rec.arts.comics.misc

RAC/RACM FAQ

Part 6: Misc. Comic Book Questions

by Carl Henderson
carl.henderson@airmail.net
Based on original FAQs by Francis Uy, Tom Galloway, Paul Estin, et al.

6-1: WHERE CAN I FIND A COMIC BOOK STORE NEAR ME?

The easiest and quickest way to find a comic book store is by using
Diamond's Comic Shop Locator Service. This free service is sponsored by
Diamond Comics (the largest direct market comic distributor) along with
several major publishers. Just call their toll-free number
(1-888-COMIC-BOOK) for the location of comic stores in your area (as long
as you are in the US or Canada). Or you can access the Comic Shop Locator
Service on the web at:
http://www.diamondcomics.com/csls/

One note about Diamond's Comic Shop Locator Service. While the service is
free to the users, comic shops must pay a fee to be listed (normally
$100.00 per year--often discounted). This means that not all comic shops
will choose to be listed. Just because a shop doesn't show up on Diamond's
Comic Shop Locator Service, doesn't mean it isn't around anymore.

The Long Box comics database also offers a comic book store database. It
allows you to browse by city or search by zip code:
http://www.longbox.com/

Another good source for information on comic book stores is the Master List
of Comic Book & Trading Card Stores. This list offers links to many of the
stores that have websites. It also lets you see all the stores in a city,
rather than just the three nearest to you (as is the case with the Comic
Shop Locator Service). The only major downside of the "The Master List" is
that it is a bit hard to read (small green on black type).
http://www.the-master-list.com/

Indy Magazine's "Indy Friendly Stores" list is another good resource. It
only lists stores that "make a concerted effort to stock good alternative
comics and go out of their way to push quality new indy titles."
http://www.indyworld.com/comics/stores.html

Of course, you can always look under "Comics" in one of your local Yellow
Pages directories...

6-2: WHAT IF THERE IS NO COMIC BOOK STORE NEAR ME?

Then try one of the many mail order comic book subscription services. These
companies usually offer everything solicited in PREVIEWS (and usually at a
substantial discount). There are dozens of stores offering such a service
out there; a search for "comic book subscription services" and "mail order"
on any major search engine should turn up quite a few. Or check out some of
the links in "The Master List" or Indy Magazine's list of "Indy Friendly
Stores" (see section 6-1).

Below are some of the larger and more well known companies offering
mail-order comics subscription services:

Westfield Comics
http://westfieldcompany.com/

Lone Star Comics
http://www.mycomicshop.com/

Mile High Comics
http://www.milehigh.com/

6-3: WHAT ARE SOME GOOD BOOKS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF COMICS?

"The Comic Book Heroes," (2nd edition) Gerard Jones & Will Jacobs
Prima Publishing, ISBN 0761503935
An excellent history of American comics from the beginning of the Silver
Age to 1996. At times controversial, and at times quite personal, "The
Comic Book Heroes" is always interesting. While some consider it bitter or
biased, it's still the best book on comics history I've read.

Jones wrote the current edition of "The Comic Book Heroes" (Will Jacobs had
little involvement with the 2nd edition) after he had burned out on comics.
So, bear in mind that this a personal and subjective history and does
contain errors. Gerard Jones has written an erratum addressing most of
these errors, which he posted to rec.arts.comics.misc. It can be found on
the web at:
http://www.squiddies.org/rac/cbh-gjones.txt

"Steranko History of Comics," (2 vol.), Jim Steranko
Supergraphics
Beautifully designed and illustrated, the "Steranko History of Comics" is
two of the best books on the history of comics out there. It covers, in
detail, the pulp ancestors of comic books and the comics of the Golden Age.
There are only two volumes; the entire history was never finished. While
Bud Plant carries the second volume, the first is unavailable. I suggest
looking at cons and used bookstores. The "Steranko History of Comics" is
well worth the effort.

"Manga! Manga!: The World of Japanese Comics," Frederik L. Schodt
Kodansha International; ISBN 0870117521
"Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga," Frederik L. Schodt
Stone Bridge Press; ISBN 188065623X
If you are interested learning about Manga (Japanese comics), then Schodt's
books are the best place to start. According to Schodt (writing on
Amazon.com), "'Manga! Manga' provide[s] the basic introduction to the
history of manga in Japan and to the industry up to 1983, and 'Dreamland
Japan' [is] a more focused look at specific aspects of the medium today."

