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The $40 perception of value

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Walt

books for comparison

I posted on this subject a few weeks ago, but have noticed it again a couple times recently.

The pricing—all publishers are guilty, but I’ve mostly noticed it with Marvel books—just seems so out of proportion when books are compared to each other.

Where I’d thought it fairly standard that a six-issue “standard size” TPB would be $14.99 or so…I found that the first volume of Ultimate Comics Avengers, collecting the first six issues of that series, carries a PAPERBACK cover price of $19.99.

As shown to the left of this text, the huge, quasi-omnibus sized Civil War: Spider-Man volume carries a $39.99 cover price. Next to it, the SIGNIFICANTLY smaller in physical dimensions/thickness Deadpool & Cable volume…is also $39.99.

Granted, both volumes contain roughly 18 issues of content, from presumably regularly-sized issues of ongoing series (at the time the series were published). But that hardcover collection is made up of pages enlarged—taller and wider than “standard comic size”…and it’s a hardcover collection. And it’s got the same price as the scrawney-by-comparison paperback.

Really makes the paperback seem like not only an inferior product, but a bad value by comparison, phsyically.

I’ve gotta imagine it’s much cheaper to produce a paperback edition than hardcover. Factor in the extra paper involved by the larger physical dimensions, and honestly…I just don’t “get” it.

$40 is a lotta money…and it’s one thing to drop it on a huge, heavy hardcover. But to see it as the price on a thin little paperback…geez.

Of course, even within the line…the volume containing the only-7-issues Civil War main event itself is also $39.99…and much more comparably sized, at least physically.

These also put the $50 Starman Omnibus volume to shame.

And this is why I buy from Amazon or Half-Price Books, or wait for 33% and 40% coupons from Borders (not even getting into the developing fate of Borders).

books for comparison

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The Walking Dead and zombie flicks

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Walt

zombieflicks

It’s only been a few years, but I’ve become quite a fan, in my own way, of the zombie horror “genre.”

However…I don’t tend to like just “any” zombie flick out there. I’m particularly a fan of George Romero’s zombie flicks. However, I can appreciate the much faster ones as seen in Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake, and the not-quite-zombies-rage-virus creatures of the 28 Days/Weeks Later, and the virus-spawned creatures of the Resident Evil series.

And of course, The Walking Dead, which to me at present surpasses even Romero’s best.

Can’t leave out Shaun of the Dead…the film that was a huge part of my getting “into” zombie films.

What I do not like are the talking zombies, smart zombies, or “I’m still me with memories and personality but I’m [un]dead” zombies. I’ll make exceptions here and there—particularly Kirkman’s original Marvel Zombies mini—but by and large…these aren’t my type.

While I can appreciate its place in all things zombie…even the brain-seeking/eating zombies aren’t my thing.

The Walking Dead season one is out on DVD now. I’ve just re-watched all 6 episodes in 3 nights, plus a bunch of extras—and still have quite a bit of stuff to watch to finish the extras.

As I said the other night when I posted some thoughts on the new release…I don’t care if these featurettes might be available online somewhere or youtube or whatever…they’re all these great things to watch of behind the scenes stuff and interesting…they’re adding at least a couple extra hours of entertainment to the set.

And where AMC really steps up and gains my respect…to best of my knowledge, the extras on the DVD correspond with the extras on the Blu-Ray. None of that crap of holding CONTENT hostage to force a choice in FORMAT.

zombieflicks

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Favorites of Walt: The Comic Shops #6 – Ground Zero Comics

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Walt

favoritesofwaltcomicshopslogo

To my knowledge, Ground Zero Comics no longer exists. Still, they had a fairly important role for me for a brief time.

When I first moved to Bowling Green, Ohio to begin my career as a college student…one of the first things I did was to seek out a comic shop. I’m pretty sure I used the Comic Shop Locator service from Diamond (it WAS around back in ’99?); if not, it was a phone book. There was a single comic shop listed in the city, and I eventually found it in a tiny room off an alley just off the main street.

My very first visit there was at the start of DC‘s Day of Judgment event and during the then-still-going Batman: No Man’s Land event. I vaguely recall buying the first issue of Day of Judgment, as well as a No Man’s Land tie-in…though I’m not 100% confident this memory isn’t misplaced, blurring with my 1999 involvement with Capp’s, Comic Heaven, and Sports ‘n More on visits home that semester.

