Waiting for Wednesday @ Collector's Paradise

Aiming high with the store's goals

2009-05-04T07:23:00.000-07:00

Many of you regulars have seen some striking visual changes in the last couple of weeks, when visiting our store. The front windows lost the posters and gained beautiful new vinyl designs. The sign above the store got changed to a new design, with words "Comics & Graphic Novels" replacing the old yellow "COMICS & CARDS". The website got changed a bit too, with a logo re-design to incorporate the new "balloon" design that is on the store front, and to add an "EVENTS" page. What's up with all the changes?

The changes did not happen because of Free Comic Book Day, but you can say that FCBD forced the changes already in our heads to happen all at the same time. The changes are two-fold. The cosmetic, visual changes are just one part of the equation. There is also going to be a shift in attitude, a streamlining of some ideas I have always wanted to implement at the store.

First the visuals. I am not a big fan of being compared to other comic book stores, for the most part. I do not think that is aiming high (no offense meant to any of the great shops in LA, I know we have plenty), considering that comics are becoming mainstream, and we are no longer a "cottage industry" that is invisible to the world of outside retail. Comic book stores, for the most part, tend to want to hold on to older ways of doing stuff, posters on the windows and walls, hand made signs everywhere, dark and uninviting ambiance that invokes "the dungeon" look that Simpsons writers love to make fun of on the show with the amazing "Comic book guy" character. I spend a lot of time in book stores, places like Barnes & Nobles and Virgin stores. Every time I am there, I am happy because they are clean, well lit, and everything is organized and is presented in groupings by theme, author, or character. That makes sense to me. That is what I want to be compared to, even if I never reach that ultimate level of "barnesandnobleness" that I am aiming for. Well, at least in the last 2 weeks, we have taken a big step towards that, and it makes me happy.

Visuals are not the only thing that is changing. In the market where our industry is now much more visible to the "big business", we have to differentiate ourselves and make our stores "destinations" where our customers come for more than just selection of books (graphic novels) and periodicals (comic books). While preparing for Free Comic Book Day, I met a lot of people in the industry, and even befriended a few. This made me remember about the mid-90s when, as a young kid of 18, I used to visit Golden Apple on Melrose almost every single weekend, because they always had creator events. So many books got my attention for the single reason that the artist took their time to come down and talk to the fans, sign some books, do some sketches. I want to re-create that feeling with our store. Free Comic Book Day jump-started that idea in my brain, and we are going to follow through that with a determination as long as our customers help us with support for the creators that take their time to make themselves available. Go to the "Events" page and you will see at least a couple of new things scheduled, and a lot more to come.

Are we done? NOT EVEN CLOSE. FCBD was very valuable to us, as it gave us so many new ideas and new possibilities, and we plan to address them in the next couple of weeks in new and interesting ways. More changes to come, and a few of them will really surprise you, I think. Feel free to voice your opinions on the changes and give us suggestions as to other ideas you would like to see.

Check out our new Youtube spot for the FCBD Party

2009-04-29T13:36:00.001-07:00

BOOM Press Release: MARK WAID & YUAN Bros. Headline FCBD event at Collector's Paradise

2009-04-22T11:01:00.001-07:00

For Immediate Release:

MARK WAID HEADLINES FREE COMIC BOOK DAY AT COLLECTOR'S PARADISE!

BOOM! Studios Editor-in-Chief will sign copies of IRREDEEMABLE #1

OBSERVE AND REPORT's The Yuan Bros. to tag along and look adorable, menacing.

Los Angeles - April 21, 2009 - BOOM! Studios is proud to announce that Mark Waid will be joining the Hero Initiative Benefit Party during Free Comic Book Day 2009 at Collector's Paradise in Winnetka, California. Joining him will be the BOOM! Studios' "unofficial" spokespersons, the Yuan Brothers, from this year's smash hit OBSERVE AND REPORT.

Waid will be headlining an all-star line up of the Who's Who in comics today, including Marc Guggenheim (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, GREEN LANTERN movie), Jim Mahfood (GRRL SCOUTS, CLERKS), David Wohl (co-creator of WITCHBLADE, DARKNESS) Mike Kunkel (HEROBEAR AND KID), and more! Collector's Paradise Free Comic Book Day 2009 happening will be host to a full day of events for fans of every stripe and age:
Signings: Featured guests will be onsite from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Product will be available for purchase to sign, including the TRIBUTE TO MIKE WIERINGO HERO INITIATIVE EXCLUSIVE - FREE with your Ralph's card and registering with HERO! Or you can bring your own!

Sketches: Jim Mahfood, Joe Benitez and Mike Kunkel can be yours for $10 a sketch, with all proceeds going to the Hero Initiative!

Auctions: Live eBay auctions of items donated by guests, starting May 2nd at 12:00PM Pacific Time, with all proceeds going to the Hero Initiative!

Professional Photo Studio: Customers (and their kids) will be able to take photos with their favorite writers and artists , as well as costumed characters! Prints will be available to purchase on the Collector's Paradise website (www.comicsandcards.net) and pick up in the store, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Hero Initiative!

Benefit: 10% of all the day's receipts will be going to HERO INITIATIVE.