"All In Color For A Dime," Dick Lupoff & Don Thompson (ed.)
Krause Publications, ISBN 0873414985
"The Comic-Book Book," Don Thompson & Dick Lupoff (ed.)
Krause Publications, ISBN 0873416562
Lupoff and Thompson's books "All in Color for a Dime" and "The Comic-Book
Book" feature essays by comic book creators and fans on their favorite
comics of the golden age. Kept in print by Krause Publications (the COMICS
BUYERS GUIDE publishers), they provide a great introduction to the comics
of the Golden Age.

"Comix: A History of Comic Books in America," Les Daniels
Bonanza Books or Outerbridge & Denstfrey
An older book that's really great is "Comix" by Les Daniels. It offers a
good overview of comics history from the 30s to the 70s, and features a
good selection of reprinted comics. "Comix" also has a good chapter on the
history of underground comics-a subject often neglected. While out of
print, it should be easy enough to find in a good used bookstore or online
(check out http://www.bibliofind.com/).

In the 90s, Daniels returned to the subject of comics, writing detailed
histories of both DC and Marvel-"DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's
Favorite Super Heroes" and "Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's
Greatest Comics." While profusely illustrated and fun to read, one should
keep in mind that these books are essentially corporate histories--produced
with the full cooperation of the companies being profiled--and as such tend
to support the "official" slant on things.

"The Great Comic Book Heroes," Jules Fieffer
Dial Press or Bonanza Books
Fieffer mixes personal reminiscences of comics, as they were when he was a
boy, with full color reproductions of classic Golden Age stories. Although
out of print, "The Great Comic Book Heroes," is worth tracking down for the
reprinted stories, alone.

For yet more books on the history of comics (as well as comics culture and
criticism), check out these two extensive online bibliographies:

Gene Kannenberg's Comics Scholarship Annotated Bibliographies (CSAB)
http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~epk93002/ComicsScholarship/

Michael Rhode and John Bullough's Comics Research Bibliography
http://www.rpi.edu/~bulloj/comxbib.html

6-4: WHAT ARE SOME GOOD MAGAZINES THAT COVER COMICS HISTORY?

TwoMorrows Publishing puts out several very good magazines dealing
primarily with the history of comic books: COMIC BOOK ARTIST, ALTER EGO,
and THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR. They are available both through Diamond and
through TwoMorrows' web site (http://twomorrows.com/)

THE COMICS JOURNAL and the COMIC BUYERS GUIDE also regularly publish
articles on comic book history.

6-5: WHAT ABOUT ONLINE COMICS HISTORY RESOURCES?

Jamie Coville's "History of Superhero Comic Books" website:
http://www.geocities.com/comichistory/

Comic Art & Graffix Gallery Virtual Museum & Encyclopedia:
http://www.comic-art.com/index2.htm

Derek Santos' "The Comic Page" at:
http://www.dereksantos.com/comicpage/index.html

Bob Heer's Jack Kirby FAQ:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/1428/jkf.htm

Kent G. Orlando's "Cheeks the Toy Wonder Page" (Marvel and DC Silver Age
comics and characters):
http://toywonder.simplenet.com/

Jess Nevins' Timely Comics history and essays pages:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/7160/Timely1.htm (history)
http://www.geocities.com/jjnevins/main.html (character essays)

6-6: WHERE CAN FIND ANNOTATIONS OF VARIOUS COMIC BOOK SERIES?

WATCHMEN annotations compiled by Doug Atkinson are located at:
http://theory.lcs.mit.edu/~wald/watchmen-index.html

SANDMAN annotations by Greg Morrow and David Goldfarb are archived at:
http://theory.lcs.mit.edu/~wald/sandman-index.html

David Goldfarb also annotated the original BOOKS OF MAGIC prestige format
mini-series:
http://theory.lcs.mit.edu/~wald/books-of-magic-index.html

Jess Nevins has written extensive annotations for KINGDOM COME, THE KINGDOM,
JLA: THE NAIL, and LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN. They are online at:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/7160/annos.html

Shannon Patrick Sullivan has compiled annotations for all but the most recent
issues of KURT BUSIEK'S ASTRO CITY. They are archived at:
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/kbac/

6-7: WHAT IS THE COMICS CODE? WHERE CAN I FIND A COPY?

The Comics Code is (pick one) (a) an industry self-regulatory body that
helps ensure that comics provide wholesome entertainment for children, (b)
a bunch of censors who spend their time making sure that blood is colored
black, or (c) a useless and mostly impotent relic of the days when comics
were truly a mass medium.

The Comics Code originated in the 1950s when comic book came under attack
as a significant contributing factor to juvenile delinquency. Lead by Dr.
Fredric Wertham along with other educators and mental health professionals,
a national hysteria emerged over comic books, leading to local bans, mass
burnings of comics, and-finally-a Senate hearing. The Senate committee
recommended self-regulation (with the implied threat of government
regulation), and the industry acquiesced. Thus, the Comics Code Authority
(CCA) was born.

