Baseball! I love this game!

With both my local teams out of the play-offs, I've found another team to root for. I usually do so by counting up the ex-Giants and A's on the remaining play-off teams.

Let's see: the Chi-Sox have ex-A Jermaine Dye and ex-Giants Dustin Hermanson and AJ However-you-spell-his-name (he was a Giant for only a year--and any guy who angrily knees the trainer in the groin isn't really a Giant, in my book).

The California Angels of Anaheim (or the Los Angeles Let's Leave Early & Beat the Traffic Angels, as we refer to them up here) have nary an ex-Giant or Athletic (even Jason Christiansen isn't on the roster).

The Houston Astros, sort of the feel-good story of the post-season (especially cool fan to give the home run balls to Cooperstown), have just Jose Vizcaino, a back-up with the Giants and now a back-up with the Astros....

Then there's the St Louis Cardinals----

Busch Stadium, about to be torn down with their new park opening next season, is the site of my only hit in a major league park (maybe a story for another day. I take requests). With former Athletics Jason Isringhausen, Mark Mulder and John Mabry, along with ex-Gigantes Reggie Sanders and Julian Tavarez, the Cards are the easy winners in the "root for the former home-boys' race".

Plus, the Cardinals are led by Tony LaRussa, the only guy in the post-season this year to have ever spent any money in Flying Colors Comics!

Oh, and a couple more things:
• Tony is a cool guy who does a lot of good work with his Animal Rescue Foundation (there are lots of humans who need rescuing, too, by the way).

• Tony and I have a "several degrees of separation" story, too. It turns out---and I only learned it straight from Tony when he visited Flying Colors after the '98 season--- that my great uncle Joe Bowman (former major league pitcher from '32-'45) signed Tony to his first pro contract.

My great Uncle Joe was Charlie Finley's super-scout for the Kansas City/ Oakland A's when he recognized the talent of Tony La Russa as a ballplayer in the Tampa, Florida area. I'd like to say Uncle Joe saw Tony's Hall-of-Fame level managerial potential, too, but that'd be stretching it.

So I'm rooting for the Cards this post-season. But as soon as the Series is over, I'll be back to being a total die-hard for my Bay Area teams.

FlyCo Joe

Goin' to Astro City...

Another big recommendation from this week is the ASTRO CITY: LOCAL HEROES trade paperback by writer Kurt Busiek and artist Brent Anderson, with an Alex Ross cover.

I have loved ASTRO CITY since it first came along ten years ago. When readers tell me they want more from the super-hero genre, I eagerly point them toward this series. Most spandex adventures seem to be all about super-power trips and huge action, but AC stories often deal with the human emotions of living in a super-powered world. ASTRO CITY is a wonderful and different flavor in the realm of super-powered adventure comics.

If you've never tried this series, I will give you a money-back guarantee on a copy of the introductory ASTRO CITY volume called "LIfe in the Big City"....and then prepare yourself to take a most enjoyable trip to ASTRO CITY.

Other major recommendations for brilliant new takes on the super-hero genre:
SUPERMAN: SECRET IDENTITY also by Kurt Busiek (and artist Stuart Immonen)
IT'S A BIRD... by writer Steven Seagal (no, not the cardboard actor) and artist Teddy Kristiansen
POWERS by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming
RUNAWAYS by Brian Vaughan with artist Adrain Alphona

I honestly believe FLYING COLORS has something special for every reader, and while I've focused here on new views of the realm of super-heroes, we have so many other genres to explore. So next time you're in the store, please allow us to recommend something new and cool just for you!

Peace!

Joe
the Comics Guru

JB's Captain Four Color!

(2026 edit: The Webcomics page mentioned in this blog post no longer exists. Please read "Captain Four Color Saves the Day" at this LINK!)

Have you checked our Webcomics page recently?

I waited to get this blog up and running before calling attention to it, so the time is NOW!

Cartoonist JB Bonivert has come up with a great li'l story called "Captain Four Color Saves the Day!" ---and it's now posted on the Webcomics page.

JB's done a lot over his career, including ATOMIC MAN for Blackthorne, FUN BOYS for Tundra, a number of adaptations in the more recent GRAPHICS CLASSICS series. JB's 70+ pages Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes' magnum opus "MUSCLE & FAITH" is still posted in our web-comics archives (thanks, Mirage!). By day, Jeff works as an illustrator at the Lawrence Livermore Lab (see ENGINEERING COMICS #1)--- but in his heart, he's a full time comic book cartoonist.

I just love JB's singular style. He's done a number of short pieces for Flying Colors over the years for our newsletters (anyone remember those?), for our 10th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL (in '98), and for this web-site over the last bunch of years.

Anyway, Jeff's done it again with "Captain Four Color Saves the Day". You might even recognize a few of the Flying Colors' staff in the story. Comics' fans, see if you can find all the Silver Age in-jokes.

Check it out and let me know what you think, OK?

Wishing I really could fly,

Joe

New Releases Wednesday at Flying Colors!