The shop was basically a small one-room deal; hardly bigger than my own bedroom now. I recall they stocked basically only Marvel and DC current issues…I don’t remember any specific back-issue stock to speak of. So really, the only reason to even visit the shop at all would be for those few issues they did stock…and having no other alternative shop.

I missed Astonishing X-Men #3 for the shop either not stocking it or selling out (I eventually acquired it more than a decade later, at Kenmore Komics) and also initially missed Wolverine #145 (where he officially got the adamantium back—though I called home, and convinced my mom to visit Comic Heaven and get the issue for me).

Bowling Green’s downtown was in decent walking distance of my dorm, and with the campus shuttle service having a stop at the edge of campus close to downtown, that made it all the more accessible without having my own car or a friend to drive me.

I don’t recall exactly when it was, but the shop closed temporarily for a couple weeks or so, and then reopened in a new location a half-block closer to campus, which was a much brighter, larger space…taking on a much better guise as a comic shop.

Though Capp’s remained my home/primary shop with my pull box, I’d periodically make it out to GZ for one or two issues every couple weeks or so….a small "fix" of comics between pickups from Capp’s.

Unfortunately, Ground Zero closed up not too long after, sometime in late 2000 or early ’01. That was disappointing, but I don’t recall it being that big a deal.

Like a phoenix, though, in late-Fall 2001, an RA mentioned picking up that Heroes magazine/tribute Marvel published after the 9/11 attack. On further discussion, I decided to check out this sporting goods store that was selling comics. Turned out to be a small section of the sporting goods store turned into a mini comic shop–Ground Zero comics had been reborn.

It was here that I recall seeking out the start of the Jeph Loeb/Jim Lee run on Batman, as well as picking up and deciding against buying the first issue of Fables. They also became an occasional source for Heroclix, though there was a game shop across the street. I discovered Crossgen at this incarnation of the shop, and sought out my first back-issues of Crossgen here.

That memory leads me to believe I’m recalling correctly that they were still operating when I moved back to BG for a few months after graduation…though it wasn’t too long after that that they again disappeared.

And for being such a small comic shop that–when I started writing this I figured I’d have very little to say about it–this is quite a bit.

NEXT WEEK: Interlude – BGSU’s Jerome Library

Filed under: Favorites of Walt, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Comic Shops | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Booking Through Thursday: Multi-Tasking

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Walt

bookingthroughthursdaybuttonDo you multi-task when you read? Do other things like stirring things on the stove, brushing your teeth, watching television, knitting, walking, et cetera?

Or is it just me, and you sit and do nothing but focus on what you’re reading?

(Or, if you do both, why, when, and which do you prefer?)

Very rarely, I’ll physically multitask while reading. Sometimes while I’m waiting for water to come to a boil, or waiting for noodles to boil that proper amount of time, I’ll read a couple pages in a book as able. This tends to be if I’m toward the very end of a book, incredibly involved in the book, or particularly antsy or bored with the water/noodles.

On a slightly more passive note, I’ll often read while I wait for something that’s in the microwave for more than 5 minutes, or something in the oven for awhile.

I prefer to focus on my reading and ideally have time to read a significant chunk of something in one go. If I’m reading a comic, I want to read the whole issue at once—or at least the main story if the issue has more than one story in it (such as Specials, One-Shots, Annuals, Anniversary issues, etc). If I’m reading a graphic novel or collected edition, I like to also read at least a fully issue’s worth of pages. If I’m reading a book, I prefer to be able to read at least a full chapter.

Mostly, my “multi-tasking” with books is the fact that I rarely have one finished when I start another. And through the years, I’ve found myself with dozens of books that I’ve started, but to this day have not finished. I get distracted by life, or another book, or other books, or comics, and eventually a book that’s sitting around waiting to finished will get shelved, and for the most part forgotten.

Because of more than two decades of reading comics—typically this tiny chunk of a much larger story, with at least a month between issues—I usually have very little trouble with picking a book up after weeks or even months away and simply resuming where I left off…even if I’ve read another book since putting this one down.

This tends to be the primary reason I find myself BUYING most of the books I read, and rarely obtaining them from a library. Library books have an odd feel to them for me, as I see the “due date” as a “deadline,” and a deadline implies “forced” reading, and I have trouble trying to read something that may not be IMMEDIATELY engaging, AND/or that I feel like I’m being forced to read. The library’s due date comes and goes, and being just a few pages into the book or not yet fully engaged, I’ll return it with the best of intentions of checking it out again later.

