Friday - November 19, 2004:

At the last show I did, one of the internet auction houses (the biggest, I'm told), brought their cast-offs. I picked up some beautiful stuff, a decent condition copy of an early 60's Green Lantern, a beat up 1950's copy of Walt Kelly's Pogo and a bunch of movie books. Before the show opened, dealers were in a frenzy, buying whole long boxes. Later in the day, a guy pulled out a book and proudly yelled, "This was my first book." He had done the artwork. Well, I dug the Koalas out of my quarter bin and I must say, I now have some affection for the book, even though it's only a fictional inker I've met, er, created.

In other news, the Disney-Crossgen bailout is interesting. Perhaps HB will get bought out next. What? they're cute and highly marketable properties. I'm most puzzled by the buyout because I have a friend, Henry, whose opinion on comics I usually trust. He tried to hook me on Crossgen back in 2002. I was on my way overseas for a second year stuck on a Mediterranean Island, an island without even one comic store. The Crossgen trades caught my eye because they were cheap and packable. I bought ten volumes for a little under $100. "That should carry me through a couple of months", I thought, "at least until I take a trip into the Middle East in November." They lasted, more because I quickly lost interest than because of sheer number. In a couple, the story carried the day, albeit weakly. In others, the art kept me flipping, but no single book had the whole package. Disney must know this. I only enjoyed one Crossgen title, Ruse. Even they lost me once all of the Sigil stuff got forced into the mix. Is there really value there or is Disney just cleaning up the kitchen?

Site news: I've added Google ads and an inhouse ad to the front page. At the same time, I've turned off some statistical software that was keeping track of clicks and such. My initial clicking around with the new settings feels like turning off the statistics added lots of speed to the site while the Google ads only take away a fraction of a second. None of the banner ads other than the Google text ads are paid. I'll admit the google ads are enticing. They've got my tastes nailed down. I don't know if that says anything about my audience though. Unfortunately for Google, I'm not allowed to click on my own site's ads. Too bad. A Dick Blick Art Supplies ad really wanted some clicking.

I almost forgot about the feeds. I've got feeds running on the front page for the latest Websnarks, CR Briefings, Graphic Novel Review and Webcomics Examiner. If anyone knows of other comic news feeds I should post, let me know. I tried to add Comixpedia and Webcomic Finds but theirs wouldn't work with my reader. Comixpedia's was in the right format and appeared, but it added an extra "http" to all of the addresses. I'll try again next week.

-Bob Stevenson