Lots of good stuff this week! Huge titles from the big companies include:
• INFINITE CRISIS #1 from DC (don' t look at the last page untill you've read through the whole issue!)
• FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #1 (first part of "The Other" story)
• HOUSE OF M #7 (about time for this one, huh?)
• THE GOON 25¢ issue from Dark Horse (what a great time to jump on this cool title)

Lots more from the big publishers, so let's shine a light on some other very cool things coming in this week:
• DOOMED magazine #1. In the style of classic Warren mags like CREEPY, EERIE & Vampirella, this anthology looks like a winner!
• KRAZY & IGNATZ 1935-1936. Geo. Herriman's seminal strip is given another volume by Fantagraphics. Always a welcome addition to any serious comic historian's library. Plus it's just great stuff.
• Vanguard Publishing has two stellar entries this week--- RGK: THE ART OF ROY G KRENKEL (with notes from Al Williamson and Frank Frazetta) and SPIES, VIXENS & MASTERS OF KUNG FU: The Art of PAUL GULACY. Purty pickshers, if'n ya ask me.
• STANDARD CATALOG OF COMICS (4th edition). While not the definitve price guide that Overstreet is, the STANDARD CAATALOG serves so many other needs with exhaustive information. This one helps to answer lots of nagging comics' trivia questions.
• TONY MILLIONAIRE's LITTLE & LARGE hardcover. It's a storybook for kids, but everyone who loves Tony's MAAKIES and SOCK MONKEY will want to grab this one, too.

New comics & other cool stuff sure do make the middle of the work week a lot more bearable, don't they?

See you in Flying Colors!

Joe

Silver Age Avengers Assembled!

I participated in a round-table e-mail discoussion regarding Diamond Comic Distributors' new policy for lower selling independent titles. Here's the link:

http://www.buzzscope.com/features.php?id=1142

I come off as something of a Diamond apologist in the round-table, but there have been times I've been critical of the company. I do think Diamond does a difficult job very well. Sure, there are things they could do better, but I can say the same thing about my own operation. Anyway, if you'd care to post your comments about the "interview", please go right ahead.

Tomorrow, I'll give you a few highlights for the comics & other cool stuff arriving on sale here Wednesday, but I want to talk a bit about old comics right now.

Last week, my pal Steve Holmes came to visit. Steve's the one who really got me into comics back in '67. Whenever we talk or get together, we still talk comics. I suppose we could talk about law since Steve is a lawyer, but somehow talking about cool comics always seems to win.

Part of Steve's visit was his entrusting me with a small cache of old Avengers (scattered issues from #16-93) and Nick Fury (#3-15) comics. Most of these are in beautiful shape --- and Steve has consigned them to Flying Colors to sell so he can put the dough towards some old Dr. Strange and Conans he'd like to upgrade.

Ask me if you'd like to see this stash of about 70 comics from Marvel's Silver Age.

Keep those four-colors flying!

Joe

Columbus Loves Comics! No Delay!

I've already mentioned here how much I LOVE the new "Complete Calvin & Hobbes" hardcover slipcase edition that went on sale this past Tuesday.

Cartoonist Bill Watterson didn't give a whole lot of interviews about C&H or any of his work as a cartoonist, but in anticipation of the release of the Complete C&H, fans were invited to send questions for Bill to answer. The result is an enlightening Q&A session ---found at
http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/calvinandhobbes/interview.html

I didn't go out fishing the internet for that interview, though. I found it on ---ta da!--- another blog! Dan Shahin runs one of the real up and coming operations in the comics biz, Hijinx Comics in San Jose CA (my birthplace, for what that's worth...) and he's been blogging forever. Check out Dan's site at http://www.hijinxcomics.com ---and when you're in the San Jose area, stop by Hijinx.

By the way, even though there is an ostensible holiday next week--- Monday is Columbus Day --- new comics and other cool stuff will still be on sale as usual WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12 (except maybe for those being shipped on the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria).

No delays because Monday is not a UPS holiday. And it looks to be another great week for comics with the big item being DC's first issue of INFINITE CRISIS! Woo and hoo, as they say!

More soon!

Joe

Odd Moment from Flying Colors' History

We just hit our 17th anniversary in business this week, so there have been more than 6200 days in the Flying Colors Comics history books.

Through that time, we've been asked --- let me guess--- something in the neighborhood of 620,000 questions. Most we've been able to answer simply and directly, maybe even enlightening the inquisitors along the way.

But the oddest question we've ever been asked was by the man who rushed in one Saturday morning in a total panic.
"Do you exchange saxophones?!"
"Excuse me?" I thought I hadn't heard the question properly.
"Do you exchange SAXOPHONES!!??"

No, we don't exchange saxophones here. Never quite fit the bill of "Other Cool Stuff" in our store's moniker.

Then there's the one about the guy who called looking for raccoon traps...

FlyCoJoe

Living a Baseball Life in a Football World

Those who regularly visit Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff here in Concord CA know what a big baseball fan I am. I like several other sports, but I LOVE baseball!

Remember comedian George Carlin's bit about the differences between football and baseball?