Collector's Paradise is located at 7131 Winnetka Avenue, Winnetka, CA 91306. For more information, please call Collector's Paradise at 818-999-9455 or check the website at http://comicsandcards.net

About BOOM! Studios
BOOM! Studios (www.boom-studios.com) is a unique publishing house specializing in high-profile projects across a wide variety of different genres from some of the industry's biggest talents, including Philip K. Dick's DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?, The Henson Company's FARSCAPE, Pixar's THE INCREDIBLES, CARS, and TOY STORY, as well as Disney's THE MUPPETS. This summer, things heat up as BOOM! enters a co-publishing deal with Fox Atomic, a division of 20th Century Fox. Founded by the creator of the TV show EUREKA, Andrew Cosby, and his partner Ross Richie, 2009 marks BOOM! Studios' fourth anniversary.

New Collector's Paradise FACEBOOK page...

2009-04-20T10:08:00.001-07:00

I have been putting this off for a long time, but thanks to Jonathan, one of our regular customers, we now have a new and shiny Facebook Page. IF you are on Facebook, please stop by and check it out, and if you feel like it become "FANS" of the store, we may do special "facebook only" offers in the future depending on the number of "fans" we have.

You can also see my personal Facebook page HERE. Let's be friends!

Help us give away $250 in graphic novels !

2009-04-13T00:02:00.000-07:00

For the last 2-3 months, I have been doing a lot of preparation for the big party on May 2nd, FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. We are sure to have an outstanding event this year, even more so than we usually do, because of our high profile Special Guests and our great charity that we are doing this for. While I was trying to brainstorm how to get people into the store, and trying to think demographics that I wanted to attract, one thing struck me as something that I do not think we have accomplished as a comic book store. I do not think we have reached the young kids as well as their parents as much as I have wanted to.

And it's not for the lack of trying. For the last few years, we have done things QUIETLY behind the scenes to work with schools and libraries. A year ago, we became the Official Reseller of Graphic Novels to the Los Angeles Public Library System. We sponsored the Summer Reading program at the 7 West Valley branches of LAPL around us. We have done numerous donations to several school programs, including one we do Every Year for one of our friends, as well as the school where my two kids go to. We have paid a lot of attention to creating a vast and friendly "KIDS CORNER" in the store that is impossible to miss, and is located at the very front of the store. We even have Kids Sizes T-shirts now in stock, something I never thought we'd have until about 3 weeks ago.

So why is it I think that we are not doing enough? Partially, it's my frustration with the bureaucracy of the LA Public Libraries, with a ZERO Budget available for purchases such as these. We can only do so much with Donations. Another frustration is the difficulty I find trying to prove to school principles something I have known for a few years: Comics are one of the best ways to get their kids to read! My two children grew up reading comic books, and because of them, are both great readers, higher than their grade level.

All this frustration has been making me try to create a way for the people in charge of the libraries and schools to decide to WANT to embrace comics, and I think I may have found an interesting approach. We are going to contact every school in the neighborhood. IF the management agrees to this, we'll give them pre-printed coupon forms which they would give to their kids to take home. The forms will say something like this:

Print your school name in the space provided, and bring this coupon back to Collector's Paradise on May 2, FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. With a minimum $5 purchase (mainly to help the charity) your school will become eligible. The school that brings the MOST coupons will receive a $250 Graphic Novel Library (all age appropriate of course) courtesy of Collector's Paradise.

What that does not say is that we are likely to pick more than one winner. Our goal is to get comics into school libraries, and we'll try our hardest to do so. We'll award 2nd, 3rd places and so on. Any school that really promotes this to their kids and shows initiative in doing this, will receive something, even if it's a stack of 5-6 graphic novels. Something is better than nothing.

Would you like to get involved? Do you have kids that go to a school? Talk to their school principle and have them contact me. We'll get the coupons to them. I will be going to quite a few schools, but I can not cover them all. Want to see a new generation of kids reading comics? Help us spread the message, help us find a way to get the message across to people who need to see it.

HERO Initiative plugs Collector's Paradise Benefit

2009-04-08T22:52:00.001-07:00

We got a big plug from HERO on their website and in their blog. That should bring some people. The event is growing. Check out the FCBD Page for our new HERO EXCLUSIVE Benefit comic book.

HERO PLUG IS HERE

IRREDEEMABLE #1 IS HERE, WAID still EVIL, Reviewed

2009-03-29T17:43:00.001-07:00

I know you have seen me wearing the "MARK WAID IS EVIL" t-shirt for the last few months, and I am sure some of you have been wondering, "what the hell do you have against Mark Waid?". Well, actually I don't have anything AGAINST Waid, as a matter of fact I am a huge fan. Why the shirt then? Because for the last 2-3 months I have been promoting a new comic book series, IRREDEEMABLE, by Waid, and making sure you remember it by now, because the book is hitting the shelves, and your subscription boxes, this coming Wednesday. Read it this morning, and my review is below. BTW, on May 2nd, you can tell Mark Waid in person what you thought about it.

Before I give you my review, here is an excerpt from Grant Morrison's letter that is published in the back of this first issue. He writes,

"Irredeemable is brilliant, hard-edged, progressive super-hero comics... it's a page-turning monster of a read. Irredeemable dares to show us what might happen when the best in us is finally brought low by the worst in us. And more frighteningly, it shows us what happens next".

