Who's who in the Comics Bulletin Universe - Update 2008
Who is... Michael A. Diaz?
Michael Diaz lives in Michigan, but don't hold that against him.
There he works as a Sys. Admin. while fostering dreams of one day becoming a "real" writer.
Most importantly, Michael is seriously addicted to comics, something that his wonderful wife tolerates with the patience of a saint.
He also writes this weekly column that people occasionally read.
"[O]ne of the most positive
and entertaining columns going."
- Gail Simone (Birds of Prey, Villains United)
WLG #169: Where Do I Put This?
Two weeks later and I am ALMOST done moving.
You know what I have learned through all of this? First of all, there simply aren't enough hours in the day, but more importantly, this: I have WAY too many comics. I am not joking, or grossly overestimating, when I say that half of the weight that moved from my apartment to the duplex was in comic and comic book related items.
When I moved out of my parents' place for the second time I had a sizable collection, probably about 10-11 long boxes full of comics, or roughly 2300-3300 comics, give or take, plus a pile of trades. When I moved out of the apartment I lived in five years ago I had a few more long boxes and several more piles of trades. Now, three years later I have the same number of long boxes but about 10 other assorted boxes and crates for the comics I have collected and a few hundred pounds worth of trades.
You might think that I am joking or speaking in hyperbole, but really, I'm not. You see, about 3-4 years ago I noticed that I was going home from Wizard World Chicago with bags and bags of comics, almost all in single issue. I was trying to fill gaps in my collection. The problem was that I didn't like to sit down and read old comics that filled those gaps unless I had an entire story arc. Sure, I might have filled in a whole with seven issues of Marc Spector: Moon Knight but I may have missed the first three issues of one arc and the last two of another. I noticed that I was now starting to fill longboxes with comics that I was most likely never going to read.
Sure, I read SOME of the single issues that I bought, like the Warren Ellis-written issues of StormWatch or either of the two Brass mini-series (a personal favorite of mine, which is too bad because it seems as NO ONE has ever heard of nor read a single issue), but for the most part I had old issues of the aforementioned Moon Knight comic, or Wolverine, or Punisher War Zone.
Having unread comics, and furthermore comics I probably wasn't going to read, take up more and more space didn't make any sense, so I changed tactics and started buying trades predominantly. I spend about $30/wk on comics, and buy around $100 or more in trades at Chicago every year. In other words, I buy around 550 comics a year and about 14 trades, minimum. This doesn't include any other splurges or gifts.
Now consider that I've been maintaining this page for about five years.
That, my friends, is a LOT of comics. Think about that for a minute.
Do you have loads of comics and hundreds of trades like me? If so, where and how do you store yours? Like I said, I am thinking longterm here. Right now I'm in a duplex with plenty of comic book room, but ultimately I want a solution that will work for in a house. Also, I'm more worried about the individual issues. I figure I could always use bookcases to display and store my trades, but still, I'd like to hear any idea you have about how you store and/or display your geek booty.
You can always let me know on the message boards.
For now, let's dive right in and see What Looks Good...
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #5 $2.99 (Grant Morrison / Frank Quitely)I am sure that I have said this before but I think that the thing that I like most about this title is that it indeed makes Superman “super.” To be fair, I can't remember the last time I read an issue of any of the Superman comics (not since the Brian Azzarello / Jim Lee arc) but whenever I read one of these Morrison/Quite issues I can't but help feel a sense of wonder that brings the 8-year-old boy in me back to life. Reading All-Star Superman by this creative team is like the Star Wars trilogy when you were a kid. There's a sense of wonder and amazement that is nearly culpable.
Besides, this issue promises to show Clark Kent in prison with Lex Luthor. Again, the little boy in squeals with glee.
Much like Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns was for Batman, this title shows me how Superman SHOULD be.
Personally, I LOVE it.
AMERICAN WAY #7 (OF 8) $2.99 (John Ridley / Georges Jeanty)Again, at the risk of sounding like a broken record I have to say that I don't get it why more people are reading this book because, yes, it IS that good. The chances of you checking it out now are probably pretty slim being that after this issue there is but one issue left to go, but just on the off chance that you MIGHT check it out, here's what has happened so far (spoilers follow if you don't want to know): it's the 60's in American. The Kennedys are running the White House, there's plenty of racial tension to go around, and to top it all off the U.S. Is also in the middle of the Cold War, just like in our own history. The only difference is that Silver Age-style comic book heroes exist within the world of American Way, but in this world the heroes are members of Civil Defense. They help to protect the U.S from its enemies, foreign, domestic, alien, or other-dimensional. At least, this is what the public believes, but in reality these heroes, though truly empowered with wonderful abilities, are actually just acting. They “fight” Communist foes that are really just other actors. A big show to makes people feel like they are being protected. If you've read The Watchmen you kind of see where this story is going.