Filed under: Booking Through Thursday, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

The Walking Dead on DVD/Blu-Ray

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Walt

walkingdeaddvdSo…The Walking Dead came out for home media today.

I’d debated awhile whether I wanted to get it as DVD or Blu-Ray, especially with the pricing being so comparable (and I think Best Buy most closely fought Amazon, matching the Amazon prices in their weekly ad).

Ultimately, I went with the DVD version.

And I have to give AMC EXTREME GRATITUDE for their stand-up way of releasing this.

See…virtually any and every other media release—movie, tv seasons, whatever—it seems that publishers feel the need to force one toward the Blu-Ray edition, to intentionally MAKE the DVD an INFERIOR PRODUCT.

They “stack” the blu-ray with EXCLUSIVE “extras” intentionally left off the DVD release; whether it’s brief featurettes, bonus episodes of something, or whatever…stuff that at the SAME resolution as the DVD content, would FIT EASILY onto the DVDs included in the DVD release.

AMC has put out the first season of The Walking Dead on both Blu-Ray and DVD.

But looking at the packages, I couldn’t find anything different between the two. The extras all looked to be the same. The two versions contain all 6 episodes. Even the box art is the same, except the Blu-Ray edition has that blue stripe at the top, and the cases are obviously the respective DVD or Blu-Ray size.

And given that…AMC has totally earned my respect all the more.

Let the formats speak for themselves. That’s ALL it should be about. FORMAT. Not the CONTENT.

I went with the DVD…but in this case…because I don’t know of any friends who have a blu-ray player, and if we get together to watch this as a group…DVD is virtually “universal.”

walkingdeadtv

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Library Haul, part two

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Walt

Yesterday, I posted a photo of some of the books I’d snagged from a local library.

Here are several I snagged from the other local library. Between the two, the books are around $180.

$180 worth of graphic novels I’m reading, enjoying…but not having to (directly) pay for.

Certainly allows me to read a heckuva lot more than if I were sticking only to what I could purchase myself!

eastlakelibraryhaul20110306

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Library Haul, part one

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Walt

While their non-manga graphic novel selection is extremely…shall we say…”limited”…I did find several gems at the Willoughby Public Library today.

One of the Millar volumes of Fantastic Four, and two of the McDuffie volumes. I probably oughtta look toward requesting the Hickman volumes that’re out there.

And then several of the IDW GI Joe volumes.

All told, over $100 I don’t have to spend to read.

willoughbylibraryhaul20110306

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Seeing my DC collection ‘going green’

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Walt

gagl

It’s sorta interesting to look at what books make up a person’s collection.

Though I generally don’t really pursue any given character’s collected volumes, several have wound up becoming significant portions of my collection.

Superman, of course, is tops in terms of my DC stuff. Batman follows behind. And the last few years, Green Lantern (and Green Arrow) have come to be a far more noticeable part of my collection. Green Lantern in particular, but I lump Green Arrow in as I just sort of see the two fitting together so well. Plus, if I alphabetize, they’re together anyway.

At present, my non-vertigo DC volumes break down roughly into 4 categories. Superman, Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow, and DC Universe/DCU “other.”

After well over a year of NOT being in any particular order, I’ve finally decided to get my shelves properly organized again. And since I have the (now-defunct?) Infinite Heroes figures, I decided to show off the green portion of my collection.

glgabooks

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Favorites of Walt: The Comic Shops #5 – Comic Heaven

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Walt

favoritesofwaltcomicshopslogo

Comic Heaven goes back almost to the beginning for me, my experience with comic stores and the "direct market."

This was a store that I discovered due to being in a plaza with an arcade friends and I would go to on occasion.

Yeah.

An arcade.

Back when we’d go out to these places with all these video game machines, get change from the dollar-changer, and play the games. Before the home gaming systems completely took over.

But that’s neither here nor there, overall.

Comic Heaven didn’t seem like much at the time, to me. It was "another comic store" among the many in the area. They’ve pretty much always had a solid selection of new comics, a very respectable back issue stock, as well as carrying the various collectible cards and games as well as action figures, t-shirts, and so on.

My initial love of this particular comic store was that they carried Spellfire (the old collectible card game based on the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons). I still remember buying booster packs there, and some of the great cards pulled from those.

