Tuesday, October 24, 2006

A Peek at the Picks!



Here's a photo look at the FLYING COLORS Staff Picks' board, drawn every week by long-time Retailing Brigade member Mike. next to the picks' board is another white-board re-done every week by Jenny listing all the titles of new comics and graphic novels that hit the racks each New Releases' Day (47 out of 52 weeeks a year that happens on Wednesday!).

Lots of great stuff in store tomorrow morning.

Be here, y'hear?

FlyCoJoe

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

HITTING THE RACKS Wed. 10/18

Here's a list of just some of the highlights of new & cool comics available Wednesday at 11am at FLYING COLORS COMICS & Other Cool Stuff---

AGNES QUILL AN ANTHOLOGY OF MYSTERY GN
AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #1
ANITA BLAKE VAMPIRE HUNTER: GUILTY PLEASURES #1
AUTHORITY #1
BIRDS OF PREY #99
CIVIL WAR X-MEN #4 (OF 4)
CIVIL WARDROBE
E-MAN RECHARGED
ESSENTIAL MARVEL HORROR VOL 1 TP
FABLES 1001 NIGHTS OF SNOWFALL HC (MR)
HIGHLANDER #1
Archie's HOLIDAY FUN DIGEST #11
JOHN WOOS SEVEN BROTHERS #1
KRYPTO THE SUPER DOG #2
LITTLE LULU VOL 12 LEAVE IT TO LULU TP
OMEGA MEN #1
SANDMAN #1 SPECIAL EDITION (MR)
SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN FERAL PREMIERE HC
SEVEN SONS GN
SHOWCASE CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN VOL 1 TP
SIMPSONS COMICS #123
WILDCATS #1
WOLVERINE #47 CIVIL WAR

What's your pick of the week?

FlyCoJoe

Thursday, October 12, 2006

FLYING COLORS Welcomes Young Collectors!

I had the pleasure today of hosting Cub Scout Pack 815 Den #9 Wolf Cubs from Greenbrook Elementary School in Danville, led by Dan Chevez, Elizabeth Donohue and Cheryl Burns.

The topic for the scout meeting was "Collecting", so it sure made sense to have the meeting here in FLYING COLORS. I showed off some of my old baseball cards and comics, and I hopefully got across that collecting is a lot more about FUN than it is about making money later. When that outlook is fully embraced---by the collector and by those close to the collector--- everyone comes away happier for the experience.

I learned the great pleasure of havng a hobby from my Dad who was an avid stamp collector. When I was about the age of the Cub Scouts I met today, Dad tried his best to get me into stamp collecting, and I was into it for only a short while. One of the things all parents learn along the way is that kids have a way of finding their own areas of interest. Some of those interests will intersect with those of our parents---my love of baseball sure came from my Dad. Some of those interests will make parents scratch their heads, too. Rocks? Bottle Caps? Yu-Gi-Oh cards? C-c-c-c-comic Books? You betcha!

Just kids' stuff, right? Well, no, not at all!
Being a collector is all about finding something fun to pursue--- it's as primal as the early humans hunting and gathering and then showing off their stuff to the others back in the cave. In his recent book "Rejuvenile", Christopher Noxon said "The culture of childhood brims with qualities - wonder, adventure, absurdity, make-believe - in short supply in the adult world."

Or, as I've been putting for years: "The reason people can get so goofy about their collections and their hobbies, is to keep from going crazy about things in general."

Keep it fun, y'all!

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

Monday, October 09, 2006

New & Cool & In-Store Wed. 10/11


It's Columbus Day today---and I want to make sure you know, despite this holdiay, we WILL have New Comics & Other Cool Stuff hittting the racks here on Wednesday, as usual.

Here's a list of just a few of the items we'll have in-store Wednesday October 11, 2006
52 WEEK #23
ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL 1 HC (MR)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN MASTERWORKS VOL 8
ANTIGONE
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #2
BOMB QUEEN VOL 2 #1
CAPTAIN AMERICA WINTER SOLDIER VOL 2 TP
CHIP ZDARSKYS MONSTER COPS #1
CIVIL WAR FRONT LINE #7
DARKMAN VS ARMY OF DARKNESS #1
DMZ #12
DORK #11
ESCAPISTS #4
FABLES #54
FABLES SPECIAL EDITION #1
INFINITE CRISIS COMPANION TP
INVINCIBLE VOL 7
STAN LEE MEETS DR STRANGE
TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED #1
ULTIMATE POWER #1
UNCANNY X-MEN #479
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #7

See you this week!

