Review | Frank Bellamy’s Heros the Spartan
A sumptuous collection of amazing British 1960s strips by Tom Tully and Frank Bellamy, Heros The Spartan is a must for comic art fans.
Comic Book Daily
Discussing the minutiae of comic book collecting.
Comic Book Daily
Discussing the minutiae of comic book collecting.
Read MoreReview | Frank Bellamy’s Heros the Spartan
Collectors, readers, comics, and your entertainment dollar
I've visited a lot of comic shops, I've attended or worked a lot of book conventions, and I've talked with a lot of fans. I guess for the ease of discussion we can place them into two groups: collectors and readers.
Comic Culture June 18th 2014
This week Comic Culture hosts Chris Owen and Walter Durajlija chit chat about comic type stuff and are joined by producer Shekky Feldstein. So just sit back, relax and enjoy this week’s Comic Culture. Oh, and please, please make sure…
DC partners with Graphitti Designs for Gallery Editions
IDW has garnered a significant amount of fans and industry awards for its Artist’s Edition line of books that reprint original comic art full size, utilizing colour scans of the original penciled and inked comic art boards. They’re beautiful giant…
Emotional Assets and Failed Series
The two posts over the last week by Mike Huddleston “Why Did the Original Silver Surfer Run Fail” and “Comics as Emotional Assets” by R.J. Steinhoff both brought up some interesting thoughts for me. The Silver Age Surfer run for…
Name-It Comics
By the time Name-It Comics came out, Maple Leaf’s first title, and Canada’s first comic book, Better Comics had already had eight issues out and its second title, Lucky Comics (at that time known as “Union Jack – Lucky Comics”) had had half that. The other title that came out concurrently with Name-It Comics was Bing Bang Comics with its lead and cover feature being the adolescent, Denis the Menace type of trouble maker, Pinky.
Undervalued Spotlight #204
Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1, First Funnies Inc., April 1939 Please don’t yell. I’ve been called out in the past for picking books that are impossible to find and I’ve been real good about it for such a long time…
Corto Maltese Animated Film
I recently stumbled my way across an animated Corto Maltese filmed titled La cour secrète des Arcanes, or The Arcane Secret Court, released 2002. Like almost all Corto Maltese material it’s not in English. What few copies on DVD I could…
Comics as Emotional Assets
In a recent Financial Analysts Journal article authors Elroy Dimson and Christophe Spaenjers provide an excellent analysis of the historical performance of artwork, stamps, and antique violins. The authors label these collectibles “emotional assets.” No, the authors did not include comic books in their study. However, the article offered a few interesting insights that apply to us comic book collectors.
A day of Cosplay (or can I rent a Heli-Carrier to get to events?)
As a Cosplayer there are lots of opportunities to get geared up in a costume and get out there. Right now there seems to be a convention every other weekend. But the thing I enjoy most about dressing up, is…
A New Tipping Point?
On May 23, CGC announced a new class of labels. Starting next month CGC will introduce the Conservation Label and at the same time expand the Purple Label into five tiers. We’ll now have: 1. Slight 2. Slight/Moderate 3. Moderate…
Web Arted Jun 13th
A gathering of wonderful art spotted by yours truly from the collection of James Halperin, founder of Heritage.
How I Got My Job (A Series): Patrick Thorpe
Sadly, this interview wasn't able to happen in person, as Patrick is on the other side of the country in Dark Horse's home town of Portland, Oregon. Instead, we had a little internet back and forth to find out how Thorpe got his position with Dark Horse Comics as an Associate Editor.
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For Trailer Two
I’m really not sure about this film. After watching the trailer below everything looks overly stylized, over processed and excessively digital. Have a look and judge for yourself.
Why did the original Silver Surfer run fail? #1-18
A little more than two years after the first book hit the stands it was part of a Marvel wave of cancellations due to poor sales (Nick Fury, Doctor Strange, and The Silver Surfer) and suspensions (X-Men & Captain Marvel) and it was gone. I can’t say I was that sorry to see him go. What happened? There are a gazillion reasons and theories why the Surfer failed in his first solo effort. I will list some of my own reasons I thought the book failed and then we will take a look at the high’s and lows of the run itself. For anybody who thinks this run is not a failure I say this – when you are cancelled and the Sub-Mariner continues you have done something wrong.
Comic Culture June 11th 2014
This week Comic Culture hosts Chris Owen and Walter Durajlija talk about the latest in comics, movies and cons, and they are lucky enough to be joined by producer Shekky Feldstein. So why don’t you just sit back, relax and…
Are comics a rich man’s hobby?
This is not a column about collecting comics: this is about reading comics. I've been an avid comic reader for 34 years now and things have changed in the industry and in my life that affect how I buy comics.
Bus Griffiths
On the front cover of Canada’s first comic book, Better Comics No. 1 (March, 1941), Vancouver’s Maple Leaf Publications chooses a stylized maple leaf containing the words “Canada’s Own” to be its logo. These words broadcast the mission mandate…
The Life and Art of Alex Toth
If you are a regular follower of this column, you may recall in the Batman Year One column from a few weeks ago, how I likened David Mazzucchelli’s work to that of Alex Toth. Well this week the third and…
Undervalued Spotlight #203
Daredevil #53, Marvel Comics, (June 1969). When I think of Daredevil comics to invest in I usually don’t go back to the sixties in my search. The Daredevil we know now was really born, like the X-Men in the bronze age of comics. The Black Widow team-ups, Death Stalker (formerly, The Exterminator), Bullseye, Elektra, and the Kingpin weren’t part of his life back then. Neither was Frank Miller...
Dealing with “Muggles”
First off… I am not a fan of Harry Potter. I don’t read the books. I’ve never watched one of the movies. I am not even sure what the heck a “muggle” was until I had to have someone explain…