Friday means many things to many people. For some, Friday means drinking until you’re happy. For others, Friday means drinking until you’re happy, but then more until you’re unhappy, and more until you think you’re the captain of a Spanish freighter in 1568.
At iFanboy, Friday means it’s letter column time.
You write. We answer. Very simple.
As always, if you want to have your e-mail read on the any of our shows or answered here, keep them coming — contact@ifanboy.com
You know what? Those bastards who call themselves my partners have begged off and left me with this. Fine. That’s how you want it? Let’s do this thing. Lightning Round!
Josh Flanagan
I read comics. I don’t collect comics. This leaves me with boxes full of back issues that I don’t want. I have tried to sell them (at any price) or trade them in for store credit with no luck. Comic shops are just not interested in “modern era” back issues (that’s a quote from the Midtown Comics back issue buyer). I can’t bring myself to just throw them out since they represent the hard work of writers and artists. So what options do I have to get rid of my back issues? Why don’t comic shops offer some kind of trade in program for store credit? The more back issues I am stuck with the less I want to buy new ones. At some point I will just abandon floppies period since I can’t get rid of them. Keep in mind this is not an issue of worth. I do not want these back issues and will unload them at any price, especially if it is in store credit, but I can’t find any takers.
Erick
It’s over. They don’t want back issues because it cost more to keep them and take up floor space than they will ever make selling them. Everyone who wants comics has comics. Everything else is produced in trade paperback form, and the back issue market is effectively dead, except when on the floor of a convention. You know, when I’m done with a magazine, I throw it in the recycling bin. Those people worked pretty hard at that, but I’m not saving it. You want to donate them? Good luck. That’s like finding someone to take your cat. You could send them to troops overseas. Other than that? Straight in the bin is what I say. Our man Jimski feels your pain as well.
Josh Flanagan
I realized that Clark Gregg played a FBI official on The West Wing and a S.H.I.E.L.D. officer in Iron Man (I’m not sure if he is in Iron Man 2 because I haven’t been to see it). Could this be the seed for an Avengers/West Wing crossover movie? I’d like to see President Bartlett lecturing Captain America and Hawkeye on the history of Norwegian Fjords or the legacy of Notre Dame football. The villains could be Secret Empire Republicans.
Doug
Sometimes, when you like two things, it’s okay that they never ever meet. This is one of those instances.
And forever, in my mind, I will hear Clark Gregg introducing Malcolm McDowell during In Good Company. “Teddy Kay!” Forever.
Josh Flanagan
Recently, I had a vision of a JLA movie with a brand new cast of actors in it, and I was pretty pleased with who I had cast. I am positive that some of these names have been mentioned before, but I wanted to see what you guys thought.
- Superman: Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
- Batman: Jensen Ackles (Supernatural)
- Wonder Woman: Evangeline Lily (Lost)
- Green Lantern/Hal Jordan: Nathan Fillion (Serenity)
I still don’t have a Martian Manhunter or Barry Allen/ Flash. If you got any suggestions, I would love to hear them.
Pete
Jon Hamm’s too old, or not right, or not something.
I have no idea who Jensen Ackles is.
I have wiped Lost from my memory, and as such, cannot comment.
You all need to give up on Nathan Fillion. I’m sorry, but the dream is over.
Martian Manhunter and Barry Allen should both be played by Bruce Greenwood. Or Andy Serkis.
Josh Flanagan
After listening to Episode 236, you brought up Invincible artist Ryan Ottley. As awesome he is on Invincible you posed the question as to other books he should give a go. What about Superboy? I mean he’s kind of doing the Superboy thing now right?
Joe B.
The problem with that is that he should probably do a title that people would buy. ZING!
Josh Flanagan
I have just recently graduated from university and I decided not to read a specific book until I left to enjoy or reward myself after such an important part of my life. The book is Maus, I had heard this is one of the great works of comics and cartooning, being up there with The Dark Knight and Watchmen and so far it has not disappointed — very powerful and moving and with my Jewish background it resonates with me on a very personal level. Have any of you guys waited to read a book for a specific reason?
Aaron T. from London, England, UK
No. Why would I do that?
