ARCHIE by the late, great Dan DeCarlo

Here's some advance notice on a very cool project!

Coming out in May, IDW Publishing kicks off an extraordinary series of Archie Comics' collected editions featuring the dean of Archie artists --- Archie: The Best of Dan DeCarlo Volume One HC ($24.99) offers the very best of this classic and influential artist, gathering stories from the mid 1950s through the early 1970s.

Dan DeCarlo spent nearly 50 years with the characters of Riverdale High, drawing every character at one time or another. Archie: The Best of Dan DeCarlo Volume One contains dozens of stories handpicked by DeCarlo experts, all newly scanned from rare original art and recolored to capture the flavor of the original comics.

This is the first in IDW’s “Best Of” series, which will grow to include collections of Bob Montana, Harry Lucey, and Stan Goldberg, among others.

“It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a great fan of Dan DeCarlo’s work,” said IDW Special Projects Editor, Scott Dunbier. “His classic style inspired and influenced scores of artists and entertained countless fans.”

Place your orders now at Flying Colors to reserve a copy of this Archie classic edition!

Peace ('n Pop's Choklit Shoppe)!

FlyCoJoe

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New FCBD t-shirts are here!

Now in stock--- and ready for you to become a human billboard for the comics' event of the year!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY t-shirts are here. Specially priced at just $7.99 each while supply lasts (adult sizes M-L-XL-XXL).

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

An Artifact from Days Gone By

Take a look at this.

It's a photo of an old bag--- literally!--- from the defunct Comics & Comix chain of comic book stores that was big in Northern California going back to the early '70s.

The bag was part of a collection of comics I bought today at Flying Colors from a woman who, like I did, frequented Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue location of Comics & Comics those decades ago.

Maybe it was a bad business decision on my part to buy the box of comics in which I found this bag. There was nothing rare or very valuable... there was some fun stuff, including early Savage Sword of Conan, Secret Six, Doctor Spektor from Gold Key and random other titles, including the infamous Giant-Size Man-Thing... (easily the comic book with the worst title ever from any comic publisher!).

Honestly, the bag made the deal for me... hit the pic for a larger view and you'll see a very cool Bobby London illustration featuring many classic comic and strip characters (including Popeye, of course, something London is much more famous for than drawing comic book store bags!).

It's just a bag, but it hit me that the store it came from was partially responsible for my continuing affection for the rich American art-form of comics and for my wanting to be in this business. I'm fortunate to be to able to call former Comics & Comix partners Bud Plant, Dick Swan and the late John Barrett friends of mine... these guys were among those who laid the groundwork for all comic book retailers who came after them.

I'm very proud of Flying Colors and my place in the comics' biz, but it's goofy little things like that old C&C store bag that remind me I'm still standing on the shoulders of the giants who came before me.

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

Cool Stuff On the Way!

Arriving at Flying Colors on Wednesday February 17!

• BLACKEST NIGHT Series 3 Action Figures!

• DEADPOOL Logo T-Shirt!

• SILVER SURFER "Solar Logo" T-Shirt!

• BATMAN: Black & White statue by Marshall Rogers!

• KING AROO Hardcover!

• LOGAN's RUN #1 !

• KICK ASS Premier Hardcover!

• BLACKEST NIGHT: Flash #3, GREEN LANTERN #51, GREEN LANTERN CORPS #45... and more than 100 other titles!

...and need we say "MORE!"

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

New Silver Age Toon Tumblers Are Here!

Twelve new Silver Age Marvel styles of TOON TUMBLERS are now in stock at Flying Colors!

Come and get 'em!

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

Flying Colors Retailing Brigade Picks of the Week!

Each week at Flying Colors, our soon to be illustrious staff members each make a "Pick of the Week" for good reading and fun. here's the list for the new stuff hitting the racks on Wednesday January 27, 2010.

FlyCoJoe: FANTASTIC FOUR #575 (the Hickman/Eaglesham creative team is really doing some fun stories on this title)

Mike: AFRODISIAC Graphic Novel (taking visual and script cues from "Blaxploitation" movies and comics of the '70s, this AdHouse Books entry may this week's coolest under-the-radar release.)

Andy: GREEN LANTERN #50 (Blackest Night continues to create excitement!)

Marty: THE WIZARD's TALE (Kurt Busiek and David Wenzel's Tolkienesque graphic novel is awesomely re-mastered in an over-sized hardcover from IDW.)

Libby: THE BEATLES EXPERIENCE trade paperback (did you know Libby actually saw the Beatles live--- twice!? How could she not pick this one?)

Lots of other great stuff in store on Wednesday when we're open 11AM-8PM.

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

Write Your Own dialog...

...on the Flying Colors Fan Brigade page on Facebook. Click here!

Just for fun--- and you don't have to be a member of Facebook to be a Flying Colors Fan Brigadier --- give us your best shot for to complete the dialog in this comic book panel.

Peace 'n' Comics!

FlyCoJoe

(Bonus round: Tell us what comic book the panel is from!)

Free Comic Book Day T-Shirts: MAD Style!

Did you know there are only 108 days until the next FREE COMIC BOOK DAY?

MAD Magazine's MADdest cartoonist, the amazing Sergio Aragones, has done the art for a limited edition t-shirt for fans of FCBD! Click on the image to get a better look!

Available in three different colors--white, black and purple, and in Adult sizes Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large and XX-Large.

S-M-L-XL are only $14.99 each, XXL is only $17.99 each...and available for order right now from us here at Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff!

Please place your orders in-store by February 10.



Peace!

FlyCoJoe
FCBD Founder

Comic Strip Stamps Coming to a Post Office Near You!

These postage stamps will debut in Summer 2010, around the time of Comic-Con International: San Diego.

It's a cool little deal to see comic strips getting the star treatment from the USPS.

More than that, though, while these may not be "collectibles," this will be the first officially licensed Calvin & Hobbes anything (outside of a wall calendar published my Andrews/McMeel 20 years ago).

Those Calvin & Hobbes window stickers you see with Calvin either praying or relieving himself on the Ford logo? Those are all bootleg items. Calvin & Hobbes cartoonist and creator Bill Watterson steadfastly refused to license anything from his strip, preferring to let the work stand on its own, despite enormous pressure (and the lure of Big Bucks) to make Hobbes plush figures and toys.

Watterson once said in an interview that he thought Charles Schulz of PEANUTS' fame sold out when his characters were used to sell everything from Dolly Madison Cakes & Pies to life insurance.

Being a huge PEANUTS' fan since I can remember (and also being a huge CALVIN & HOBBES' fan, too), I believe each cartoonist with control over how their creations can be used should do whatever they want. I have no problem with PEANUTS' stuff being everywhere--- these are universally loved characters that still resonate with millions today, years after Sparky Schulz passed away.

One other point of trivia about these stamps: Any amateur comics historian knows that ARCHIE did not start as a comic strip, but debuted in late 1941 in the pages of PEP Comics, from MLJ Publications, the forerunner to ARCHIE COMICS.

Peace 'n' Postage!

FlyCoJoe

(The observant will also notice that each of these stamps has a whiteout through the 44¢ price. I wonder if that means another stamp price hike is coming?)