During one of these “battles” the Superman/Captain America stand-in is accidentally killed. A replacement is selected and coupled with a space-man like suit he soon becomes the darling of America.
That is, until America finds out that he's a Black man. Chaos ensues, a villain escapes and kills some of these heroes, and then the team splits as the Southern heroes protest the fact that the team's leader is a “colored.” Tensions rise, and this being a comic book, very powerful people begin to punch each other, with everything coming to a head in this issue.
Again, I don't really expect to make any converts, but personally this has been one of my favorite books to come from WildStorm in a while and is definitely worth the paper that it is printed on.
Good Stuff!
BOYS #2 (MR) $2.99 (Garth Ennis / Darick Robertson)Though I wasn't completely blown away by the first issue I am still very much liking this series as I know that some horrible, horrible things are going to be happening to some capes soon.
I think that Ennis has made it pretty clear that he's not a big fan of “capes” (see The Pro, The Kev, Hitman, The Punisher Kills The Marvel Universe, and others for examples) or at the very least likes to torment the traditional superhero. In the first issue he has established that there are some people that don't like the traditional superheroes, in fact, they quite hate them for being so pompous, all-powerful, and godlike. There are some people that would very much like to see super “heroes” put in there place, and if they become too dangerous, taken out. Whereas something similar to this has been seen within the pages of StormWatch: Team Achilles this book takes it in a slightly different directions. StormWatch: Team Achilles was more of a special forces type of team, whereas The Boys appears to be a little more dark, more like a team of “spooks” or company men from the CIA.
This series is warming up yet as the team is still forming; like I said, the first issue didn't blow me away, but things are building nicely and I am eager to see where this ultimately leads.
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #1 $2.99 (Greg Pak / Nigel Raynor)Yes, I admit the fact that I am a serious BSG freak might have more than a little to do with the fact that I cannot wait to get this comic into my hot little hands. The “#0” issue was a nice little preview, but it wasn't enough. Owning the DVDs and listening to all of the podcasts about the episodes isn't enough. No, I need more, MORE Battlestar Galactica related merchandise.
Mind you, I do have my qualms. I don't know how the plot device of a dead character walking around is going to be solved (I won't say who), but I'm not going to rush to judgment just yet. I'll see where the creative team goes with the story before making a hasty judgment.
So yeah, for now I am frothing at the mouth for this book more because I cannot wait for the third season of the show to start (October can't come soon enough!) but I'm seeing Greg Pak's name more and more often lately. Who knows, in a couple of months I might be drooling in anticipation of this book based more so on the creative team's talents. That's not to say that I don't think that they have the good now, I'm just saying that my geeklust at this moment has more to do with my obsession with the show.
X-MEN #190$2.99 (Mike Carey / Chris Bachalo)I don't know why it is but for some reason during Austen's run with the X-Men I came to really like the character of Northstar. I never really liked him all that much before because really, he's not all that different from Quicksilver other than he's French-Canadian and can fly. OK, he's gay as well, but other than that he's not all that different in my humble opinion. Like I said, though, for some reason I really liked how he was portrayed by Austen as I think he really fleshed out the character. Because of this I was one of the few people that was actually saddened to see him die within the pages of Wolverine.
Of course, dead is never dead in the world of comics, so Northstar is back. To add cliché to cliché not only is he back, but now that he's back he's also evil. Sure, we've all seen this before and I'm sure we'll see it a thousand more times as we continue to read comics; the secret is not necessarily to come up with something original (after 70 years or more what REALLY has never been done in comics before?) but to come up with an original spin on things. So far in this arc I think that the creative team has done that, especially when it comes to the near palpable fear that Sabretooth is feeling. Yes, he's a heartless killer and is not used to fear, but again the creative team has done a nice job of telling this story in their own, believable way.
I'm good with that.
Plus, I have to admit that I wouldn't mind seeing Northstar converted back to the good side (another cliché, I know) and once again work with the X-Men.
We'll see.
I would really like to hear what some of the other collectors out there do with their gobs (by that I mean “lots” or “stacks”; not “gobs” as they have in Ireland) of comics. I am seriously looking around me and thinking “what am I going to do with all of this stuff?” If you'd like to share please stop by the What Looks Good message boards (see link below) to tell me what you do with your stash. Or, just stop by and let us all know which books most excited you this week. It's all good!
Until next week,
Peace!
-Diaz
Were Diaz's picks on the mark?
Have your say on What Looks Good at the Looking Good message board.