The Comics Code Authority is administered by the Comics Magazine
Association of America, Inc. Current members of the Comics Magazine
Association of America include DC, Marvel, Archie, and Dark Horse. All
comics that have been approved by the Comics Code carry the CCA "Seal of
Approval" somewhere on the cover.

The original Comics Code (1954 version) is available online at:
http://www.comics.dm.net/codetext.htm

The Comics Code was substantially revised in 1971. The 1971 version is online
at:
http://www.mit.edu/activities/safe/labeling/comics-code-1971

The current version (adopted in 1989) is also available online at:
http://www.geocities.com/comichistory/cca3.html

More information on the Comics Code, the CCA, and the events leading up to
them can be found at http://www.geocities.com/comichistory/Hist2.html as part of
Jamie Coville's "History of Superhero Comic Books" web site.

Or you can whip out your library or credit card and check out an excellent
book on the history of the Comics Code: "Seal Of Approval: The History of
the Comics Code" by Amy Kiste Nyberg, University Press of Mississippi, ISBN
087805975X

6-8: WHERE ARE SOME COMICS AND CARTOON MUSEUMS?

Words and Pictures Museum
As of July 17, 1999, Words and Pictures closed their doors as a physical
museum. Words and Pictures has now reopened as a web-based "virtual museum."
http://www.wordsandpictures.org/

Cartoon Art Museum
The Cartoon Art Museum offers exhibits on cartoons, comic strip, and comic
book art. It is located at 814 Mission Street in San Francisco. It is open
Wednesdays through Sundays. Phone: 415-227-8666.
http://www.cartoonart.org/

International Museum of Cartoon Art
The International Museum of Cartoon Art features a large collection
including over 160,000 original drawings, 10,000 books on cartoons and
comics, and over a thousand hours of film and video. It is located at 201
Plaza Real in Boca Raton, Florida, and is open to the public Tuesdays
through Sundays. Phone: 561-391-2200.
http://www.cartoon.org/

National Gallery of Caricature and Cartoon Art
Located at 1317 F St NW in Washington, DC, this museum features feature
works by Thomas Nast, Rube Goldberg, and Walt Disney. Founded by four
cartoonists (Thomas F. Gibson, William Rechin, Pat Oliphant and J. Arthur
Wood), the gallery is built around Wood's cartoon collection. Open to the
public Tuesdays through Saturdays. Phone: 202-638-6411. The National
Gallery of Caricature and Cartoon Art currently has no website.

Michigan State University Library
This is not a museum, but a library special collection. Located in East
Lansing, MI, the Michigan State University Library offers an extensive
comic reading room. This means that you fill out a request and the
librarian brings back the comic. There is no stack browsing, and no
lending. Phone: 517-353-8700.
http://www.lib.msu.edu/coll/main/spec_col/nye/comic/index.htm

6-9: HOW DO I FIND OUT WHAT MY COMICS ARE WORTH?

Price guides are a good start, but they can be misleading. In today's current
market, the vast majority of comic books from the mid-80s to the present
are worth about a nickel each. Yes--five cents a comic. And many dealers
will not even buy books they have in stock, at all. Of course there are
some exceptions, but they are rare.

The only online comic book price guide I've been able to locate is
ComicsPriceGuide.com. However, at present, it only seems to cover Marvel
and DC books)
http://www.comicspriceguide.com/

However, looking at what people are asking and getting for comics on
rec.arts.comics.marketplace, eBay, or other internet auction services can
give you a good idea of the "street price" of your comics.

There are also a number of "dead-tree" price guides available:

The "Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide" is published annually (now in its
29th edition), and is most comprehensive comics price guide available. (The
only significant lapse in its coverage is a lack of listings for
underground comics.) Prices in the "Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide" tend
to be closer to real world prices than those of most competing price guides.

WIZARD magazine includes a price guide section each month. WIZARD's price
guide is far from complete; however, it tends to only cover the more recent
and/or collectible comics. Prices listed in WIZARD also tend to be higher
than in other price guides.

The people who produce the COMIC BUYERS GUIDE also produce a comic book
price guide, the "Comic Book Checklist and Price Guide." Edited by CBG
editor Maggie Thompson and Brent Frankenhoff, this price guide is written
in a checklist format, allowing collectors to use it for inventorying their
collections. Updates to this guide are published regularly in the COMIC
BUYERS GUIDE.

