FCBD Just 15 Days Away!

You are invited to our HUGE Free comic Book Day party here at FLYING COLORS, Saturday May 5th!

Our Special Guest will be artist JH WILLIAMS III, whose work has recently graced the stories of Alan Moore (PROMETHEA), Warren Ellis (DESOLATION JONES) and Grant Morrison (SEVEN SOLDIERS).

JH WILLIAMS III will be here on FCBD from 11am-3pm signing copies of the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA FCBD Edition, written by Brad Meltzer and drawn by a host of great talents, including Mr. Williams.

Be here, OK? And bring some of your non-comics reading pals to the party, too.

Supplies of some FCBD comics may be limited, so be sure to get here early! You know, not "sleeping bag early", but just make sure to get here!!

For a complete list of Special Edition FCBD comics, please go
HERE!


Peace!

FlyCoJoe

Remembering 'Ma' Porter

The handsome couple in the photo to the right are Aileen "Ma" Porter and her husband, Len. The photo was taken sometime in 1968, when I was 12 years old.

Ma and Len were the proprietors of Rheem Valley Billiards in Moraga's Rheem Shopping Center. As a young and impressionable kid, Ma & Len had a huge and positive influence on me.

In those days, if I wasn't reading comics, I was usually at Ma's pool hall playing my favorite pinball machines. I often hung out at Ma & Len's place after school and on weekends. In between games of pinball, I talked with Ma a lot, her advice was invaluable to me---and she was a great listener.

Back then, there were rumors that Ma & Len had lost a son in Viet Nam. What we came to find out years later is that Ma regularly corresponded with probably dozens of GI's stationed over-seas, sending them her love and compassion on a weekly basis. Those soldiers, like those of us guys who became 'regulars' at the pool hall, were all her 'sons'---and our girl-friends became her 'daughters'. She was just that way.

Well, my lovely wife Libby reminded me that today is the anniversary of Ma's birth.
Although Ma passed away in June '05, and Len passed away several years before that, I'll always remember their kindness and influence on me.

Both Libby and I share the same vision for FLYING COLORS that we felt whenever we visited Ma & Len--- to have a business that would be so comfortable for everyone it would seem like an extension of our own family.

A couple of years ago, I wrote a column about the lessons I learned from Ma & Len. It was originally published in Comics & Games Retailer magazine and I thought today would be an appropriate day to share it with you again.

You can read it by clicking
HERE!

Peace--- and Happy Easter!

FlyCoJoe
(Flying Colors will be closed on Sunday April 8 to celebrate the Son Rise of Easter.)

Free Comic Book Day at FLYING COLORS!

Here's our new TV ad promoting our huge party on FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, Saturday May 5th!



And if by chance, you can't make it to our FCBD event at FLYING COLORS, then please check out http://FreeComicBookDay.com for information on FCBD events in your area. With nearly 2000 stores taking part in more than 20 countries, there's sure to an FCBD party near you!

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

Announcing JH Williams III as FLYING COLORS' Special In-Store Guest on FREE COMIC BOOK DAY--- MAY 5th!

I'm thrilled to report that ever-cool comic book artist JH Williams III will be our Special Guest at our big FREE COMIC BOOK DAY event on Saturday May 5th.

JH is one of the brightest talents in the business and his current work can be seen in DC/Wildstorm's DESOLATION JONES series (with writer Warren Ellis), and on covers for Vertigo's CROSSING MIDNIGHT. More of JH's recent work can also be found in DC Comics' SEVEN SOLDIERS, ABC Comics' PROMETHEA series (with writer Alan Moore) and his writing is on display in the brand new trade paperback collection of "SNOW" a BATMAN story co-written with Dan Curtis Johnson and drawn by the late great Seth Fisher.

On FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, Saturday May 5th, JH will be signing FREE copies of DC Comics' JUSTICE LEAGUE of AMERICA FCBD SPECIAL, which features his art.

To prepare the FLYING COLORS' Faithful for his visit here on FCBD, here's a short interview to get things started.

