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Category Archives: Bay Area Comic News

Bay Area Comic Shops participating in Dark Horse Day (June 4)

Dark Horse 30 Years LogoJune 4 is Dark Horse Day. No, it’s a not a day celebrating the life of 11th President of the United States James K. Polk. Dark Horse Day is a celebration of the 30th anniversary of comic company Dark Horse. In addition to extending the Universe of numerous licensed properties, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alien, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, Dark Horse has been a major publisher creator-owned comics including Frank Miller’s Sin City and Gerard Way’s The Umbrella Academy . Visitors to participating comic shops will be able to pick up a Dark Horse Day sampler featuring highlights from Aliens vs. Predator, The Umbrella Academy, Sin City, and others. Below is a list of participating Bay Area stores:

Alameda Sports Cards & Comics
1515 Webster Street
Alameda, CA

Cape and Cowl Comics
1601 Clay Street
Oakland, CA

Comix Experience
305 Divisadero St.
San Francisco, CA

Comix Experience Outpost
2381 Ocean Ave.
San Francisco, CA

 

Dr. Comics & Mr. Games
4014 Piedmont Ave.
Oakland, CA

Escapist
3090 Claremont Ave.
Berkeley, CA

Fantastic Comics
2026 Shattuck Ave.
Berkeley, CA

 

Isotope
326 Fell St.
San Francisco, CA

 

 

Tugg This Movie and Support the Cartoon Art Museum: Comix Beyond the Comic Book Pages (June 9)

Comix PosterThe Cartoon Art Museum is hoping to host a screening of Comix: Beyond the Comic Book Pages on June 9 at Landmark Embarcadero Theatre. The documentary explores the history and culture of comics through the voices of creators, publishers, store owners, collectors, and fans. The screening is a dual opportunity to celebrate comics while supporting the important work of the Cartoon Art Museum. However, the event will only happen if enough people RSVP using the Tugg screening platform before May 30.

If you’re unfamiliar with Tugg it’s a clever tool that allows cinema fans to bring obscure films to a theater with very little risk. I used the system a couple of times as an events producer in Madison, Wisconsin. Most notably, to bring the crowdsourced Iron Sky to the city when I couldn’t get any theaters to commit. It sold out. How it works is a theater determines the minimum number of butts that need to fill seats to justify showing the film. If that many people RSVP in advance the screening moves forward. If you can’t generate the minimum number of attendees the screening doesn’t happen. Guests are only charged if the screening happens.

The Cartoon Art Museum shuttered it’s doors last September due to the high cost of hosting a unique museum in San Francisco. Currently, the Cartoon Art Museum is questing for a new home. In addition to seeing the film, attendees can donate to the museum when they reserve a place through Tugg. As of this morning, it looks like I’m one of two people RSVP’d. That’s a shame! Let’s all watch a film together and support the Cartoon Art Museum.

Rebirth: Bay Area Midnight Release Events

DC Logo 2016In six days DC comics will end the New52 and return much of the DC Universe to the way it was pre-Flashpoint. Some of the elements of the New52 will remain and not all of the pre-New52 elements will return. The company has been careful to not call this a reboot (hence, rebirth) and often refers to the event as a “refocusing.” There’s been mission drift when it comes to the core characters of the DC Universe and it sounds like the leadership recognizes a need to get back to the fundamentals of what makes these characters great. Regardless of what’s actually happening, DC appears to be making some exciting and interesting changes to the way it handles the  Universe. If you’d like to be among the first to crack open this new Universe there are a handful of stores hosting May 24 midnight release events. And, to sweeten the pot, Marvel has also given retailers the go-ahead to put their May 25 books out earlier than the contractually obligated street time. Here’s where you can go to experience Rebirth in the Bay Area on May 24:

Comix Experience
Facebook listing: https://www.facebook.com/events/665375143600710
305 Divisadero in San Francisco
Comix Experience promises a party with plenty of surprises. The event is scheduled to start at 11:30 p.m.

Mission: Comics and Art
Facebook listing: https://www.facebook.com/events/1050705878342794
2250 Mission Street in San Francisco
Mission will offer 40 percent off all DC trade paperbacks.