FlyCoJoe

Sunday, October 08, 2006

The Final Fall of TOWER

(Have you heard about Tower Records’ bankruptcy auction? Read about it here .)

Libby and I visited Tower Records/Video in Concord Sunday for the second day of the company’s “liquidation” sale. As if 10% off the highest regular prices of any national music chain could even be considered a “liquidation.” Is everything about this company a sad joke now?

Wasn’t always so. There was a time when Tower Records was an absolute Mecca for music fans. I’ve spent a fair share of time and money in various Tower locations over the years, from local outlets in my home-towns of Stockton and Concord to the bigger stores in Sacramento, San Francisco’s Columbus & Bay and La-La Land’s Sunset Boulevard outlet.

Used to be that Tower was the place for not only finding all the hit records, but it was my first choice for finding obscure singles and imports. I found the "Another Day" single on the CBS-Ireland label by a new band called U2 at the Tower in Stockton in '79, years before the band was well known. In the early ‘80s, 12-inch singles with multiple remixes were the rage of the day and Tower had 'em all.

The company was rarely (if ever) about customer service, with some of the most disinterested clerks in retail history. But Tower was always about selection---and back in the day, they had the right prices to go with the best selection. From the '80s on, Tower tried unsuccessfully to branch off into books, video, action figures, pop culture knick-knacks, you name it. That should have been a sure sign of impending downfall. When a company completely loses focus on its core product, it’s usually not too far from the end.

As an independent business owner, I’ve come to realize that every business has a life-cycle. Unless new energy and ideas are pumped into a business as a regular practice, then stagnation and obsolescence become the order of the day. The comics biz has changed a lot in the time Flying Colors has been open in Concord. What used to be a primarily collectors' market for new and old periodical comics has become a vibrant readers' market for comics and graphic novels. I'm still trying to get some re-modeling done here that will reflect the evolution of the comic book business.

Tower, though, seemed to wilt under the competition from online music sellers, from used music sellers (like Amoeba and Rasputin) from file-sharers and downloaders (legal or not), and from the Big-Boxing of America. Tower was late to adapt to the Internet and when the company finally did, it severely shot itself in both feet by having much better prices online than in the brick and mortar stores that built the company. Of course, when Wal-Mart and Best Buy are the two biggest retailers of music in the US, what chance did Tower really have?

There are also fundamental changes continuing to happen in the music business. The old marketing chain for new music was from the label (and artist) to independent radio stations. From there, listeners would jump into their local record shops to buy what they heard on their transistors (yes, it was a long time ago).

Radio is inconsequential (and mostly indifferent) to new music these days. Even the stations that claim to have vast music libraries are smothered by short and predictable playlists. What new music does make it to radio is usually bought and paid for by the labels, so listeners get a narrow choice of style over substance. That’s a real shame because there is a ton of great music you will never hear on commercial radio. Satellite radio, maybe. Heck, more people get exposed to new music by songs being used in TV series and commercials these days. The delivery system for new music is now over-whelmingly about the Internet, with iTunes and MySpace being two of the primary sampling spots for tunes of all kinds.

Oh well.

So it’s with sadness and a tinge of nostalgia that I mourn the passing of Tower. It was my old hitchin' post for tunes, but soon it'll be just another memory.

(Although I may still visit the local store a time or two more if the “liquidation” sale ever really kicks into gear.)

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Introducing: The FLYING COLORS YouTube Review

Just goofin' around here, trying to promote some great comics. On our first edition of the FLYING COLORS YouTube review, FlyCo Brian takes a look at Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' CRIMINAL, new this week from Marvel/ICON.

The review is low-tech, sure, but we want to get the message out on this cool new title.



Peace 'n' Cool Comics!

FlyCoJoe

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Comics & Ice Cream: Very Cool!


I mentioned to my staff that today is the 18th anniversary of the opening of FLYING COLORS. Nothing big or dramatic planned, just nice to look back on some good and memorable moments here. Tuesdays are also days that are quite busy around here, as we process all the New & Cool items that will be on sale on Wednesdays, so doing something big would have been more of a challnege, especially on a Tuesday.

So I was surprised when I was called out of the office to take a look at some old comics brought in for me to possibly buy. When I went to the back counter to see the old comics, Chris, Mike and Brian surprised me with a FLYING COLORS 18th Anniversary ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins. Nice! Here are a couple of pix from our little celebration.

I've got to tell you, after all these years, the FLYING COLORS Retailing Brigade constantly make my job easier. Mike, Brian and Chris are among the finest Brigade members I've worked with here.

