Last week, there were two columns: the one you can read now and the original in which I was pretty down about the New York Comic Con. That was changed because it was deemed too personal for The Celebrity Café, and it was. This week, I’ll be down again, yet the cause will be more observational and less personal. Show of hands: how many of you remember the comics of the nineties? I wasn’t a kid anymore then and still, I found myself racing to the local comic book store to get the newest issues. Sometimes I would go to two, three, or more stores to find what I wanted. In the nineties, we had much larger print runs and subsequently we had many less printings, but we had very cool, very desirable covers. There were leather and platinum covers. There were die-cuts, foils, acetates, chromium, glow-in-the-dark, prisms, and holograms. There were comics with (bullet) holes punched all the way through the book. And, of course, there were variant and multiple covers. Here’s the thing about the nineties, though: people don’t reflect back on the very cool covers. I constantly hear that the nineties sucked! The market crashed and our comics were worthless. Say what you will about the investors. There are very few stories we actually recount.
So here we are again in the twenty-teens and DC has just published a big line of 3D motion covers. Very cool covers and the entire run sold out, each demanding an immediate premium. I even saw one copy of "Joker’s Daughter" sell in the hundred and fifty range. I also heard many complaints that those books are all covers and the stories themselves were just throwaways. I haven’t read any yet, but really have no desire to do so. During the New York Comic Con, Marvel Comics gave retailers a preview cover for "Wolverine: Origin II #1," and I kid you not, their statement says, “In your hands lies the year’s most eye-popping cover to grace your store shelves-.“ Paint me pretty embarrassed. I haven’t looked yet, but it must be scheduled for a January release date because after the DC books, it’s boring. It’s not even original. Would you like to know what would’ve excited me? How about making something better and more eye-popping than what we’ve just seen? How about making one of those covers. I think they’re lenticular, held at one angle, they show one picture, but when moved to another position, they show a second image... (DC also did these years ago with both Superman and Batman. Remember the Alex Ross covers?) I didn’t see the motion in DC’s 3D motion covers. I saw some real depth that one could see behind a character, but if Marvel had showed me Wolverine’s claws actually coming out of his hand, I’d have been sold.
Instead, I’m just thinking about all of those really cool nineties gimmicks that are now sitting unsold in my dollar boxes. This week, some comics I hope you can truly enjoy begin with Dark Horse Comics Conan: People of the Black Circle #1 (of 4), $3.50, Fred Van Lente and Ariel Olivetti reunite to bring a Conan adventure like no other. There’s a reason Conan is still a viable character after all of these years and these two comic superstars are prepared to prove it.
Image Comics is reteaming Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting with Bettie Breitweiser for Velvet #1, $3.50, about a personal assistant to the Director of the Agency and her return to the field after nearly 20 years. They promise everything they did for Captain America was just a rehearsal for this.
Harbinger #17, $3.99, from Valiant Entertainment and Joshua Dysart and Clayton Henry sees the return of a fan-favorite character from the Harbinger Wars to cause problems for Toyo Harada from inside the walls of his empire.
I know, there’s really not a lot for me this week. But, that doesn’t mean there’s not a boatload that you’re interested in, because there’s plenty more that are not listed. For a more complete list, feel free to visit your local comic store or favorite site.
Michael R. Murray is a full-time Letter Carrier for the United States Postal Service who’s at a complete loss tonight. And that’s about the most silence you’ll ever get from him. Follow him on Twitter at Mycomicstore001 or Facebook for more on all things comics.