Market Spotlight!

What's caught my attention this week?  Some really good stuff heating up, that's what...

Secret Six Vol 2:  Depths
DC Comics
ISBN:  1401225995
SRP:     $14.99
Amazon Min:   $35+

We've already seen the rise of Secret Six: Six Degrees of Devastation, and now demand for the second volume of the ongoing is outstripping the supply.  Secret Six is simply put one of the most entertaining narratives published in the last decade, and that's a good thing.  Even though the title wasn't carried over into the DCnU, (Suicide Squad is the closest incarnation, but no Gail means no Secret Six in truth) I don't see this comic losing steam in terms of its legend.

What that means is that the only thing going to stop this runaway train would be going back to press.  Which is always possible, and in fact likely at some point.  Until then, look for prices on Depths to rise, and look for other volumes in the series to pop further down the road.  I fully advocate paying full retail for Depths, for any reason.  Buy a truckload and pass them out to your friends.  Or turn a profit, up to you.

Invisibles Vol 2:  Apocalipstick
DC Comics
ISBN:  1563897024
SRP:        $19.99
Amazon Min:   $32/$40

Did Grant Morrison take a dump in somebody's pillowcase at DC?  First they let his Doom Patrol work slip out of print and into a mild feeding frenzy, and now I'm watching the second Invisibles volume creep well past cover price. 

This has exactly the same catalyst and activity as the Painting That Ate Paris phenomenon; it's top notch, well regarded comics work from an industry legend.  The Invisibles may not be a "hot" commodity at the moment, but it is fully vested with cult classic status, and as such should never be allowed to dry up as it has. 

Your SRP makes it a little pricey at current levels, but I still like it (until DC comes to it senses and goes back to press) because of its strong following.  I'll accept smaller margins if I think I can sell it.  And I think I can sell this.  A wise gamer will be keeping tabs on both Doom Patrol and the Invisibles as a whole, because other opportunities may be just around the corner.

The Goon:  Rough Stuff
Albatross
ISBN:     Uknown
SRP:       $15.95
Amazon Min:   $40/$95

The Goon: Rough Stuff is another example of the Gamers wheelhouse scenario - quality material, well regarded, niche audience, low print run.  Since Dark Horse has picked up the property, they have provided an ample supply of this material.  You can get Rough Stuff on the cheap at will.

But there's only one first edition, and I can't imagine that Albatross produced a metric ton of these.  Is this something likely to be sitting around at your LCS?  Probably not.  But if it is, it's certainly worth buying at full retail.  It's absolutely something that might turn up at a local convention or a Half Price Books.

This is an example of  "next level" thinking in the Trade Game.  I would definitely pay up for a NM or better copy of this book, anticipating future demand as a bonafide scarce collectible.

Scott Snyder's Detective Comics Run
 I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating since the phenomenon is getting stronger and extending to pretty much Snyder's whole run on Detective Comics.  This is really good stuff, people are taking notice, and those back issues are very tricky to get hold of.

I'm seeing auction results like this one that are actually quite astonishing.  Not just because somebody paid more than $25 for a couple of Snyder Batman issues, although that would be newsworthy by itself.  Somebody paid more than $25 for a couple of Snyder Batman issues that were both described as having creases on the covers.  That's kinda crazy.

Detective Comics # 871 & #873 (the "white background" month cover) are the most desirable at the moment, but don't sleep on 880-881, either.  One features a joker cover, and the other closes out the original run of the series.  Listen, more than 200,000 people just bought Batman # 1, and many of them are about to fall in love with Scott Snyder's work on Batman.  When they realize the stories began with Detective # 871, some of them will be satisfied with a "Black Mirror" TPB, but many of them will start scrambling for the original floppies.  There's already a legitimate lack of supply on those issues - what do you think they'll look like in six months?

Anything from Detective Comics 871-881 at cover price or less is an insta-buy.


- Ryan

Chronic Summit Meeting!

Mike and I got together on Monday night for a Chronic Insomnia Summit Meeting.  It was time to check in and see where our energy levels were at and how we felt about the show.  We discussed the things we've been doing well, things that could be done better, things we might like to try in the future.

I can't speak for my podcast partner, but I think it went very well.

I will not get into specifics on changes to format and content, and we're not ready to set a target date for our inevitable return.  I can tell you that after Monday's Summit, Chronic Insomnia will be coming back in a form that will be recognizable to those who have been listening.  We've got some prep work to do, and some more self-indulgent lazing about to accomplish first.  But it's coming.  Soon.  For better or for worse.

And in the meantime.....comics!

Detective Comics # 881
DC Comics
Script:     Scott Snyder
Pencils:   Francesco Francavilla


I've gone on record multiple times saying that I think it's a bit of a shame and a tactical error to reboot this franchise.  But if you're going to go out...what a way to go out.

Scott Snyder's run on Detective Comics is the finest work done on the character since Dark Knight Returns.  It hasn't been flawlessly executed, but the feel of it is so satisfying.  Dick is his own man, Detective tells actual Detective stories, the plot lines are suitably dark and sophisticated, and the character work is superb.

James Gordon, Jr. is now one of the great Bat-Villains, and this issue clinched it.  All of Snyder's main threads are sewn up by the end of the issue, emotionally and mechanically.  The payoff is an absolute jackpot, because the double size issue gives the drama a chance to breathe.  In the hands of a different writer, I think this issue would read a little clunky and little too expository.  Because Snyder has such a chillingly good grasp on the sociopathic mind, though, you spend every panel gritting your teeth and hanging on every word.

