Category Archives: By the Numbers

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Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017!

Goodbye 2016: Another year is in the books – pun intended! As we say goodbye (and some might say good riddance) to 2016, this is my annual look back at my reading and work on this blog. I once again found myself with down time between working assignments, so the reading output picked up some. I finished nine Showcase Presents volumes and 13 Essential volumes. And there were 52 new reviews posted each and every Monday morning.

Showcase Presents volumes read in 2016: Metal Men 1 & 2; Sgt. Rock 1; Enemy Ace 1; Spectre 1; Sea Devils 1; Doc Savage 1; The House of Mystery 2; and Showcase 1.
Essential volumes read in 2016: Werewolf by Night 1 & 2; Web of Spider-Man 1; Avengers 8 & 9; Fantastic Four 8; Monster of Frankenstein 1; Moon Knight 1 & 2; Ghost Rider 3 & 4; Marvel Two-in-One 4; and Marvel Saga 1.

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Hello 2017: This is going to be a transition year with the blog, as I am starting to see the end approaching. No worries, it’s not going away anytime soon. I still have plenty of books to read and write reviews. But right now, my list has roughly 40 books that I have not reviewed yet, and there are 52 weeks in the year. Do the math!

There may be some weeks that I take the week off. I might not have a review ready to go, or I may be busy with my podcast work. I will still post a quick note to let you know what’s going on.

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Wish List: Through this entire project, I have never asked for anything…. until now. My first rule for this blog was that I would only write a review if I owned and had read the book. Considering that I have published nearly 240 reviews so far, with at least 40 more to go, that translates to a lot of books in my collection. But I don’t have them all. There are around 12 books, mostly Showcases, that I do not own. I know that I can probably track them down, but I thought I would put this out to the world and see what happens.

On the blog, I have posted a Wish List of books I still need to track down to read and review. If you have one of these books and you want to pass it along to me, that would be awesome. I’m not asking anyone to go out and buy these books unless you can find them on the cheap. I’ve promised the family I will not buy any more of these books but I can accept free gifts!

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Marvel Saga: I started a new podcast venture with Nicholas Prom of the Comic Reflections podcast — and please check out his show if you are a fan of the Silver and Bronze Age comics! In each show, we are taking a detailed look at Marvel Saga from the mid-1980s. The comic was Marvel’s attempt to put all of the original stories in chronological order. A new show will go up once a month, with issue 2 posted just yesterday! The show is available in the feeds for both Comic Reflections and Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER!, so please give us a listen.

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Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER!: It was another great year with the podcast. We put a lot of time and sweat into the show, but with it came some great rewards. We hosted a lot of panels at shows around the Midwest, we interviewed guests from coast to coast and helped create some incredible experiences that will never be replicated.

In September, I traveled to Portland, OR, for the Rose City Comic Con. There I got to hang out with Ty Templeton at the Hero Initiative booth throughout the weekend, as well as meet creators such as Jimmy Palmiotti, Kurt Busiek, Gail Simone, Ron Randall, and more. The next weekend, we were part of the initial Panel Exploration event in Omaha, NE, where we sat down and talked about the comic book process with the likes of Stan Sakai, Phil Hester, and Cullen Bunn.

  • WCPE 2016 Interviews with: Hayley Nitz, Cullen Bunn, Jody Houser, Terry Moore, José Luis García-López, Ant Lucia, Yanick Paquette, Franco Aureliani, Art Baltazar, Rafer Roberts, David Baron, Steve Lightle, Greg Smallwood, Grace Ellis, Phil Hester, Stan Sakai, Allen Passalaqua, Megan Levens, Vivek Tiwary, Rick Stasi, B. Clay Moore, and more.
  • WCPE 2016 Panels hosted with: Jeremy Haun, B. Clay Moore, Seth Peck, Alex Grecian, Greg Smallwood, Roland Mann, John Lucas, John Dugan, Dennis Hopeless, Cullen Bunn, Jason Aaron & Jason Latour, Amanda Conner & Jai Nitz, Marv Wolfman, Helen Slater, Lesley Ann Brandt, Frank Conniff & Trace Beaulieu, Ksenia Solo, Aaron Stanford, John Schneider & Tom Wopat, Brian Herring, Peter Shinkoda, Michael Golden & Mike Grell, Stan Sakai, and more.