Lots of great stuff hits the racks Wednesday (including several first issues)---
AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #0
Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips' CRIMINAL #1
Brian K Vaughn & Marcos Martin's DOCTOR STRANGE: OATH #1
Robert Kirkman & Phil Hester's IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #1
MONSTER PARADE #1
NIGTMARE ON ELM STREET #1
Marjane Satrapi's CHICKEN WITH PLUMS graphic novel
DR DEBUNKO: THE SHORT STORIES #1
GIANT SIZE WOLVERINE #1
Y THE LAST MAN #50 (Big answers in this one!)
INFINITE CRISIS Hardcover Collection
LIFE OF POPE JOHN PAUL II Graphic Biography
Vertigo's THE OTHER SIDE #1
Tom Beland's TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD #1 (you have seen the YouTube vieo, right? If not, the link is below!)

Once again, thanks for being a part of FLYING COLORS' first 18 years. I'd still love to hear your comments, so hit the 'comments' link and send us your thoughts!

As always--- Peace!

FlyCoJoe

It Was 18 Years Ago Today...

October 3 is the 18th Anniversary of the opening of FLYING COLORS COMICS & Other Cool Stuff, so it's time for some thankful reflection and a look back at the early days here.
Some of you may look at this shot and think "That guy's been running Flying Colors so long he was around before there was color film!" Almost, but not quite.

This photo was taken on October 3 1988, when my hair was long and still brown, back issues filled just about every wall space in the store, except for those taken by sportscards, posters and t-shirts. If any of you have considered going into retail business for yourself, let me tell you, it's not easy being your own boss, but it's a lot better than having someone else cracking the whip on you.

That first day, I had no idea what to expect. Our very first customer, a fellow named Milton, bought a Topps baseball "rack-pack" and we were off and running. Ha! We did all of $63 on our first day.

Here's a shot of my first FLYING COLORS' staff. That's Anne on the left and Mark on the right. I couldn't have asked for two better people to help me in those early days. After a couple of months they were joined by Teri, Scott, Sam and a great parade of other FlyCo staffers that, in total over these 18 years, is just over 50 really good people (surprisingly low turn-over for a retail business!). I've seen Anne a number of times over the years around town and Mark surprised me earlier this year by coming up from Hollywood (OK, it was really L.A.) for my 50th birthday party.

After being open for a few weeks, I threw a Grand opening party with a hot new young artist as my guest--- that's superstar JIM LEE in the photo here regaling the local kids with tales of drawing PUNISHER, ALPHA FLIGHT and (less likely) SAMURAI SANTA. Jim's studio was in Berkeley at the time, a year or two before he went south to open the Homage Studios, which became Wildstorm Studios sometime later. Jim has officially been our guest here for numerous signings over the years, but in those early days it wasn't unusual for him to come hang out with us and talk with other artists just breaking into the biz, like Dan Brereton, Jeff Johnson and Ken Hooper (more of my favorite guys in the biz!).

I do credit some of the success of FLYING COLORS to Jim Lee since his signings for UNCANNY X-MEN #268, PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #1, X-MEN #1, FANTASTIC FOUR:HEROES REBORN #1 and BATMAN: HUSH Vol One (and maybe another one or two I'm forgetting) really put FLYING COLORS on the map. Thanks, Jim! And we'd love to have you back soon!

One more shot here, taken on that Grand Opening day in late October '88. I just wanted to show you what some of the shop looked like in those early days. Our store name was painted across the middle of the store with the rainbow and star logos painted on the high walls on both ends of the store. In this photo, if you look near the top right hand corner, you'll see some of the animation art we used to sell here. To the right of that you can see a bit of the classic Arthur Adams' Wolverine cardboard cut-out. Everywhere else, you'll see lots of comic books! Same as it ever was...

Big thanks, heartfelt thanks go out to all of you who shop here, who allow me this opportunity to serve you and sell you the best in comics' entertainment. I do appreciate each and every person who chooses to spend their money here. I listen carefully to what you say and I hope to keep making FLYING COLORS one of your favorite entertainment outlets. This place wouldn't be here if it wasn't for your support.

So what are your earliest memories of FLYING COLORS? What could we do to make FLYING COLORS even better? Hit the comment button and let us all know, OK?

Muchas Gracias!

Peace---

FlyCoJoe

(These photos come from the FLYING COLORS archive scrapbooks, put together with love by Libby. If you'd like to see more of the early days of FLYING COLORS, just ask to see the scrapbooks. If you've been one of the FLYING COLORS' Faithful for years, you might even be in a photo or two.)