So yeah, not only is this a very fitting end to the arc and this era of Detective, but it also plants the seeds for what should be some outstanding fruit further down the road.  I'm not going to spoil it.  I'm just going to tell you for the thousandth time - if you haven't been reading Scott Snyder's Detective...shame on you.

Spider-Island:  Cloak & Dagger # 1 (of 3)
Marvel Comics
Script:     Nick Spencer
Pencils:    Emma Rios


There are so many things not to like about this.  Let's see - it's yet another retread, for starters.  It's getting kind of embarrassing at the House of Ideas, frankly.  They don't have one success story in the last five years to point to, (and I'm being conservative and generous with that five year mark) yet they still keep trotting out these "golden oldies" and further dilute the power of an already spent tactic.  Just off the top of my head: Moon Knight, Ghost Rider, Alpha Flight, and Heroes for Hire.  Every book is somebody's favorite, but none of these are economically viable.

We don't actually need a Cloak & Dagger book, and if we did, now is probably the worst time in the world to test it out.  We need to contract, pull back, tighten up, and put out the best of the best in this market, not throw another fish at the wall and see if it sticks.

Then there's the "Spider-Island" factor, or more appropriately, the lack of a Spider-Island factor.  I'm not reading Amazing Spider-Man right now, (it's $3.99 and it's usually pencilled by Humberto Ramos, so that's a double no-go for me) but I don't have to be reading it to tell you that this Cloak & Dagger installment adds NOTHING to it.  Absolutely nothing.

This comic mentions that Spider-Island is happening, and even spends a few pages mindlessly mixing it up with the victims.  But that element is so muted, dull, and non-integral that Dagger literally stops fighting mid-swing to go to her community college class.  You think I'm kidding.  I'm not. 

And this is the sort of thing that I really love about Nick Spencer, but I gotta tell you - if I bought this book specifically to get more on Spider Island?  I'm PISSED.

Lots to loathe about this comic.  And yet, I do have a soft spot in my heart for these characters, I am mildly interested in what Spencer is doing with them, and Osborn taught me to adore the pencils of Emma Rios.  It looks like Spencer is interested in exploring Cloak & Dagger as a loving relationship, not a romantic one, and I think that's probably a good idea.  I think it's infinitely more interesting to let those feelings stay subtle, tense and dramatic.  ( a la the best of Moonlighting and Castle, as an example)

Spencer's take on the pair dynamic is to make them polar and dichotomous, which is obvious... but also makes sense.  Dagger wants a sense of normalcy and the mundane, Cloak seems to yearn for excellence and the extraordinary.  That's an odd couple theme that can work.

Spencer also seems able to address racial issues with a scalpel instead of the 4 pound maul everyone else is interested in wielding in 2011.  When the Avengers come calling for assistance with the rioting Spider-Folks, Cloak wonders why they always feel the need to address Dagger.  When he gets a real conversation, he gets it from Luke Cage.  Now that felt real to me.  That felt like a real thing, and I didn't feel preached at.  Maybe it's just because I'm hopelessly white, and so is Nick Spencer.  God help me, I'm actually curious to know what Hannibal Tabu's thoughts on this issue will be.

series

- Ryan

Resignation Itself

Resignation Itself

So I walked into Source Comics & Games looking for a copy of Nonplayer # 1, but the shelves were bare.  Not that surprising, really.  What had my jaw on the floor was the fact that there wasn't a single copy of Fear Itself # 1 available.  Not one.  And there wasn't much left but crumbs of Fear Itself: Homefront, and Fear Itself: Completely Irrelevant, either.

Just to be clear, The Source may reside in my little patch of Minnesota flyover, but they order with muscle.  They sold out, and therefore blew through hundreds of copies.  It was 1:00pm when I walked in, so they had been open for a grand total of three hours.

I asked The Guy:

"Did you seriously sell out of Fear Itself?"

And The Guy said:

"Yeah, and we sold out of Avengers: Children Crusade, too.  We ran out of Fear Itself a couple of hours ago."

Huh.  Which means they blew through those hundreds of copies in about sixty minutes.  So I guess I'm resigned to lose, and I guess I give up.  However one might feel about "event fatigue", or the wisdom of teaching your consumer to follow an impossible to maintain state of hyper-excitement for products built on empty promises the consumer bloody well knows are empty promises, or the wisdom of teaching your consumer that they can feel free to ignore the regular books...it wins.

Regardless of how brilliant or how poisonous Fear Itself may be, it carried the day.  For April 6, 2011 at least, Fear Itself is a success.  God help us.

A Fine Thing

My last shipment from DCB Service was kind of a monster, at least for me.  I had about 25 comics to chew through, so being the best in that pile is a significant achievement.

Without question the finest comic in that pile was Detective Comics # 875 by Scott Snyder and Francesco Francavilla.

Snyder reaches into the writer's bag of tricks often in this issue with time shifts; sometimes built on plot, sometimes built on theme.  Batman barely appears in this issue at all.  It's partially built on a literary reference.  Often the action is conveyed with a voice over narration.

There are so many places that "Lost Boys" could have gone sideways, or off the rails, or gotten bogged down in it's obviously delicate construction.  In the hands of anything less than a master craftsmen, a story built like this fairly screams "I'm a show off!  Look at how gaudy and overwritten I am!"

Apparently Scott Snyder is a master craftsmen, because everything flows without a hiccup, and what you get is a rich, satisfying, subtle character study of Jim Gordon and his very disturbing son James.

I was wondering if anything was going to challenge Fantastic Four # 587 in my private "comic of the year" race.  Detective Comics # 875 - welcome to the ballot.

- Ryan