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Thank you!: We live in an age where we are overwhelmed by requests for our time and attention. Our social media feeds are updated every second with new items that we want to see and read and watch and listen. So with all of the demands on our precious time, I do appreciate each and every one of you who take the time each week to read my musings of these comics. I read the comments, I get a thrill when it is shared or liked. I would finish this project even if no one was reading this, but knowing that YOU are reading it helps me along. So thank you very much for your time and feedback!

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Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016!

Goodbye 2015: Here I go again with my wrap-up for 2015. Compared to the last two years, I hardly got any reading done. But that can easily be explained. I returned to full-time employment at the end of March, and the ever-growing success / workload / reading list for the Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER! For the subject of this blog, I finished seven Showcase Presents volumes and nine Essential volumes.

Showcase Presents volumes read in 2015: All-Star Squadron 1; Legion of Super-Heroes 5; Blue Beetle 1; Strange Adventures 1; Ambush Bug 1; Martian Manhunter 2; and Warlord 1.
Essential volumes read in 2015: Conan the Barbarian 1; Man-Thing 2; Marvel Horror 2; Wolverine 5; Punisher 3; Dazzler 2; Killraven 1; Daredevil 5; and Rampaging Hulk 2.

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Hello 2016: OK, for many years I was a loyal listener to the Collected Comics Library podcast produced by Chris Marshall. Each January, Chris announced his “Adopt a Character” for the year, in which he focuses on reading more about one character, a specific run of a book, or even just focus on a particular creator, over the next year.

For 2015, I had three “Adopt a Character” goals which I came very close to fulfilling!

  • I do want to finish the Mike Grell Green Arrow series. I have tracked down most of the Oliver Queen issues of the title after Grell left, up to issue #100, so my plan is to read the last 40 issues plus annuals. Mission accomplished, albeit in the final week of December. I am curious now about reading the Connor Hawke issues that followed this run, so I may be on the hunt in the back-issue bins this upcoming year.
  • With the Essential and Showcase lines, I have two long-boxes of books to read. As much as I try to balance 1 DC to 1 Marvel read, I may need to focus more on Marvel this year, as those are the majority of the books due up for review in 2015. Keep reading for more on the blog going forward. Well, my numbers did go down as detailed above. That said, I did read a lot of books that fall outside my usual reading habits. But for every book I did read, I probably replaced it with another volume that is sitting in the To-Be-Read pile. As of today, I have 18 Essentials and 18 Showcase Presents in my collection that are unread. I’m hoping to reduce my pile this year, and limit my purchases – barring an offer I just can’t refuse. Ha!
  • Finally, I am looking to find something new to jump into, so I am going to put it out there for my audience. Tell me a title I should be reading, either current or from the back issue bins. Please comment on this post with your suggestions, and the best one will be added to my to-read list for 2015. I initially thought I would re-read the original Marvel Star Wars run from the 1970s and 1980s. Instead, I pretty much read all of the 2015 Marvel Star Wars run, with all of the titles and mini-series. 

However, I don’t believe I am going to set official goals for 2016, outside of finishing more Essentials and Showcases than I purchase. Given the success of the podcast, I would like to keep a lot of my reading options open for the new year.

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Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER!: So trust me when I promise that I am still fully committed to Essential Showcase. Reviews are still going to be posted once a week, although I may move them away from Saturday in an attempt to get more eyes on the posts. But a good portion of my free time last year went to the podcast that I am doing with two of my best friends, John Holloway and Cullen Stapleton.

We started the podcast in the summer of 2014 as a way to get together once a week and talk comics. About this time last year, the three of us sat down and decided we were going to see what we could do with our entity beyond just a weekly podcast. So for the last year, we have provided new content on our blog Monday through Friday, with previews, reviews, comics, videos, and more. I have been re-using my older Essential Showcase reviews as material for our Throwback Thursday features, although I do mix in other reviews of older material along the way.