Josh Flanagan
You are my doorway to so much, and I thank you for that, you wonderful, wonderful people… I’m just experiencing a wave of emotion, mostly ecstasy, because I feel like a freaking little kid right now, and that last sentence sounded kind of really odd, or weird, or whatever.
Camilla
I… I… I’m a married man, ma’am.
Josh Flanagan
I am an avid fan of Bran Azzarello’s & Eduardo Risso’s Vertigo Crime series 100 Bullets and I am shocked that you guys have not really covered 100 Bullets, much less made a video show about the series! Yet that was before I watched & listened to the podcasts and realized that you guys (especially Josh) dropped the book around issues 50-60 while you were reading it in issues.
Now I will admit that I do not read issues that I prefer to be a trade guy, I believe them to be more durable and with the right coupon from Borders to be cheaper at times, but I still highly HIGHLY recommend to you guys to try the series again in trades, especially now that the series is finished. I promise you guys that from what others have said that the trades are an entirely different experience than the issues, the issues I can not attest to myself, they are absolutely correct! It really is a very good story through 100 issues, 13 trades.
So this is what I propose to you guys at iFanboy because I have noticed that you guys haven’t really done much Audience Demand, or Challenge Video Podcasts for a while, like when Ron read Sandman and you guys made a video podcast about the series, is for you guys to try to read the entire series and regardless of whether or not you guys liked the series by the time you do finish, you guys do a video podcast reflecting your reactions and opinions, because if you guys remember basically mostly Josh really liked Sandman, Ron liked bits and parts, and Conor kind of only liked the last parts so you guys don’t have to like the series if you do this, just give your honest opinions about it once you give the series another try.
This book is Vertigo’s second longest series ever, behind Hellblazer of course, and I would be doing a disservice if I did not wholeheartedly try to at least suggest, let alone convince you guys to, hopefully, accept my challenge to try to read the series again. And I am sure that a whole lot of iFanboy members would agree with me. Thanks you guys you all do an awesome job with the site and shows. I hope that you bring in careful consideration to this proposal, at least give it a second or two of thought and/or discussion?
SpiderTitan
So you want us to read 100 Bullets and do a show about it, is what you’re saying? Okay, if I start reading now, I’ll be done in 6-7 years at my current rate of reading. Ron will begin reading the week after that. So, that being said, look forward to this episode in spring of 2019!
Josh Flanagan
I am taking some classes on detective work and organized crime like with mob families and gangsters. I was wondering what comics are out there that may be perfect for people who love detective stories like a really good mystery comic and also a comic with the inner workings of a crime family or something like Goodfellas or The Godfather (not to set the bar of quality that high just using those types of mob movies as examples).
SpiderTitan
There is nothing as good as Goodfellas available in any form, in any medium. It’s scientific fact.
Wait a minute, you’re the same guy as the one who wrote the novel in the last question, aren’t you? What do you want from us, man?! You think I’m here to amuse you? I’m here to just fulfill all your comic book dreams like a puppet on a string or something? What’s so great about me talking about criminal comic books? You’re the one who thinks we’re so great, so why don’t you tell me, just what the fuck is so fucking great about me telling you about comic books about organized crime?!
Try Criminal or Road to Perdition.
Josh Flanagan
If Geoff Johns could only write for ONE ongoing DC title, and Bendis could only write for ONE ongoing Marvel title, which would you choose for them to continue? In other words; if both writers had to drop all but one series, which (in your opinion) should it be? It doesn’t have to be one that they are working on now, or even one that they have ever worked on.
For me, if Geoff Johns could only write one series, I’d want it to be Superman. Although I love his runs on The Flash, Green Lantern, and Justice Society, I think that his take on Superman is something that should continue forever.
Geoff Johns: Superboy
Brian Bendis: Anything but Avengers.
Josh Flanagan
If you had a time machine and the only thing you could do with it was to go back in time at any point to either a DC or Marvel creator and give one piece of advice to them that would either change a storyline or the path of their carrier what would it be?
Matt B.
The Sentry.