Not much one can add to that. I will say, the art is wonderful, very reminiscent of D. Robertson's style on "The Boys". It fits the book's dark and moody style like a very tight glove. The story is not exactly what you expect, and it goes farther than most books trying to show you the grimness of the situation. There are a couple of nice twists, and by the end of the issue, you can't wait to see what happens next. It's everything you can and should expect from Mark Waid and it delivers completely.

Earlier, I took a chance and subscribed many of my subscription customers for this book. I don't go this aggressive most of the time, but I believe in this book and, as always with books that I like a lot, I am offering this book to any of my customers on 100% RETURNABLE basis. If you do not like it, bring it back and you get full credit, no questions asked.

And, on May 2nd, stop by the store for our HERO INITIATIVE BENEFIT EVENT, and tell Mark just how evil he really is.

Thoughts from the Memphis ComicsPRO Meeting...

2009-03-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have noticed the fact that I was not at the store last week. I spent the week in Memphis, the home of Elvis and some really amazing BBQ, and the host city for this year's ComicsPRO meeting. ComicsPRO is a trade organization for Comic Book Retailers, a place for us to stop being single voices that get drowned out by the big box stores and a distributor who thinks they are a monopoly, and to unite and organize and force matters that need to be heard. I have been an active member for close to 2 years now, and have seen the growth and potential that this type of organization has. The changes introduced into our industry as a DIRECT result of actions by ComicsPRO on behalf of its members are numerous, but none are greater than the fact that Diamond, and many of its Vendors (Marvel, DC, Top Cow, Image, Boom, Dark Horse just to mention a few that attended) are taking their time to go to these meetings just to present us with their materials and to listen to our concerns.

So what did I get out of Memphis? A few things:

DC Comics is going to have a GREAT year. Dan Didio is one of the most genuine fans I have ever met in my life. I know he has a certain reputation, one that I probably have talked about myself, but meeting the guy and spending a night in an open atmosphere, over drinks at the bar, gives one a new insight. Not everything is as it seems, not everything is a Success at DC and Dan will be the first to tell you that, but he's really trying hard and I think a lot of stuff they have been doing quietly over the last couple of years will pay out big this year.

- Blackest Night will be a HUGE success. We got a chance to meet Johns, and read the FCBD Blackest Night #0 issue, and I must say, I am completely impressed.
- The new Wednesday Comics look great. I do not think this will be a huge commercial success in a way that 52 was, but it will be a great Artistic endeavor that will prove that it's not all about money in this industry, there is creativity and a sense of wonder that is gone from many of today's books.
- This is going to be an amazing year for VERTIGO. A couple of titles that I read previews of look amazing. Watch out for THE UNWRITTEN, an amazing book that just screams Vertigo, from the great Lucifer team of Mike Carey and Peter Gross. The first issue (which is going to be 40 pages for ONE DOLLAR) is so entertaining and sets up so many great possibilities, it may be one of the best "for the money spent" comics I have read in a long time. Fans of Sandman, Fables and the Harry Potter movies will be instant readers on this book. This is the TRUE original Vertigo.

Image Comics is going to be stepping things up. Saw and read the first issue of VIKINGS, a new "golden age size" book, that at first sounds like Northlanders, but is definitely something else. The art and the packaging will get you to try it and the story will definitely get you coming back. Top Cow has been one of the biggest supporters of ComicsPRO for a couple of years, and it's starting to show. Retailer feedback and direct communication has led to some great initiatives, one of which many of you took advantage of last week, with the FREE issue of Witchblade #125, the first part of the "War of Witchblades" crossover. The way the company is promoting their great quality books makes me want to help and promote them. IF you have not read their books, CHECK THEM OUT. It's FREE, ask me this week for your free copy if you have not done so already.

Marvel Comics is Marvel Comics. What you see is what you get. They own the marketplace and they know it. But we were told in blunt terms that we are their #1 channel and that they are in no way looking to get out of printing comics and "go digital". That is reassuring considering they did it knowing it was recorded for the archives, and can be used later against them.

Overall, while we learned a lot about things coming out, the biggest success for myself and the store was what I learned about running a successful shop. My head and my notebook is so full of ideas, thing I can't wait to share with you. You will see some minor and MAJOR changes in the store in the coming weeks, and I hope a year from now, by the time I go to the next ComicsPRO meeting, I will be very proud of what I accomplished in the year to come.

Collector's Paradise FREE COMIC BOOK DAY Plans: HERO Initiative Benefit Party with Mark Waid, etc.

2009-03-15T23:29:00.000-07:00

If you are a long time customer, you know we always go ALL OUT for FCBD. Well, this year, I thought we bring it up a FEW notches. The plans started gathering in my head last year, around November or so, when my friend Jim McLaughlin from HERO Initiative came by to bring us some of those really cool STAN LEE books that HERO put out. We started talking about how we can organize something really REALLY cool for FCBD, and started brainstorming ideas, names and all the other fun stuff.

First person to sign on was MIKE KUNKEL, the amazing creator of "HEROBEAR and the Kid" and the Super-cute new "Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!" book for DC. I met Mike last year at Wizardworld LA, and we talked about the possibility of doing something for FCBD. Mike is an amazing artist and you can see his stuff on his site, THE ASTONISH FACTORY.