The last time you visited Flying Colors was way back in '97 for the release of your first regular DC Universe series, CHASE. Isn't it about time that series was put into a trade paperback?
JH: Yes, it would be great to have that collected. But the material originally came out during a tough time for the industry, hence it's cancellation. So it is a bit of a hard sell to get the publisher to take a serious look at it again even though the series has been highly lamented ever since. It may take doing something fresh and new with the character to revitalize things a bit for them to go for it. We've been having discussions about it.

How do you look back on that time?
JH: I do look back on that time fondly and have unresolved feelings surrounding that character. So maybe sometime soon we can get things going again and give those concepts the spotlight they deserve.

Since then, how do you see yourself growing as an artist over the last decade?
I feel CHASE was the first step toward my horizons getting broader. Since then I think I've managed to expand on things quite a bit. I'm very pleased with the extent of the marriage between experimentation and commercialism that I've stumbled onto.

However I do aggravate myself because I'm constantly fighting with how to try new things that I haven't tried before. Sometimes you just want to cut loose but the story doesn't call for it. So I try to challenge myself in other more subtle ways on those types of projects. Which is good because it keeps things diversified.

Doing interior pages for Batman calls for different approaches than doing covers for CROSSING MIDNIGHT or the work I did for SEVEN SOLDIERS. So I guess one thing that has changed since a decade ago is a feeling of more confidence and good fortunes in regards to being able to move in various stylistic challenges and finding the work acceptable.


You've really become "the writer's artist"--- some of your most recent projects are collaborations with Alan Moore (PROMETHEA), Grant Morrison (SEVEN SOLDIERS) and Warren Ellis (DESOLATION JONES). What are the biggest challenges working with some of the field's best-known writers?
JH: I find that the biggest challenge is to keep things as close as possible to the writer's visions but be able to interject a lot of myself into the story as well. I try and get inside the script or story and truly see what is between the lines. Seeing what isn't being fully said and bring that out into the view of the reader through choices of shots or layouts or even style approaches.

More often than not a scene or sequence is trying to convey something below the surface of what is superficially evident. So I like to try and get at the heart of that and see if I can make something happen with it. Sometimes the presentation of that can be extremely challenging as well because it needs to feel appropriate for the moment. To make sure it works and conveys what it needs to. Sometimes it requires something very bold and dramatic that hits the reader hard or it needs to be subtle so it slowly nags at the reader subconsciously.

Another challenge is to get something different out of my work from project to project. Doing the first arc for DESOLATION JONES was the right thing for me after PROMETHEA because it allowed me try things that PROMETHEA didn't, two very different worlds. That same perspective applies with SEVEN SOLDIERS as well. The diversity between these projects really has made it so I can move in unexpected ways visually but still retain my notions on storytelling. I've been very fortunate in that these fantastic writers are willing to let play. They each have a unique quality different from each other. My job is really to understand what it is that they want to say and see if I can do that in ways that might not have been considered before.

You were co-writer on the CHASE series. Do you have future plans to write the stuff you're also drawing?
JH: I'm definitely wanting to do more writing. And yes I have some ideas that I feel I have to draw myself. But I'm really interested in writing for other artists. Mister Johnson and I have dabbled with that a little bit already. Besides CHASE and various short stories over the years for DC we co-wrote a BATMAN story that was published in LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT.

It was entitled "Snow" and was astonishingly drawn by our dearly departed friend Seth Fisher. It was a real pleasure to see how another artist would approach a story conceived partially by me with my sensibilities. The result was really, really nice. If anyone is so inclined to see what I'm talking about the story has been collected into trade paperback form.

Slowly but surely I'm working on other writing projects. Hopefully some of them will see the light of day.


Are there other artists' work you look at to get inspired?
JH: I'm pretty much always looking at stuff. I respond to things visually (who'd have thought). I look at a lot of things outside of comics. I tend to really study what I'm seeing to see if I can make sense of it or understand how it works. I think my mind reflects a lot of what I see, though most often, I consciously don't want it to. Those things that appeal to me tend to creep in.