Josh Flanagan
I’m planning on attending New York Comic Con this fall and hope to see you all there (and attend an iFanboy party for the first time). I’ve only been to one other con (Dragon*Con in Atlanta) and would love to hear how your con experiences have changed over time. How have your con experiences as a site changed since your first con (familiarity with creators, recognition from fans and creators, etc.)? Are there any specific con experiences that jump out in your mind as your best and/or worst experiences?
Chris C.
This one time, I was doing lines of blow off a stripper’s ass with Chris Claremont and Gene Colan. Gene sneezes and blows two grand worth of Columbian gold all over CC’s face. Of course, Chris has a legendary temper and so without taking a breath, he takes a swing at Colan, who’s faster than an alley cat, dodges the punch, and wallops Chastity (the stripper) right in the face. Chastity isn’t having any of this, because she was a former soldier in the war, and she flips over and brings a knee into Claremont’s yarbles that would have cracked the Liberty Bell a second time. Me, I’m flying higher than Skylab, and can’t stop laughing for any of it, when Chastity asks if I want to get out of there with her and her two friends, Jasmine and Coco to go back to their apartment on the beach and see if we can touch the face of God.
I also got Mike Carey to sign an issue of Lucifer once, which was pretty cool.
Josh Flanagan
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If nothing else you know how to entertain.
I think.
Well, I don’t know anything, so I have to cover.
Naw, this was good.
You seem generally annoyed with having to respond.
After picking a fun book for pick of the week, it is good to see some crankiness.
Yeah, I’d go back in time too and have the Sentry actually debut during the time they faked his origin. That way we would all have a long, rich history with the character and he would probably be alive today.
Think of all the great stories that we only heard about in the Siege Fallen issue that we could have actually READ.
Letter #1: I put big batches of back issues on eBay and most of them sell (for cheap). Of the comics that don’t sell or I don’t think will sell, every once in a while I’ll put a box labeled "FREE COMICS! TAKE SOME!" on my front stoop, and they’re always gone within the hour.
Note: I live in Park Slope, Brooklyn, home of free crap on stoops. YMMV
Cranky Josh needs to do this more often. Not too often, mind you. I don’t think his heart can take the stress levels, and his wife and son might object.
Or just let Josh bottle it up all year and release it every year at ComicCon.
intentional or not all of Josh’s responses are cracking me up.
I am re-watching all of MadMen in preparation for the 4th season and I had the same John Hamm as Supes thought, but he is too old. In a few years he could play Kingdom Come Superman in that Kingdom Come movie they are never gonna make.
hahahhaha that was a well needed laugh…. I think (at least) once a month Josh should do an email clean out.
Ah. When Josh gets loopy he gets funny.
Letter #1: You should definitely donate to a local library(if yours takes them) or ophanage. If not that, send them to the Gulf, and maybe the old comics will soak up oil, probably a far better solution than relief wells.
That Geoff Johns/Brian Bendis Q was from moi, but I forgot to sign my name as usual. Thanks for answering!
…it was only a suggestion Josh. : ( lol
I apologize if I sounded ingorant with my ranting e-mail it was just an idea cause of all of the demand for Ron to read Sandman & then once you did that went on to do the video show so I apologize if I sounded a little bit too demanding Josh.I know that you guys are really really busy. With that said the responses were all hilarious! lol
Also thank you for the recomendations & the Goodfellas joke that really made my day! lol
#1, Lonestar Comics will buy some of your stuff. Their system is actually pretty nice. You just look up the issues you have and their website tells you if they will buy them or not, and how much they will pay. You can even send in some extra issues not on their want list and they’ll give you a nominal amount for those. You can choose between a cash payment or store credit. I’ve unloaded a lot of back issues to them, including some newer stuff.
We signed a confidentiality agreement about that night! Claremont is going to kill you!
Quite right too, Josh!
"Martian Manhunter and Barry Allen should both be played by Bruce Greenwood. Or Andy Serkis."
fantastic. hahaha
@Erick: Go online and look for http://www.lonestarcomics.com
They do trade ins toward store credit on back issues. Not all of them, but whatever they are not overstocked on.
@SpiderTitan Longest run Vertigo titles: Hellblazer (268 and counting), SWAMP THING (171), 100 Bullets (100). And Fables is about to catch up.
