“You guys suck!” It was a quick little tongue-in-cheek note I emailed to Hunter at Valiant Entertainment. It was the culmination of my exasperation at the thought that they had scheduled a show at the Baltimore Comic Con that I absolutely could not attend. The scheduling in itself wasn’t any big deal, but I wasn’t flying out to visit them at the Long Beach (CA) Comic Con, and when they wrote me and said the reason they couldn’t come to Boston (from New York) was a budgetary concern, I wanted them here so bad I publicly offered to pay for it; both table and payroll considerations. So when the email arrived in my box about Baltimore, it was a knee-jerk response that I just hit reply and tore off a quick couple of sentences spewing my frustration with Valiant on the whole. It was not addressed to anyone and the frustration in the email was obvious as was later acknowledged. Unfortunately those three words are what Valiant focused on.
It’s also important to mention that I had previously asked, not for personal information, but if the management at Valiant could forward a request to any relatively local talent to see if a creator would be interested in coming to and representing them at an event I was holding. Again, I clearly stated that I was perfectly willing to pay for travel expenses and time. Valiant’s response to me was I was too small an operation to care about, that I wouldn’t be getting any help from them and I should just go find comic book talent on my own. At the time I thought that was a hell of a way for a startup company to promote itself, but kept it to myself.
Soon, Atom! Freeman, Valiant’s Sales Manager, wanted to talk to me on the phone. I was ecstatic, until he ripped me a new one. Atom! told me my email was way out of line, that Hunter (the recipient of my aforementioned e-mail) works way too hard to be spoken to in such a way, and that I was in danger of being deleted from all accounts and banned from all future lists. I don’t mind being called out. I was out of line to let my frustrations get the better of me and explained myself. That wasn’t intended for Hunter specifically, “guys” is plural. I apologized, I acknowledged that they work hard, and sent several apologies over e-mail, and hand wrote apologies and mailed them separately to Hunter and Atom! despite feeling like Atom! had overreacted. With his tone of voice and the way he spoke down to me, he made me feel as if I had threatened someone or caused some physical damage, neither of which I had done in any capacity.
There’s no doubt that anyone who reads these articles or speaks to me regularly knows how much I love the Valiant books. They’re fantastic! Due to my enthusiasm for Valiant’s work, I found myself in another quandary recently. I had come across a Unity Red comic and upon some searching found that “every comic book retailer in the United States” received one. Apparently Valiant did the same thing a year ago (well before my previously stated interaction with them) with a special Shadowman #1. I asked my Diamond sales rep about it. It didn’t come through Diamond. So I asked Atom! about it and much to my surprise I promptly received both Shadowman and the Unity Red. While I had hoped for them, which is different than expecting them, I was under the impression that event was over, and was already set on making sure I was involved in any similar future promotions from them. I received no note, but the comics were more than I was expecting.
I also didn’t expect the greeting I got from Atom! at the New York Comic Con. He let me know how much I’m disliked. How I’m “disrespectful”, “demanding”, “take up too much time”, I was ‘little’, and how they’re working hard to deal with retailers that sell “thousands of times” of comics more than I do. Atom! was venomous and angry. He was hurtful. I told him I wasn’t going to argue with him and that I would work hard to earn his respect. I walked away hurt, depressed, sad, lonely and feeling like there was no joy at the Comic Con. And then I thought, “Eff him! I’ll sell all of my valuable Valiant books and use the money to pay some of my bills.”
As I was working on selling some of the stuff I picked up at NYCC, it occured to me that that’s not the guy I want to be. The books and stories that I like don’t have anything to do with the value. I’ve had comics shaved and sewn into my own special hard covers titled My Favorite Comics volume 1, 2, 3 and so on. Atom!’s not “the talent.” He didn’t write or draw the stories that I’m enjoying so much. I’m quite sure he had some pivotal role in getting that produced copy in my hand but I don’t need him to take joy in it. He’s not supporting me; in fact, I support him and his company. I may be little -I sold 46 Valiant books in September, not sit on the shelves books but presold, specifically customer pre-ordered books and that’s 46 more for their totals- but I contribute to their bottom line. You’ve seen me push and laud those books here. More importantly though, Atom!’s not my friend. At the end of the day whether he likes me or not doesn’t affect my day. He’s welcome to “ban” me, but he’s not going to stop me from spending my money on the books and stories I so enjoy. Maybe somewhere deep down he’ll even admit he likes that, because it’s just that little bit more money in his pocket. Even though I spent more money right there at the booth (even on comics I already had), the last words I heard from him as I walked away were, “We’re going to have a problem.”
No, “we’re” not. Atom! is. I suddenly couldn’t care less.
Some comics that I do care about this week, however, start with: Fables #134, $2.99, produced by Bill Willingham, Steve Leialoha, and Mark Buckingham for DC Comics. This is an interlude issue, taking a moment to step away from the story to give us a peek of the Big Bad Wolf’s favorite hunting grounds…
Green Lantern HC volume three: The End, $24.99, is something I both look forward to as well as shake my head at. Written by Geoff Johns and featuring art by Doug Mahnke and others, this volume collects Green Lantern #0 and #13 – 20 and while Johns Green Lantern is captivating a good portion of this has already been collected in the Rise of the Third Army HC. There’s no doubt it’s a story that’s a very good addition to any collection, it’s also frustrating to expect fans to pay money for parts they already have…
Joker: Death of the Family HC, $29.99, is another good example. Collecting the horrifying story of the return of the Joker to the New 52 this volume collects Batman #17, Catwoman #13 & 14, Batgirl #14 – 16, Batman and Robin #15 – 17, Nightwing #15 & 16, Detective Comics #16 & 17, Red Hood and the Outlaws #15 & 16, and Teen Titans #15 as well as pages from Batman #13, Batgirl #13, Nightwing #14, Red Hood and the Outlaws #13 & 14, Suicide Squad #14 & 15, and Teen Titans #14 & 16. Many talented creators worked together to make this one and I love that a whole story can be found in one printing. I just wish that it fit outside of continuity so that when it came to say, Batman, I wouldn’t find myself buying repeat chapters…
Houghton Mifflin Company has assembled the Best American Comics HC 2013, $25.00, showcasing the work of both established and up-and-coming contributors. Collecting the best stories from graphic novels, pamphlet comics, newspapers, magazines, mini-comics, and web comics to create this cutting-edge collection, creators include Alison Bechdel, Craig Thompson, Terry Moore, Paul Pope, James Kochalka, and many more…
And there are plenty more that are not listed. For a more complete list, feel free to visit your local comic store or favorite site. If you’re interested in more of what I think, follow me on Twitter at Mycomicstore001 or like my Facebook page.
Michael R. Murray is a full-time Letter Carrier for the United States Postal Service who never once questioned the exclamation point in Atom!’s name but always used it out of respect because that’s how Atom! presented himself and it’s really too bad that respect was never earned. Oh well…