What happened to the glitz and glamour of foil and hologram covers on comic books? Sure you can get 20 different variant covers, 19 of which are probably drawn by Mister Turner, but gone are the days of straight to shelf flashy covers. Or you could always go to Dynamic Forces if you are willing to part with your hard earned.

T'was the early to mid nineties, maybe the height of the "speculator" craze that brought about so many variables to the fore. Or maybe it was because the comic companies were just trying to defribulate a market that was all but dead. Either way, covers like Iron Man #290 with its gold foil inlay, Superman #123 with glow-in-the-dark electricity zapping from his new duds, Wolverine #75 with a banging hologram stuck straight on the cover and Spider-Man #25 with its giant hologram cover making it one of the coolest covers of its time.

Either way, these covers were exciting. Even though I wasn't slightly interested in any 2099 series except Spidey, I still had to get every issue #1 just for their kick butt chromium facia.

I'm not saying that chromium, foil and hologram covers are no longer released. Only that their prevalance on the shelves is going the way of the collectors card... only difference is, I was happy to see cards go.

 

Earlier today I was lucky enough to be able to ask one of my personal favourite comedians a few questions.

Patton Oswalt has been headlining in comedy clubs from New York to LA since 1996. Since then he has filmed numerous specials for Comedy Central and HBO including Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner, credited in Blade Trinity, Man on the Moon and Run Ronnie Run (One of the funniest movies of all time).

He has recurring roles on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The King of Queens and has done voice over work for Static Shock, Batman Beyond and Aqua Teen Hunger Force as well as Mike Mignola's The Amazing Screw-On Head.



Luckily for me Patton is a comic book fan and was nice enough to answer my 10 questions.

1. What title got you into comic books?

SPIDER-MAN as a kid; DARK KNIGHT as a teenager and beyond.

2. What is your current favourite title?

Tie: Meltzer's JLA and Ellis' FELL.

3. Who is your favourite artist?

Guy Davis.

4. Who is your favourite writer?

Brian K. Vaughn

5. DC, Marvel or other?

Anything that's good -- publishers mean nothing, ultimately.

6. What comic book would you like to see turned in a film?

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATER

7. How did you get your start in comedy?

See my MySpace page

8. If you weren't a comedian what would you be doing?

Managing a Blockbuster somewhere in Northern Virginia, being hated by my employees

9. What tips do you have for budding comedians?

Go onstage. A lot.

10. Autobots or Decepticons?

They’re both lame.


A massive thanks goes to Patton for taking the time to answer my questions. I recommend anyone reading to check out Patton's MySpace page or website. One of the Comedians of Comedy and a damn nice guy!

 

Take a note and roll with it. Ten days now into the new black cracking model cash register and it's all la-di-da-a-go-go. From the vision below, it's true, there are receipts that come spitting out the spooling roll in this version. Not like the previous version didn't, it did, but only on command.



Now, it's all nicely done with details and stats on the Comic Shop: opening hours, URL and a cut and break down on the things in the bag. Generalised of course.

Not really a big demand out there to know each and every comic what makes it into the budget. Far easier to handle when it's a glob and the reading pleasure sets in like a block of chocolate between the holes in the watermelon.

 

For your creepy consideration:

Just wondering if you have any original Gold Key series Twilight Zone comics in stock. Also chasing original or re-issue Tales From The Crypt and Crime Suspense Stories.

No go on the Twilight Zone comics from Gold Key. Thems be nowhere to be seen in the store shelves or in the back issue bins. A truly hard-to-find find, so keep that in mind.

Bit of an upper on the latter titles, Tales From The Crypt and Crime SuspenStories.

At least, from first glance racking. Release of those collected editions are in stock. No idea what the paper smells like, though they're bound to be fresh given their reprint status.

Who doesn't like the smell of comics?

 

Any more unassuming than the 1000th issue of the comic newspaper staple to many of the first rush of weekly comics?

Probably possible.

With nothing more than the number and a little paragraph on the inside, it would seem as innocuous and as samey as any other week.

An extremely great run so far of cranking out the weekly foldie, all undone with the look of nothing out of the ordinary. Business as usual and still chugging along.

 

And so, after the blur of exploding graphite, cracked out wrists and feathered toes, the winners for the OzComics 24 Hour Challenge have been made.

Reading the original post looks a little unwieldy, so here's a regurge...

Judges' choices in the mature comics field:

• 24 pages: Who Knows by Tom Bonin
• 16 pager: The Psych of Gemima Copper by Ricci
• 8 pager: Open all Night by Leon and Clare

Judges' choices in the general comics field:

• 24 pages: The Gypsy and The Astronaut by Caanan Grall
• 16 pager: Starcatcher by Michael Li
• 8 pager: Tea with a Space Rabbit by Jessica McLeod

 

Pencils down, red eyes up and a few broken wrists for the effort. Entries are done and in for OzComics 24 Hour Challenge for 2006.

Double the audience flavour with general accessible entries and the mature entries available now for viewing.

Might have taken them all one day to create the 8, 16 or 24 pagers, but the reading time will be far more than that.

No one actually broke their arms. At least, early reports don't report such ailments.

 

Mixing in a handful of straight laced coffee beans between dunking heads into Red Bull*, the OzComics 24 Hour challenge begins in earnest for the Queen's Birthday Long Weekend.

One comic from start to finish in 24 measly Earth hours. Effects of prolonged, and a day isn't really prolonged, could drive some to the crazy bin next to the bargain books.

Take a look at last year's winners if so inclined.


*Substitute for your adrenalin rush drug of choice. Some prefer just chewing on chili peppers for that added bleed into excitement to keep them awake. Whatever works. Whatever works.

 

What exactly are the reasons behind the "staff picks" down the shipping list every week? Depends. Largely on who's picking it out and what they're looking at in terms of what interests them and their storage space at home.

Reasons why they picked a comic or two for that week might be because of a story line that they're getting into. Or a character they want to see more. Even a title that sparks their fancy from the mere mention of the concept alone. Who knows?

They do, and if they so choose to impart their reasons on the site, you'll read it here. Otherwise, it's a matter of walking in the shop and quizzing them on their picks. It's not hard, we're a friendly bunch, so don't be afraid to chew the fat about why a comic is worth your time.

Flavour to taste, with results varying wildly between the many.