Next I talked to my good friend and customer JT KRUL, who is a very good writer, whose credits include MOST of the ASPEN COMICS line, plus Red Sonja, X-men Unlimited, and the really good Joker's Asylum: Poison Ivy one shot. JT spent his FCBD with us last year, and graciously agreed to do it again. You can see JT's website HERE.

Through JT I got in touch with JOE BENITEZ, a great artist who's been producing amazing stuff for the last few years, including Darkness, Weapon Zero, Magdalena (who he created), in addition to his recent stint on TITANS. I have known Joe for many years, as he used to be a regular customer until he moved out of the Valley. It's great to have him back, specially since I am a HUGE fan of his art, which you can see on his site, Wraithborn.com.

I have been a huge fan of our headlining writer, Mark Waid, for a long long time. His Flash and Fantastic Four runs are still probably the best I have ever read on those titles, and books like Kingdom Come and Empire are some of my all-time favorite reads. His new book, Irredeemable, is coming out next month from Boom Studios, a company that he runs as their Editor-in-Chief, and I am SUPER proud to have Mark as our guest, as well as the rest of Boom, who will be on hand (hopefully) to PIMP their great line of books.

Now, do you think we are done???? Not even close. I wanted to start promoting the event this week, thus this blog entry and a new page on the website, but I have a feeling that our list of guests will improve dramatically in the next few days. The webpage is just a start, keep checking it weekly for updated information.

In addition to our amazing list of guests, we'll have a bunch of great things, including Costumed Characters, Special Sale, Raffles for products provided by our guests, SKETCHES for HERO INITIATIVE by our Artist Guests and a ton more stuff.

We really look forward to providing all our customers with the best FCBD Experience possible. Thank you all for being loyal patrons of our business.

WITCHBLADE #125 "Let us win you over" PROMOTION !

2009-03-15T23:22:00.000-07:00

The “Let Us Win YOU Over” initiative is a yearlong campaign by Top Cow Productions to give out free copies of its regular comics to potential fans in the U.S. and Canada through participating comic book stores. Each month, a different set of stores, each month a different free comic. The stores vary by geography and demographics. Top Cow has partnered with ComicsPRO to bring this promotion to fans and all of February’s retailers are members of ComicsPRO.

Witchblade #125 is an over-sized 40-page comic, which launches the six part “War of the Witchblades” storyline. Since the events of First Born, Detective Sara Pezzini and dancer Danielle Baptiste have shared the mystical gauntlet, the Witchblade; but recently cracks have appeared in their relationship. The story is written by regular writer Ron Marz and ongoing artist Stjepan Sejic. The issue will be in comic shops on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009.

You can sign up for this promotion using the "WITCHBLADE FREE ISSUE" listing in this week's "NEW COMICS" section of the subscription system. Doing so will NOT sign you up for WITCHBLADE the title, which means if you like it, you need to then manually sign up for Witchblade or ask us to sign you up at the register. IF you are already signed up for Witchblade, you will receive your copy for FREE this week as a THANK YOU for being a follower of this title.

Watchmen Movie review by Edward (Spoiler Free)

2009-03-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

So, I know you are all dying to know my opinion about this movie (or I am totally full of myself, either way). I got several emails today asking me about it, so I think I will share it below.

Despite numerous problems with the movie, I really enjoyed Watchmen, and will see it again. I am not a movie theory buff, nor do I go into real serious examination of genres, styles and "coulda-been". My gut reaction right after seeing a movie is usually how I feel about it later, so please keep that in mind. I came out of the theater feeling like I just watched one of my favorite books come alive, and not in the dry-and-boring-why-did-I-watch-this way that I felt about Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code", which was faithful and yet completely soulless. I felt like Watchmen did a good job making both the fans and the people who have not read the book happy. I have a suspicion that it will impress more those who have not read the source material, and have not had exposure to the amazing character development and depth of Alan Moore's characters in the book. But that is the beauty of having been introduced to Watchmen through watching the movie. The book, read after watching the movie, will be that much more impressive and there is something RIGHT about that.

Of course, after the initial reaction wore off, I started remembering the things that threw me off about the movie. There are a couple of "WTF" moments in it that go against the grain of someone who's read the book as many times as I have. Without giving things away too much, here are my two main "beefs" with the movie.

1. Acting - The two female leads are so outmatched by two out of three male leads, that their lack of skill really stands out (in a bad way). Malin Akerman is sexy as hell, but does not carry the scenes at all, and she's got the better of the two female performances. Carla Gugino, who looks like a dead ringer for the original Silk Spectre, feels so wrong with the "old woman" make-up on her face, that it makes me wonder why they did not just cast a different actress for the role of the older Spectre. The scenes between the two of them are unwatchable and are void of any energy. Matthew Goode, while not a bad actor per se, has an accent that comes in and out, and seems "boyish" in the role that should have been given to someone with a lot more presence. Younger Robert Redford is the look they should have gone for, IMHO, and there are a few actors that could have fit the bill. Goode does not look "right" as the young costumed hero in flashbacks (in the garish rubber nipple ring suit), nor does he pull off the older persona. And for a character who is supposed to feel like the IDEAL Dedicated Superhero, he comes off a bit creepy throughout the movie.