Cape and Cowl Comics
Facebook listing: https://www.facebook.com/events/822156794595720
1601 Clay Street in Oakland
Cape and Cowl will host a DC trivia night until the clock strikes midnight. There will be prizes. Attendees are encouraged to BYOB.
All DC trades will be 30 percent off. Doors open 10 p.m.

 

 

 

Free Comic Book Day 2016: The East Bay Comics Trail

We started with a simple question: Can we feasibly hit every comic shop in Oakland, San Francisco, and Berkeley in one-day? After mapping a number of potential routes it was determined “maybe, but unlikely, and we’ll probably die.” It would have been a case of quantity over quality. What would be the point of rushing into a store, taking some photos, purchasing an item and grabbing a couple of free comics, and rushing to the next store? In the end, we settled on sticking to our backyard and hitting the East Bay Comics Trail. The West Bay Comics Trail will need to wait for a future date.

In my opinion, Free Comic Book Day serves three purposes. In order of importance:

  1. To bring new or lapsed readers into stores
  2. To get kids excited about comics
  3. To educate regulars on what’s coming soon or what else is out there

I acknowledge I’m not really the target of Free Comic Book Day. I have pull lists at three different stores in the Bay Area, on a daily basis I read mainstream and indie comic news, I attend conventions, and I stay up to date on happenings at my local shops. I do know those free comics actually cost the stores money, so the least I can do on Free Comic Book Day is give back if I can. I made a rule: For every free comic I pick-up I’ll purchase an item. This rule seemed simple enough but as you’ll see below we went a bit overboard.

It’s for the best we didn’t attempt to do a combination East/West tour. Circumstances meant we didn’t leave The Shared Universe headquarters until nearly 11 a.m. This is well after all of the stores on the trail had opened.

Stop 1: Cape and Cowl

Cape and Cowl is the most recent addition to the East Bay Comics Trail. The shop at 1601 Clay Street in Oakland combined comics, tattoos, and a food drive. On the store’s Facebook page they said more than a thousand pounds of food had been collected for the Alameda County Food Bank. Cape and Cowl is a 10-minute bus ride from where I live so it’s now the most recent shop to hold one of my pull lists. Below is our haul:

FCBD 2016: Cape and Cowl

Free Comic Book Day selections:

Rom #0
Mooncop: A Tom Gauld Sampler
Bob’s Burgers
Comics Lab!!!
We Can Never Go Home/Young Terrorists

Off-the-Shelf selections:

Invader Zim #9
Aftershock Genesis #1
Heart Throb #1
Hot Damn #1
Rough Riders #2
Army of Darkness: Furious Road #3

Stop 2: Dr. Comics and Mr. Games

Dr. Comics and Mr. Games had the added treat of a table filled with comics from previous Free Comic Book Days. As a combination game store, it additionally provided us with the opportunity to pick-up a copy of the espionage word game “Codenames.”

FCBD 2016: Dr. Comics and Mr. Games

Free Comic Book Day selections

Love and Rockets
Avatarex
March
Doctor Who
Serenity
Suicide Squad

Off-the-Shelf selection

Beasts of Burden
Renato Jones The One% #1
X-Men ‘92 #3
Wonder Woman Earth One Vol. One
Codenames (game)

Stop 3: Escapist Comics

Since moving to the Bay Area I’ve only made it out to Escapist a handful of times. It’s a regret because Escapist always impresses with their indie comic selection. I always walk out with something unusual. For this year’s Free Comic Book Day the store featured illustrators Ramon Villalobos and Meggie Ramm. 

