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POTW Archive:

• August 28, 2013 - Batman / Superman #3
• August 21, 2013 - Wonder Woman #23
• August 14, 2013 - Thor: God of Thunder #11
• August 7, 2013 - Quantum and Woody #2
• July 31, 2013 - Indestructible Hulk #11

Complete Archive

Story by Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Millar
Art by Adam Kubert
Inks by John Dell
Colors by Dave Stewart
Letters by Chris Eliopolous

Published by Marvel Comics | $2.25

I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about comic book stores. I know, I know, you’re probably thinking “What do I care about comic book stores? Get to the funny book recommending!” Well, faithful readers, this is a topic close to my black little heart and it directly impacts on this week’s Pick of the Week.

I admit that living in New York City has spoiled me in many ways, not the least of which is good Chinese food– er, good comic book stores. My “regular” store is Midtown Comics. It’s located in an out-of-the-way corner of the city known as Times Square. It’s big (two floors), offers a discount, and has a really great selection. I never miss anything when I go there, no matter how small press it is. If Midtown Comics was a woman I would definitely make out with it. The only problem is that living and working in Brooklyn, I don’t get to go there every week like I prefer to. Sometimes my schedule is such that I have no choice but to get my comics at my… *shudder* local neighborhood store.

It says a lot about my local store that I don’t even know its name. It is known in my head as The Place I Begrudgingly Go Because I Need My Comics And I Don’t Have Time To Go All The Way Into Manhattan. Now, I checked http://www.theplaceibegrudginglygobecauseineedmycomicsandidonthavetimetogoallthewayintomanhattan.com but came up empty, so I know that that’s not right. My local store is the kind of place that most non-comic book readers probably think of when they think “comic book store” and the kind of place that makes progressive comic book fans cringe. It’s dark. It’s dirty. The employees rarely have a smile on their faces. It’s way too cramped to walk around in comfortably. It’s overflowing with toys. It’s also very Marvel-centric. Oh, sure, there are DC comics to be found, and if you’re lucky — which quite frankly, you’re usually not — independent comic books on the shelves (but only if you’re loking for Image or Crossgen).

Now, I’m not privy to their ordering philosophies, but I really wish that I were. From my completely unscientific and probably biased assessment it seems that they only order a handful of copies of the DC titles they carry (less than 10, more likely less than 5) while stocking up on stacks of the latest Marvel flavor of the month. I think this because if I make it to this store after 1pm on Wednesday (!) I stand a good chance of not finding all the books on my list. Ron and Josh can both attest to this having been on the receiving end of many irate e-mails/IMs/phone calls from me after coming back from the local comic book store.

This week I wasn’t able to go to the comic store until Thursday afternoon, so you can imagine how that went. And in case you can’t imagine I’ll spell it out for you: they had copies of two of the six books I wanted to buy on the shelves. Now, granted these were obscure titles like The Outsiders and Ultimate Spider-Man, so maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on them.

I just don’t understand how stores like this one (a) stay in business, and (b) expect to ever grow. While I was in the store hoping in vain to find a copy of Birds of Prey, a woman came in looking for a bunch of action figures. She rattled off a whole list and they didn’t have any of them. When she asked about the prospects of the store getting them in for her she was met with a lot of vague non-committal answers. And that’s exactly how I’d describe my local store: vague and non-committal. Oh, and stupid.

As for Ultimate Fantastic Four #4, it was good. A lot of people find it fashionable to complain that Bendis and Millar are stretching a story that Stan Lee told in one issue out to six issues. I say thee nay to those people. I’m enjoying the richness that the longer format allows the writers to bring to the story. I like Ultimate Fantastic Four more than Ultimate X-Men, but less than Ultimate Spider-Man; it’s a lot of fun. And when Warren Ellis takes over on the next story arc, it might even give Ultimate Webhead a run for his money. Everyone should give this book a shot.

Assuming you can find it on the shelf of your local store.

Did you read Ultimate Fantastic Four #4? Add a comment and tell everyone what you think about this week’s comics!