Finally, Antique Trader publishes Alex G. Malloy's "Comics Values Annual."
Although a serviceable enough price guide, "Comics Values Annual" is rarely
used to set prices by comic dealers.

Two things to keep in mind about price guides. First, prices listed vary by
condition. Most price guides list prices based on "Very Fine" or "Near
Mint" condition. Less well-preserved comics are worth less. Secondly,
prices listed are what a comics dealer would be likely to SELL a comic book
for. If you are selling a comic book to a dealer, you will get
significantly less-rarely more than one-half guide value; usually much less.

Collecting comic books is a very poor way to make money. If you want an
investment, try a mutual fund.

6-10: HOW IS THE CONDITION OF COMICS GRADED? WHAT DO "MINT," "NEAR MINT,"
"VERY FINE" ETC. MEAN?

Grades of comic book condition were established by the "Overstreet Comic
Book Price Guide" and are pretty much used universally throughout the
business. From best to worst, the Overstreet grades, are: Mint, Near Mint,
Very Fine, Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor. Although low-grade comics
are inexpensive and can make excellent reading copies, most comics
collectors are not interested comics below "Good" grade-unless the comic is
exceptionally rare and/or expensive.

If your want more detailed information on grading comic condition, get a
copy of the "Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide," (Robert M. Overstreet &
Gary M. Carter, Avon Books, ISBN 0380769107).

For online help, you can check out Francis X. Moon's excellent essay on
grading and pricing old comics, "Pricing Your Comics 101." It is at his
Realms of Wonder web site:
http://www.realms.simplenet.com/condits.htm

Or you can read Paul Adams' "Grading Guide." This FAQ is posted irregularly
to rec.arts.comics.info, and is available on the web at Negative Space
(hoboes.com):
http://www.hoboes.com/pub/Comics/About%20Comics/Technical%20Issues/Grading%20Guide

6-11: I'VE GOT SOME EXPENSIVE COMICS HERE. HOW DO I PROTECT THEM?

Paul Adams has answered this question in detail in his "Protecting Comics
Guide" This FAQ is archived on the web at Negative Space (hoboes.com):
Part 1 of 2:
http://www.hoboes.com/pub/Comics/About%20Comics/Technical%20Issues/Protecting%20Comics%20Guide%201%20of%202
Part 2 of 2:
http://www.hoboes.com/pub/Comics/About%20Comics/Technical%20Issues/Protecting%20Comics%20Guide%202%20of%202

6-12: WHAT COMIC COLLECTING DATABASE PROGRAMS ARE THERE?

ComicBase
Human Computing offers ComicBase, probably the most complete and
full-featured comic book database out there. At $129.00, it is also the
most expensive. It contains an internal 100,000-issue database, and the
next release of promises to incorporate the COMIC BUYERS GUIDE checklist
and price guide to its database. ComicBase is available for MacOS and
Windows 95/98/NT. You can download a demo (or purchase) at:
http://www.human-computing.com/ComicBase.html

cDATA 2000
Written by RAC's own Todd VerBeek, cDATA 2000 is Windows shareware
($15.00), and can be downloaded from:
http://www.RZero.com/soft/

Comic Master
AMPK Software's Comic Master is another shareware ($30.00) comic
collector's database for the Windows platform. You can find it at:
http://www.ampksoft.ca/cmaster/

Realms of Wonder
Francis X. Moon's Realms of Wonder is a good--and inexpensive--shareware
comic collector's database. Priced at only $15.00, and designed for the
Windows platform, it is available at:
http://www.realms.simplenet.com/realmtop.htm

(Note that AbleSoft no longer publishes or supports its Comic Collector
database program. Comic Box for the Macintosh also appears dead.)

6-13: WHAT ABOUT ONLINE COMICS DATABASES?

There are currently several ongoing attempts to create a publicly
accessible online comic book database.

The Grand Comics Data Base at http://www.comics.org/. Grand Comics Data Base
statistics (as of June 2000):

Comic Titles: 6,679
Comic Issues: 57,885
Publishers: 872
Cover Scans: 8,659

http://www.comics.org/

The Long Box at http://www.longbox.com/. Long Box statistics (as of June 2000):

Comic Titles: 5,008
Comic Issues: 63,830
Publishers: 805
Cover Scans: 4,839

http://www.longbox.com/default.asp?goto=stats.asp

The ComicsDB at http://www.comicsdb.com/. ComicsDB statistics (as of June 2000):

Comic Titles: 4,684
Comic Issues: 70,814
Publishers: 366
Cover Scans: 14,913

http://www.comicsdb.com/dbstats.asp

While all these comics databases contain information on a significant
number of titles, they are as yet substantially incomplete--and contain
some errors. However between all three databases, you should be able to
find information on a broad selection of titles.