2. Gratuitous violence - in the book, the violence is shown in quick bits and pieces and is very understated on purpose. I completely understand the need for added action scenes in the movie, and they would not have bothered me, if not for the Superhuman-like strength the characters exhibit, with giant leaps and wall crushing blows that do not seem to injure the actual combatants. And don't get me started on the "alley" scene (if you have read the book, you know what that is), where our supposed "heroes" dispatch the attackers with such brutal and deadly violence that it made me cringe.

On the other hand, the movie has a couple of absolutely masterful acting performances by Jackie Earle Haley and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and a ton of moments that make real fans giddy with joy. Overall, I would say this is a must-see movie that deserves a chance to impress.

AFTER WATCHMEN, WHAT'S NEXT?

2009-02-17T14:51:00.000-08:00

DC COMICS ANNOUNCES “AFTER WATCHMEN, WHAT’S NEXT?” PROGRAM

The excitement surrounding the upcoming WATCHMEN feature film has brought new readers to the graphic novel format. Now that they’ve read WATCHMEN, where do they go next? DC is helping to point them in the right direction with DC Comics’ “AFTER WATCHMEN, WHAT’S NEXT?” program. DC has produced five key titles priced at just $1.00 each!

OUR STORE SPECIAL: If you buy any one of these (they ship one per week starting March 11th) and return it towards the purchase of the Graphic Novel it is part of, you get your money back, PLUS get $1 off that graphic novel.

SUBSCRIPTION CUSTOMERS: All of these are already in the Online Subscription System. Search for SPECIAL EDITION and add them to your list if you are interested.

SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING #21 SPECIAL EDITION
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Stephen Bissette & John Totleben
Cover by Tom Yeates
On sale March 11; 32 pg, FC, $1.00 US • MATURE READERS

TRANSMETROPOLITAN #1 SPECIAL EDITION
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Darick Robertson & Jerome K. Moore
Cover by Geof Darrow
On sale March 18; 32 pg, FC, $1.00 US • MATURE READERS

PLANETARY #1 SPECIAL EDITION
Written by Warren Ellis
Art and cover by John Cassaday
On sale March 25; 32 pg, FC, $1.00 US

PREACHER #1 SPECIAL EDITION
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Steve Dillon
Cover by Glenn Fabry
On sale April 1; 48 pg, FC, $1.00 US • MATURE READERS

IDENTITY CRISIS #1 SPECIAL EDITION
Written by Brad Meltzer
Art by Rags Morales & Michael Bair
Cover by Michael Turner
On sale April 8; 48 pg, FC, $1.00 US

Who's reading the Watchmen ?

2009-02-16T09:21:00.001-08:00

You would think I am preaching to the choir here, but yet, every day I am surprised by how many of our regular comic book customers have yet to read the book that is considered by most the comic book "holy book". The older readers have read it of course, guys in their 40s remember picking up the issues as they came out. It's the newer 20-something crowd that has somehow managed to read everything BUT it, and that is scary.

I did not get into comics until I was in my early 20s. I remember the day I got my first comic book. I was working at Fairfax High School on Melrose Ave., and that day the whole world of news was abuzz with the "Superman is dead" story. You could not do anything without being reminded that Superman was now dead. I had to see with my own eyes, so I went to Golden Apple Comics (right across the street) and bought my first comic book. Within a week I had all the "doomsday" issues and my fate was sealed. Because my history with comics is not that long, I still remember the first time I read many of my favorite books, like Batman Year One, Kingdom Come, Earth X, Inhumans (by Jae Lee, possibly the most under read book ever). But I can not remember the first time I read Watchmen. Maybe it's because I have read it so many times since I got it. 2-3 times a year faithfully since the early 90s I have a desire to read it again, even though I already know it from cover to cover. I have always been amazed how I ALWAYS find something new that I have not seen the times before. I can't believe that I am still surprised and fascinated by the ending, even though I know it's coming every single time. I still love the characters, who are as vivid and exciting as any other character in comics, all flawed and yet all amazing.

A customer, who is a very well known movie critic, came in on Friday, after going to the Press screening of the movie. I did not need to ask him what he had thought of the movie, the answer was in his eyes, in his enormous grin, and in his body language, before he even told me. But it was the way he told me that I found most reassuring. He silently put both of his hands forward and did a "I am not worthy" bow, and at that time the load of anticipation and fear lifted completely. I know this guy's taste in movies and I trust him with this one. I told him about the tickets we (Nick and I) had already bought for the opening screening at Archlight (did you know they are already available?)

So, where am I going with this? Well, obviously I am trying to sell the book. But for the first time in all of my MANY attempts to get people to read a comic book I believe in, I feel like I am possibly doing them a favor. I honestly do not think someone can truly call themselves a TRUE comic book fan if they have not read Watchmen. It is THE book that our industry is measured by, and before you see the amazing movie adaptation come March, do yourself a favor and read the original book the way it was meant to be seen, IN PRINT.

It's confirmed... Mark Waid is TOTALLY EVIL !!!

