Pull list

I made a big decision last week. I talked it over with MrGiantwoman, and we agreed that it was for the best for our future. I'm not talking about coming off all my medication (although I have done that recently too), I'm talking about cancelling our entire pull list with our local comic shop. The entire thing, some 50+ titles per month. This was obviously a massive choice for us to make, given that the shop is a mere fifteen minute walk from my work, and they have been good enough to us in the past to let us have books on credit the week before pay day, all three staff from the shop came to my 30th birthday party last year, and we recently went to London Super Comic Con with the two shop owners. So why did we do it?!

Part of it is to do with money. Everyone is tightening their belts again this year, the cost of living has gone up again and there is no sign of a payrise on the horizon for many of us, so spending the crazy amount we were on books just wasn't feasible in the long term. Plus we are still paying off our trip to NYCC last year and trying to work out how we can get back to the States to see all our awesome friends out there again, sooner rather than later.

It wasn't just that though. For me it was an emotional l decision. I get very stressed and anxious about the littlest things, which affects my health. New comic book day is supposed to be fun, and time to chat to your friends, discuss what each of you is picking up, post pictures online of your haul, and have a good time reading the new issues. 

But it isn't for us any more. 

Every week I would get an impending sense of dread as my lunch break approached, wondering which books we would be missing this week. You may have noticed that I tend to post my pull list online prior to visiting the shop each Wednesday. I actually started doing that to save myself printing off copy of my list to take with me every week, as I have to meticulously check off each book to make sure we have it. It was okay though, because every week there would be two or more books in our box that we neither asked for nor had ever expressed an interest in... Oh no wait, it's the other one. The one where that doesn't make it okay, it makes it worse. The last three books they missed from our list were Mind The Gap, Deadpool and Flash. If you've met (or know) MrGiantwoman and I, you will know why this is an major issue. Add that to the fact that we have been going to this shop for over two years, and you may start to see why I stopped looking forward to the trip.

I am going to absolve myself of blame for the missed books too, as every month we would leaf through the latest issue of Previews borrowing it at closing time on a Wednesday or Thursday, then dropping it back in before they opened the next day so that no-one would miss out on taking a look, along with a list of all the title we would like in addition to those we already have. Only last month they decided that if we wanted to look at it we would have to buy a copy. Fair enough, they are a business, they need to make money. Would have been nice if they had told us before they sold all their copies though, so we could not make a list for June, this not including the fact that they called me at work to demand their copy back. The one I hadn't borrowed...

I don't want this to turn in to a list of complaints about a shop that won't be able to respond (they are all technophobes after all) but the other main issue I had was their organisation. I am a creature of habit. Every Wednesday I leave my office at the same time, take the same amount of time to walk to the lcs, and every week - without fail -  they will not have pulled my books for me. They have a book of orders you see, and we are pages 63 - 66 in the book. The lady that pulls the books doesn't make it past page 43-ish by 2:15pm on a Wednesday. Even if I phone ahead and remind her that I'll be in at 2:15pm. Sigh.

If I am going to spend £200+ in a shop each and every month I at least want them to show me a modicum of respect as a customer, and to make a bit of an effort to get my order right, and ready when I want it. Maybe I was spoiled by visiting the wonderful Tor Comics on Long Island, but the sense of community in that store, and the solid organisational core they had, was something to behold. Bearing in mind the relationship we thought we had with the two owners (they offered me a job recently), the fact that neither have been in touch to ask about our cancellation speaks volumes to me.

So, for the future (we will still take our books up to May due to their ordering process), who knows. After a recent visit to Orbital comics in London we might try their subscription service, if not it might be the corporate giant that is Forbidden Planet. We aren't going to go without our comic book, we just need a way of getting them into our desperate little mitts...

Pull list 27/03/13 - the "two weeks in one go" edition

Didn't make it to the local comic store last week, so there are quite a lot of books to pick up this time round. So, without further preamble, here goes:

Dark Horse

Dragon Age Until We Sleep #1

DC

Green Lantern New Guardians #18(Wrath Of The First Lantern Tie-In)

Justice League Of America #2

Fables #127

Flash #18 

Red Lanterns #18 (Wrath Of The First Lantern Tie-In)

Dynamite

Bionic Man vs Bionic Woman #3

Garth Ennis Red Team #2

IDW

My Little Pony Micro-Series #2 Rainbow Dash 

My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic #5 

Transfusion #3 

Image

Five Ghosts Haunting Of Fabian Gray #1

It Girl & The Atomics #8

Revival #8

Saga #11

East Of West #1

Marvel

Captain Marvel #11

Deadpool #6 

Deadpool Killustrated #3

Independents

Adventure Time #14

Pull list 15/03/13 - the "my money saving plan is finally working" edition

So, a (sort of) quiet week at last. Just in time for New York Comic Con to start announcing guests, and for me to start considering selling internal organs to get back there again this year!