Between the three of us, we went to nine conventions, including a free trip to San Diego for Cullen and John. We’ve interviewed – either on the podcast or in a written post – dozens of creators and industry members over the last year. We did in-store appearances in the Kansas City area for Free Comic Book Day and Batman Day. By being in the right place at the right time, we even started hosting panels at some of the conventions. My personal highlight of the year was getting to co-host the Secret Wars panel at Kansas City Comic Con with Jim Shooter, Mike Zeck, and John Beatty. Some of our other interactions include:

  • Interviews with: Jason Aaron, Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt, Dan Parent, Ande Parks, Greg Pak, Rick Stasi, Steve Lightle, Terry Beatty, Cynthia Martin, CW Cooke, Kathy Garver, Katrina Law, Mike Grell, Tommy Castillo, Matt Kindt, David Mack, Frank Cho, Scott Williams, Chris Burnham, Barbara Kesel, B. Clay Moore, Jeremy Haun, Jillian Kirby, Meredith Finch, Trina Robbins, Alex de Campi, Joshua Dysart, Chris Roberson, Chris Sebula, Steve Lieber, Freddie Williams II, and more.
  • Panels hosted with: Walter Koenig, Bob Hall, Cynthia Martin, David Newell, Billy West & Maurice LaMarche, Jim Shooter, Mike Zeck, John Beatty, Colin Baker, Cerina Vincent, Tara Buck, Jamie Bamber, Butch Patrick, and more.

For 2016, we will be attending a lot of shows, either for the full weekend or a few days. You can find one or more of us at these shows in 2016:

  • Wizard World Portland
  • Emerald City Comic Con
  • Planet Comicon
  • Smallville Comicon
  • O Comic Con
  • Kansas City Comic Con
  • Rose City Comic Con
  • Lawrence Free State Comicon
  • Eugene Con

And this list is probably not final. I know of a few more than we might be adding to the list. Please visit our blog (often) to see what we are up to each week.

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Houchen Bindery: So via the podcast, I have gotten to know Tim Benson from Houchen Bindery. We’ve spoken to him twice on the podcast, and we’ve got a project in the works with him for later in 2016. Anyway, I have started sending some older comics to Tim to have bound into a hardback book. Tim is a skilled graphic designer, and has made custom covers for my books to mimic the look of the Essentials and Showcases.

In the last year, Tim and Houchen have put together the following books for me: Essential Alpha Flight, Showcase Presents Sandman Mystery Theater, Showcase Presents Who’s Who, and Showcase Presents Silver Age. In my head, I probably have another 20 volumes in mind for future projects. Just a matter of prioritizing and getting the books to Tim.

If you have ever thought about getting your books bound, contact Tim. There are a lot of other great binderies out there, and I am not speaking ill of any of them. But I am saying that Tim is the one I trust with my books.

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Thank you!: So I know that what I do here falls into a very small niche of the comic book reading community. I know I will never have spectacular numbers in terms of views, likes, and shares. I get that, and I am OK with that. To me, this is a passion project that I want to see through to the end.

But with that said, there are a handful of you guys that respond on a regular basis. I don’t want to name names, for fear that I leave someone off unintentionally. Just know that I appreciate you taking the time to look at my post and share it with your friends.

All right, let’s have a great 2016!

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Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!

Goodbye 2014: Once again, please forgive me while I indulge in some wrap-up for 2014. I did a lot of reading this year. Being out of work does tend to give a person some free time to catch up on some reading. All total, it looks like I finished 75 books for the year. For the subject of this blog, I read 18 Showcase Presents volumes* and 19 Essential volumes**.