 FCBD 2016: Escapist Comics

Free Comic Bok Day selections

Attack on Titan Anthology
Valiant 4001 AD
Bongo Free-for-All
Lady Mechanika

Off-the-Shelf selections

E is For Extinction #2 (signed by Villalobos)
Harrow County #11
Niobe #1
Mars Attacks: Occupation #1
The House of Montresor #1
The Punisher #1
The Finder Library Vol. 1

Stop 4: Tr!ckster

This was our first time visiting Tr!ckster. It’s always been on our list of stores to visit but we’ve somehow never made it. Walking in it was obvious why this store received an Eisner award nomination this year. I’ve never visited a store like it. Tr!ckster is what would happen if the Mad Hatter ran a comic shop in Wonderland. The interior decorating is beautiful and relaxing plus they always have a kettle of tea waiting for visitors.  The store’s focus is on independent comics with a prioritization of graphic novels. Sure you’ll find your Image and Dark Horse titles, but Tr!ckster makes an effort to make sure what might be a hidden gem at the average store is presented front and center. I was pleased to find a copy of Nick Abadzis’ Laika sitting on a central display. The title has long been on my “must read” list but I always forget to look for it.

Due to the store’s focus, they couldn’t participate in Free Comic Book Day on the same scale as other shops. Instead, they welcomed us with the deepest discount of our journey. Everything in the store was 35 percent off. When you’re shopping for graphic novels that’s a significant saving.

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FCBD 2016: Tr!ckster

Off-the-Shelf selection

Ink for Beginners
Edwin Windsheer’s Pocket Guide to The Sphere
Laika
The Little Man
Bitch Planet
Rat Queens
The CBLDF presents Liberty
Spirit Leaves #2

Stop 5: Fantastic Comics

Fantastic was celebrating Free Comic Book Day with a signing by writer and cartoonist Kate Leth. She’s written for Bravest Warriors, Edward Scissorhands, and Adventure Time. Currently, she’s the mastermind behind Patsy Walker a.k.a Hellcat. Bonus: they had a Rule 63 Rogue holding down the front entrance.

Fantastic receives additional props for helping me fulfill my secondary mission while out and about for FCBD. I’d been hoping to find the first two anthologies of Josh Simmons’ Jessica Farm. I’d mostly given up by the time we reached Fantastic but as I was standing in the check-out line they were on the corner of store’s indie publication display table. 

 FCBD 2016: Fantastic Comics

Free Comic Book Day selections

Civil War II
Captain America
Junior Braves of the Apocalypse
Science Comics
Camp Midnight

Off-the-Shelf selections

Jessica Farm vols. 1 & 2
Hellcat! #5 signed by Kate Leth
Injection #9
Moon Knight #2
Insexts #5
Second Sight #3
No Mercy #9
Poe Dameron #2
Sex Criminals #15

Stop 6: Jeffrey’s Toys and Comics

Jeffrey’s Toys and Comics had a location in San Francisco for years. They were perhaps one of the longest running stores with a selection of comics in the city. Unfortunately, a convergence of circumstances (predominately, the rising cost of living in the Bay Area) forced Jeffrey’s to pack up and move across the bay. The store is now located on Berkeley’s boutique friendly 4th Street. I never had a chance to visit the San Francisco iteration of this shop but the Berkeley location is definitely much more focused on toys over comics. Walking in we were greeted with stacks upon stacks of Free Comic Book Day selections but it took me a couple of minutes to locate the rest of the comics (at the top of the stairs).

This was Jeffrey’s first FCBD in this new location so I don’t want to be too critical but I think there was a significant missed opportunity. By 4 p.m. on Free Comic Book Day most shops tend to be picked over but Jeffrey’s still had plentiful stacks of everything. We waited in a long line of customers purchasing toys before we could leave the store but not once did we hear the clerks mention “hey, all of these comics are free. Take some.” Every kid in that store should have left with a Strawberry Shortcake, Camp Midnight, DC Superhero Girls, Grumpy Cat, Hilda and the Stone Forest, Junior Braves of the Apocalypse, Oddly Normal, Science Comics, and so on. If you aren’t going to use Free Comic Book Day to put comics in the hands of kids why participate? Plus, you’re rewarding your customers for shopping at your store by giving them a stack of free things. How often does a store have that opportunity?

FCBD criticism aside I’m happy Jeffrey’s has joined us in the East Bay and is providing an additional opportunity for people to discover comics.