This shop’s never had a discount program that I’m aware of; nor have they ever been my "primary" or "home" comic shop. Yet, they are one of the greatest, most stable comic shops I’ve known.

Locationally, they’re very easily accessible when I’m heading in to visit or leaving from a visit to my parents and where I grew up–making them often a "backup" shop–and as almost all comic shops vary on what they carry and quantities stocked, they often will have that elusive issue that I missed elsewhere…or they’ll have something simply not stocked elsewhere.

They have a large back issue stock, though I hardly ever look through it. Probably my favorite part of the store is their collected-edition stock. They have a decent-sized (though recently drastically-reduced) manga collection; a sizeable collection of Marvel and DC stock, as well as stuff from most other well-known publishers; hardback and paperback.

There’s also a bargain section of the store with clearanced gaming supplies and books, several 50-cent/dollar bins, and a small selection of half-off collected editions.

Other than actual gaming stores, Comic Heaven has THE best selection of gaming miniatures I can think of. The collection is made up primarily of Warhammer (Fantasy & 40K), with a decent selection of Warmachine (though that seems almost halfhearted…but at least they carry it!), as well as Reaper/Dark Heaven minis, Battletech, and other misc. minis. They also carry quite a few of the Citadel paints.

There are a lotta memories I have associated with the shop. May not be my home/primary shop…but I’m extremely thankful to have them nearby and a fairly regular part of my comic-shopping routine.

NEXT WEEK: Ground Zero Comics.

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Booking Through Thursday: Cheating

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Walt

imageDo you cheat and peek at the ends of books? (Come on, be honest.)

superman075For the most part, no. If I don’t already know the ending, I don’t want to know it ahead of time. The only reasons I really ever have to “peek at the end” of a book is to check the pagecount of the story itself (doing my darnedest to view the page number while forcing myself to NOT visually register the words on the page) or to see if there’s a “preview chapter” of some other book lumped at the end that’ll throw me off by a couple dozen pages with the true end of the book hitting too soon.

Now, the main exceptions come from graphic novels. At the bookstores or occasionally comic shops, if there’s tons of internet buzz and no one’s spoiling online, I might take a peek to see what the hype’s all about. I also have the problem occasionally with hardcovers, where I’ll remove the dust jacket so I can carry the book around and not worry about the DJ getting screwed up. Occasionally while pulling it away from the back side of the book, I’ll wind up catching a glimpse of a page or two at the back, which might grab my attention just enough to see what, exactly, is going on there.

The other primary exception comes if I’m trying to determine if I’ve already read something—such as a Star Trek novel I may or may not have read 15 years ago…I may look at the end to see if I remember it, as I have an easier time recalling endings than I do beginnings.

endersgamemmpbANECDOTE: If you’ve read Ender’s Game, you know that that has a doozy of an ending. It’s that ending that draws me back to the book on occasion (and partially influenced me on Ender’s Shadow a couple years back). Early in college, a friend was telling me about the book, and I convinced him to sum it up for me, as I didn’t see getting around to reading it. Sounded interesting, but having been told, I mentally filed it away as one of those things, and life went on.

A couple years later, for some reason or another, I happened to get a copy of the book, and got pulled in enough to read the whole thing. And I was blown away by the ending…only later realizing that this was THAT book my friend had told me about. And here I was “lucky” enough to not have made the connection, so I was still taken by surprise.

DragonsofAutumnTwilightIt’s this sort of phenomena that causes me to see re-reading books as a bit of an analogy for the time-travel experience, were it not fiction.

Having read the book, if you go back and re-read it…you’re traveling to the past, and re-joining characters who don’t yet know what’s going to happen…but as the reader…you DO know what’s going to happen. Or at least, have access to it. Of course, you can’t change what’s going to happen…but you’re aware of it.

Yet, there are details that slip away, and you might only remember the broad strokes and biggest players.

highlordskiesI’m near the end of Dragons of the Highlord Skies, and something’s just happened to a couple characters that has me on-edge, as I’d swear this isn’t something that happened to them, and I thought I remembered them doing something else. But this book delves back to a time between-pages of Dragons of Winter Night, which I haven’t actually read in a decade or more now…so I may be thinking of other characters.

Just as, if someone were to travel back 100 years…they might know big details, broad strokes…but not have any clue of what roles people play in the smaller stuff.

But I digress from the topic at hand.

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