6-14: HOW DO I SELL MY OLD COMICS?

Your best bet is too take a list of what you've got to a dealer who buys
back issues, and ask which books he would be interested in taking a look at.

Two points: 1) make sure that the dealer you are talking to actually BUYS
back issues. Many do not. 2) Don't expect any sort of quote until he or she
has actually seen the books in question.

If you are willing to go through the extra hassle, you can try to sell your
books directly to other fans via rec.arts.comics.marketplace, eBay, or
other internet auction services, or take them to a con and see what you
can get for them. But don't underestimate the hassle factor. If you can
find a dealer you can trust, and who offers a good price, that's the
easiest way to go.

Most importantly, don't try to sell them on any rec.arts.comics group
EXCEPT rec.arts.comics.marketplace. If you do, you will get flamed, and
probably reported to your ISP for a "terms of service" violation (see
sections 1-7 to 1-10).

6-15: WHEN WERE THE GOLDEN AND SILVER AGES? WHAT CAME AFTER THE SILVER AGE?

The Ages of superhero comics are semi-defined time periods used by
collectors and historians.

The Golden Age started in the late 30s (ACTION COMICS #1 was in 1938) and
ended in the early 50s (with the advent of the Comics Code and the end of
the classic EC horror titles).

The Silver Age is usually said to begin around 1955, with DETECTIVE COMICS
#255 (1st Martian Manhunter) or SHOWCASE #4 (1st Barry Allen Flash).
Marvel's Silver Age is usually said to start with FANTASTIC FOUR #1 in
1961. Depending upon who you ask, the Silver Age ended as early as 1970,
(when Jack Kirby left Marvel and Mort Weisinger retired as Superman editor)
or as late as 1973 (death of Gwen Stacy in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #121) or 1974
(GIANT SIZE X-MEN #1).

There is no clearly defined Age after Silver, although suggested names
include: Bronze, Iron, Dark, Independent, Mylar, Modern, and Silicon. Many
starting points have also been suggested, such as GIANT SIZE X-MEN #1,
CEREBUS or ELFQUEST #1 (first major self-publishing), Pacific Comics
startup (first major indy company), DC's Crisis, or even Image Comics
startup (first creator owned books to top the sales charts). It's fun to
chat about, but don't expect a conclusive answer.

The OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE breaks down the ages of comics as
follows:

Platinum Age 1897 (THE YELLOW KID IN MCFADDEN'S FLATS) to 1932
Pre-Golden Age 1933 (FUNNIES ON PARADE) to May, 1938 (ACTION COMICS #1)
Golden Age Begins with ACTION #1 and ends in 1945 (along with WWII)
Post-Golden Age 1946 to 1949
Pre-Silver Age 1950 to publication of SHOWCASE #4 in 1956
Silver Age 1956 to 1969
Post-Silver Age 1970 to 1979
Modern Age 1980 to present

Whatever age followed the Silver age, we are likely out of it by now. I'd
argue that the great bust of 1993-1994 probably marked its end.

6-16: WHAT IS A "SWIPE"?

A "swipe" refers to an artist tracing panels or figures from a published
comic, making only minor changes, and passing the copied elements off as
original work. While most swipes are examples of artistic laziness, or
surrender to overwhelming deadline pressure, in the past, some editors have
directed artists working under them to swipe other artists (usually to
emulate a "hot" style).

6-17: WHAT IS A "RETCON"?

To retroactively change the continuity of a character or title. The first
known use of the term "retroactive continuity" was in the letter column of
ALL-STAR SQUARDRON #18. (Roy Thomas wrote that he first heard it at a
convention.) Coined by Damian Cugley, "retcon" is a shortening or
verbification of "retroactive continuity."

Originally, "retcon" meant that the interpretation of "facts" from earlier
stories is changed, but the facts themselves are preserved. For example,
Alan Moore took Swamp Thing, previously thought to be a man transformed
into a plant creature, and with minimal changes to previous stories, made
Swamp Thing a "plant elemental" with a dead man's memories.

These days, retcon has also come to mean changes to history itself, so that
something that had existed in the fictional universe, not only doesn't
exist now, but never has existed. For example, Batman caught his parents'
killer, Joe Chill, years ago. But the ZERO HOUR story retconned it, so he
has never found the killer.

This bit of comics jargon seems to be slowly seeping into the culture at
large. In the past few years, "retcon" has shown up in several dictionaries
of new words, and has begun to be used outside the comics business.

6-18: WHAT IS A "REBOOT"?