However there are certainly times where I'm being very specifically motivated by a look in particular. Very often these are my attempts to homage things or learn something from it in regards to how something works or how I can relate to it.

What art assignment would make you drop everything else to take it on right this very minute?
JH: That is really tough say. My mind is constantly in flux. One moment I'm focused on BATMAN or something similar in genre to working on personal material. I tend to always be putting fingers in several pies at once. Its just never evident by what comes out or when.

I'd say after doing stuff for the DCU for awhile I will start focusing on creator owned material again. At some point Grant Morrison and I are going to do something creator owned and I have a couple ideas of my own that I want to see happen with me as the artist and co-writer. It really is an impossible question for me because I never know what will spring to mind.

What's your favorite music that you play when working on your art?
JH: I don't keep myself limited to a certain type of music while working. I enjoy everything I put on greatly. I tend to buy a lot of music, so if I'm not listening to stuff from my archive then I just grab whatever is on top of the "new" pile.

What's on your drawing table right now?
JH: BATMAN #668 page 11, the covers to CROSSING MIDNIGHT #10 and #11… plus a side burner issue of JONAH HEX.

Thanks, JH, and we really look forward to seeing you on Saturday May 5th for FREE COMIC BOOK DAY at FLYING COLORS!

JH is scheduled to be signing on FCBD from 11am-3pm, although we will be giving out free comics all day long. We'll have a great selection of JH's comics and trade paperbacks in stock on FCBD, but if there's something special you'd like JH to sign, please order it in advance and we'll have it for you on your next visit to FLYING COLORS.

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy...

Steve Rogers aka CAPTAIN AMERICA
1941-2007
R.I.P.
(Hear Joe's interview with Rosie Allen & Greg Jarrett of KGO Radio in San Francisco by clicking HERE!)

So we're talking the Death of Captain America. No spoilers here, but you must have already seen and heard the news that Steve Rogers, the man who has been Captain America since before the U.S. got into military action in World War Two, has died.

Captain America---dead?

Read about in the brand new issue #25 of CAPTAIN AMERICA from Marvel Comics, written by Ed Brubaker and aritst Steve Epting. Brilliant in its execution, it's emotional, suspenseful and ultimately, saddening. At least to this old Cap fan.

Will he stay dead?
Will someone else wear the Captain America uniform?
Do true legends ever die?

Captain America has "died" before, in the classic comics pictured here by Stan Lee, Jim Steranko and John Romita Sr. But this time, those in the know at Marvel are saying this is the real thing. Or at least as real as it can get in a $4 comic book.

Well, the news today struck a lot of people, moving them to come to FLYING COLORS and buy and read the death of Captain America. The story continues in CIVIL WAR:The Initiative and in MIGHTY AVENGERS #1.

But is this where the story ends?
Coming soon: FALLEN SON: The Death of Captain America mini-series, where various other heroes associated with the good Captain ruminate on his passing, and look deeper into how it happened, who is repsonsible and whether there's more to the story.

Be here for the ride!

In the meantime, Rest In Peace, Steve Rogers!

FlyCoJoe

WonderCon this weekend!

FLYING COLORS still has save-a-few-bucks advance tickets available for WonderCon this weekend at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

It's going to be HUGE this year with all the Hollywood happenings, advance looks at summer movies---and oh, yes, comics, too! I want to invite you the one panel I'll be a part of during the con. Here's the scoop:

SUNDAY MARCH 4 11:30AM Room 228
Comic Retailer Roundtable--- Join moderator Dan Shahin (Hijinx Comics, San Jose) and fellow retailers Joe Ferrara (Atlantis Fantasyworld, Santa Cruz), Joe Field (FLYING COLORS, Concord), Brian Hibbs (Comix Experience, San Francisco) and Ryan Higgins (Comics Conspiracy, Sunnyvale) for an up to the minute look into the realities of modern comic book retailing. Special focus will be placed on recent industry changes and how retailers are adapting and planning for the future.