Anyway, before I start sobbing in to my keyboard, this weeks books:

DC

Emily and the Strangers #2
Ghost #4
Start Wars #3 - if we actually get it, seeing as we're still waiting on issue #2!
Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #6
Green lantern Corps # 18 (Wrath of the First lantern tie in)

Dynamite

Game of Thrones #13

IDW

Rocketeer Hollywood Horror #2

Image

Mind The Gap #8 - absolutely cannot wait for this, still my favourite book of the moment
Todd The Ugliest Kid On Earth #3

Marvel

Wolverine #1 - very excited about a new Paul Cornell book, especially taking on a favourite character of mine. This could get expensive though, as I will probably end up buying the regular and Skottie Young covers!

On a different note, this should be a very good week for the comic reading community, as not only have those lovely folks over at Talking Comics got Jonathan Hickman on their show, but they will also have the one and only Matt Fraction coming in for a chat too - well done those guys! I highly recommend checking out their weekly podcast for all things comic related, published every Wednesday with book of the week reviews and lots of listener question and comment.

Right, time for me to delve back in to the world of Dr Wertham, which I am still struggling through chapter by eye-twitching chapter! 

Pull list 06/03/13 -the "split decision" edition

Hmm, seem to have a bit of a two way split between myself and MrGiantwoman as to the top publisher this week, with his five DC titles (well, three, two are for me) equally the tally from my five Image titles. Once again, Marvel fail to even make the billing, with Boom! and IDW slipping in one title each on the sly!

Enough pre-amble, here is the list:


DC

Before Watchmen Rorschach #4 
Green Lantern #18 (Wrath Of The First Lantern Tie-In)
Insurgent #3
Lot 13 #5
Fairest #13

IDW

My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic #4 

Image

Bedlam #5
Epic Kill #9
Lost Vegas #1 
Mara #3
Repossessed #3

Boom!

Adventure Time Fionna & Cake #3 Regular Cover

I am especially looking forward to Lost Vegas, as proven by my going all fan girl about it on Talking Comics earlier today. 

I'm also looking forward to the end of the Before Watchmen series, not for the usual "event dragging on too long" AvX type reasons, but because I've been holding off reading most of them until they are all safely tucked away in my long boxes, so that I can read them all in one. 

The end is nigh!

Neonomicon

Neonomicon

Writer - Alan Moore
Artist - Jacen Burrows
Colour - Juanmar
Publisher - Avatar Press

I first heard about Neonomican when there was a controversy over it being withdrawn from an American library due to complaints about it's content from the mother of a teenage girl who borrowed it. Whilst I disagree with the religious standpoint from which she argued, having now read it I can see why she disliked her daughter being able to read it. Having read it earlier this evening, I am still trying to digest what I have read and seen.

The story is based around the Cthuhlu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft, and brings a number of other authors and texts in to give it a decidedly literary feel, but the creeping, unseen horror so prevalent within the original stories pervades throughout, even when the terror is given a face. Whilst we do not see or encounter the Great Old One himself, we are given glimpses of creatures from the tales of Lovecraft, initially through a decidedly clever plot twist involving the perils of short-sightedness. These give enough of the style of the original tales for it to work wonderfully.

The story revolves around a number of unsolved murders and the FBI agents who are entrusted with finding the killer or killers. Whilst the book may start off in a fairly standard crime solving fashion, it soon takes a darker turn, which to remain spoiler free I will refrain from going in to. The book as a whole serves as a great example of how implied horror can be wholly more terrifying than the simply showing gore or torture. I am a great fan of this style, and would much rather be given the scope to fill in the blanks myself - which often enables me to scare myself more than any words or images could.

I am not sure that I could suggest other readers pick up this book, unless they want to be genuinely disturbed, as some of the darker twists that Moore takes you through are honestly disturbing, and the artwork - when it does show you some of the more twisted images - is pretty damn freaky. The book not only shows you the darker side of comic books, but it also explores some grander ideas about the nature of time and space, and our place within it. If you want a book that will disturb you and make you think, then by all means pick up Neonomicon. Just don't read it before bed time...

London Super Comic Con 2013 - a summary

So, now that the dust has settled and I have gotten over my latest bout of con induced nerd-flu, it's time for me to recap what was once again a great weekend at the ExCel centre.

Starting off on the Friday, we helped the guys from Uncanny Comics in Worthing load the van with swag (and thankfully our suitcase!) then headed up to London on the train, in my case accompanied by Seduction of the Innocent, the now much maligned Dr Wertham treatise on why comics were the root of all evil in the 1950s. sadly for my fellow passengers, especially given the knowledge (recently revealed) that large amounts of it are bunk, I found it to be a rather amusing read, prompting many looks from my fellow travellers as I laughed and chuckled my way through the first few chapters.

Upon arriving we were very disappointed by the shoddy reception at the Ibis ExCel Docklands, but once we blagged our way through security in the centre to pick up our passes - Mr Giantwoman exchanging nods and smiles with George Perez on the way - we were in and unpacking with the guys. The pre-con room looked pretty huge, but once it started filling up with dealers and exhibitors it started looking a lot more like I remembered it from last year.

Once we were all set we took a sneaky look around to get our bearings, then headed off to wash up and meet a friend for dinner. Which accidentally involved wine. Then we slipped and fell on the way back to our hotel, landing in the bar of the Novotel (seeing as our hotel didn't have a bar at the time!), managing to meet up with some fellow con-goers, including the talented Joe Ward and friends. Oh, and we may have accidentally supped on a Talisker and three whilst there...