FCBD 2016: Jeffrey's Toys and Comics

Free Comic Book Day selection

Archie
Bruce Lee The Dragon Rises
Oddly Normal
Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom

Off-the-Shelf selection

Saga #33
Alex + Ada #12
Art Ops #4
Art Ops #5
Unfollow #4

Honorable Mention: Alameda Sports Cards and Comics

I feel guilty about this one. Due to our later than expected start we had to make a sacrifice and this was it. We’d discussed hitting it after the Jeffrey’s stop but our wallets and bodies were exhausted. If you’re going to do the East Bay Comics Trail the right way Alameda Sports Cards and Comics should be on the journey. Next year they’ll be stop number one.

FCBD 2016: Bay Area Comic Shops List updated

Just in time for Free Comic Book Day I’ve updated my long outdated list of Bay Area comic book stores. The link is here and up in the menu under the directory tab. There have been two stores added since the last update. Yay! One store removed due to closure. Boo! And two address changes.

Please note, the information is pulled mostly from store Facebook pages and websites. Any errors are due to store owners not updating their websites. I also use “Bay Area” loosely because the list only encompasses (in most cases) the 15-miles around my place of residence. There are fabulous shops outside of that radius and I encourage you to explore. If you’re a shop owner and feel like you should be on this list please do feel free to contact me. My email address is theshareduniverse@gmail.com

 

FCBD 2016: JC Lee signing at Amazing Fantasy

On Free Comic Book Day 2016, Amazing Fantasy, 650 Irving Street in San Francisco, will feature a signing opportunity with Stan Lee’s daughter JC Lee. The Marvel co-founder’s daughter has published a memoir called Stan Lee’s Love Story which explores what it was like growing up with the creator. Helping Amazing Fantasy promote the May 7 event is Stan “The Man” Lee himself. The comic shop published the below video on their Facebook wall.

Amazing Fantasy will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Free Comic Book Day.

 

Around the Bay: Cape and Cowl hosts Image+ release party

Cape and Cowl, 1601 Clay Street in Oakland, celebrated the release of the first issue of Image+ with a well-attended event on Wednesday. In addition to introducing comic readers to the new Image preview magazine the comic shop featured signings with Nick Dragotta (East of West, HowToons), Jimmie Robinson (Power Lines, Five Weapons, Bomb Queen), Justin Greenwood (The Fuse, Stumptown), and Brad Simpson (Sex).

From left to right: Comic and Cowl owner Eitan Manhoff, Jimmie Robinson, Justin Greenwood, Brad Simpson, and Nick Dragotta

From left to right: Comic and Cowl owner Eitan Manhoff, Jimmie Robinson, Justin Greenwood, Brad Simpson, and Nick Dragotta

Cape and Cowl is the highlighted shop in this first issue of Image+.  The magazine also features interviews with Marjorie Liu, Nick Dragotta, Jordie Belaire, and others. Readers will see sneak peeks into forthcoming releases from the Berkley-based comic company including Bryan Lee O’Malley and Leslie Hung’s Snotgirl, Steven Sanders and Caitlin Kittredge’s  Throwaways, and Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire’s A.D. After Death.

PBA Galleries sets new Star Wars issue 1 selling record

April-PBA-Galleries-March-24-Comic-Collection-Marvel-Star-WarsPBA Galleries set a new auction record for the 1977 35-cent variant of Star Wars issue 1. During the March 24 auction for Wayne Martin’s comic collection the very fine copy of the comic sold for a record-breaking $7200. According to PBA, “Marvel typically tested price increases on a limited basis before rolling out the increase to all titles, and approximately only 1,500 copies of the first printing priced at 35 cents are thought to exist; all others being priced at 30 cents.”

The auction additionally saw a copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1984 debut issue sell for $3900.

Other highlights include:

The X-men made a good showing as well, with a very nice copy of Giant Size X-men #1 going for $1,080. The book is a highly collectible milestone of Marvel Comics, featuring the first appearances of many of the X-men’s most popular characters, including Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Thunderbird. This is the first issue of the X-men to feature the fan favorite Wolverine, and is his second full-length appearance in any comic book, after his debut in The Incredible Hulk #’s 180 and 181. X-men#94 sold for $300, the first issue in the regular series to feature the new team, signed by award-winning writer Chris Clairemont.