That may sound like a mouthful, but I've been a part of these things at various industry events for years and they really can be quite fun. If you've ever wanted a "peek behind the curtain" of comic book retailing, this panel should be right up your alley.

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

WonderCon is 21!

WonderCon, Northern California's largest comics & pop culture convention, returns for its 21st annual show March 2-4 (next weekend!) at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Since my former WonderCon partner Mike Friedrich and I sold the convention five years ago to the hard-working folks at Comic-Con International, WC has exploded in popularity. I couldn't be happier about that. It's a relief for me not to have the huge task of helping to organize a major convention anymore, and the great team at Comic-Con has taken our good-sized regional event and turned it into a major happening on the comics' calendar.


Along with tons of cool stuff for sale at the show, a number of Hollywood happenings are in store for WC fans and attendees, including advance looks at ucoming movies like FRANK MILLER'S 300, SPIDER-MAN 3, and others.

We still have advance tickets for sale at FLYING COLORS, so our suggestion is to pick up your weekly supply of Comics & Other Cool Stuff at FLYING COLORS (New Releases' Day is Wednesday!), then save a few bucks by getting your WonderCon tix from us.

(I'll be there for a short time on Friday afternoon and then most of the day Sunday. Join me and some of my comics' retailing friends for a panel at 11:30AM Sunday. The topic is "The Future of Comics' Retailing", moderated by Dan Shahin of Hijinx Comics in San Jose.)

The photo shown here is from WonderCon in 1995 at the Oakland Convention Center. That's me on the left---along with artist Dick Ayers (SGT FURY, etc.), the late artist Gil Kane (GREEN LANTERN, SPIDER-MAN, HIS NAME IS SAVAGE,etc.), the late DC editor Julius Schwartz and writer/editor Jim Shooter (former Marvel editor-in chief, also of VALIANT and DEFIANT). So there I am---at that time in 1995, I had all of about eight years professional experience in the comics' world, along with some of the most experienced and talented people the comics' biz has ever seen. I did a rough estimate that the other four gentlemen in the photo with me---at that time had combined for nearly two CENTURIES of professional experience in comics! Yow!!

Free Comic Book Day TV Ad on YouTube!

Produced by Adams Digital Video, here's the new TV ad for Free Comic Book Day 2007! This ad is available for use by all participating FCBD retailers in all 50 states and more than 25 countries around the world. Interested retailers can get the scoop by reading the video info on YouTube or by going to the Diamond Comics Retailer web-site.



Another big Free Comic Book Day will be happening at FLYING COLORS on Saturday May 5th. We'll be announcing our Special Guest soon, so please bookmark this page and visit regularly.

Peace 'n' Comics!

FlyCoJoe

The Business of Comics

Over the last 16 months, these blog entries---these "Views From FLYING COLORS"--- have covered a lot of territory. I've shared a lot of comics-related news, some musings about music, baseball and life in general.

The last time I checked, I'm reaching about ten thousand unique visitors to this blog and to the FLYING COLORS COMICS' site. That's close to triple the amount of readers of this site before I started blogging. But with all the different topics I've covered, the one I haven't written a lot about is my role as the president of ComicsPRO , the retailer trade organization.

So since I know there are probably a fair number of my fellow comic book retailers reading this, I'd like to put in a pitch for every comic book retailer to join ComicsPRO. The group currently has about 90 retailer members in 30 states. Some have joined because ComicsPRO offers preferential rates on credit card processing, a health insurance plan and a number of other financial benefits.

The primary reason to be a part of ComicsPRO is for the voice it gives ALL storefront comic specialty store owners. For all the yakking we do with the fans who visit our stores every day, comic retailers are somewhat famous for not being joiners. Every retailer goes about doing his/her job in their own particular way, but few retailers take the time to participate in the larger goings-on in the comic book industry.

ComicsPRO has three main objectives:
1) To help reduce the costs that all retailers incur (that's the credit card plan)
2) To nurture and mentor new comics specialty retailers in an effort to grow the whole market
3) To speak with a single unified voice on in important industry topics

Last week, ComicsPRO members from Northern California met at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco to sign up new members and talk about some of the concerns that confront all comics' retailers.