2009-02-14T10:34:00.000-08:00

Who else would announce it to public by wearing that shirt? Pure evil genius. Check out my post a couple of posts down about the true meaning of this EVIL event.

NEIL GAIMAN WRITES THE LAST BATMAN STORY

2009-02-09T00:46:00.000-08:00

Let's go back to September 1986. DC Comics had planned a big event called "Crisis on Infinite Earth" which they knew would be a Reboot of the whole Universe. They knew specifically that the reboot would affect Superman the most, leading to the famous John Byrne reboot with the "Man of Steel" mini-series. They wanted to end the adventures of Silver Age Superman in style, so they hired one of the best "new" writers of the time, Alan Moore, to write the famous final issues of Superman (Vol. 1) (#423) and Action Comics (#583). They called the 2 part story "Whatever happened to the Man of Tomorrow".

Let's get back to our time. DC Comics is coming off their controversial "Final Crisis" & "Batman R.I.P." series by Grant Morrison (who many think of as a stylistic successor to Alan Moore). Batman is (seemingly) dead at the end of the 6th issue of Final Crisis, at least to the people in his life. They are ending both Batman and Detective Comics series (for a short time of course) and are focusing on his replacement in "Battle for the Cowl". Would not this be a perfect time to do something special? Well, that they did.

Coming out this Wednesday, is the first part of "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?", an amazing 2-part story by NEIL GAIMAN (Sandman, Coraline, 1602) and Adam Kubert (Batman, Wolverine, 1602). The 2 parter will be a one of a kind story that should be treasured by Batman fans, and a book that they CAN NOT miss. I honestly can say that I have NEVER EVER looked so much forward to reading a Batman book as I am today. Wednesday can not come fast enough. A very cool thing about the art in this book is that Gaiman requested to artist Andy Kubert that the artwork throughout the series represented various eras of notable artists that had worked on Batman. Major names of mention by Kubert include Jerry Robinson, Carmine Infantino, Neal Adams, and of course, Batman's creator Bob Kane. The book reflects on Batman as a character throughout his whole career. Two regular covers are available (Alex Ross and Adam Kubert) and a rare 1:50 SKETCH VARIANT is also available (very limited supplies).

Mark Waid is EVIL

2009-02-03T00:54:00.000-08:00

Here is potentially the biggest independent title of this year. This will be the "Boys" of this year, on a much more serious level. This will be the "Wanted" of this year, and the "Kick Ass" and the "Pax Romana" of this year. Below is a copy of an essay Mark Waid (one of my favorite writers, from books like KINGDOM COME, EMPIRE, and Fantastic Four) wrote in this month's PREVIEWS magazine. This is IRREDEEMABLE in his own words:

"IRREDEEMABLE

An essay from the creator and writer, Mark Waid

In superhero comics, pretty much everyone who’s called upon to put on a cape is, at heart, emotionally equipped for the job.

I reject that premise.

“Irredeemable” is an idea that’s been kicking around in my head for a long, long time. You saw flashes of it in “Kingdom Come” and in “Empire”—but the first was about the ethical price of heroism and the second was about a world where heroism just flat-out didn’t exist. “Irredeemable” is, in a way, the third and most complex chapter on the cost of superheroics—a pulp adventure tale of horror about how the lessons we learn about right and wrong as children can become warped and twisted when challenged by the realities of the adult world. “Irredeemable” is the story of a man who was the greatest and most beloved superhero of all time...

...and how he became the world’s greatest supervillain.

No one simply turns “evil” one day. Villainy isn’t a light switch. The road to darkness is filled with moments of betrayal, of loss, of disappointment, and of superhuman weakness. In the case of the Plutonian, there were sidekicks who sold his secrets. There were friends who preyed too often on his selflessness and enemies who showed him unsettling truths about himself. And those were the good days.

“Irredeemable” takes us down that Conradian path of transformation in horrifying detail, as illustrated with grim poignancy by the unbelievably talented Peter Krause and narrated by the Plutonian’s former allies—a team of heroes on the run from the world’s most powerful and angry being, racing desperately through time and space to learn the Plutonian’s secrets just as he knows all of theirs. How did he come to this? What became of the hope and promise once inside him? What happens to the world when its savior betrays it?

What makes a hero irredeemable?

Mark Waid
January 2009"

'Nuff Said??? Oh, but there is more. About 2 weeks after issue #1 hits, you may just be able to meet Mr. Waid at our store. How? Too soon to reveal!

Hickman p.2 - SECRET WARRIORS + more...

2009-02-02T09:26:00.000-08:00

Last week, hopefully I opened a few new eyes to the talent of Jonathan Hickman. As I said in the earlier installment, Hickman's FIRST major Marvel Project comes out this week, in SECRET WARRIORS #1, a book he is co-writing with Bendis. From what I understand, the book's direction may be Bendis, but the writing is ALL Hickman.

And just to show you the type of Dedication Hickman puts into his books, here are a couple of pages of proposal stuff that he sent to Marvel when he was fleshing out this new series, showing relationships between all the groups in the hierarchy of the Marvel's underground power struggle(click to see larger versions):

And another fact, not very publicized by Marvel or anyone else. Jonathan Hickman has a story in the new Astonishing Tales anthology out this week.