I loved this weeks letters, do it this way more often
chuckled out loud a few times
Hey Erick. I’ll buy those books from you if they are in decent shape. I mean it.
the(dot)pathetic(dot)club(at)gmail(dot)com
Or anyone else for that matter. I will make an offer on your modern age comic books. Email above. Anyone.
And thus Josh was never let near the mailbag ever again…EVER.
Seriously though I really enjoyed this
that con story reminds me of the Vegas scene in Get Him To The Greek.
One of my local shops buys back comics for 50% cover price. It’s not that big of a shop, either. If you have the time–which I guess mega city comic shops don’t–then back issue stocking is still profitable.
Personally, I think it’s a little weird how so many of you guys just want to chuck single issues out as if they were toilet paper. It’s not just trades that you can read more than once, you know? Single issues are like a TINY bit more tedious to put on bookshelves than trades are, that’s all. And these days, half the time the trade is actually MORE expensive than the single issues are.
But I don’t live in a tiny city apartment, and I don’t buy 30 single issues a week. So maybe it’s different for you guys. But, jeesh. If you really like what you’re reading and don’t care about it just to keep up with what’s hot at the time, then I don’t see why the space of single issues is such a problem. They’re tiny things. As long as you don’t go overboard, they don’t really pile up TOO bad. If you’re having problems with too many single issues, maybe you should just become more discerning about what you buy in the first place?
My shop swims in back issues and has turned maybe like, 4 modern comics of the many I’ve brought them. They buy entire boxes of moderns.
My town is geekier than all you guys’ town I think. Check out pics of the shop -> http://thecomichunter.blogspot.com/2010/04/comic-hunter-sign-is-now-on-building.html
I give my back issues to hobos so they can stuff their clothes to keep warm during the cold nights. Then I light them on fire.
I’ve had good luck selling my old books to Half Price Books. You won’t make a mint on them, but you’ll get enough to buy a few issues or a trade from their collection.
@Erick (i.e. the first letter)- I would direct you to a post I had on Revision3.com boards many moons ago. You can find it here.
The short end of it is that I work with an organization that promotes comics and literacy in schools. We can always use old comics. Deets are in my post.
way to step it up, flanagan.
I’d like to see a Justice League movie where all the parts are played by Eddie Murphy.
I heard on a rival podcast (aroundcomics) that a good way to get rid of old comics is to donate them to kids wards of hospitals.
Bravo! The last one left me wanting more.
Jon Hamm is too old, but he’d be great regardless.
Goodfellas is overrated. It’s good, but it isn’t great and, honestly, Ray Liotta is fucking terrible. Same with Casino.
Run.
Jon Hamm is so incredibly wrong for Superman, I can’t tell you the numerous reasons. He’s a better Batman, and of course, Batman is the complete and utter opposite of Superman. He’s dark, where Superman is light.
Goodfellas is my second favorite movie of all time. It keeps giving and giving and giving. (Jaws, in case you were asking). I’m gonna take this guy’s word for it? Get outta here!
@Diabhol No Way Are Those Movies Over-Rated Man!
After seeing a run of Teen Titans #1-60 went for $25 on Ebay, I gave my Johns run to my nephew today. Thanks to the cartoon he’s familiar with them. He actually seemed interested!
People do successfully sell comics on ebay, but you have to be willing to take pennies on the dollar. Search the "completed listings" in the advanced search on ebay to get an idea of what your issues can fetch.
You also have to be willing to spend way too much time scanning, and listing, and mailing, and… ugh, I’m already annoyed.
Indeed.
Great letter column. One of the best.
Josh, I have the same thing with Clark Gregg and "Teddy K" (an underappreciated movie, that one).
I don’t mind selling my stuff on ebay even if it’s pennies on the dollar. It’s pennies on the dollar that I can buy more comics with and it’s money that wasn’t in my pocket before.
I wish I had a dragon. Or a manticore….nope, a dragon.
best. lettercolumn. ever.
Schools will take comic book donations. Of course, those comics should be age-appropriate… but yeah, lots of teachers use comics to teach reading.
Give them to a hospital. I was in the hospital for few days and all I wanted to see was Superman’s face to make things better.
The Dream shall never die Flanangan! NEVER!