Saturday dawned bright and a little too early for our liking, so we schlepped back to the Novotel for breakfast (yep, no restaurant in our hotel either!), then got a call from our lovely twitter friend Phil to get our cosplay on for the day. He may have over-estimated our skills, asking us to apply his Cable scar and hair colour, but a mere hour or so later our Victorian-style X-Men were all set and we headed in to the centre. As with last year, we got to walk past a number of bemused looking patrons of the Baby Expo that was on, many of whom did not seem to appreciate my homemade Wolverine claws as much as they clearly should have done! I am always a bit nervous about wearing a new cosplay, but as we were asked for photos before we even made it through the doors, my fears were allayed pretty fast. Cable, Gambit and lady Wolverine (or Wolverette as Joe suggested) were having fun.

Saturday was taken up with snapping up lots of swag, one of my best purchases being the slipcase box set of Freekangels, complete with artist signature and a cheeky sketch inside of the first book. We were all pleased to be asked for a few photos here and there, and despite being asked to help out on the stall once or twice managed to fit a couple of cheeky pints of cider in around lunchtime, and picked up a fair few more books too, including the brilliant Manhattan Projects by Jonathan Hickman, which is highly recommended by both of us. Sadly the list for Mark Buckingham sketches was full by the time I got to him, but Phil got a lovely Madea to adorn his walls, as well as picking up a few other quality pieces he had ordered in advance.

The evening led to a few more drinks, still in costume in my case, with another twitter friend, Rosie (a great artist who drew the Zatanna adoring my lounge wall) and her mister, then a slightly earlier night before the second day of madness. We did manage to make our hotel room look like something out of a spy movie though, as there were liquid latex bottles and contact lens cases left over from Cable, and Mr Giantwoman had to cut his Gambit hair off with clippers ready for his Sunday costume. Helpful hint kids - don't drink several pints of cider then try to cut your own hair. You may need help!

Sunday morning was moderately less painful, and saw us costuming up in Firefly garb, myself as Kaylee and Mr Giantwoman in his Wash outfit. After breakfast he went back to the room to tidy up (oops!) and I headed down to get in the queue for the Dan Slott signing, making it fifth in line thanks to my magic exhibitor pass. Despite that, it was still a good hour - and a terrifying nerd-stampede when the doors officially opened - before I was able to get a couple of books signed, mostly thanks to the guys in front of me having between 15 and 30 books EACH to have signed. Grr! All of that went by the wayside though, when Mr Slott applauded my Kaylee outfit. Day made.

Once I was all done there we met up with Phil and his lovely wife Bims, or Jayne and Zoe as they were for the day. Our costumes went down even better than those of the day before, and all my worries went by the wayside once again. I didn't think my day could get much better, then I tried my luck again with Mark Buckingham, and whilst he wasn't able to fit in a sketch for me, he gave me a postcard with a drawing of Alice in Wonderland that he had done, and was slightly shocked at how madly happy that made me. I literally jumped up and down in excitement, Alice being my favourite book and character of all time. Day made, again.

But wait, there is more! A few times I got roped in to covering for the Uncanny guys as they went off buying bits and pieces and chatting to friends in the business, and as I was talking to the chap on the stall next to theirs, I mentioned the wonderful Sandman bookends on the Diamond stand opposite, which will hopefully be making an appearance in Previews - and therefore my house - quite soon. He mentioned to his boss that I was a fan of Neil Gaiman, and his boss, the utterly lovely Mike Lake, then started producing item after item of Gaiman ephemera, which had me squee-ing like a goodun! Turns out Mike started Titan books many moons ago, and knew Mr Gaiman back before he became a full time author. Obviously, stories like that are always taken with a pinch of salt, but after he showed me the sample of Stardust that was sent out to publishers I was all ears, and when he let me look at the signed Christmas card Mr Gaiman sent out one year, featuring an excerpt from American Gods that never made it in to the final book, I had what can only be described as a Gaiman-gasm. Day made, for the third time. I'm actually shaking now just thinking about how amazing it was to be able to see, touch and read such a wildly rare item.

The rest of the day (unsurprisingly) passed as something of a daze for me, even packing up and storing everything in the van couldn't ruin my good mood, and the tube closures meant nothing to me!

All in all, the Sunday was a much more chilled out affair, but the whole weekend went swimmingly, with great organisation from all the staff and volunteers at the con once again. Just need to see if they can top in next year now - good luck guys!

Pull list 27/02/13 - The "I have no clue what I'm getting today" edition

So, after last weeks debarcle, with no Image books, still no Star Wars #2, and a few others missing to, the list of books to pick up today, according to publishers listing are as follows:


Before Watchmen Dr Manhattan #4 
Flash Vol #17 
Red Lanterns #17  (Wrath Of The First Lantern Tie-In)
Rocketeer Hollywood Horror #1 
Deadpool Killustrated #2

So few that I haven't even bothered listing publishers too, but hopefully I will get a few surprises when I hit the LCS later on today! Only time will tell...