It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Blurst of Times...
Rough times right now in this business we call comics. The new owners of Diamond Comic Distributors and its sister companies took the reins last week, and many Diamond staff members have lost their jobs. Those that remain are being asked to step up and fill in the gaps, which will add to their already full workloads, of course. Those who can step away seem to be doing so, and who can blame them?
New ownership at a big company usually spells chaos, and this time is no exception. Diamond’s new owners seem to be using the old “ready, fire, aim!” approach – that is, they are letting a lot of people with institutional knowledge go, with the belief that everything will sort itself out. Let’s hope they’re right.
Meanwhile, questions about Diamond’s many services remain, which is understandably making retailers nervous. Will Diamond’s Comic Suite and Pullbox platforms remain functional? What happens to all their ordering data going back years, even decades? What happens to the shops that have taken advantage of Diamond’s generous terms and extended credit to them? All this and more remains to be seen.
On the other hand, in a bit of good news, Aftershock Comics has announced that they have emerged from bankruptcy and are on the road back toward publishing new comics – and that’s great news for those of us who admired their line of smart, fun, creepy comics. I look forward to whatever comes next for them, and not just because I hope to do some work with them.
What else is going on? On Friday my old pal Roger Ash came to visit. I’ve known Roger since at least 2002 or so, when he worked for Westfield Comics and came to Burbank for a DC Comics retailer meeting – a meeting that included a visit to the Warner Bros. lot to check out the sets for the short-lived “Birds of Prey” TV show. Roger was in town this weekend for the Cruel World festival, so I took some time on Friday to hang out with him. He had been invited to a gallery opening that evening for rock photographer Neal Preston, which included special guest stars Devo. Roger got his book of photography signed, I got to ask Mark Mothersbaugh a question or two about Pee-wee’s Playhouse and the new HBO documentary that debuts this week, and a good time was had by all.
We also went to Amoeba records and had dinner at Canter’s Delicatessen. Here we are in the legendary Kibbitz Room.
On Saturday I drove east to Ontario, CA, to check out Comic-Con Revolution – but not before stopping in Burbank, where a friend had posted about a neighbor who was having a comic book yard sale. The guy had tables set up with thousands of unsorted comics for a buck each – but I was mostly attracted by the fact that he listed CDs among the other stuff he had for sale. I picked up 17 CDs for $15 – some replacing old, long lost vinyl, some “best of” collections by bands I like, some I couldn’t pass up.
At Comic-Con Revolution I chatted with retailers and picked up a bunch of comics just for fun, including most of the first 30 issues of The New Adventures of Superboy, a series I liked when it was happening both for the wonderful artwork by Kurt Schaffenberger and the clever, inventive, and sensitive stories by Cary Bates.
I also got the chance to catch up with another old pal, Mike Scigliano, one of the founders of this convention. And, surprisingly, I had a few conversations that might lead to some new work for me.
While I was out that way I also took a detour and visited the Rhino Records store in Montclair, CA. I had been there once before several years back, and it’s a great spot to shop for music – and not just Rhino Records releases, either.
I wrapped up the day with a great dinner at Panda Inn (not Panda Express, thank you) with a bunch of friends, then drove back home.
So, how was your weekend?