Sat 10/4 @ Noon: Flying Colors 37th Anniversary!

 

Sat 9/6: Meet Marvel Comics Cover Artist BEN SU!

 

Saturday September 6 from 11AM-1PM 
Marvel Comics Cover Artist BEN SU will be signing his NEW Amazing Spider-Man #11 (Legacy #975) cover featuring the debut of a new symbiote--- SYMBIE!

Flying Colors Upcoming Events!

 

Dan Brereton's NOCTURNALS Event!

Long-time FlyCo Fave artist/storyteller DANIEL BRERETON will make his first appearance at the new Flying Colors Comics Saturday September 13 at Noon. 

That week, the first issue of Dan's new NOCTURNALS: SINISTER PATH series debuts.

We'd love to see you here for a good time with a very cool artist!

More:
Dan Brereton Flying Colors Interview from 2007
Dan and FlyCoJoe Look Back at the Early Days of FLying Colors

Fantastic Four event Saturday July 19

Forty years ago while on staff at KJOY-AM, I initiated a campaign asking Marvel Comics to designate Stockton as the "Official Birthplace of the Fantastic Four."

The campaign was a success. The late great Stan Lee stood on the steps of Stockton's City Hall and delivered an official proclamation. I did a limited run of prints of the proclamation which you can see in the photo here.

During our recent move to our new Concord Ave location, I found the last remaining copies of the Fantastic Four print... over the years I've gotten a lot of requests for them!

So I'm happy to announce we'll have the prints, along with news clippings and the Fantastic Four in Stockton comic book all available for purchase exclusively at Flying Colors starting Saturday July 19.

(Sorry, no mail order available)

Read more HERE!
and HERE!

Flying Colors is an Eisner Award Finalist!

 Happy stuff here!

We’ve been informed that Flying Colors Comics is a FINALIST for the 2025 Will Eisner “Spirit of Comics” Retailing Award! Yowza!

There are several other worthy finalists for this honor. The recipient will be announced at Comic-Con on Friday July 25.

Whatever happens, we’re thrilled to have our comic shop, our FlyCo Retailing Brigade— our very cool comics community— recognized more widely.

Thank you, FlyCo Faithful near and far for your continued support and enthusiasm for Flying Colors.

You make us feel like winners every day!

WonderCon 1996 KTVU Channel 2 feature

Blast from the past!
WonderCon 1996 in Oakland CA!

I recently came across this TV report from KTVU's "On the Money" business news feature program . This report originally aired in early May 1996.  

A report from Tom Vacar featuring Rory Root (Comic Relief, Berkeley CA), Jim Valentino (Image Comics), Joe Field (Flying Colors, Concord CA) and Mario Hernandez (Love & Rockets). As always, buy what you like, buy what's entertaining and you'll never be disappointed. Buy for potential financial gain and you'll never be happy.
Comics are great entertainment for everyone!

Direct link to YouTube video:
https://youtu.be/cyQceoGYCYk

Best Selling Graphic Novels: Mid year Report

 A quick mid-year report:

* The list here features the top-selling graphic novels at Flying Colors from January 1 through June 30, 2025.

Know this: These graphic novels don't wind up on this list unless they are READER RECOMMENDED!

See any of your favorites?

* Our list of best-selling comic book single issues would be totally dominated by the big success of DC Comics' Absolute line as well as Marvel's Ultimate line.

Visit Flying Colors today for great recommendations from our FlyCo Retailing Brigade!

RIP, Jim Shooter

WonderCon, 1995.

In the photo here from right: Jim Shooter, DC editor Julius Schwartz, artists Gil Kane and Dick Ayers and me.

At that time, I had been in the comics’ biz about eight years. The four Hall of Famers with me had more than 170 years combined experience in comics at that point!

So now, with the passing of Jim Shooter, I’m the last one standing.

Honestly, I didn’t really know Jim Shooter. I know he was a complicated person (aren’t we all?). We talked a few times, the first time in early 1986 when Marvel agreed to designate Stockton CA as the “Official Birthplace of the Fantastic Four.”

Jim asked me to shoot a couple rolls of film (!) of Stockton and the surrounding area so that artists working on the Stockton issue could have a sense of what the city looked like.

Problem was, I didnt have a lot of time to take the photos, have them developed and get them to Marvel’s New York office. That meant a bunch of photos of Stockton draped in drab weather and oppressive fog. Oh well.

I recall having a conversation with Jim at San Diego Comic-Con at his Valiant booth. While we were talking, an aspiring comics artist asked Jim to look at his portfolio.

After looking through it, Jim offered some advice, then pulled out an old Jack Kirby Captain America comic book and proceeded to show the young artist the magic of Kirby’s dynamic storytelling. Shooter animatedly acted out the action demonstrating the excitement superhero artists need to put in every panel they draw. I loved being a bystander to that lesson.

Jim started writing for comics when he was just 13 years old… and that fact has likely inspired legions (see what I did there?) of young hopefuls to dream of comics writing careers.

Comics is a career for dreamers.

RIP, Jim Shooter.

Original John Romita art available & a bit of Flying Colors history

 THIS PACKAGE IS NOW SOLD!!

August 1992, the comics world celebrated the 30th anniversary of the first appearance of the Amazing Spider-Man. 

Flying Colors wasn’t quite four years old yet, so we wanted to do something BIG to mark the occasion.

We were fortunate enough to work with Marvel Comics to host Spider-Man’s all-time most popular artist, the late great JOHN ROMITA!

John Romita regaled our FlyCo Faithful with stories, signatures and sketches for hours (and some hours past his scheduled time).

So here we are 33 years later.

The great John Romita passed away (in 2023 at the age of 93). And one fan who attended the Flying Colors event got the two Romita signed original sketches shown here, as well as the signed copy of the super-key issue of Amazing Spider-Man #121. That fan passed away in 2018, leaving these items to his wife.

And she has entrusted them to Flying Colors to find a

new home for these absolutely amazing items.


Our goal is to have one buyer for the package including:
* Amazing Spider-Man #121 signed by John Romita

* Amazing Spider-Man 8x11 original signed John Romita sketch on Flying Colors letterhead

* Spidey villain Lizard 8x11 original signed John Romita sketch on Flying Colors letterhead

* Two John Romita photos from the 1992 signing event.


Visit Flying Colors soon to see these items.

Pricing information is ONLY available in person at Flying Colors.