Here is a list of Jonathan Hickman's Image projects, completed and still in progress:

Nightly News - As an act of violence spirals out of control to encompass the entirety of the news media, a cult has emerged from the errors and retractions that have ruined careers, marriages and even lives. Under direction from his cult master, The Hand leads an army of followers committed to revolution, willing to die for their cause. - Graphic Novel out now.

Transhuman - Jonathan Hickman and JM Ringuet present a mockumentary about the future, where genetically engineered humans are created by rival companies in an attempt to corner the market under the guise of bettering the world. Transhuman is an irreverent view of the origin of a new technology, the starting of rival companies, the piles of cash made from taking them public, and the marketing wars that end with one company dominating the other. - Graphic Novel out last week

Red Mass For Mars - From the mind of comic book innovator Jonathan Hickman and the pen of super-talent and Image debutant Ryan Bodenheim comes the visually stunning A Red Mass For Mars. In a world that has survived every catastrophe imaginable, a new threat from the beyond stars looks to be the end of all humanity. A Red Mass For Mars tells the story of the last days of Earth and the one man who could have saved us all - but didn't! - 2 issues out so far...

Pax Romana - In 2045, as Islam has overrun Europe and the West openly shuns monotheism, the Vatican funded, CERN Laboratories 'discover' that time travel is possible. The Pope orders the creation of a private army, and led by a few handpicked Cardinals and the finest graduates of selected war colleges, they travel back in time to 312AD - the reign of the first Christian Emperor, Constantine. Upon arrival, conflicting agendas, ideological differences, and personal greed see grand plans unravel. Pax Romana is the tale of 5,000 men sent on an impossible mission to change the past and save the future. At the end of the world, will they succeed, or will they fail? - Graphic Novel out in the next few weeks

... introducing Jonathan Hickman !!!

2009-01-24T23:16:00.000-08:00

If reading this post is the first time you are hearing the name of Jonathan Hickman, then you should remember this moment. You are about to "meet" for the first time one of the best new writers in comics in a very long time. Imagine being introduced to the works of Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman for the first time. This is the type of feeling that you get when you read your first Hickman book, and discover this new voice in comics that is SO bright and SO unique that he deserves a much better moniker than "The next (fill in the blank)".

Jonathan Hickman is not just a great and innovative writer, he is also a super accomplished artist, illustrator and most of all designer. When you open the first pages of a Hickman-drawn book, you realize this is going to be special because it looks like NOTHING you have ever seen in comics. Hickman has a huge bag of tricks, including graphs, mono-colored line art, blocks of text, web page designs, and comic book art that has hints of Travis Charest and has an impressive negative space usage, reminiscent of Sin City-days Frank Miller and Eduardo Risso's 100 Bullets work, and the "design elements" that Brian Wood is known for. Each project has its own "VIBE" that is unique to itself and to the writer/artist who produced it. Even on projects where Hickman relinquishes the art duties to other artists (such as Red Mass for Mars and Transhuman), you can still totally feel the "Hickman" design structure and style.

But the most important thing about Hickman's work is his ability to create truely unique and diverse works of comic book fiction every single time he creates a new project. From the "Domestic Terrorism against the Media" of Nightly News, to the "Revisionist, alternate history through time travel" of Pax Romana, to the "Race for Human mutation through the eyes of a Documentary" of Transhuman, every Hickman book is a unique piece of work, never before tried in the world of comics.

Hickman fans are still few but they are very vocal and they are growing in numbers every day. Next week, when his first Marvel work, Secret Warriors, comes out, the greater comic book audiences will discover Jonathan Hickman for the first time. Next week will be a TRULY special week because of this, and I can't wait for it to happen.

DARK AVENGERS team line up revealed !

2009-01-17T18:54:00.001-08:00

This book (Dark Avengers #1) comes out on Wednesday. It will be 100% returnable for our subscription customers and I SUPER HIGHLY recommend it. Imagine Warren Ellis' Thunderbolts written by Bendis, with a twist and you got the idea.

War Machine #2 preview... Nuff Said!

2009-01-17T18:50:00.001-08:00

If you are not reading this series, you are missing out on stuff like this (preview of the 2nd issue)

Barack Obama in Amazing Spider-man #583

2009-01-08T17:05:00.000-08:00

Comic books meet Politics, or rather a politician who loves comic books. Our new president-elect Barack Obama is on the cover and inside next week's Amazing Spider-man. It's not the regular cover for the book, it's an incentive cover, we had to order a ton of the regular cover (about 20-25% more than our usual number) to QUALIFY to order those covers.

JANUARY 2009 PREVIEWS titles have been added...

2009-01-06T16:24:00.000-08:00

For Collector's Paradise Subscription Service members:
(to read more about our sub service, please visit HERE)

January 09 titles have been added to the online sub manager and are available for subscription. I had made a list of notable first issues for this month from the top 4 publishers (Marvel, DC, Dark Horse & Image Comics). Please take a look at them in the sub manager by putting the name in the search box. Some of you will notice some of these added to your subscription, please remember we try to match to your existing titles, and will add based on likeness. You are never obligated to try out these titles, this is our way of recommending them to you.