Also,
Casino > Goodfellas
Jaws? JAWS??!!? Yes I get it.
@Muddi – the dream was surrendered when he picked JMS. 😉
If you were doing a direct adaptation of very early Action Comics, with the leaping and the slum lords, Jon Hamm might work. But that’s a very different character than the Supes we’ve come to know.
I don’t think John Hamm is too old. I saw this fanmade teaser the other day. Looks pretty good to me: http://p2pproductions.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2kgq3i There’s a guy (I’ve never seen him act, so I can’t vouch for his chops) named Eddie Cibrian who could pull off the look.
Personally, I’ve always thought Matthew Fox has a good Batman "cowl profile". But he doesn’t have the right voice. I guess they would just use ADR to make him sound like a throat cancer victim anyway.
Martian Manhunter—-EASY. Lawrence Fishburne.
Jon Hamm would do better as Lex Luthor!
The guy can look dapper in a suit, I say!
In response to letter #1, what I’ve done, is I’ve collected up larger runs and then put them on Ebay as a "buy it now" less than what the trade would cost on discount. You don’t get much for them, but it moves them along and you make a little.
I’ll tell you this. If they cast Matthew Fox in the next Batman movie, I would not go see it. That is how much I can’t stand that guy.
Mathew Fox can be bad, but he’s no Josh Holloway!
Whatever happened to Brandon Routh as Superman? Doesn’t anybody think that he can still pull off the Man of Steel? Especially since he was so great in Superman Returns. As for Batman I can not imagine anyone other than Christian Bale to pull off Batman & Bruce Wayne as effectively as he has.
Thank you for the response. I assume Chastity’s real name was Lindsay?
Vaguely inappropriate.
Only vaguely?
Jon Hamm doesn’t *have* to be dark or pre-modern; I think y’all are overwhelmed by your preconceptions.
Routh was actually pretty good, but he can’t be cast if you want to reboot the franchise. If they wanted to continue with the "current" franchise (such as it is), that’d be fine.
At least I would sit down and watch Goodfellas or Jaws again; it’s been years. I will choke a bitch if I have to sit through Casino again. Every character in that movie is an annoying jackass; I can’t stand it.
@Stuclach: LMAO!
Fantastic round Josh. This was definetly one of the better friday email articles. I love the short remarks. Less is more my friend. =)
OK, Brandon Routh cannot act. He was unberable in Chuck! He does look like Christopher Reeve from certain angles, but that’s it!
Hey with all of these casting choices I just got a great idea for a reboot of Hellblazer if they were to do it & if Hollywood would make him British (as he’s supposed to be) I think that Cillian Murphy (from 28 Days Later, Red Eye, & was Scarecrow in Batman Begins & The Dark Knight) would be perfect, b/c throughout his roles he has proven to be both scary & victimized, bring attitude & confidence, and he is also a Brit & really does bare a striking resemblance to John Constantine if he were to dye his hair blonde. But idk I maybe wrong, it’s just a thought. What do you all think about it, or does anyone else have any other casting choices for Constantine or any other comic character of preference?
Does Superboy mean Superboy-Prime, OOC Superboy, or in-continuity Superboy?
No matter which, I tend to agree. Cordon-off Johns so he does relatively less damage to the DCU as a writer, but still has a creative outlet to have fun and let off steam (you know, write anti-fanboy rants through his ink-puppet mouthpieces — Prime trolling the ‘net, really, Geoff, really?) to not distract him from his larger responsibilities and which only require minimum writing effort (‘cuz let’s be honest, Johns is phoning in a lot of the dialog on some of his books right now- a vague outline of the plot isn’t the same thing as a polished script).
This needs to happen once a month or something. Fantastic job Josh.
Anyone looking to get rid of their comics may want to try donating them to a local library or school. And Josh’s suggestion of donating them to soldiers is a great one.
i took a break from comics from 2003-07, when i got back in i realized i didn’t care about keeping them, so every few months i ship what i’ve bought to our soldiers overseas through booksforsoldiers.com. I hope one day to find the time to do the same with my back issues, though i fear donating my Bret Blevins New Mutants or Chuck Austen Uncanny runs might constitute a war crime.