In addition to the Essentials and Showcases, I read a mix of older reprints as well as new original graphic novels. Some of my favorite reads of the past year included:

  • The Guns of Shadow Valley by Dave Wachter and Jim Clark. This was a digital comic that used a Kickstarter campaign to fund a collected edition. The collected edition was later distributed by Dark Horse Comics. If you are a fan of The Sixth Gun, you should give this a read.
  • The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks. This is another digital comic that saw the collected edition distributed by Dark Horse. This book won the 2014 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids.
  • Velvet TPB Vol. 1 by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. Set in the 1970s, this spy thriller featured equal parts of James Bond and Modesty Blaise. I could not put this one down!

Please seek out each of these volumes – you won’t be disappointed!

* Showcase Presents volumes read in 2014: All-Star Comics 1; Wonder Woman 3 and 4; The Trial of the Flash 1; Superman Family 3 and 4; House of Mystery 1; The Unknown Soldier 1; Metamorpho 1; Eclipso 1; Super Friends 1; Challengers of the Unknown 2; Bat Lash 1; Blackhawk 1; Jonah Hex 1; Supergirl 2; Captain Carrot 1; and House of Secrets 1.
** Essential volumes read in 2014: Howard the Duck 1; Iron Man 4 and 5; Thor 4, 5, 6, and 7; Dazzler 1; Wolverine 1, 2, 3, and 4; Marvel Horror 1; Man-Thing 1; Ghost Rider 1 and 2; Punisher 2; Dr. Strange 3; and Rampaging Hulk 1.

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Hello 2015: OK, for many years I have been a loyal listener to the Collected Comics Library podcast produced by Chris Marshall. Each January, Chris announces his “Adopt a Character” for the year, in which he focuses on reading more about one character, a specific run of a book, or even just focus on a particular creator, over the next year.

For 2014, I had three “Adopt a Character” goals which I came very close to fulfilling!

  • I want to re-read the Mike Grell Green Arrow series from the late 1980s and early 1990s. OK, I read the first 60 issues, as well as the annuals that came out during that associated time frame. Grell was on the book until issue #80, so I feel this one is 75% accomplished. 
  • With the Essential line, I have accumulated a back log of titles featuring various Avengers characters. On my shelf to read, I have four Thor volumes, three Hulk volumes (including the Rampaging Hulk volumes) and two Iron Man volumes. I did read all four Thor books, I read the two Iron Man books, and I read one of the three Hulk books. So consider this 77% accomplished. 
  • With the Showcase line, I have accumulated a back log of two titles, Wonder Woman and Superman Family. I did finish off both lines, reading two Wonder Woman books and two Superman Family books. Consider this item 100% mission accomplished!

So for 2015, I am wanting to target a couple of titles for my Adopt a Character.

  • I do want to finish the Mike Grell Green Arrow series. I have tracked down most of the Oliver Queen issues of the title after Grell left, up to issue #100, so my plan is to read the last 40 issues plus annuals.
  • With the Essential and Showcase lines, I have two long-boxes of books to read. As much as I try to balance 1 DC to 1 Marvel read, I may need to focus more on Marvel this year, as those are the majority of the books due up for review in 2015. Keep reading for more on the blog going forward.
  • Finally, I am looking to find something new to jump into, so I am going to put it out there for my audience. Tell me a title I should be reading, either current or from the back issue bins. Please comment on this post with your suggestions, and the best one will be added to my to-read list for 2015.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!: So, as 2015 starts up, I do need to make some changes with this blog going forward. Beginning with this Saturday’s post, I will be posting just once a week. I published 104 reviews in 2014, and I’m quite proud of that fact. But a lot of that was as a result of being out of work for 10 months this year. I had lots of time to read and write. But I am also a big fan of earning a living and supporting the family. I’ve had a lot of job interviews lately, and I feel really good about two of them. So my hope is that I return to full-time work sometime this month. To allow time to read and write reviews, in addition to my other project (keep reading!), I think it is best to scale back my workload with the Essential Showcase blog.

In addition, I am also running into a material shortage. Looking at the numbers, I have just over 100 books (as of today) left to read and/or write reviews of in my collection. If I kept up the same pace of two reviews a week, this blog would come to stop in February of 2016. If I cut back to one review per week, this would take the blog into late spring of 2017. I am having fun with this blog and would like to keep it going.