The business of comics' retailing is not easy. For many, unfortunately, it's a lifestyle rather than a living. Very few comic book retailers are wealthy. There aren't comfortable retirements in this business. We do this because we love what we do---we love to share our enthusiasm for the very powerful comics' art-form, we love being on the first wave of pop culture.

There are times, though, when retailers' concerns are not heard in a cohesive way. The comics' market dynamics have changed a lot in recent years. The continuing focus of ComicsPRO is to make sure that specialty retailers are a big part of the plans of publishers and other suppliers. By extension, that means ComicsPRO is advocating for every fan's favorite shop.

ComicsPRO will be meeting in Las Vegas in April to communicate face-to-face with publishers and other suppliers in the first retailer-directed trade show in the comics' biz in many years. If you're one of the many comics' specialty retailers reading this, I hope you get on board by joining ComicsPRO and I hope you'll attend our Las Vegas meeting in April. Joining ComicsPRO is something powerful and positive you can do for your business today.

Peace 'n' Comics!

FlyCoJoe

GRAMMY Awards in Review

Some random thoughts after watching (most of) the GRAMMY Awards on CBS last night:

* There's something oh-so very wrong with the music business when TONY BENNETT, upon receiving his award for his duet with STEVIE WONDER, thanks TARGET. That's right---TARGET, the department store chain that is apparently a big player in the music business. I'm not sure which is lower---all the winners thanking their lawyers or Bennett thanking corporate America for absconding with the American music business.

* As much as I feel the DIXIE CHICKS won their awards last night more for their out-spokenness about the War in Iraq than about their music, I couldn't be happier for Dan Wilson, one of the CHICK's co-songwriters and the former front-man for an honestly excellent group, SEMISONIC.

* Loved the bit with with SMOKEY ROBINSON, LIONEL RICHIE and CHRIS BROWN, representing the last 40 or so years of R&B. And a clearer delineation of where the music business has fallen down can't be found--- SMOKEY's still lovely voice on his classic "TRACKS OF MY TEARS", then LIONEL's still strong vocals and piano on "HELLO" (although I wish he would have sung the Commodores' hit "EASY"), followed by CHRIS BROWN, who with a a lot of dancers worked up quite a sweat before he actually did any singing. We've gone from the substance of classic voices to the style of lots of movement on stage, but an almost total lack of melody.

* Saw on the crawler at the bottom of the screen that JERSEY BOYS and producer/songwriter BOB GAUDIO won a Grammy for BEST MUSICAL SHOW ALBUM. Libby and I saw the San Francisco company performance of JERSEY BOYS earlier this month at the Curran Theater---and it is a killer show! Something like 90% of the cast not only sing, dance and act, but also play musical instruments.

* Another forty years from now, people will still know "TRACKS OF MY TEARS" but it's doubtful they'll remember any of the songs nominated at the 49th Grammy Awards' show. During some stretches of the show last night, I found the music much better on the TIME/LIFE "Classic Soft Rock" infomercial than on the Grammy show.

* Another thing about the old stuff on the infomercial: It's clear to me that style didn't account for much of anything back when radio ruled the music business. There were some downright stop-a-clock ugly people making hit records in the '70s, while love it or hate it, the music business today is ruled by style.

* You haven't been humming any of this year's Grammy winners today, have you?


* Although someone please tell those old guys from AIR SUPPLY to button up their shirts. Seeing that is almost as bad as their sappy songs...

* Loved seeing the POLICE open the show, but I really wish they would have done just about any other song than "ROXANNE". Guess it would have been too much for them to do something like "WALKING ON THE MOON". Coming soon: an over-priced, over-hyped POLICE reunion tour at venues better suited for NBA games than concerts.

* And aren't we all feeling just a little bit better that JAMES BLOUNT and his totally insipid tune "YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL" got shut out last night? Somewhere that song is already being used to torture the innocent.

Peace!

FlyCoJoe