NOTABLE TITLES FOR JANUARY 09:

BATMAN BATTLE FOR THE COWL #1
BATMAN BATTLE FOR THE COWL COMMISSIONER GORDON #1
GOTHAM GAZETTE BATMAN DEAD #1
AZRAEL DEATHS DARK KNIGHT #1
ORACLE #1
SUPERMAN THE WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #1
STRANGE ADVENTURES #1
REBELS #1
SOLOMON GRUNDY #1
RESIDENT EVIL #1
KILLER DEMONS #1
BLACK VAULT #1
DARK TOWER SORCERER #1
STAND AMERICAN NIGHTMARES #1
ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS HULK #3
DARK REIGN ELEKTRA #1
DARK REIGN FANTASTIC FOUR #1
NEW AVENGERS REUNION #1
ASTONISHING TALES #1
HULK BROKEN WORLDS #1
MODELS INC #1
WAR OF KINGS #1
WAR OF KINGS DARKHAWK #1
X-FORCE CABLE MESSIAH WAR PROLOGUE #0
X-MEN QUITTING TIME #0
X-MEN SWORD OF BRADDOCKS #0

In Brubaker I trust... INCOGNITO

2009-01-04T02:16:00.000-08:00

If you come to our store, I am pretty sure you already know that all 3 of us (Joseph, Nick and myself) are pretty huge fans of Ed Brubaker. I know most of you know that I always say that the current run on Captain America is probably one of the best things published right now, or about how perfect Criminal is. This brings me to the topic of this post.

INCOGNITO is the latest effort by Ed and his long time collaborator Sean Phillips, who is known to most of you as the artist of Marvel Zombies. The team of Bru/Phillips has to this point already done two amazing books: Sleeper, and incredible look at a hero trapped in a criminal underground, with the world thinking that he turned (soon to be a movie), and Criminal, considered by many one of the top 2-3 finest books of our time and a perfect film-noir comic. Picking your favorite with those books is like choosing one of your children, I have never seen books that excelled so much at what they accomplished. And with the first issue of INCOGNITO, the team just gave us the beginning of their third Masterpiece.

The basic concept is brilliant. Imagine you are a Villain, an all powerful and morally corrupt individual who revels in his superiority over the "common guy". Consequences mean nothing to you, until one day something happens and you can no longer show your face to the people who are even more evil and "super" than you are. You make a deal with the government, take a pill that, if used regularly, removes your powers, and go into witness protection after putting your boss in jail. Now you are a common stiff, sorting paper work at a typical firm, with typical loser co-workers. You have become the type of "grunt" that you despised when you had your powers. How long can you last in this situation, until the urges and fond memories make you try to find a way to get back to your past glory?

Oh, and did I mention that we are making the first issue 100% RETURNABLE? Need I say more?

The store on Good Day in LA Dec 31

2008-12-31T12:48:00.000-08:00

We were just featured on December 31 on Good Day LA in a segment about Winners of the "Best (blank) in LA" contest. The segment is a bit short and it features us and the amazing Cavaretta's Deli (them first). Kinda neat. Check it out for yourself HERE.

Oh, and if you are reading this Blog and are new to our store, check out the customer reviews on the FOX LA website, that should give you a pretty good idea about what type of store we are HERE.

Happy Holidays - Now let's get this blog going...

2008-12-24T23:03:00.002-08:00

So if you are reading this, you are probably already a customer at our store. So the first thing I should do, is thank you for your patronage and wish you happy holidays, whichever ones you celebrate at this time. Hope everything gets better, or at least, not worse (in these times, that is already a lot to ask for).

Now, you may ask, why the 'bleep' does Collector's Paradise need a blog? Aren't there enough of these on every site, with opinions of every kind, from politics to Paris Hilton's new BFF? What is the reason, Edward, for you deciding you want to spend more of your already precious time on this "fun" endeavor? Well, the truth is, it's all about Google. Yep, Google made me do this.

As some of you know, we have recently spent an absurd (hindsight) amount of money on cable advertising that resulted in a SMOKIN' TV Ad and very little in feasible revenue.

How do you ask we know that it was a total waste of time? Well, we polled the crap out of anyone whose face we saw for the first time, and found out that a) people drive by and actually turn heads at our ugly yellow sign, and b) people use Google A WHOLE LOT! Cable TV ? Not so much. Almost everyone we asked who did not just see us while driving/walking/running by, said that they did a search on Google and somehow or other we showed up. Wow, all that business without any work on our part (besides creating a pretty neat looking website).

This got me thinking about how to improve those odds and find ourselves on more searches and more often. After doing some Googling myself, I found that Blogs are actually a great way to have the spiders that Google uses to find information like us. And here it is, our own slice of the Blogosphere (well, a crumb of it, not a slice, but who's counting).

So, I know this one has run a bit long and winded. I won't do that again (if I can help it). What I will do is try to update this often and be short and to the point. You will find my random musings about the hobby, about a comic book that made my Wednesday, about a frustration that a comic book company is making me tear out my 3 remaining hairs out, or just a look at what I took pictures of last night (yeah, I am a published photographer, did u know that? Look here)

With this I will end this first of many blogs, and if you are still reading, thank you for "going all the way". Please help me by commenting on my posts, and making me feel that someone actually pretends to care what I write about.

Happy Christmaka to you all!