"Reboot" has two meanings when applied to comics:

(1) To restart a comic's continuity over again from ground zero. For
example, after ZERO HOUR, DC rebooted the Legion books (LEGIONNAIRES and
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES). All old Legion continuity no longer existed in the
new Legion timeline. Marvel's "Heroes Reborn" books initially appeared to
be a reboot of FANTASTIC FOUR, AVENGERS, CAPTAIN AMERICA, and IRON MAN, as
all old continuity was scrapped and the series seemed to start over from
day one. However, this reboot was later retconned into a "pocket universe"
from which the Marvel heroes eventually returned-regaining their memories
and abilities from the old continuity.

(2) To cancel a comic book series and restart it with a new first issue.
This is usually to increase sales (dealers tend to order more #1's because
readers tend to either see them as good "jumping on" points), or to signify
a significant new direction for the title.

6-19: WHAT IS A "HO'OD WIN"?

"Ho'od win" is a contraction for "Who would win," a commonly asked question
in the RAC hierarchy-usually pitting one superhero against another. Such
threads--while fun for the participants--for obvious reasons never produce
any definitive answer. Many RAC* old-timers, having already seen every
possible permutation of such debates, killfile "Ho'od win" threads on sight.

6-20: WHAT WAS THE FIRST #0 ISSUE?

ZAP COMIX #0 came out in the late 60s/early 70s. Apparently the art to what
would have been ZAP #1 was stolen, and Robert Crumb did new art that became
the published ZAP #1. That artwork was later recovered, and published as
ZAP #0.

6-21: WHAT WAS THE FIRST ENHANCED/VARIANT COVER?

According to Overstreet, SILVER STREAK COMICS #1 (Dec 1939) used silver
metallic ink for its logo. Aside from special inks, an issue of XMAS COMICS
(around 1950) had a felt stocking on the cover. The first hologram cover
was TRUFAN ADVENTURES #3 (1986). The variant cover trend really took off
after John Byrne's MAN OF STEEL #1 (two versions) and BATMAN: LEGENDS OF
THE DARK KNIGHT #1 (four colors) in the mid-80's.

In recent years, variant covers have started to appear all over the
place-magazines, CDs, videos, etc. All places where collectors are thought
likely to buy multiple versions of the same thing, just to have a "complete
collection." TV GUIDE regularly offers variant covers designed to appeal to
the fan market for such things as Star Trek, X-Files, pro wrestling,
country music stars, etc.

6-22: WHAT WAS THE FIRST COMIC TO (INTENTIONALLY) FEATURE VARIANT INTERIORS?

The first mainstream comic to feature variant interior story content was
TEAM TITANS #1 (DC, 1992). TEAM TITANS #1 was published in five versions,
each with a back-up giving the origin of a different team member.

For a while this reprehensible marketing gimmick seemed to have vanished
with TEAM TITANS, but variant interiors returned in 1998 with Marvel's
SLINGERS (four versions, each with the origin of one of the Slingers) and
Image/Top Cow's FATHOM (three versions, each with three pages told from a
different viewpoint).

Kevin J. Maroney unearthed an even earlier use of variant interiors in
Barry Blair's LEATHER AND LACE:

LEATHER AND LACE, 25 issues published by Aircel from 1988 to 1991, had
"PG" and "XXX" versions. The XXX versions had four additional pages of
material in the middle (right at the staples) containing the explicit
sexual escapades of the characters. By definition, these scenes were
gratuitous sex, since the PG version was completely comprehensible
without them.

6-23: IS IT TRUE THAT COMIC BOOK WRITERS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO USE THE WORDS
"FLICK," "FLICKER,"AND "CLINT"?

Sort of.

With "all caps" lettering style used in most American comics, the "L" and
the "I" could run together-especially in bolded words-turning "flick,"
"flicker," and "clint" into some common English obscenities. Editorial
prohibitions against the use of "flick," "flicker," and "clint" are a
comics industry urban legend. But it was never a hard and fast rule,
because those words did get used. One of Marvel's most popular second-
stringers, Hawkeye, is even named "Clint Barton."

And, yes, the "L"s and the "I"s do run together on occasion, leading to
immortal bits of dialog such as this exchange from THUNDERBOLTS #30:

Moonstone: "I just realized-I don't know your real name."
Hawkeye: "No. I guess not. But what the heck. It's Cunt. Clint Barton."

6-24: WHO WERE THE ORIGINAL CHARLTON EQUIVALENTS TO THE WATCHMEN?