The collection featured a number of wonderful comics from the Golden Age (1930s–1950s), the highlight beingFlash 101 and 104 from the 1940s, the pair of them selling for an impressive $2,700. Issue 104 is considered to be the last Golden Age appearance of the Flash, who would not appear again in his own book for the better part of a decade.

This was the first comic lot to be auctioned off by the San Francisco-based auction house.

FCBD2016: Ramon Villalobos at Escapist

tumblr_ntpdw8rOtx1r1t9nio1_1280Free Comic Book Day! This is the fourth entry in a multi-part series highlighting what Bay Area comic stores are doing on Free Comic Book Day (May 7). There’s a lot going on!

The Escapist, 3090 Claremont Ave in Berkeley, is the most recent entrant in Free Comic Book Day festivities. The comic book shop will feature a signing with E is for Extinction artist Ramon Villalobos. The Stockton-based artist worked with Chris Burnham on the Secret Wars  tie-in. It was a follow-up to Grant Morrison’s controversial run on X-Men which saw the introduction of “secondary mutations” and the X-Men becoming superstar idols. Artistically, Villalobos was a perfect fit for the title because his work stylistically exists in the same family as Frank Quitely, who was Morrison’s original artist for the X-Men title. It goes without saying when Burnham is wearing his illustrator cap he’s also a family member. I guess Quitely would be the Dad and maybe Burnham would be the older brother. Or maybe Quitely is the Mom? I don’t want to gender people for the sake of an analogy. They could all be brothers like in The Brady Bunch. Would that make Morrison a weird Mr. Brady? He doesn’t draw so that doesn’t make much sense. This could use some work. I’ll get back to you next time I have an opportunity to write about Quitely, Burnham, or Villalobos.

The next exciting project for Villalobos will be Nighthawk. The artist is handling the pencils for a story by David Walker. According to solicits, Nighthawk finds himself on the trail of a serial killer taking out Chicago’s power elite. The title drops on May 25.

In addition to a signing by Villalobos visitors can get stick figures drawn by Meggie Renn and pick-up the Escapist’s Free Comic Book Day Comic #4.

 

FCBD2016: Sam Sattin and Chris Koehler signing at Mission

Legend-Cover-2Mission: Comics and Art, 2250 Mission Street in San Francisco, will celebrate Free Comic Book Day by hosting a signing with Chris Koehler and Sam Sattin. Koehler and Sattin have created the most recent entry into the dystopian, animist genre of comics: Legend. In an interview with Comics Alliance, Sattin described Legend as “What if a biological terror agent wiped out most of humanity, and our domesticated animals were left in charge? How would our dogs and cats set about ruling and rebuilding the world? Legend is the story of animals uniting to fight mutant creatures and attempting to restore the world their masters destroyed.”

Living in the Bay Area under the ever-looming threat of  The Big One I often ponder the question “How would our dogs and cats set about ruling and rebuilding the world?” When I’m crushed to death during my commute through the Transbay Tube how will my dog and two cats survive? Will they overlook the differences between species and unite to rebuild the Bay Area as a canine/feline utopia? Would such a utopia be a dystopia for songbirds? Will my cats meet other dogs and finally realize my dog isn’t just a weird looking, spazzy cat?

I try not to think about being at home during the Earthquake apocalypse. I’ve heard too many reports on NPR about how much it screws up dogs when they’re forced to eat their dead owners so they don’t starve to death. And by too many reports I mean one. One NPR report about dogs eating owners was more than enough. Why did I read listen? And what’s the deal with cats apparently not showing any signs of psychological trauma after they eat their owners? (we all know the answer: the cats own us). I’m sorry I brought it up. Let’s get back to the main topic…

The Comics Alliance interview is a great read for insight into this series which drops on May 4. Sattin talks about being influenced by Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake and Richard Adams’ Watership Down.

Koehler says his influences are a combination of “the heavy shadows of film noir, the lyrical movement of Miyazaki.” Both of those influences come out strongly in the Comics Alliance preview pages.

Mission will be open from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. on May 7. Mission is combining Free Comic Book Day with a fundraiser for 826 Valencia. 826 Valencia “is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting under-resourced students ages six to eighteen with their creative and expository writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.”