Monthly Archives: July 2011

They start this series of special shows by explaining where Joe is. That’s right, he’s shipped out again and hopefully the connection is better than it was in Dillingham Alaska. Believe it or not, we jump DIRECTLY into how Cory would have told Joe how to order DC’s 52 #1s.

OK, Joe distracts the show by talking about Border’s going under, the Mark Evanier book on the life of Jack Kirby, their favorite biographies and autobiographies, the Captain America movie, how I’d like to see Marvel reprint the old Disney stuff, San Diego news boring the hell out of us, and Cory’s need for pie.

As we get into Tales from the Shop (and back to the stuff on ordering DC’s 52 new #1s), which leads to our ad for Chris B …and there is a CONTEST where people can send in lyrics to the Tales from the Shop theme and win fabulous prizes!

When then get DEEP into how we would order DC’s 52 #1s in September. Which takes up the bulk of the show. Don’t ask, just listen!!!

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With only a few shows left before the BIG REBOOT where DC cancels us and replaces us with younger hosts that don’t have a lot of past continuity, we start off with Joe talking about his trip through South Dakota. Since he was digging through bargain bins, we talk about 90’s comics that flooded the market, why some stories couldn’t be reprinted and the sad fact that the Crazy Monument STILL is not completed.

We then discuss the list of current late comics. I doubt you’ll remember most of them.

As they discuss dealing with low selling books and really late books in Joe’s old shop, we have Tales from the Shop, sponsored by Chris B! 

This discussion leads to what Joe is interested in that he saw in the new Previews. Cory talks a bit about his comics order, but gets into how he spent his weekend reading the hardcover reprint of the series “Blazing Combat”. He gives a quick history of the book and a review (spoiler, he loved it). Joe has been reading Knights of the Dinner Table, and does a nice introduction to the book for people who haven’t read it. Cory talks about his love for the FF, and why he thinks it’s one of Marvel’s best books.

All this and the proverbial much much more.

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It’s the second part of our two part episode on the history of black and white comics and the boom and bust of the mid 80’s, so we have a familiar announcer get us all caught up on what has gone before.

We start up by explained what is going on with black and white comics and how they were affecting comics distribution in 1987 while Joe KEEPS interrupting with his theory about Gilligan’s Island. I would give a long descriptions of what goes on, but I’m just wanting to get the darn thing up and go to bed, so listen to it yourself, fanboy!

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We start by talking about Amish sexting. That’s right. Amish. Sexting.

Joe has had a pair of epiphanies,so we begin by talking about DC’s reboot and what Joe has been thinking about it. This leads into how hard it is to buy comics if you aren’t reading Previews, planning ahead and knowing what a publisher’s long term publishing plan is. This happy note leads us to our sponsors, World Wide News and Dreamhost (where you get $20 of your first year of hosting if you use the code KRAYZ). We also give a quick plug to Chris B and remind you that it’s long past time for you to order her CD. You should go do that while Joe and Cory talk about

Black and White Comics!

We start by talking about where comics started and why they were color in the beginning. Most comics were either color or “Duo-Tone”. Mostly because they knew Duo Damsel would become a popular character!

OK, no one knows who Duo Damsel is, but YOU come up with a joke about Duo-Tone. I dare you.

We get into how EC went to Black and White magazines with MAD and how they tried to go black and white with all of their books, only to be killed by poor distribution. We then discuss Jim Warren’s magazines like Creepy and Eerie, and how they created the idea for black and white magazines aimed at older readers to try to get wider distribution…but by the end of 1976, it was pretty much over. I’d also like to take this moment to apologize from my drunken co-host who spends a lot of the episode making loud crashing noises. Being straight edge, now, I’ll never do that to you.

At the same time, there were small direct only publishers who were publishing in black and white for cost reasons. When we get to the 80’s, the X-Men is the #1 selling book, indy books are doing well in the direct market and Frank Miller was the most popular artist in comics…so a couple of guys decide to parody his stuff with “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”…and Cory explains how a slow news day made it a HUGE selling comic. As Cory discusses how these parody books became big investment items, Joe starts spouting theories about Gilligan’s Island.

Cory even talks about his time writing for one of these companies, with some facts that may surprise you. All of this and the usual shenanigans in Part one of our discussion on the history of black and white comics!

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