Alan Moore's original proposal for WATCHMEN used characters from Charlton
Comics, who had recently been purchased by DC. However, Editor-in-Chief
Dick Giordano wanted to bring the Charlton characters into the DC Universe,
and wouldn't let Moore change or kill them. So Moore made modifications,
and WATCHMEN artist Dave Gibbons designed new characters. However, an
astute reader can still tell who's who (even without reading Moore's notes
in the back of the WATCHMEN hardcover). Other characters, like the
Minutemen, were created by Moore and Gibbons and had no direct Charlton
counterparts.

The Question = Rorschach
Peacemaker = The Comedian
Blue Beetle I & II = Night Owl I & II
Nightshade = Silk Spectre II
Captain Atom = Dr. Manhattan
Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt = Ozymandias

6-25: DIDN'T DC MAKE FAWCETT STOP PUBLISHING "CAPTAIN MARVEL"? SO HOW CAN
BOTH DC AND MARVEL HAVE A "CAPTAIN MARVEL"?

The brief answers are "Yes" and "Because copyright and trademark are
different things." Now, the not-so-brief answers:

Bob Ingersoll (lawyer, comic book writer, and CBG columnist) answered the
first question in a post to rec.arts.comics.dc.universe:

DC (here a shorthand for National Periodicals Publications, Inc.) sued
Fawcett over Captain Marvel claiming copyright infringement At the
trial, the court ruled that Captain Marvel did infringe on DC's
copyright on Superman (citing to the former Superman/Wonderman lawsuit
as precedent). Specific panels of Captain Marvel flying and performing
deeds were used in evidence to show his adventures and exploits swiped
those of Superman.

But the trial court also ruled that DC (or NPP as it was called back
then) couldn't enforce its copyright, because it had abandoned it. The
basis for this ruling was that the Superman comic strip, which the
McClure Syndicate did under a license from NPP, did not include any of
the necessary copyright notices which are required by law to secure
and maintain a copyright. So, the trial court ruled that NPP had
abandoned its copyright on Superman and couldn't enforce it. This was
a victory for Fawcett. The court ruled it did violate copyright, but
also ruled NPP couldn't enforce the copyright.

The federal court of appeals in New York affirmed the trial court in
part and reversed the trial court's decision in part. The court of
appeals agreed that Captain Marvel violated NPP's copyright on
Superman. It also ruled that NPP hadn't abandoned its copyright. It
noted that an intent to abandon copyright has to be clear and
unequivocal. NPP continued to attach copyright notices to the Superman
comics that it published, so any intent to abandon the copyright
wasn't unequivocal. The Court of Appeals also ruled that NPP couldn't
be held responsible for the lapses of its licensee, McClure. For those
reasons, NPP didn't abandon its copyright on Superman and could
enforce it.

The Court of Appeals sent the case back to the trial court for more
proceedings. At this point, Fawcett had already lost the important
question, did it violate NPP's copyright. It knew it would lose the
trial. At the same time, sales on CAPTAIN MARVEL had declined. So
Fawcett chose to settle, rather than go on with a trial it knew it
would lose to publish a character that was slipping. In the
settlement, Fawcett agreed not to publish Captain Marvel anymore."

But what about the second question: how can Marvel and DC both have a
character named "Captain Marvel"?

They can because trademark and copyright are very different things.
Copyrights last for a set term, which is mandated by congress. However,
trademarks lapse when not used. In other words, while Fawcett still held
the copyright for Captain Marvel the character, by no longer publishing it,
they eventually abandoned the trademark. Once the trademark lapsed, anyone
could create a character named "Captain Marvel." What they could not do was
duplicate the copyrighted elements of Fawcett's Captain Marvel.

Carl Burgos (creator of the original Human Torch) created a new Captain
Marvel that was utterly unrelated to the Fawcett superhero. But Burgos'
character was not the Marvel Comics Kree warrior that most people think of
as the second Captain Marvel. The Burgos/MF Enterprises Captain Marvel was
one of the strangest superheroes ever published. This Captain Marvel was a
robot. When he said "Split!" his various body parts would separate and fly
off in different directions, still under his control.

Not surprisingly, this new Captain Marvel didn't exactly take the comics
world by storm. MF Enterprises only published four issues of Burgos'
CAPTAIN MARVEL in 1966, before dropping the character and renaming the
comic THE TERRIBLE 5.

Once Stan Lee of Marvel comics realized that the Captain Marvel trademark
was up for grabs, he wasted little time. At the end of 1967, Marvel Comics
came out with its own CAPTAIN MARVEL--Captain Mar-Vell the Kree warrior-in
MARVEL SUPERHEROES #12 (written by Stan Lee and drawn by Gene Colan). This
version of Captain Marvel was quickly spun off into his own book.