Football is all about taking enemy territory until you reach a goal, while baseball is all about "going home". Football is a war, while baseball is still a game. Football is played in stadiums---a la the olden days of the Christians vs the lions in Rome's Colisseum, while baseball is played in parks...where we can all relax and enjoy the ggreen grass and sunshine as the game slowly unfolds. Most other sports are on a clock, while baseball is timeless. Baseball players and fans are also smart enough to head for cover when it rains or snows...

In my estimation, the world would be a lot better place if it was more of a baseball world---more peaceful, more timeless and better mannered. I know baseball isn't really a "gentleman's game"---nor was it ever. But its pace is a more healthy one for all of us--- and the lack of baseball on the calendar is matched up to a lack of sunlight in our winter days. You don't hear about people getting Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD) in June, do you?

So what does this all have to do with comics?

I'll stretch it a little and say this: Comics and baseball have some very positive things in common. The sublime pleasure of reading comics is as timeless and carefree as spending a warm summer day at the ballpark. We can rush through reading them ---or we can take our own sweet time to savor them. And the comics of our youth often will remind us of simpler times when we didn't have to watch a clock. For some nostalgists who double as baseball fans and comic readers, it's likely easy to recall where you were when you read that first issue of a favorite comic book--- or where you were when a big baseball event happened.

Who says we can't time travel?

FlyCoJoe

New & Cool Stuff in-store Wed 10/5

Occasionally with this blog, I'll give a rundown of some new items in the store that may be a bit off the beaten path, but deserve your attention for possible purchases. Here's a few of those items on-sale Wednesday October 5, 2005:

• The Complete Calvin & Hobbes. A massive (20 pounds +) slipcased hardcover collection of Bill Watterson's brilliant comic strip. From fall-down funny slapstick to wry social commentary, C&H stands out as one of the greatest (if somewhat short-lived) comics strips of all time. The $150 price tag is well worth the hours and hours of pleasure readers will get from this long-awaited collection.

• Baghdad Journal: An Artist in Occupied Iraq, published by Drawn & Quarterly. I wasn't prepared for how big and beautiful (if 'beautiful' can really be used to describe paintings of war-torn Iraq) this book is. Be sure to take a look when you're in the store this week.

• Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror. What a line-up of talent for this annual treat from BONGO Comics! Mark Schultz, James Lloyd, John Severin, Angelo Torres and Al Williamson---all catching that cool EC Comics' vibe with a Simpsons' twist.

• The FOG. The adaptation of the soon-to-be-released movie starring "Smallville"'s Tom Welling, this one sports a Mike Mignola cover and looks like a winner.

• Bone Sharps & Thunder Lizards, from Jim Ottaviani's GT Labs. Some of you may remember getting a taste of this as a Free Comic Book Day giveaway edition---well, this is the full deal. Very cool---so please check it out!

• Curse of Dracula. The team of Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan, reknowned for their "Tomb of Dracula" series from Marvel in the '70s, are back together with more Dracula tales, this time from Dark Horse. A pre-Halloween treat, if you ask me...

There's so much more that's hitting the racks Wednesday morning. We hope you'll find the time to visit Flying Colors Comics this week. And bring a friend!

Peace!

Joe

First View 10-03-05

Welcome to The View from Flying Colors, our li'l excursion into the world of blogging.

I've been dragged kicking and screaming into this by my trusted web-master, Alan Alvaro (http://A3Consulting.com --- I highly recommend Alan's services!), and I still don't know quite what to make about this stuff. Most of the time, I'll leave a place for you to add your comments---and it would be cool if you do, so I can know that someone is finding this, reading it and having some response to it. (Just to warn you, I reserve the right to edit posts for clarity and courtesy)

What you'll find in this space are my musings on the wonderful world of comics--- along with occasional reviews and rants from me and the rest of the Amazing Flying Colors' Staff!

I'll also delve into other subjects occasionally, including:
• Movie reviews (That wasn't MY 'Fantastic Four' movie, by the way. None of the sometimes melancholy, often playful family dynamics of the Lee/Kirby run and Dr. Doom wasn't in the rocket with the Four when they go hit by the cosmic rays!! But it was a movie that provided a springboard for more people to find out about all the great FF comics for the last 45 years...).
• Some talk about music (usually my favorite indie power pop and prog-rock, but you can already get a glimpse of some of that on FlyingColorsComics.com at the "Music" page).
• Whatever else I feel like spouting off--- hopefully you'll find some of it readable, and all of it worth your time.


Anyway, this is officially the First View --- and what a day it is!
October 3 marks the 17th anniversary of the opening of Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff!

The first point of order here is to thank everyone who has been part of the success of this li'l venture, including all the great people working in the business of comics --- artists, writers, other creative folks, publishers and distributors (including all those warehouse workers who try to get my order right every week). Special thanks to all those who have served as members of the Flying Colors' staff. I wouldn't have been here for 17 years if I had to do it on my own! Most of all, thank you to all the thousands of people who have shopped here before. God bless you, every one!

More to come soon, but until then---
"We've got your cool blog right here--- in Flying Colors ('thumbs-up' sign goes here). "

Joe