As for my other project, my friends and I started our own podcast last summer, titled the Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER! I hope all of my Essential Showcase readers are also giving the podcast a listen. In the upcoming year, we are challenging ourselves to do so much more with the podcast, in terms of interviews and conventions, as well as the blog that hosts the podcast. I want to free up some of my Essential Showcase time to work on the WCPE project. Thank you for your understanding, and please give us a look if you haven’t already.

All right, let’s have a great 2015! Let’s enjoy some books and stories along the way. And please be sure to leave me reading suggestions in the comments!

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Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014!

Goodbye 2013: Forgive me while I indulge in some wrap-up for 2013. I’m not for sure what possessed me to do so this year, but I kept a list of all of various collected editions that I read for the year. Whether reprint collections like the Essentials or Showcase Presents, or the original graphic novels, I managed to read 50 books during 2013. It may seem like a lot, but in all fairness, I had some free time on my hands when I was out of work for three months this fall.

For the subject of this blog, I read 11 Showcase Presents volumes* and 12 Essential volumes**. Back in early August, I finished reading Essential Captain America Vol. 7. As I was placing it on my shelf with the other volumes, I did a quick count and realized that this completed book was the 100th Essential volume that I had read. That let to some heavy contemplation on my part as to what I could do with any of this knowledge, which led in turn to me launching this blog.

In addition to the Essentials and Showcases, I read a mix of older reprints as well as new original graphic novels. My two favorite reads of the past year were:

  • March Vol 1 by Representative John Lucas, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. This should be required reading in every high school in America. I am eagerly awaiting the future volumes to read more of Lucas’ remarkable journey.
  • The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story by Vivek J. Tiwary, Andrew Robinson, and Kyle Baker. A beautifully illustrated book by Robinson and Baker. Sadly, you know how the story ends before you open the book, but you still hope that the ending changes as the pages turn towards the finish.

Please seek out each of these volumes – you won’t be disappointed!

* Showcase Presents volumes read in 2013: World’s Finest 4, Flash 4, Hawkman 2, Wonder Woman 2, Justice League of America 6, Doom Patrol 2, DC Comics Presents 2, Superman Family 2, Martian Manhunter 1, Adam Strange 1, and Phantom Stranger 2.
** Essential volumes read in 2013: Spider-Man 10 and 11, Power Man & Iron Fist 2, X-Men 11, Defenders 7, Captain America 6 and 7, Dr. Strange 2, Spider-Woman 2, Marvel Team-Up 4, Avengers 7, and Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man 5.

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Hello 2014: OK, for many years I have been a loyal listener to the Collected Comics Library podcast produced by Chris Marshall. Each January, Chris announces his “Adopt a Character” for the year, in which he focuses on reading more about a particular character, or in some cases a particular run of a book, over the next year.

I have tried to do this as well. For 2013, besides trying to catch up on the growing pile of Essentials and Showcases, I reread the entire Marvel Star Wars series, via the new line of Star Wars Omnibus editions from Dark Horse Comics. Two years ago, it was an effort to read more comics and books featuring a female lead character, such as Wonder Woman, Supergirl, or Spider-Woman.

So for 2014, I am wanting to target a couple of titles for my Adopt a Character.

  • I want to re-read the Mike Grell Green Arrow series from the late 1980s and early 1990s. I followed this title on and off while it was running. It was a deluxe format book at the time, so it was only available at comic book stores, which made it a challenge to find/afford during my college years. Over the last few years, I have filled in all of the missing issues, so I can now read it straight through.
  • With the Essential line, I have accumulated a back log of titles featuring various Avenger characters. On my shelf to read, I have four Thor volumes, three Hulk volumes (including the Rampaging Hulk volumes) and two Iron Man volumes. So I would like to get those read, especially since I have never read most of the contents in those nine volumes.
  • With the Showcase line, I have accumulated a back log of two titles, Wonder Woman and Superman Family.

So, with this being January 1, set some comic reading resolutions for yourself for 2014, and feel free to share your goals with me! Happy New Year, loyal readers!