Since 1967, Marvel Comics has held and consistently used the Captain Marvel
trademark. Although there have been several radically different versions of
Captain Marvel published by Marvel, rarely has a year gone by without an
active CAPTAIN MARVEL series, mini-series, reprint series, graphic novel,
trade paperback, or one-shot coming out.

So when DC Comics decided to revive the Fawcett Captain Marvel in 1973
(which they initially licensed from Fawcett before buying most of the
Fawcett superheroes outright), they found themselves in the ironic position
of not being able to call the book "CAPTAIN MARVEL." Instead, DC's revival
was entitled "SHAZAM!" which DC quickly trademarked.

So to summarize: there are multiple copyrighted Captain Marvels, but only
Marvel owns the trademark, and only Marvel can publish a comic book called
CAPTAIN MARVEL. DC owns the Fawcett Captain Marvel--and the trademark on
SHAZAM!

6-26: WHERE DID "ON THE INTERNET, NO ONE KNOWS YOU'RE A DOG" APPEAR?

Page 61 of the July 5, 1993 issue of the New Yorker.

6-27: WHO IS SUICIDE SQUID?

Answer 1: SUICIDE SQUID is a long-running but obscure comic written and
drawn by Alonzo Mori. It has passed through several publishers over the
years.

Answer 2: Suicide Squid is the de facto RAC* mascot.

Suicide Squid (affectionately known as Squiddy) was accidentally created in
April 1991 when Mitsuhiro Sakai wanted to ask "What's happen in Suicide
Squad?" but accidentally typed an "I" instead of an "A" in "Squad," thus
asking the immortal question, "What's happen in Suicide Squid?" Many RAC
regulars responded dead seriously about what was going on in the Suicide
Squid comic, which was a pretty good trick since it didn't really exist.

The gag has only grown over the years. Suicide Squid has gone on to give
his name to the annual RAC* Awards--the Squiddies. Also, the RAC San Diego
Comic-Con trivia team is called the Black Ink Irregulars, in his honor. Tom
Galloway produced four printings of a Suicide Squid t-shirt (with art by Ty
Templeton) from 1992 to 1995. Wearing a Suicide Squid t-shirt is a good way
to be recognized by other RAC'ers at cons and signings.

The Ty Templeton artwork that appeared on the Suicide Squid t-shirt can be
seen at:
http://www.squiddies.org/SuicideSquid.gif

David Wald has compiled all of the original Suicide Squid posts from 1991
through 1994. This huge text file is on the web at:
ftp://theory.lcs.mit.edu/pub/people/wald/suicide-squid

Bob Greenwade waded through all those posts and wrote up Suicide Squid as a
Hero system RPG character:
http://www.superagents.net/surbrook/suicidesquid.html

6-28: WHY DO PEOPLE MAKE JOKES ABOUT "ROB LIEFELD'S SHAFT"? IS THIS SOME
SORT OF WEIRD SEX THING?

"Shaft" was the name of Rob Liefeld's superhero archer character from
YOUNGBLOOD. In the April 98 issue of PREVIEWS, Awesome published an ad for
a Shaft action figure with the following copy: "Rob Liefeld's Shaft--
7" Tall--Fully Poseable"

The ad quickly lead to a slew of jokes, including:

"Seven inches is okay, but I wouldn't take out a full-page ad in PREVIEWS
to boast about it."

"Coming soon from Marvel Comics and Awesome Entertainment: Rob Liefeld's
Shaft vs. Marvel's Giant-Sized Man-Thing."

(And yes, Marvel really did once publish a comic book called GIANT-SIZED
MAN-THING. It ran five issues in the early 70s and featured some really
good work by Steve Gerber, including the first solo Howard the Duck stories.)

6-29: WHERE CAN I FIND INFORMATION ON COLLECTING ORIGINAL COMIC BOOK ART?

Check out the Glenn Musial's Original Art Collecting FAQ at:
http://www.musial.org/comicart/faq/

----------------------------------------------------------------------
J. Carl Henderson
carl.henderson@airmail.net

Intro: Introduction / Revision History
Contents: Table of Contents/Acknowledgements
Part 1: The RAC Newsgroups and Posting to Them
Part 2: Comics News and Commentary on the Net
Part 3: Inside the Comic Book Industry
Part 4: Comics Industry Contact Information
Part 5: Comic Book Professionals--And How to Become One
Part 6: Misc. Comic Book Questions
Part 7: Whatever Happened to ___________?
Part 8: RAC Newsgroup Charters

Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: racmx@yahoo.com (Kate the Short)

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Last updated: 2000-09-03