area? $1.46 here! - Oh Thank the Maker! Ooooo!

I love to hear stories about how people were hooked to a title or writer, so I encourage you all to be as vocal as you can. Advocate for those industry Creatives and damn the naysayers! We're in a time now where the community needs to speak up more so than ever. The future is uncertain for many small publishers and even some bigger ones, so tweet, comment and tag away!

I hope you enjoyed this little rambling mess. I used to write more, and I'm a bit out of practice. I tend to shoot from the hip. There's value in structuring the things you write, but musings should be natural. You'll find a few older blogs I left up from years ago. I took down about a dozen or so that weren't relevant to comics or nerdom in general. SO excuse the gap.

Next time I plan to write about the Starman Web Series reality contest that never happened. I was beyond stoked for it and was disappointed when it didn't happen. But there's more meat on that bone then just that. So I hope you check it out. I might write it tomorrow or next week, but it'll be soon!


Thanks again! :)